1950s TV Sitcoms: 40 Classic (and Not So Classic) Shows, and Where to Stream Them!
From 'I Love Lucy' to 'Father Knows Best' and more, your guide to 40shows from yesteryear
When it comes to 1950s TV sitcoms, if you caught them in reruns, you undoubtedly look at them as examples of classic TV. And if you were there the first time around, then… it’s just TV. But in either case, for nearly 75 years many television series of the era have continued to live on to delight generation after generation.
Just think about some of those 1950s TV sitcoms that aired in that 10-year period, and you get shows like I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver, The Donna Reed Show, Make Room for Daddy, Dennis the Menace — the list just goes on.
What follows is your guide to 40 memorable 1950s TV sitcoms, providing information on each of them and, just as importantly, where you can go to either stream or watch many of these shows.
1. Your Show of Shows (1950 to 1954)
CAST: Sid Caesar and Imogne Coca
THE SHOW: Pioneer of the comedy skit show concept. While it had great on screen talent with Caesar and Coca, check out this writing staff: Carl Reiner (creator of The Dick Van Dyke Show), Mel Brooks, Neil Simon (playwright and creator of The Odd Couple), Larry Gelbert (co-creator of M*A*S*Hˆ) and Woody Allen.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: YouTube (seek and ye shall find)
2. The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show, aka Burns & Allen (1950 to 1958)
CAST: George Burns, Gracie Allen
THE SHOW: Married comedians George Burns and Gracie Allen brought over their comic misadventures from vaudeville and radio to television, enjoying an eight season run of 291 episodes and mining a great deal of comedy out of Gracie’s illogical way of looking at things. Burns would frequently break the fourth wall and talk to the audience. Another cast member was Bea Benaderet, who would later voice Betty Rubble on The Flintstones and play Kate Bradley on Petticoat Junction.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Tubi, Pure Flix and Classic, Antenna TV
3. The Jack Benny Program (1950 to 1965)
CAST: Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, Eddie Anderson, Phil Harris, Dennis Day, Mel Blanc
THE SHOW: Like Burns & Allen, Benny was able to take his trouble from radio and successfully transfer it to television. Just to point out how big a star he was, there were 931 radio episodes between 1932 and 1955 and 260 television episodes over the course of 15 seasons. Through it all, Benny portrayed his ultra-cheap king of all media dealing with the people around him who were driving him nuts (though he oftentimes returned the favor).
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Tubi, Pure Flix, Antenna TV
4. The Alan Young Show (1950 to 1953)
CAST: Alan Young, Polly Bergen, Ben Wright
THE SHOW: An early TV sketch comedy show with Alan Young, previously a radio star, who would, of course, go on to play Wilbur Post in Mister Ed.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Currently unavailable
MUST-READ: Alan Young — 12 Little-Known Facts About the Mister Ed Star
5. I Love Lucy (1951 to 1957)
CAST: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley
THE SHOW: 1950s TV sitcoms don’t get much better than this! I Love Lucy remains the most enduring situation comedy in television history — everything about it is brilliant, and the cast plays off of each other beautifully. As Lucille Ball herself would say, she wasn’t a comedian but she knew how to play comedy, which she proved on a weekly basis. The Ricardos and the Mertzes will long live on, and for good reason.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Paramount+, Paramount TV, Pluto TV
MUST READ:
Behind-the-Scenes Secrets of the 10 Funniest I Love Lucy Episodes
William Frawley: 15 Facts About the Beloved I Love Lucy and My Three Sons Star
6. The Red Skelton Show (1951 to 1971)
CAST: Red Skelton
THE SHOW: Vaudeville, radio and movie star Red Skelton brought his gentle humor and wit to television in 1951 and stayed there for two decades and a total of an incredible 672 episodes, each of them wrapped up in its comedy/variety show format. There would be comedy and musical guest stars each week.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: freevee, Roku, Tubi, Shout TV
7. Our Miss Brooks (1952 to 1956)
CAST: Eve Arden Gale Gordon
THE SHOW: Another radio star come to television, Eve Arden is Madison High School English teacher Constance “Connie” Brooks, while Gale Gordon (Mr. Mooney from The Lucy Show, among many other collaborations with Lucille Ball) is Principal Osgood Conklin. Arden also played Principal McGee in 1978’s Grease.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Tubi, Classic
8. The Abbott & Costello Show (1952 to 1954)
CAST: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Hillary Brooks, Gordon Jones, Sidney Fields, Joe Kirk and Joe Besser
THE SHOW: Many of Abbott & Costello‘s comic routines from stage and screen make their return on this fun example of 1950s TV sitcoms, meaning that the jokes are what counts and storylines were there in service of them (and it worked beautifully). The guys are unemployed entertainers constantly looking for a way to make a buck, Sidney Fields was their landlord and there were additional supporting characters as well.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: fubo, Peacock, Peacock Premium, Roku, Vudu, Pluto TV, freevee, Tubi
9. My Little Margie (1952 to 1955)
CAST: Gale Storm, Charles Farrell
THE SHOW: Living with her father, Vern, Margie Albright creates constant comic mishaps, usually impacting both Vern and his boss, Claren Kolb’s George Honeywell.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Tubi
10. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952 to 1966)
CAST: Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Nelson, David Nelson and Ricky Nelson
THE SHOW: Long-running show featuring the real-life Nelson family through the prism of a sitcom, parents Ozzie and Harriet Nelson and their sons, David and Ricky (who would enjoy some success as a singer). They did have a next door neighbor in the form of Don DeFore‘s Thorny. Yet another show spawned from a radio series. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet spanned 14 seasons and 435 episodes.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: The Roku Channel, Vudu, Xumo, Tubi, Plex, Pluto TV, freevee,Peacock, Peacock Premium
11. The Ernie Kovocs Show (1952 to 1956)
CAST: Ernie Kovacs
THE SHOW: So difficult to describe, but suffice to say that Ernie Kovacs was a comic genius who insisted on bending and twisting the television medium as much as he could, revealing himself to be a true pioneer in every sense of the word (though he was reportedly very difficult to deal with). The Ernie Kovacs Show itself went through a number of permutations and formats, while appearing on different networks.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Roku, Tubi, Pluto TV, Shout TV
12. I Married Joan (1952 to 1955)
CAST: Joan Davis, Jim Backus
THE SHOW: Lead character Joan Stevens (Joan Davis) in many ways is Lucy Ricardo-like, being described as scatterbrained and manic. She is the wife of judge Bradley Stevens (Jim Backus, Mr. Howell from Gilligan’s Island and the voice of Mr. Magoo). Week to week , things don’t go so smoothly in the Stevens household.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Prime Video
13. The Jackie Gleason Show (1952 to 1970)
CAST: Jackie Gleason, Art Carney
THE SHOW: Gleason’s brilliant comedy/variety show that introduced the world to the skit that became a show of its own, The Honeymooners.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Not available at the moment
14. Mister Peepers (1952 to 1955)
CAST: Wally Cox, Tony Randall
THE SHOW: The show, describes Wikipedia, “often involved Peepers coping with misbehaving inanimate objects or embarrassing moments. In a typical scene, Peepers sees a hopscotch grid chalked on a sidewalk and, thinking himself alone, plays the game with abandon, only to discover that his girlfriend Nancy has been silently watching the entire time.”
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Tubi
MUST READ: Tony Randall, Much More Than One Half of The Odd Couple
15. The Red Buttons Show (1952 to 1955)
CAST: Red Buttons, Phyllis Kirk and Bobby Sherwood
THE SHOW: In the 1950s, the networks certainly loved their comedy/variety shows, and this one, featuring the former vaudeville performer (who most people probably recognize from 1972’s The Poseidon Adventure), was one of them. The show consists of monologues, comic sketches and dance numbers. Because of low ratings, it was turned into a sitcom midway through its run and became a show within a show, with Rex playing himself as a TV comic.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Not currently available
16. Make Room for Daddy (1953 to 1965)
CAST: Danny Thomas, Jean Hagen, Marjorie Lord, Rusty Hammer, Angela Cartwright
THE SHOW: On this example of 1950s TV sitcoms, Danny Thomas portrays Danny Williams, a successful nightclub singer, who has to deal with funny — and oftentimes challenging — situations in his career and with his family. Lots of great supporting characters in what is yet another terrific example of a show that deserves to be called a classic. It should be noted that Thomas is father to That Girl star Marlo Thomas.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Tubi, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, freevee, Xuma, Plex
17. Where’s Raymond (1953 to 1955)
CAST: Ray Bolger
THE SHOW: On two ends of the spectrum, Ray Bolger is probably best known for playing the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz and Shirley Jones‘ father on The Partridge Family, but among his many credits was this show. In it, he played Raymond Wallace, a song-and-dance man who, through the comic misadventures in his life, is never on time for his performances.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Not currently available
18. The Larry Storch Show (1953)
CAST: Larry Storch and guest stars
THE SHOW: You probably know him primarily as Corporal Agarn on the ’60s sitcom F Troop, but here Larry Storch is one of oh-so-many comedians to host a comedy variety show. The Larry Storch Show was a summer replacement series for The Jackie Gleason Show. Along with his guests, he played a number of different characters.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Not currently available
19. The Life of Riley (1953 to 1958)
CAST: William Bendix, John Brown, Grace Coppin, Paula Winslowe
THE SHOW: Tis another television show derived from a radio series that preceded it, and in this one William Bendix reprises the lead role. Chester A. Riley is a malaprop-ridden worker at a California aircraft plant, though the focus is heavily on his home life and various zany situations. He’s best known for the expression, “What a revoltin’ development this is!’ An earlier version of the series actually starred Jackie Gleason in his pre-Ralph Kramden days.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Not currently available
20. Life with Elizabeth (1953 to 1955)
CAST: Betty White, George Tibbles, Don Fedderson
THE SHOW: Betty White — you know the Betty White we’re talking about — stars in the title role. She along with husband Alvin are pretty much your average suburban couple, but she tends to get them into various predicaments. Notes Wikipedia, “In the end, Alvin, in variable degrees of frustration, would say, ‘I shall leave you at this point, Elizabeth,’ and would walk out of sight. The announcer would say, ‘Elizabeth, aren’t you ashamed?’ She would slowly nod, but then, with a slightly devilish grin, would vigorously shake her head to indicate she wasn’t.” Described as “incidents,” each episode would be divided into three shorts.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex, freevee
21. My Favorite Husband (1953 to 1955)
CAST: Joan Caulfield, Barry Nelson
THE SHOW: Based on the Lucille Ball radio show that, itself, was turned into I Love Lucy. That’s why the TV version feels like there are many similarities, with Joan Caulfield as the wacky Liz Cooper, who is married to Barry Nelson‘s George Cooper, a bank executive. Their best friends are an older couple not named the Mertzes. The show was successful in its own right. Interesting trivia note: Nelson was the first actor to ever play James Bond; it was on a CBS live TV version of Casino Royale as part of Climax Theater.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Not currently available
22. Private Secretary (1953 to 1957)
CAST: Ann Sothern Don Porter, Ann Tyrrell
THE SHOW: Ann Sothern (who would later provide the voice for an automobile in ’60s sitcom My Mother the Car) plays Susan Camille “Susie” MacNamara, who serves as the devoted secretary to Peter Sands (Don Porter), a handsome talent agent. The conflict of the show comes from the fact that her actions keep complicating his personal life.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Tubi
MUST READ: My Mother the Car: The 60s Sitcom That Went So Wrong
23. The Mickey Rooney Show, aka Hey, Mulligan (1954 to 1955)
CAST: Mickey Rooney, Regis Toomey, Claire Carleton
THE SHOW: Mickey Mulligan is an aspiring actor who gets a job as a page at a Hollywood television studio, which leads to his getting into a variety of misadventures. Mickey is played by frequent Judy Garland costar Mickey Rooney. Unfortunately, while he may have enjoyed great success on the big screen, this television series only lasted a single year.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: The Roku Channel, Tubi
24. Father Knows Best (1954 to 1960)
CAST: Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin
THE SHOW: If you’re looking for what best represents the quintessential ’50s family sitcom, you’ve found it in Father Knows Best. Robert Young (Marcus Welby, M.D.) is Jim Anderson, Jane Wyatt is his wife, Margaret; Lauren Chapin is youngest child Kathy (aka “Kitten”), Billy Gray is son James (“Bud”) and Elinor Donahue is daughter Betty (“Princess”). It was wholesome without being cloying, and still remains a wonderful reminder of a bygone era.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Peacock, Peacock Premium, Tubi, Shout TV, Plex, free, The Roku Channel, Antenna TV
MUST READ: Elinor Donahue Dishes on Father Knows Best, Andy Griffith and The Odd Couple (EXCLUSIVE)
25. December Bride (1954 to 1959)
CAST: Spring Byington, Frances Rafferty, Dean Miller, Verna Felton, Harry Morgan
THE SHOW: Spring Byington is Lily Ruskin, a woman who lives with her daughter and son-in-law. They, along with her friends, are constantly trying to find suitable men for her — often to comic results. On the surface, the set-up sounds pretty thin, but they got five seasons out of it, so what do we know?
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Not currently available
26. The Bob Cummings Show (1955 to 1959)
CAST: Robert Cummings, Ann B. Davis, Rosemary DeCamp and Dwayne Hickman
THE SHOW: The romantic misadventures of Bob Collins (Robert Cummings) is the focus of the show. Also starring are Ann B. Davis (Alice from The Brady Bunch), Rosemary DeCamp and Dwayne Hickman (The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis).
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Tubi
27. The Honeymooners (1955 to 1956)
CAST: Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Audrey Meadows and Joyce Randolph
THE SHOW: The Honeymooners is a perfect example of Classic TV, starring Jackie Gleason as bus driver Ralph Kramden; Audrey Meadows as put-upon wife, Alice; Art Carney as dim-witted but lovable best friend and sidekick, Ed Norton; and Joyce Randolph as his wife, Trixie. There were hundreds of skits featuring the characters on The Jackie Gleason Show, but only 39 actual episodes.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: MeTV, Tubi, Pluto TV
28. The Phil Silvers Show (1959 to 1961): 1950s TV Sitcoms
CAST: Phil Silvers, Harvey Lembeck, Allan Melvin and Paul Ford
THE SHOW: Comedian Phil Silver is Ernie Bilko, who find himself in charge of the motor pool at a U.S. Army Camp in Kansas. He also happens to be one of the world’s greatest con men, always coming up with get-rich-quick schemes.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Not currently available
29. The Gale Storm Show (1956 to 1959): 1950s TV Sitcoms
CAST: Gale Storm, ZaSu Pitts, Roy Roberts, James Fairfax
THE SHOW: Gale Storm, who had previously starred in the sitcom My Little Margie, returns to television, this time in the role of Susanna Pomeroy, cruise director of world-traveling luxury liner S.S. Ocean Queen. As you would expect, there are comic misadventures at every port of call.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Not currently available
30. Stanley (1956 to 1957): 1950s TV Sitcoms
CAST: Buddy Hackett, Carol Burnett and Paul Lynde
THE SHOW: Portraying title character Stanley Peck is Buddy Hackett. Stanley is a friendly New York hotel newsstand operator who is always reaching out to people — both residents and tourists — and finds himself getting involved in their lives. But check out this supporting cast: Carol Burnett as Stanley’s girlfriend, Celia; and Paul Lynde — Uncle Arthur from Bewitched — as the voice of Mr. Fenton, the unseen hotel manager. Too bad it’s not more widely available and this part of 1950s TV sitcoms sounds like a lot of fun.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Not currently available
31. Leave It to Beaver (1957 to 1963): 1950s TV Sitcoms
CAST: Hugh Beaumont, Barbara Billingsley, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers (as The Beaver)
THE SHOW: A gentle comedy that found its plots drawn from the experiences of real kids — admittedly set in a sitcom world — and parents who raised them with words of encouragement, while also being firm when necessary. Beaumont and Billingsley play the Beav’s parents, Ward and June Cleaver; with Dow as big brother Wally, and Mathers as the Beaver. One of the most popular 1950s TV sitcoms.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: The Roku Channel, MeTV
MUST READ: EXCLUSIVE Jerry Mathers Remembers Leave It to Beaver, His Co-Stars and More
32. Bachelor Father (1957 to 1962): 1950s TV Sitcoms
CAST: John Forsythe, Noreen Corcoran and Sammee Tong
THE SHOW: When the parents of Kelly (Noreen Corcoran) die in a car crash, her uncle, Bentley Gregg (John Forsythe, playing a wealthy Beverly Hills lawyer) takes her in. With the help of his “houseboy” Peter Ton (Sammee Tong), he attempts to raise her while she attempts to help him find a wife. John Forsythe, of course, would go on to provide the voice of Charlie in Charlie’s Angels and star in Dynasty as Blake Carrington. Not a lot of people remember that he was a part of 1950s TV sitcoms.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Antenna TV
(MUST READ: Original Dynasty Cast See the Stars of the Hit 80s Soap Opera Then and Now)
33. Blondie (1957): 1950s TV Sitcoms
CAST: Arthur Lake, Pamela Britton
THE SHOW: Based on the newspaper strip of the same name, Blondie was a series of feature films starring Arthur Lake as Dagwood Bumstead and dealing with his wife (the title character) and kids. Arthur brought the role to the small screen in what was more or less a domestic comedy. Pamela Britton played Blondie.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Not currently available
34. Date with the Angels (1957 to 1958): 1950s TV Sitcoms
CAST: Betty White, Bill Williams
THE SHOW: Betty White, who had previously starred in Life with Elizabeth, is back as Vickie Angel, who is married to Gus (Bill Williams). The concept of the series, which was loosely based on the play Dream Girl, is that typical sitcom set-ups would take a detour with Vickie’s tendency to daydream, resulting in fantasy sequences.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: The Roku Channel, Tubi
35. The Eve Arden Show (1957 to 1958)
CAST: Eve Arden, Allyn Joslyn, Frances Bavier
THE SHOW: In a role very different from her previous series, Our Miss Brooks, Eve Arden plays Liza Hammond, a widowed mother of twin girls who earns money for the family by writing books. Also starring is Frances Bavier, who portrays Eve’s mother and housekeeper. Frances would, of course, go on to play Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith Show.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Tubi
36. The Real McCoys (1957 to 1963): 1950s TV Sitcoms
CAST: Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, Kathlee Nolan, Michael Winkelman and Lydia Reed
THE SHOW: Here’s the official description of The Real McCoys: “From the hills of West Virginia, Amos McCoy moves his family to an inherited farm in California. Grandpa Amos is quick to give advice to his three grandchildren and wonders how his neighbors ever managed without him around.”
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Peacock, Peacock Premium, The Roku Channel, Vudu, Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex, freevee
37. The Donna Reed Show (1958 to 1966): 1950s TV Sitcoms
CAST: Donna Reed, Carl Betz, Shelley Fabares and paul Petersen
THE SHOW: Another great domestic family entry in 1950s TV sitcoms, The Donna Reed Show presents us with life as we wished it could be. Donna Reed (It’s a Wonderful Life, among many others) is Donna Stone, who is married to Dr. Alex Stone and mother to their children, Mary and Jeff.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: The Roku Channel, Tubi, Pluto TV, Freefee, Peacock, Peacock Premium, MeTV
MUST READ: It’s a Wonderful Life — Little-Known Facts About the Holiday Classic
38. The Ann Sothern Show (1958 to 1961): 1950s TV Sitcoms
CAST: Ann Sothern, Don Porter, Ann Tyrrell
THE SHOW: Private Secretary star Ann Sothern returns to TV playing Katy O’Connor, assistant manager of New York City’s Bartley House Hotel, interacting with various guests and, of course, the hotel’s staff. One of her co-stars is Don Porter, who co-starred in her previous series.
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Not currently available
39. Dennis the Menace (1959 to 1963): 1950s TV Sitcoms
CAST: Jay North, Herbert Anderson, Gloria Henry, Joseph Kearns, Gale Gordon, Sylvia Field and Sara Seegar
THE SHOW: Based on the newspaper comic strip by Hank Ketchum. Jay North plays the title character of Dennis Mitchell, described as a good-natured kid who inadvertently finds himself in trouble pretty much all the time, particularly with next door neighbor George (“Good Old Mr. Wilson”) Wilson. By the end of its run, Jay was definitely aging out of the role, resulting in falling ratings. Hey, not all 1950s TV sitcoms can last forever (although in a sense this one, like many of the others here, have).
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Peacock, Peacock Premium, The Roku Channel, Tubi, Shout TV, Plex, freevee, Antenna TV
40. The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959 to 1963): 1950s TV Sitcoms
CAST: Dwayne Hickman, Bob Denver, Frank Faylen, Florida Friebus
THE SHOW: The series — which wraps up our look at 1950s TV sitcoms — focused primarily on the teenage title character (Hickman), who was all about achieving popularity, money and catching the attention of beautiful girls. His inability to do so, of course, was at the center of the show. Denver, better known as the guy who had an island named after him, is Dobie’s best friend (and apparently television’s first beatnik character), Maynard G. Krebs, a bongo-playing jazz fan. The show ran for 144 episodes,
WHERE IT’S STREAMING/AIRING: Tubi, Plex, freevee, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV
MUST READ: Gilligan’s Island Star Bob Denver Gave Us Maynard G. Krebs, TV’s First Hipster
Click through to enjoy more of our Classic TV coverage
