The most ambitious and acclaimed of all the anthology series', Playhouse 90 was in a league of its own. "Requiem of a Heavyweight," written by Rod Serling, garnered numerous Emmys and remains one of the best live dramas. Each week the series aired a complete 90 minute live drama. The list of talents is amazing: John Frankenheimer, Arthur Hiller, John Brahm, Arthur Penn were a few of the directors. Every angle and every shot left an impact on the viewing public. It was a treasure of a show, that rare gem that lives on.
| Season | From | To | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Seasons | |||
| Specials | 4 | ||
| Season 1 | October 1956 | June 1957 | 39 |
| Season 2 | September 1957 | June 1958 | 40 |
| Season 3 | September 1958 | June 1959 | 38 |
| Season 4 | October 1959 | May 1960 | 16 |
| Unassigned Episodes | 0 |
| Season | From | To | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unassigned Episodes | 137 |
| Season | From | To | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 0 | ||
| Unassigned Episodes | 137 |
No actors for this record.
| Name | Number of Episodes | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Frankenheimer | 25 | 10/04/1956 - 04/22/1960 | |
| Franklin J. Schaffner | 8 | 10/10/1957 - 05/28/1959 | |
| Arthur Hiller | 5 | 12/27/1956 - 01/23/1958 | |
| Arthur Penn | 5 | 02/07/1957 - 02/27/1958 | |
| Franklin Schaffner | 4 | 10/10/1957 - 12/11/1958 | |
| David Swift | 3 | 02/13/1958 - 04/10/1958 | |
| Kay Thompson | 3 | 11/22/1956 | |
| Charles Einstein | 2 | 02/13/1958 | |
| George Roy Hill | 2 | 02/05/1959 - 04/16/1959 | |
| Barnaby Conrad | 2 | 09/12/1957 | |
| Vincent J. Donahue | 2 | 10/18/1956 - 09/26/1957 | |
| Robert Mulligan | 2 | 10/24/1957 - 03/07/1960 | |
| A.J. Russell | 2 | 04/18/1957 - 10/09/1958 | |
| George Abbott | 2 | 04/18/1957 | |
| Don Murray | 2 | 12/19/1957 | |
| F. Scott Fitzgerald | 2 | 03/14/1957 - 05/23/1957 | |
| Oscar Rudolph | 2 | 04/04/1957 - 06/20/1957 | |
| John Cecil Holm | 2 | 04/18/1957 | |
| James Neilson | 2 | 11/01/1956 - 02/28/1957 | |
| J.P. Marquand | 2 | 12/13/1956 - 02/20/1958 | |
| Ralph Nelson | 2 | 10/11/1956 | |
| William Faulkner | 2 | 11/20/1958 - 03/07/1960 | |
| Bernard Girard | 2 | 04/25/1957 | |
| Paul Wendkos | 2 | 12/05/1957 - 04/17/1958 | |
| Tom Donovan | 1 | 10/09/1958 | |
| Charles Marquis Warren | 1 | 06/06/1957 | |
| Stephen Longstreet | 1 | 04/04/1957 | |
| William E. Watters | 1 | 06/20/1957 | |
| Daniel B. Ullman | 1 | 01/23/1958 | |
| Buzz Kulik | 1 | 04/24/1958 | |
| Pat Frank | 1 | 10/04/1956 | |
| Allen Reisner | 1 | 01/30/1958 | |
| Ernest Lehman | 1 | 02/14/1957 | |
| Jeremy York | 1 | 01/17/1957 | |
| Gordon D. Shirreffs | 1 | 12/05/1957 | |
| Raymond Postgate | 1 | 04/24/1958 | |
| Pierre Boulle | 1 | 01/01/1959 | |
| Vincent Donahue | 1 | 12/13/1956 | |
| Burgess Meredith | 1 | 11/14/1957 | |
| Helen Howe | 1 | 05/30/1957 | |
| Byron Paul | 1 | 10/17/1957 | |
| Marcel Pagnol | 1 | 09/26/1957 | |
| E.A. Ellington | 1 | 05/29/1958 | |
| Paul Nickell | 1 | 03/21/1957 | |
| Larry Klein | 1 | 03/07/1957 | |
| Fielder Cook | 1 | 05/18/1960 | |
| Helen Doss | 1 | 12/20/1956 | |
| Fred Clasel | 1 | 12/19/1957 | |
| Josephine Tey | 1 | 11/07/1957 | |
| Delbert Mann | 1 | 09/25/1958 | |
| Lloyd C. Douglas | 1 | 02/28/1957 | |
| Clifford Odets | 1 | 06/13/1957 | |
| William Durkee | 1 | 05/01/1958 | |
| Michel del Castillo | 1 | 02/05/1959 | |
| Irwin Shaw | 1 | 01/16/1958 | |
| Anton M.Leader | 1 | 11/29/1956 | |
| Hal Goodman | 1 | 03/07/1957 | |
| Ron Winston | 1 | 11/26/1959 | |
| John Brahm | 1 | 01/17/1957 | |
| Robert Lindner | 1 | 11/14/1957 | |
| Robert Graves | 1 | 10/24/1957 | |
| John Cheever | 1 | 11/01/1956 | |
| James Clark | 1 | 11/14/1957 | |
| David Lowell Rich | 1 | 05/29/1958 | |
| Cornell Woolrich | 1 | 10/25/1956 | |
| Ruth Chatterton | 1 | 05/09/1957 |
| Name | Number of Episodes | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rod Serling | 10 | 10/04/1956 - 05/18/1960 | |
| Leslie Stevens | 5 | 03/07/1957 - 05/01/1958 | |
| Elick Moll | 4 | 10/18/1956 - 01/30/1958 | |
| Abby Mann | 3 | 02/27/1958 - 04/30/1959 | |
| William Sackheim | 2 | 12/27/1956 - 01/23/1958 | |
| J.P. Miller | 2 | 10/02/1958 | |
| Frank D. Gilroy | 2 | 12/13/1956 - 02/20/1958 | |
| James P. Cavanagh | 2 | 10/25/1956 - 04/24/1958 | |
| Paul Monash | 2 | 11/01/1956 - 09/12/1957 | |
| Horton Foote | 2 | 11/20/1958 - 03/07/1960 | |
| Berne Giler | 2 | 04/04/1957 - 01/23/1958 | |
| David Shaw (II) | 2 | 10/24/1957 - 01/16/1958 | |
| Tad Mosel | 2 | 04/11/1957 - 10/10/1957 | |
| Martin H. Goldsmith | 1 | 05/29/1958 | |
| Aaron Spelling | 1 | 01/09/1958 | |
| George Bruce | 1 | 12/20/1956 | |
| Halsted Welles | 1 | 05/09/1957 | |
| Robert Alan Aurthur | 1 | 12/12/1957 | |
| Ellis St. Joseph | 1 | 09/26/1957 | |
| John C. Clark | 1 | 05/15/1958 | |
| Martin M. Goldsmith | 1 | 05/29/1958 | |
| Stanley Roberts | 1 | 11/14/1957 | |
| Howard Browne | 1 | 12/11/1958 | |
| David Karp | 1 | 09/25/1958 | |
| Marc Brandel | 1 | 01/17/1957 | |
| Irving Gaynor Neiman | 1 | 02/05/1959 | |
| David Victor | 1 | 06/06/1957 | |
| Leonard Spigelgas | 1 | 11/22/1956 | |
| Sumner Lock Elliott | 1 | 11/26/1959 | |
| Joseph Landon | 1 | 04/17/1958 | |
| Alvin Boretz | 1 | 01/15/1959 | |
| James P. Cavanaugh | 1 | 11/07/1957 | |
| William Saroyan | 1 | 10/09/1958 | |
| William Gibson | 1 | 02/07/1957 | |
| Roger O. Hirson | 1 | 04/22/1960 | |
| Robert L. Joseph | 1 | 01/01/1959 | |
| Devery Freeman | 1 | 11/29/1956 | |
| Don M. Mankiewicz | 1 | 03/14/1957 | |
| Herbert Little Jr. | 1 | 06/06/1957 | |
| F.W. Durkee Jr. | 1 | 06/13/1957 | |
| John P. Cavanagh | 1 | 05/23/1957 | |
| Russell S. Hughes | 1 | 12/05/1957 | |
| Jack Jacobs | 1 | 06/20/1957 | |
| Edna Anhalt | 1 | 05/30/1957 | |
| Hagar Wilde | 1 | 03/21/1957 | |
| Dorothy Baker | 1 | 01/10/1957 | |
| Malvin Wald | 1 | 06/20/1957 | |
| Loring Mandel | 1 | 06/11/1959 | |
| Art Cohn | 1 | 10/17/1957 | |
| George Bellak | 1 | 11/21/1957 | |
| Mel Barr | 1 | 02/28/1957 | |
| Speed Lamkin | 1 | 03/21/1957 | |
| Howard Baker | 1 | 01/10/1957 |
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What makes a great television show? There may be as many types of excellence as there are excellent shows. Series can wow us with how broadly they changed society, from “Seinfeld” redefining American slang to “Mad Men” bearing all the hallmarks of an early-21st-century TV Golden Age to “The Oprah Winfrey Show” making daytime viewers feel part of a special club of millions. Or they can feel like closely held secrets, always ready to welcome curious viewers for the first time, like “The Leftovers” or “Enlightened.” They can bring together insights about a rapidly shifting society with humor that stands the test of time, like the shows created by Norman Lear, who died this month at age 101. And they can dazzle us with spectacle or entrance us with intimate character moments — or, if they’re “The Sopranos,” they can do both.
Mike Wallace and a vampire slayer? Letterman and Oprah? Andy Griffith and the Sopranos? On one list? What were we thinking? Simply put, the best of the best, from Day 1 to last night: quality, innovation and the ability to stay in our lives year after year after year. A touch of sentiment? Sure, but nostalgia alone couldn’t make the cut (sorry, Beav). And TV-movies, miniseries and specials will have to wait. These are the series we watched regularly — and will watch again. And again.
The “TV 101” list honors classic, trailblazing series and miniseries, as well as current and critically acclaimed programs, from comedies and dramas to variety/talk and children’s programming. At their core, all of these wonderful series began with the words of the writers who created them and were sustained by the writers who joined their staffs or worked on individual episodes. “This list is not only a tribute to great TV, it is a dedication to all writers who devote their hearts and minds to advancing their craft.
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