Westerns shot to the top. Sitcoms went south.
The western craze only grew stronger during the 1957-58 television season. The genre was represented by five entries in the season’s top ten-rated shows. Conversely, sitcoms went into decline, with just three series (The Danny Thomas Show, December Bride, and The Gale Storm Show) in the top 20. There was just one sitcom showdown that…
Where Did All The Sitcom Showdowns Go?
Westerns dominated the television landscape in the mid-to-late 1950s. Their increasing popularity came in part at the expense of sitcoms. There were fewer new comedy series debuting in the fall of 1956, and only The Gale Storm Show became a long-term success. As a result of this sitcom drought, there was only one sitcom showdown…
1955 Sitcom Showdowns: Rematches and Old Radio Shows
In the early days of television, it wasn’t unusual for a successful show to maintain the same timeslot for years at a time. To fill schedules, the networks adapted several radio sitcoms for TV. These two trends affected the sitcom showdowns of 1955. Make Room for Daddy vs. Meet Millie on Tuesday at 9:00 Entering…