The 1955–56 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1955 through March 1956. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1954–55 season.
The $64,000 Question had debuted on CBS during summer 1955 and became the #1 program on U.S. television. The three networks "rushed to copy this latest hit format, quickly filling prime time with similar contests". (It would not be until fall 1958 that it would be confirmed that several of these new quiz shows were rigged.)[1]
For years, ABC had "struggled to cobble together a TV schedule",[2] but following the network's major success with Disney-produced series Disneyland in 1954, other Hollywood film companies began embracing television. MGM assembled clips for MGM Parade on ABC; ABC also hired Warner Bros. for a Tuesday night program called Warner Brothers Presents. The hour-long umbrella series featured TV adaptations of three Warner Brothers movies: Cheyenne, Casablanca, and Kings Row. Of the three new series, only Cheyenne was a hit with viewers, and ABC began contracting with other Hollywood studios for Westerns.[1] Immediately following Warner Brothers Presents, ABC scheduled The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. This Western was also produced in conjunction with a Hollywood studio: Desilu Productions.
CBS had its own Western hit with Gunsmoke, which also debuted in fall 1955. Over the next few years, "the rush to Westerns had become a virtual stampede so that, by the fall of 1959, viewers had their choice from a staggering twenty-eight different Western-based prime time series."[1] Around 1955, live drama anthologies, the staple of early television programming, were being phased out by the networks in favor of filmed fare: Westerns, police dramas, quiz shows, and adventure series.[1]
By the mid-1950s, the practice of television executives of ordering dozens of pilots for proposed television series each year — far more than their networks could possibly broadcast as series — had created a sizable body of unsold pilots that had never aired.[3] By 1954, the American television industry had begun to consider the idea of packaging these unsold pilots in anthology series and airing them during the summer, providing television networks with a way of both providing fresh programming during the summer rerun season and recouping at least some of the expense of producing them.[3] During the summer of 1956, ABC and NBC acted on this idea, airing the first series — G.E. Summer Originals on ABC and Sneak Preview on NBC — composed entirely of unsold pilots.[3] [4] [5] On June 8, 1956, when it reported ABC's decision to broadcast G.E. Summer Originals, the New York Times wrote that "the problem of what to do with ‘pilot’ or sample films of projected television series that previously have failed to sell has been solved."[3] [6] Both series premiered on July 3, 1956, at 9:00 p.m.[3] [4] [5] In the following decades, ABC, NBC, and later CBS would air a number of anthology series consisting in whole or in part of unsold pilots.[3] [7]
The struggling DuMont Television Network offered little during the 1955–56 television season. DuMont's final program line-up consisted of What's the Story on Wednesday nights at 9:30 and Boxing From St. Nicholas Arena on Monday nights at 9:00.[1] By September 23, What's the Story was off the air.[8] DuMont honored its few remaining network commitments until August 6, 1956, when it ceased operations as a major television network.[9] DuMont hoped to go into independent television production; the company's studio facilities and Electronicam system were used to produce CBS's The Honeymooners during the 1955–56 season. DuMont's loss was ABC's gain, as some of DuMont's most popular programs, including Life Is Worth Living, Chance of a Lifetime, Life Begins at Eighty, and Down You Go, found their way onto ABC's 1955–56 prime time schedule.
The crumbling and eventual death of the old DuMont Network meant the 1955–56 television season would be the first year in which the three major remaining U.S. television networks would be the only full-time commercial participants in prime time, a situation that was to remain for the next 31 years, until Fox entered prime time on Sunday, April 5, 1987.
This was the first season that CBS and NBC aired some of their prime-time programs in color.
New series are highlighted in bold.
All times are U.S. Eastern and Pacific time (except for some live sports or events). Subtract one hour for Central and Mountain times.
Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.[10]
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | You Asked For It | Famous Film Festival | Chance of a Lifetime | The Original Amateur Hour | Life Begins at Eighty | Local Programming | |||
| CBS | Lassie | The Jack Benny Show (5/37.2) / Private Secretary (12/32.4) (Tied with Ford Theatre) | The Ed Sullivan Show
| General Electric Theater (11/32.9) | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Appointment with Adventure | What's My Line? | ||
| NBC | It's a Great Life | Frontier | Colgate Variety Hour | Goodyear Television Playhouse/The Alcoa Hour | The Loretta Young Show | Justice | |||
* The Ed Sullivan Show was formerly Toast of the Town.
** formerly The Colgate Comedy Hour.
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 Kukla, Fran and Ollie / 7:15 John Daly and the News | Topper (repeats) | TV Reader's Digest | The Voice of Firestone | The Dotty Mack Show | Medical Horizons | The Big Picture | Local Programming | |
| CBS | Fall | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News | The Adventures of Robin Hood (20/30.1) | The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (27/28.4) (Tied with People Are Funny) | Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (16/31.1) | I Love Lucy (2/46.1) | December Bride (6/37.0) | Studio One | |
| Summer | The Vic Damone Show | ||||||||
| NBC | Local | 7:30 The Tony Martin Show / 7:45 Camel News Caravan | Caesar's Hour | Medic | Robert Montgomery Presents | Local Programming | |||
| DMN | Local | 9:00 Boxing From St. Nicholas Arena / 10:45 At Ringside | |||||||
Note: On NBC, Producers' Showcase aired as a monthly series 8–9:30 p.m. No longer a network operation, DuMont continued airing its Boxing From St. Nicholas Arena on an occasional basis over individual stations until August 6, 1956. On CBS, in most areas, Douglas Edwards With the News aired at 6:45 p.m., while some cities (including New York) aired the 7:15 p.m. edition.
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | 7:00 Kukla, Fran and Ollie / 7:15 John Daly and the News | Warner Bros. Presents / Kings Row / Cheyenne / Casablanca | The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp | Make Room for Daddy | Du Pont Cavalcade Theater | Talent Varieties | Local Programming | |
| Summer | G.E. Summer Originals | ||||||||
| CBS | Fall | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News | Name That Tune | Navy Log | You'll Never Get Rich (30/28.1) | Meet Millie | The Red Skelton Show (In COLOR) (14/32.3) | The $64,000 Question (1/47.5) | My Favorite Husband |
| November | The Phil Silvers Show (30/28.1) | Navy Log | |||||||
| NBC | Fall | Local | 7:30 The Dinah Shore Show / 7:45 Plymouth News Caravan | The Milton Berle Show (In COLOR)/ The Martha Raye Show / The Chevy Show (29/28.2) | Fireside Theatre (24/29.0) | Armstrong Circle Theatre / Pontiac Presents Playwrights '56 (alternating) | Big Town | ||
| Summer | Dear Phoebe | Sneak Preview | The Kaiser Aluminum Hour | ||||||
Notes: The Martha Raye Show and The Chevy Show appeared monthly. As of November 1, You'll Never Get Rich officially became The Phil Silvers Show, swapping time periods with Navy Log.
On NBC, Dear Phoebe consisted entirely of reruns of the series from the 1954–1955 season.
Premiering on the same evening at the same time, G.E. Summer Originals on ABC and Sneak Preview on NBC were the first U.S. anthology series composed of unsold television pilots.
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 Kukla, Fran and Ollie / 7:15 John Daly and the News | Disneyland (4/37.4) | MGM Parade | Masquerade Party | Break the Bank | The Wednesday Night Fights | |||
| CBS | Fall | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News | Brave Eagle | Arthur Godfrey and His Friends | The Millionaire (9/33.8) | I've Got a Secret (10/33.5) | The United States Steel Hour/The 20th Century Fox Hour | ||
| Summer | CBS Cartoon Theatre | ||||||||
| NBC | Local Programming | 7:30 Coke Time with Eddie Fisher / 7:45 Camel News Caravan | Screen Director's Playhouse | Father Knows Best | Kraft Television Theater | This Is Your Life (26/28.8) | Midwestern Hayride | ||
| DMN | Fall | Local Programming | Hollywood Preview | What's the Story | Local Programming | ||||
| October | Local Programming | ||||||||
| Winter | Local Programming | ||||||||
* Formerly Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts on CBS.
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | 7:00 Kukla, Fran and Ollie / 7:15 John Daly and the News | The Lone Ranger | Life is Worth Living | Stop the Music | Star Tonight | Down You Go | Outside U.S.A. | Local | |
| CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News | Sergeant Preston of the Yukon | The Bob Cummings Show | Climax! (22/29.6) / Shower of Stars (once a month) | Four Star Playhouse | The Johnny Carson Show | Wanted | ||
| NBC | Local | 7:30 The Dinah Shore Show / 7:45 Plymouth News Caravan | You Bet Your Life (7/35.4) | The People’s Choice | Dragnet (8/35.0) | Ford Theatre (In COLOR) (12/32.4) (Tied with Private Secretary) | Lux Video Theatre (25/28.9) | ||
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | 7:00 Kukla, Fran and Ollie / 7:15 John Daly and the News | The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | Crossroads | Dollar a Second | The Vise | Ethel and Albert | Local |
| Summer | Combat Sergeant | ||||||||
| CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News | The Adventures of Champion | Mama | Our Miss Brooks | Crusader | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | The Lineup (17/30.8) | Person to Person | |
| NBC | Fall | Local | 7:30 Coke Time with Eddie Fisher / 7:45 Camel News Caravan | Truth or Consequences | The Life of Riley (21/29.9) | The Big Story | Star Stage | 10:00 Gillette Cavalcade of Sports / 10:45 Red Barber's Corner | |
| Summer | The Best in Mystery | ||||||||
| Follow-up | Star Stage | ||||||||
| DMN | Fall | Local | |||||||
| Winter | Local | Hollywood Preview | |||||||
| Spring | Local | ||||||||
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Local | Ozark Jubilee | Lawrence Welk's Dodge Dancing Party | Tomorrow's Careers | Local | ||||
| CBS | Fall | The Gene Autry Show | Beat the Clock | Stage Show | The Honeymooners (19/30.2) | Two for the Money | It's Always Jan | Gunsmoke | Damon Runyon Theater |
| July | High Finance | ||||||||
| NBC | Fall | Local | The Big Surprise | The Perry Como Show (18/30.3) | People Are Funny (27/28.4) (Tied with The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show) | Texaco Star Theater (In COLOR) | The George Gobel Show (15/31.9) | Your Hit Parade (23/29.1) | |
| Summer | The Julius LaRosa Show (13 weeks) | The Jimmy Durante Show | Encore Theatre | ||||||
Returning Series
New Series
Not returning from 1954–55:
Returning Series
New Series
Not returning from 1954–55:
Returning series
New series
Not returning from 1954–55:
Returning Series
New Series
Not returning from 1954–55:
Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.