1983: ABC Presents 'The Day After'
On this day in 1983, ABC presented The Day After, a miniseries depicting the aftermath of a fictional nuclear war on residents of the American midwest.
Seen by nearly 100 million people, the heavily-promoted drama — which starred Jason Robards, JoBeth Williams, Steve Guttenberg, John Cullum, John Lithgow and Amy Madigan — sparked national debate about the effects nuclear war would have on average Americans.