The following is the 1959–60 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1959 through March 1960. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1958–59 season.
By the end of the 1950s, the three major U.S. television networks had basically given up direct control of their TV programs. According to TV historians Castleman and Podrazik (1982), ABC allowed Warner Brothers studios to fill 30% of its fall 1959 schedule. The networks "acted as mere conduits", with Warner, Talent Associates, Revue Studios, Ziv, Screen Gems, 20th Century-Fox, Goodson-Todman, and Desilu Studios producing nearly everything on the networks; with rare exceptions, only network news and sports were still produced in-house.[1]
By fall 1959 what the Hollywood studios were producing were mostly Westerns. According to Castleman and Podrazik (1984), "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."[2] Westerns were popular with audiences, but critics lamented the loss of other program formats, which had quietly vanished from the three networks' schedules. The addition of Westerns and game shows came at the direct expense of the live dramatic anthology series seen during the Golden Age of Television.[3]
All times are Eastern and Pacific. New fall series are highlighted in bold.
The official schedule was set by each network before the start of the official fall season. The fall season is from September to November in the U.S.. The mid-season schedule is listed under the official fall season lineup of each network. The mid-season schedule is from December 1959 to May 1960.
Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.[4]
Yellow indicates the programs in the top 10 for the season.
Cyan indicates the programs in the top 20 for the season.
Magenta indicates the programs in the top 30 for the season.
| 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 | Colt .45 | Maverick (19/25.2) | Lawman (15/26.2) | The Rebel | The Alaskans | Dick Clark's World of Talent | ||
| Winter | 21 Beacon Street | ||||||||
| Spring | Broken Arrow | Johnny Staccato | |||||||
| CBS | Fall | Lassie (29/23.1) (Tied with The Perry Como Show) | Dennis the Menace (16/26.0) | The Ed Sullivan Show (12/28.0) | General Electric Theater (21/24.4) (Tied with Mr. Lucky and Zane Grey Theater) | Alfred Hitchcock Presents (25/24.1) | The Jack Benny Program / The George Gobel Show | What's My Line? (27/23.9) | |
| Summer | Lucy in Connecticut | ||||||||
| NBC | Fall | Riverboat | NBC Sunday Showcase (In COLOR) | The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (In COLOR) | The Loretta Young Show | Local Programming | |||
| February | Overland Trail | ||||||||
| Summer | Music on Ice (In COLOR) | The Chevy Mystery Show (In COLOR) | |||||||
| 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 Programming | Cheyenne (17/25.9) | Bourbon Street Beat | Adventures in Paradise | Man with a Camera | ||||
| CBS | Fall | 7:00 Local Programming / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News* | Masquerade Party | The Texan | Father Knows Best (6/29.7) (Tied with 77 Sunset Strip) | The Danny Thomas Show (4/31.1) | The Ann Sothern Show (24/24.2) | Hennesey | The DuPont Show with June Allyson |
| Winter | The Kate Smith Show | ||||||||
| Summer | New Comedy Showcase | ||||||||
| NBC | Fall | 7:00 Local Programming / 7:15 The Huntley-Brinkley Report* | Richard Diamond, Private Detective | Love and Marriage | Tales of Wells Fargo | Peter Gunn | Alcoa Theatre / Goodyear Television Playhouse | The Steve Allen Plymouth Show
| |
| February | Riverboat | ||||||||
(*) In some areas, Douglas Edwards with the News and The Huntley-Brinkley Report aired at 6:45 p.m.(**) Formerly known as The Steve Allen Show
New episodes of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, starring David Janssen, during the season were split, with some airing on NBC from October 1959 to January 1960 on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, and the remainder on NBC on Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. Eastern from June to September 1960.
On CBS, the summer series New Comedy Showcase was an anthology series composed on unsold television pilot]s.
| 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 Programming | Sugarfoot / Bronco | The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (20/25.0) | The Rifleman (13/27.5) | Philip Marlowe | Keep Talking | |||
| CBS | Fall | 7:00 Local Programming / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News | Local Programming | The Dennis O'Keefe Show | The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis | Tightrope! | The Red Skelton Show (Sporadically in COLOR) (5/30.8) | The Garry Moore Show | |
| Summer | Peck's Bad Girl | The Comedy Spot | |||||||
| NBC | Fall | 7:00 Local Programming / 7:15 The Huntley-Brinkley Report | Laramie | Fibber McGee and Molly | The Arthur Murray Party (In COLOR) | Startime (In COLOR) | Local Programming | ||
| Spring | Startime (In COLOR) | The Arthur Murray Party (In COLOR) | M Squad | ||||||
| Summer | Gas Company Playhouse/ NBC Playhouse (alternating) | Richard Diamond, Private Detective | |||||||
On NBC, Gas Company Playhouse and NBC Playhouse alternated weekly. Gas Company Playhouse, hosted by Julia Meade, consisted of reruns of episodes of Goodyear Television Playhouse, The David Niven Show, Colgate Theater, and Alcoa Theatre. NBC Playhouse, hosted by Jeanne Bal, consisted of reruns of episodes of The Loretta Young Show in which Loretta Young had not starred.
New episodes of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, starring David Janssen, were split during the 1959–1960 season, with some airing on NBC from October 1959 to January 1960 on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, and the remainder on NBC on Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. Eastern from June to September 1960.
| 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 | Local Programming | The Court of Last Resort (repeats) | Charley Weaver's Hobby Lobby | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | Hawaiian Eye | The Wednesday Night Fights | ||
| Winter | Music For a Spring Night | ||||||||
| Spring | Music For a Spring Night / Music For a Summer Night | ||||||||
| CBS | Fall | 7:00 Local Programming / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News | The Lineup | Men into Space | The Millionaire | I've Got a Secret (28/23.5) | Armstrong Circle Theatre / The United States Steel Hour | ||
| Winter | Be Our Guest | ||||||||
| NBC | Fall | 7:00 Local Programming / 7:15 The Huntley-Brinkley Report | Wagon Train (2/38.4) | The Price Is Right (In COLOR) (8/29.2) | The Perry Como Show (29/23.1) (Tied with Lassie) (In COLOR) | This Is Your Life | Wichita Town | ||
| Summer | Happy | Tate | |||||||
| 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 | Local Programming | The Gale Storm Show | The Donna Reed Show | The Real McCoys (11/28.2) | The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom | The Untouchables | Take a Good Look | |
| Summer | The Jeannie Carson Show | ||||||||
| CBS | Fall | 7:00 Local Programming / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News | To Tell the Truth | The Betty Hutton Show | Johnny Ringo | Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre (21/24.4) (Tied with Mr. Lucky and General Electric Theater) | Playhouse 90 / The Big Party | ||
| Winter | Markham | The Revlon Revue | |||||||
| Summer | The Invisible Man | ||||||||
| NBC | Fall | 7:00 Local Programming / 7:15 The Huntley-Brinkley Report | Law of the Plainsman | Bat Masterson | Johnny Staccato (later moved to ABC) | Bachelor Father | The Ford Show (14/27.4) (In COLOR) | You Bet Your Life (26/24.0) | The Lawless Years |
| Summer | Wrangler | ||||||||
| 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 Programming | Walt Disney Presents | The Man From Blackhawk | 77 Sunset Strip (6/29.7) (Tied with Father Knows Best) | The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor | Black Saddle | |||
| CBS | 7:00 Local Programming / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News | Rawhide (18/25.8) | Hotel de Paree | Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse / The Westinghouse Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show (once a month) | The Twilight Zone | Person to Person | |||
| NBC | Fall | 7:00 Local Programming / 7:15 The Huntley-Brinkley Report | People Are Funny | The Troubleshooters | The Bell Telephone Hour (In COLOR) / NBC Friday Night Special Presentation (In COLOR, alternating once per month) | M Squad | 10:00 Gillette Cavalcade of Sports / 10:45 Phillies Jackpot Bowling | ||
| Winter | Masquerade Party | ||||||||
| Network | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Dick Clark's Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show | John Gunther's High Road | Leave It to Beaver | The Lawrence Welk Show | Jubilee USA | |||
| CBS | Fall | Perry Mason (10/28.3) | Wanted Dead or Alive (9/28.7) | Mr. Lucky (21/24.4) (Tied with Zane Grey Theater and General Electric Theater) | Have Gun – Will Travel (3/34.7) | Gunsmoke (1/40.3) | Markham | |
| Winter | Local Programming | |||||||
| NBC | Fall | Bonanza (In COLOR) | The Man and the Challenge | The Deputy | Five Fingers | It Could Be You | ||
| Winter | World Wide '60 | Man from Interpol | ||||||
Returning Series
New Series
Not returning from 1958–59:
Returning Series
New Series
Not returning from 1958–59:
Returning Series
New Series
Not returning from 1958–59:
Not returning from 1958–59:
Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.