What is "after school special"

alt. A television program broadcast in the mid- to late afternoon and directed toward adolescents. n. A television program broadcast in the mid- to late afternoon and directed toward adolescents.

The American Broadcasting Company coined the term after school special in 1972 with a series of made-for-television movies, usually dealing with controversial or socially relevant issues, that were generally broadcast in the late afternoon and meant to be viewed by school-age children, particularly teenagers. The specials were generally broadcast four to six times during the school year, pre-empting local programming that would usually follow the network schedule in the late afternoon hours.

CBS distributed its own productions as the CBS Afternoon Playhouse (later known as CBS Schoolbreak Special). It also had a program called Famous Classic Tales, which aired Australian cartoons that were adapted from literature books (similar to Family Classic Tales). NBC had afterschool programs under the umbrella title Special Treat. ABC had the ABC Afterschool Special; similar programs included The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie and the ABC Weekend Special.

The term " After School Special" refers to a genre of American television programs that are intended to be viewed by adolescents after they returned home from school.

After School Special may also refer to:

• ABC Afterschool Special, the 1972–1997 American television anthology series for children and teenagers
• After School Special (album), the debut album from Long Beach, California band 3rd Alley
• "After School Special", a song by Detroit Grand Pubahs and Miss Kittin from the album Funk All Y'all
• "After School Special" (Supernatural), an episode of the television series Supernatural
• "After School Special" (The Vampire Diaries), an episode of the television series The Vampire Diaries
• " The American Dad After School Special", an episode of the Fox animated television series American Dad!
• National Lampoon's Barely Legal, a 2003 film that is also known as After School Special
• "After School Special", a song by Mr. Bungle from the album Disco Volante

After School Special is the 2004 debut album by the Southern California reggae rock band 3rd Alley. After School Special was completed with a budget of only $3000 and released in the U.S. by Long Beach Records. Shortly after the American release, 3rd Alley saw themselves quickly gaining a fan-base on an international scale when "After School Special" was released into European and Japanese markets.

"After School Special" is the 10th episode of The Vampire Diaries's fourth season, premiering January 17, 2013, on The CW.