Here’s Why the Classic TV Show ‘Julia’ Is Missing From DVD and Streaming

Dave Sundstrom July 29, 2025

Julia TV Show graphic — Gene Trindl/TV Guide/courtesy Everett Collection

Julia was a sitcom that starred Diahann Carroll, and it was a big deal back in the late sixties. During its three-season run from 1968 to 1971, it made it into the Top 10 Nielsen ratings, and broke all kinds of new ground as one of the first shows to feature a Black woman in a main role that wasn’t just about laughs and old ideas. So why has the show never been released on DVD or made available for streaming?

When Julia started in 1968, it was a real pioneer. The show followed Julia Baker, a single Black mom raising her son while working as a nurse for an older, grumpy doctor. It was a sweet, heartfelt comedy that dealt with real-life issues with a lot of warmth and humor.

JULIA, Diahann Carroll, Marc Copage, 1968-1971,

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Courtesy Everett Collection

Prior to her passing in 2019, Diahann spoke with the Archive of American Television and said about her show, “As we look back, we’re very proud of that piece of work. It represented a new thought.”

In that same interview, Diahann spoke about some of the criticism that the show received at the time; there were those who felt like it was ignoring the plight of many Black Americans. But Diahann and show producer Hal Kantner felt differently. They believed that Julia importantly highlighted a different experience for a young widow and her son. And perhaps the most important thing that Julia accomplished during its three seasons was that it simply got people talking.

Fast forward to today,: Julia is nowhere to be found. 20^th Century Fox, the show’s owner, has not made it available on DVD or on any of the major streaming platforms — zip, zero, nada, nothing. So why is that? Well, there are a few reasons, and they all come down to the complicated world of TV rights, money and plain old neglect.

First off, there’s just not all that much interest from distributors. These are the folks who decide what shows get released nowadays, and it appears that they don’t think it’s worth the effort. They probably figure it’s an old show, and who’s going to watch it? Sadly, that is what happens to a lot of classic TV shows.

20th Century Fox Film Corp./courtesy Everett Collection

Then there’s the whole ownership mess. Now that Disney owns FOX, Julia is kind of stuck in a difficult spot. Disney’s got a lot on its plate with Marvel, Star Wars, their own classic characters, you name it. So, a 50-year-old sitcom probably isn’t high on their to-do list. The original master tapes of Julia are probably just sitting in a storage room somewhere, getting dusty.

Another problem is syndication, or the lack of it. Way back in the day, FOX didn’t really push Julia into syndication, and when they finally did, it only aired for a short time. The copies they have are old tapes from 30 years ago, and they were never made to look better. So, the quality isn’t great. And studios usually want shows that are ready to go without a lot of extra work. They don’t like spending money on remastering and then promoting a show unless they’re sure that they’ll get a solid return on their investment.

While there are some who have tracked down unofficial DVDs of the show, there are those who also say that it feels a little bit old-fashioned. “Slice of life” comedies like Julia don’t always age all that well, and the way it deals with race and gender might seem a little old-fashioned to today’s viewers.

But here’s the thing: Diahann was right. Shows like Julia are important. Perhaps even more so today as they’re a picture of history, a snapshot in time and they, in many cases, show us just how far we’ve come … as well as what we still need to work on.