[1][2][3] In the 1940s, Jim Malloy returns to his hometown, the fictional small mining town of Gibbsville, Pennsylvania, after being expelled from Yale University during his sophomore year.

In addition to the 1975 television movie written and directed by playwright Frank D. Gilroy that served as the show's pilot, thirteen episodes were produced, although only six of them aired.

Gibbsville was finally planned to premiere at the beginning of NBC's fall 1976 season, but it encountered one last delay when it was displaced at the last minute.

After the cancellation of the series Gemini Man, NBC reshuffled its Thursday evening lineup and added Gibbsville to the schedule in mid-November 1976.

[1][4] Gibbsville finally premiered as a weekly series on November 11, 1976 – 17 months after its pilot aired – and NBC broadcast it at 10:00 p.m. on Thursdays throughout its brief run.