The Waltons is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book Spencer's Mountain and the 1963 film of the same name. The series aired from 1972 to 1981.

The television film The Homecoming: A Christmas Story was broadcast on December 19, 1971. Based on its success, the CBS television network ordered the first season of episodes (to be based on the same characters) and that became the television series The Waltons. Beginning in September 1972, the series was broadcast on CBS for nine seasons in total. After the series was canceled in 1981, three television film sequels aired in 1982 on NBC, with three more in the 1990s on CBS. The Waltons was produced by Lorimar Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution in syndication.

The show's end sequence featured the family saying goodnight to one another before drifting off to sleep. According to the BBC (which broadcast the series in the UK), "Goodnight, John-Boy" was one of the most common catchphrases of the 1970s.