Entertainment Scene presents:
20 Most Popular TV Shows
Each Year In The 1950's


The following tables show America's TV favorites every year beginning in 1949.
The TV 'year' generally consists of September to June for the show's original air play.

Updated March 28, 1997

1949-50

RANK

TITLE

NETWORK

1

The Texaco Star Theater

NBC

2

Toat of the Town (Ed Sullivan)

CBS

3

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts

CBS

4

Fireball Fun for All

NBC

5

Philco Television Playhouse

NBC

6

Fireside Theatre

NBC

7

The Goldbergs

CBS

8

Suspense

CBS

9

The Ford Television Theater

CBS

10

Cavalcade of Stars

Dumont


1950-51

RANK

TITLE

NETWORK

1

The Texaco Star Theater

NBC

2

Fireside Theatre

NBC

3

Your Show of Shows

NBC

4

Philco Television Playhouse

NBC

5

The Colgate Comedy Hour

NBC

6

Gillette Cavalcade of Sports

NBC

7

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts

CBS

8

Mama

CBS

9

Robert Montgomery Presents

NBC

10

Martin Kane, Private Eye

NBC

11

Man Against Crime

CBS

12

Somerset MaughamTheatre

NBC

13

Kraft Television Theatre

NBC

14

Toast of the Town (Ed Sullivan)

CBS

15

The Aldrich Family

NBC

16

You Bet Your Life

NBC

17

Armstrong Circle Theater (tie)

NBC

17

Big Town (tie)

CBS

17

Lights Out (tie)

NBC

20

The Alan Young Show

CBS


1951-52

RANK

TITLE

NETWORK

1

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts

CBS

2

The Texaco Star Theater

NBC

3

I Love Lucy

CBS

4

The Red Skelton Show

NBC

5

The Colgate Comedy Hour

NBC

6

Fireside Theatre

NBC

7

The Jack Benny Program

CBS

8

Your Show of Shows

NBC

9

You Bet Your Life

NBC

10

Arthur Godfrey and His Friends

CBS

11

Mama

CBS

12

Philco Television Playhouse

NBC

13

Amos 'n' Andy

CBS

14

Big Town

CBS

15

Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts

CBS

16

Gillette Cavalcade of Sports

NBC

17

The Alan Young Show

CBS

18

All-Star Revue (tie)

NBC

18

Dragnet (tie)

NBC

20

Kraft Television Theatre

NBC


1952-53

RANK

TITLE

NETWORK

1

I Love Lucy

CBS

2

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts

CBS

3

Arthur Godfrey and His Friends

CBS

4

Dragnet

NBC

5

The Texaco Star Theater

NBC

6

The Buick Circus Hour

NBC

7

The Colgate Comedy Hour

NBC

8

Gangbusters

NBC

9

You Bet Your Life

NBC

10

Fireside Theatre

NBC

11

The Red Buttons Show

CBS

12

The Jack Benny Program

CBS

13

Life with Luigi

CBS

14

Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts

CBS

15

Goodyear Television Playhouse

NBC

16

The Life of Riley

NBC

17

Mama

CBS

18

Your Show of Shows

NBC

19

What's My Line?

CBS

20

Strike It Rich

CBS



1953-54

RANK

TITLE

NETWORK

1

I Love Lucy

CBS

2

Dragnet

NBC

3

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (tie)

CBS

3

You Bet Your Life (tie)

NBC

5

The Bob Hope Show

NBC

6

The Buick-Berle Show

NBC

7

Arthur Godfrey and His Friends

CBS

8

The Ford Television Theater

NBC

9

The Jackie Gleason Show

CBS

10

Fireside Theatre

NBC

11

The Colgate Comedy Hour (tie)

NBC

11

This Is Your Life (tie)

NBC

13

The Red Buttons Show

CBS

14

The Life of Riley

NBC

15

Our Miss Brooks

CBS

16

Treasury Men in Action

NBC

17

All-Star Revue (Martha Raye)

NBC

18

The Jack Benny Program

CBS

19

Gillette Cavalcade of Sports

NBC

20

Philco Television Playhouse

NBC


1954-55

RANK

TITLE

NETWORK

1

I Love Lucy

CBS

2

The Jackie Gleason Show

CBS

3

Dragnet

NBC

4

You Bet Your Life

NBC

5

Toast of the Town (Ed Sullivan)

CBS

6

Disneyland

ABC

7

The Bob Hope Show

NBC

8

The Jack Benny Program

CBS

9

The Martha Raye Show

NBC

10

The George Gobel Show

NBC

11

The Ford Television Theater

NBC

12

December Bride

CBS

13

The Buick-Berle Show

NBC

14

This Is Your Life

NBC

15

I've Got a Secret

CBS

16

Two for the Money

CBS

17

Your Hit Parade

NBC

18

The Millionaire

CBS

19

General Electric Theater

CBS

20

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts

CBS


1955-56

RANK

TITLE

NETWORK

1

The $64,000 Question

CBS

2

I Love Lucy

CBS

3

The Ed Sullivan Show

CBS

4

Disneyland

ABC

5

The Jack Benny Program

CBS

6

December Bride

CBS

7

You Bet Your Life

NBC

8

Dragnet

NBC

9

I've Got a Secret

CBS

10

General Electric Theater

CBS

11

Private Secretary (tie)

CBS

11

The Ford Television Theater (tie)

NBC

13

The Red Skelton Show

CBS

14

The George Gobel Show

NBC

15

The $64,000 Challenge

CBS

16

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts

CBS

17

The Lineup

CBS

18

Shower of Stars

CBS

19

The Perry Como Show

NBC

20

The Honeymooners

CBS


1956-57

RANK

TITLE

NETWORK

1

I Love Lucy

CBS

2

The Ed Sullivan Show

CBS

3

General Electric Theater

CBS

4

The $64,000 Question

CBS

5

December Bride

CBS

6

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

CBS

7

I've Got a Secret (tie)

CBS

7

Gunsmoke (tie)

CBS

9

The Perry Como Show

NBC

10

The Jack Benny Program

CBS

11

Dragnet

NBC

12

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts

CBS

13

The Millionaire (tie)

CBS

13

Disneyland (tie)

ABC

15

Shower of Stars

CBS

16

The Lineup

CBS

17

The Red Skelton Show

CBS

18

You Bet Your Life

NBC

19

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

ABC

20

Private Secretary

CBS


1957-58

RANK

TITLE

NETWORK

1

Gunsmoke

CBS

2

The Danny Thomas Show

CBS

3

Tales of Wells Fargo

NBC

4

Have Gun, Will Travel

CBS

5

I've Got a Secret

CBS

6

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

ABC

7

General Electric Theater

CBS

8

The Restless Gun

NBC

9

December Bride

CBS

10

You Bet Your Life

NBC

11

Alfred Hitchcock Presents (tie)

CBS

11

Cheyenne (tie)

ABC

13

The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show

NBC

14

The Red Skelton Show

CBS

15

Wagon Train (tie)

NBC

15

Sugarfoot (tie)

ABC

15

Father Knows Best (tie)

CBS

18

Twenty-One

NBC

19

The Ed Sullivan Show

CBS

20

The Jack Benny Program

CBS


1958-59

RANK

TITLE

NETWORK

1

Gunsmoke

CBS

2

Wagon Train

NBC

3

Have Gun, Will Travel

CBS

4

The Rifleman

ABC

5

The Danny Thomas Show

CBS

6

Maverick

ABC

7

Tales of Wells Fargo

NBC

8

The Real McCoys

ABC

9

I've Got a Secret

CBS

10

Wyatt Earp

ABC

11

The Price is Right

NBC

12

The Red Skelton Show

CBS

13

Zane Grey Theater (tie)

CBS

13

Father Knows Best (tie)

CBS

15

The Texan

CBS

16

Wanted: Dead or Alive (tie)

CBS

16

Peter Gunn (tie)

NBC

18

Cheyenne

ABC

19

Perry Mason

CBS

20

The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show

NBC


1959-60

RANK

TITLE

NETWORK

1

Gunsmoke

CBS

2

Wagon Train

NBC

3

Have Gun, Will Travel

CBS

4

The Danny Thomas Show

CBS

5

The Red Skelton Show

CBS

6

Father Knows Best (tie)

CBS

6

77 Sunset Strip (tie)

ABC

8

The Price Is Right

NBC

9

Wanted: Dead or Alive

CBS

10

Perry Mason

CBS

11

The Real McCoys

ABC

12

The Ed Sullivan Show

CBS

13

The Bing Crosby Show

ABC

14

The Rifleman

ABC

15

The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show

NBC

16

The Lawman

ABC

17

Dennis the Menace

CBS

18

Cheyenne

ABC

19

Rawhide

CBS

20

Maverick

ABC


Source: Nielsen Media Research, except 1949-50 from Variety.


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