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TV legend Norman Lear to Hollywood: It's time to embrace seniors

Josh Ascher, CNBC producer
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Norman Lear
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Norman Lear has probably seen it all in his more than five decades in the entertainment business. But on his 94th birthday, the creator of hits like "All in the Family, "The Jeffersons" and "Good Times" has some advice for programming and ad execs: Don't forget about old people!

Lear told Binge and CNBC anchor Carl Quintanilla that broadcast TV needs to finally embrace an older audience. "I think ... well, I know it's time," said Lear. "But whether [Hollywood] thinks it's time is another question. But I think they're coming to it."

Norman Lear at 94
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Norman Lear at 94

When it comes to advertising, Lear disagrees with the notion that older people are immune. "The way it was told to me, If you get a young couple early in their marriage to buy a Chevrolet, the chances are, they'll stay in the General Motors family," said Lear. "That's the theory. And they live with it today as they lived with it then. The thing I hear often is, "Older people are set in their ways. They're not gonna go into a new direction. And that, too, is bull****."

Even at his age, Lear doesn't appear to be slowing down. He's being featured in a new documentary about his life, entitled "Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You." Lear also just wrote an autobiography and has multiple TV projects in development, including a remake of "One Day at a Time" for Netflix.

His secret to juggling everything? Try and just live in the moment.

Devour the full season of "Binge" with Carl Quintanilla here.