All credit for this information goes to the amazing editors over at AIO wiki.
see also: https://www.aiowiki.com/wiki/Adventures_in_Odyssey#History for a more indepth study.
Beginnings[]
(Focus on the Family Logo)
The idea of AIO began in the mid-1980s with Steve Harris, then Coordinator of Promotion with Focus on the Family's Broadcasting Department. The VP of Focus on the Family along with other production staff was discussing ideas for the upcoming Christmas broadcasts when Steve Harris suggested a radio drama. Harris, with consent of Focus on the Family executives Mike Trout and Bobbie Valentine, decided to produce a Christmas-themed radio drama called #FD1: “Spare Tire” for airing during the 1983 holiday season. The drama, which featured only two actors, was a "smashing success", and paved the way for a second and third Christmas drama, the 1984 #FD2: “House Guest” and the 1985 #FD3: “Gone Fishing”. Both of these dramas included actor Hal Smith, who would later portray AIO main character John Avery Whittaker, and Chuck Bolte, who would portray George Barclay.
In the spring of 1986, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson interviewed Bruce Wilkinson on the subject of media influence in modern society. Wilkinson persuaded Dobson that complaining about media programming was not enough — that Christians should produce their own programming as a replacement.
In response, Dobson called on Steve Harris to launch a radio series. Focus on the Family hired Phil Lollar, a filmmaker and screenwriter, and Harris and Lollar began to work on creating the program, but disagreements abounded concerning the show's format. Initial plans for a variety show faded; eventually, the two decided on a "30-minute weekly drama/comedy program set in a small town, centering on the problems, foibles, antics, relationships, and goings-on of the people with the town."
Family Portraits[]
The two then established the setting, disagreeing on Oregon or Ohio (but selecting the latter). Lollar named the town "Odyssey" after seeing William F. Buckley's United Nations Journal: A Delegate's Odyssey on his bookshelf. Next, the name of the program's main character was chosen. To decide on his name, Harris and Lollar opened up a phonebook and rifled through the pages, finally making it to the W section. They decided on John Avery Whittaker. "Whit's End" was created, and Lollar wrote detailed histories and descriptions of Odyssey, John Whittaker, and Whit's End, most of which was compiled into the beginning of The Complete Guide. By mid-1986, Focus on the Family approved the show's description, and hired a new writer, Susan McBride. In early fall, Focus on the Family decided to finance a 13-episode test series, Family Portraits, which would determine whether the idea would fly or fail. Harris, Lollar, and McBride wrote the pilot episode, #FP01: “Whit's Visitor” during November 1986; it was produced by Focus on the Family's Bob Luttrell in December 1986, and aired on January 5, 1987.
Focus on the Family received over 4,000 positive responses from listeners, fueling the show's development. Joe Glauberg, a staff writer for Happy Days and Mork and Mindy, was brought in to help generate creative direction. The final Family Portraits episode, #FP13: “A Simple Addition (FP)”, aired on April 13, 1987, leaving the entire summer for Harris and Lollar to move the series from testing stage to full-time production.
Over the summer of 1987, production moved, along with the rest of Focus on the Family, from Arcadia, California to Pomona. The new show, called Odyssey USA (OUSA), retained only two main characters from Family Portraits: John Whittaker and Tom Riley; the pilot, #1: “Whit's Flop”, premiered on November 21, 1987.
The First Decade - 1986 to 1996[]
Odyssey USA logo The first major change in Odyssey USA occurred in April 1988, after only 19 episodes of the new program. Focus on the Family Broadcasting VP Mike Trout argued that the inclusion of "USA" in the program's name would alienate listeners outside the United States (and, in particular, in Canada). This resulted in a month-long transition, with the title of the show changing at first to just Odyssey. This title didn't last long. The phrase "Adventures in Odyssey" was first heard in episode 23 and starting with episode 25 in May 1988, the title officially became Adventures in Odyssey. (All available OUSA and Odyssey episodes have been relabeled, except for a few episodes in The Officer Harley Collection.)
The program also gained recurring characters; a feature that Family Portraits lacked (other than Whit). Most important were the introductions of Connie Kendall, Eugene Meltsner, and the Barclay family, as well as more appearances of Tom Riley. A few Family Portraits episodes were rewritten and aired as AIO episodes with similar stories but different characters.
The program also took many creative leaps and bounds almost right from the start. The show saw 29 albums released in that time starting with "Family Portraits" and ending with "Welcome Home." Within that time many story arcs were introduced including the infamous Blackgaard saga, the conversion of Connie, and the history of Eugene.
The first decade — lasting through December 1996 — saw production of 372 AIO episodes.
The Second Decade and on[]
After 10 years of nonstop production, the format and schedule of production needed a change. Therefore, a break was called and from December 1996 to September 1997 production halted on Adventures in Odyssey.
When the show came back there were three significant changes.
First, was that Hal Smith had obviously passed on and Paul Herlinger took over the voice of John Whittaker. The first decade had ended with Whit making a very welcome return to Odyssey and it seemed the perfect place to step back and brain storm about where the show would go from there.
Secondly, almost all of the normal child actors were not brought back including Fabio Stephens (Curt Stevens), Justin Morgan (Isaac Morton), Joseph Cammaroto (Oscar Peterson), and Genni Long (Lucy Cunningham-Schultz). The only remaining "child" was Rodney Rathbone. Other main characters were brought back such as Tom and Connie. All of the old story lines had been wrapped up and it was time to introduce new characters or flush out the older ones such as Jack Allen and Jason, to make the show fresher and hopefully more accessible to new listeners.
Finally, production turned into a system more like television complete with a season premiere and finale.
There was also a hiatus from November 1998 to September 1999, though four new episodes aired in the spring of 1999.