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…
Classics Take On Obscurities In 1954 Sitcom Showdowns
With the 1954 television season now more than 70 years in the rearview mirror, it’s understandable why many sitcoms from the era are mostly forgotten—even shows that had long runs. Several sitcom showdowns from the season pitted a classic series often mentioned in television histories against shows almost no one remembers. Make Room for Daddy…