The following is the 1956–57 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1956 through March 1957. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1955–56 season.
The 1956–57 network television schedule continued the trend of the previous season, with two of the three major U.S. television networks (ABC and CBS) scheduling more and more westerns and adventure series during prime time. In addition to its current stable of Westerns, which included Cheyenne, The Lone Ranger, and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, ABC scheduled two new Western TV series: Broken Arrow and The Adventures of Jim Bowie, while CBS added Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre to its line-up, which already included Gunsmoke and Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. Castleman and Podrazik (1984) called the rush to schedule Western series on network television during this era "a virtual stampede".[1]
CBS "inherited Sunday afternoon NFL contests from the defunct DuMont network in the fall of 1956". Accordingly, "the expansion into Sunday sports by CBS (and NBC) meant that the traditional afternoon 'egghead' slots for highbrow programming had to be broken up, pushing those shows into the few odd spots still open in the day, or eliminating them completely. This reflected the networks' shift in emphasis during the mid-1950s, slanting television much more toward broad-based popular entertainment. Increasingly, this meant television programming produced in Hollywood [...] In 1957, the amount of prime time programming originating on the West Coast jumped from 40% to 71%."[1]
NBC, behind CBS in the network Nielsen ratings, hired Robert Kintner to revamp NBC's schedule. According to Castleman and Podrazik (1982), NBC's plan was to launch a program which would compete directly with CBS's second most popular series, The Ed Sullivan Show, on Sunday, the most heavily viewed TV night: "Sullivan's show was popular enough to boost the ratings of the programs on both before and after his; as a result, CBS had a chain of hits to begin the evening." NBC's strategy was designed to weaken CBS's Sunday night line-up. NBC's new program, The Steve Allen Show, debuted in the summer to get a head start on the competition.[2] Although the two programs enjoyed a fierce rivalry, Sullivan's program would remain wildly popular, finishing second among all TV programs in the ratings that year, while Allen's show missed the top 30.[3] Beginning this season, NBC had at least one show in color for every day of the week.
New fall series are highlighted in bold, while shows ending their runs are highlighted in italics.
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.
Sunday
edit| 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 | The Original Amateur Hour | Press Conference | Omnibus | Local Programming | |||
| CBS | Lassie (24/29.5) | The Jack Benny Show (10/32.3) / Private Secretary (25/29.0) | The Ed Sullivan Show (2/38.4) | General Electric Theater (3/36.9) | Alfred Hitchcock Presents (6/33.9) | The $64,000 Challenge (22/29.7) (Tied with The Phil Silvers Show) |
What's My Line? (26/28.9) (Tied with Climax!) | |
| NBC | Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers | Circus Boy | The Steve Allen Show | Goodyear Television Playhouse (In COLOR) / The Alcoa Hour (In COLOR) | The Loretta Young Show | National Bowling Championships | ||
Notes: On NBC, Hallmark Hall of Fame (COLOR) aired as a monthly series, 7:30–9 p.m.
On CBS, Air Power, narrated by Walter Cronkite, aired from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on November 11, 1956, and from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. from November 18, 1956 to May 5, 1957.
Monday
edit| 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 | Bold Journey | The Danny Thomas Show (formerly known as Make Room For Daddy) | The Voice of Firestone | Life Is Worth Living | Lawrence Welk's Top Tunes and New Talent | Local Programming | |
| Winter | Wire Service | ||||||||
| CBS | Fall | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News | The Adventures of Robin Hood (20/30.3) | The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (28/27.8) | Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (12/31.9) | I Love Lucy (1/43.7) | December Bride (5/35.2) | Studio One | |
| Summer | Richard Diamond, Private Detective | ||||||||
| NBC | Fall | Local Programming | 7:30 The Golden Touch of Frankie Carle / 7:45 Huntley-Brinkley Report | The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (Sporadically in COLOR) | Stanley | Medic | Robert Montgomery Presents (In COLOR) | Local Programming | |
| Spring | Tales of Wells Fargo | ||||||||
On NBC, Producers' Showcase (COLOR) aired as a monthly series, from 8–9:30 p.m. On CBS, in some areas, Douglas Edwards with the News aired at 6:45 p.m.
On March 18, 1957, the popular Western series Tales of Wells Fargo debuted, replacing Stanley Monday nights on NBC at 8:30 PM EST.
From July 1 to September 23, 1957, the summer series Richard Diamond, Private Detective, starring David Janssen, aired on CBS at 8:30-9 p.m. It returned for a second irregular season on the CBS Thursday schedule from January 2 to June 26, 1958.
Tuesday
edit| 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 | Cheyenne/Conflict | The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (18/31.0) | Broken Arrow | Du Pont Theater | It's Polka Time | Local Programming | ||
| CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News | Name That Tune (30/27.2) | The Phil Silvers Show (22/29.7) (Tied with The $64,000 Challenge) |
The Brothers | The Herb Shriner Show | The Red Skelton Show (In COLOR)(15/31.4) (Tied with The Lineup) |
The $64,000 Question (4/36.4) | Do You Trust Your Wife? | |
| NBC | Fall | Local Programming | 7:30 The Jonathan Winters Show / 7:45 Huntley-Brinkley Report | The Big Surprise | Noah's Ark (In COLOR) | The Jane Wyman Show | Armstrong Circle Theatre/The Kaiser Aluminum Hour | Break the $250,000 Bank (In COLOR) | |
| Spring | Panic! | ||||||||
| Summer | 7:30 The Andy Williams and June Valli Show / 7:45 Huntley-Brinkley Report | Summer Playhouse | The Nat King Cole Show | ||||||
NOTE: On March 5, 1957, the suspense drama Panic! replaced Noah's Ark, a Jack Webb production, on the NBC schedule.
On NBC, Summer Playhouse was a summer anthology series made up of reruns of episodes of other anthology series.
Wednesday
edit| 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 (13/31.8) (Tied with The Millionaire) |
Navy Log | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | Ford Theatre | The Wednesday Night Fights | |||
| CBS | Fall | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News | Pick the Winner | The Arthur Godfrey Show (Sporadically in COLOR, formerly as Arthur Godfrey and his Friends) | The Millionaire (13/31.8) (Tied with Disneyland) |
I've Got a Secret (7/32.7) (Tied with Gunsmoke) |
The United States Steel Hour/The 20th Century Fox Hour | ||
| November | Giant Step | ||||||||
| Summer | My Friend Flicka | The Vic Damone Show | |||||||
| NBC | Local Programming | 7:30 Coke Time with Eddie Fisher / 7:45 Huntley-Brinkley Report | The Adventures of Hiram Holliday | Father Knows Best | Kraft Television Theatre (In COLOR) | This Is Your Life | Twenty-One | ||
Note: On CBS, Pick the Winner aired as an interim U.S. election coverage series in September and October from 7:30 to 8 p.m. It previously had aired in 1952.
Thursday
edit| 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 Lone Ranger | Circus Time | Wire Service | Ozark Jubilee | |||
| December | Air Time '57 | Local Programming | |||||||
| Winter | The Danny Thomas Show | Bold Journey | |||||||
| Spring | Telephone Time | ||||||||
| Summer | Cowtown Rodeo | Compass/Industries for America | Focus | ||||||
| CBS | 7:00 Local / 7:15 Douglas Edwards with the News | Sergeant Preston of the Yukon | The Bob Cummings Show | Climax! (26/28.9) (Tied with What's My Line?) (In COLOR) / Shower of Stars (once a month) (In COLOR) |
Playhouse 90 | ||||
| NBC | Fall | Local Programming | 7:30 The Dinah Shore Show / 7:45 Huntley-Brinkley Report | You Bet Your Life (17/31.1) | Dragnet (11/32.1) | The People’s Choice | The Ford Show (19/30.7) | Lux Video Theatre (In COLOR) | |
| Summer | 7:30 The Andy Williams and June Valli Show / 7:45 Huntley-Brinkley Report | ||||||||
Note: On ABC, Compass and Industries for America shared the 9:30–10:00 p.m. time slot from June to July 1957. Compass aired only in markets where the local affiliate did not choose to air local programming. Industries for America continued to air in the time slot until September 1957.
Friday
editNote: On CBS, Mr. Adams and Eve premiered on January 4, 1957.
Saturday
edit| 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 | Famous Film Festival | Lawrence Welk's Dodge Dancing Party | Masquerade Party | Local Programming | |||
| Summer | The Billy Graham Crusade | ||||||||
| CBS | Fall | Beat the Clock | The Buccaneers | The Jackie Gleason Show (29/27.6) | The Gale Storm Show | Hey, Jeannie! | Gunsmoke (7/32.7) (Tied with I've Got a Secret) |
High Finance | |
| December | Local Programming | ||||||||
| March | My Friend Flicka | ||||||||
| April | Beat the Clock | ||||||||
| Summer | The Jimmy Dean Show | ||||||||
| NBC | Fall | Local Programming | People Are Funny (21/30.2) | The Perry Como Show (9/32.6) (In COLOR) | Caesar's Hour | The George Gobel Show | Your Hit Parade (In COLOR) | ||
| Summer | The Julius LaRosa Show (In COLOR) | The George Sanders Mystery Theater | Dollar a Second | Encore Theatre | Adventure Theater | ||||
| Follow-up | Various | Dollar a Second | |||||||
Notes: On NBC, Saturday Color Carnival (COLOR) aired as a monthly series, 9:00–10:30 p.m. The 1957 version of the NBC summer series Encore Theatre consisted of reruns of episodes of Ford Theatre.
By network
edit|
New series
|
Not returning from 1955-56
|
Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.
References
edit- ^ a b Castleman, H. and Podrazik, W. (1984) The TV Schedule Book: Four Decades of Network Programming from Sign-on to Sign-off. McGraw-Hill. pg 79-85. ISBN 0-07-010277-5
- ^ Castleman, Harry; Walter J. Podrazik (1982). Watching TV: Four Decades of American Television. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 109–115. ISBN 0-07-010269-4.
- ^ Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine. p 1681. ISBN 0-345-31864-1.
- ^ Highest-rated series is based on the annual top-rated programs list compiled by Nielsen Media Research and reported in: Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
- McNeil, Alex. Total Television. Fourth edition. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-024916-8.
- Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1964). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (3rd ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-31864-1.