Best Sitcoms of the '50s
by BWRocks | created - 29 Mar 2016 | updated - 29 Mar 2016 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. I Love Lucy (1951–1957)
TV-Y | 30 min | Comedy, Family
The wife of a band leader constantly tries to become a star - in spite of her having no talent, and gets herself (along with her best friend) into the funniest predicaments.
Stars: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, William Frawley
Votes: 28,944
2. The Honeymooners (1955–1956)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Family
A bus driver and his sewer worker friend struggle to strike it rich while their wives look on with weary patience.
Stars: Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Audrey Meadows, Joyce Randolph
Votes: 6,235
3. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952–1966)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Ozzie and Harriet Nelson raise their two sons Ricky and David. As the sons age, they experience teenage dating problems, marriage and careers.
Stars: Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Nelson, Ricky Nelson, David Nelson
Votes: 1,607
4. The Danny Thomas Show (1953–1965)
TV-Y7 | 30 min | Comedy, Family
Danny is a New York entertainer. Between his co-stars at the nightclub where he performs and his wife and kids, he has dilemmas galore, which he somehow manages to resolve and still laugh.
Stars: Danny Thomas, Rusty Hamer, Marjorie Lord, Angela Cartwright
Votes: 1,247
a/k/a The Danny Thomas Show
5. Father Knows Best (1954–1960)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family
The popular radio show comes to life in this hit sitcom about a wise family man, Jim Anderson, his common-sense wife Margaret and their children Betty, Bud and Kathy.
Stars: Robert Young, Lauren Chapin, Jane Wyatt, Billy Gray
Votes: 2,641
6. The Donna Reed Show (1958–1966)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Family
A loving mother and wife deals with situations and problems of a middle-class family in the late 1950s and the early 1960s.
Stars: Donna Reed, Paul Petersen, Carl Betz, Shelley Fabares
Votes: 1,895
7. The Life of Riley (1953–1958)
30 min | Comedy
Riley worked in an aircraft plant in California, but viewers usually saw him at home, cheerfully disrupting life with his malapropisms and ill timed intervention into minor problems.
Stars: William Bendix, Marjorie Reynolds, Wesley Morgan, Tom D'Andrea
Votes: 448
8. Meet Corliss Archer (1954– )
30 min | Comedy
Pert blond teenager Corliss Archer must balance her life at school, her lovable but goofy boyfriend Dexter and her well-meaning but clueless parents.
Stars: Ann Baker, Mary Brian, John Eldredge, Robert Ellis
Votes: 72
9. The Stu Erwin Show (1950–1955)
30 min | Comedy
Stu Erwin played a mild-mannered high-school principal, with June Collyer as his wife.
Stars: Stuart Erwin, June Collyer, Ann E. Todd, Sheila James Kuehl
Votes: 136
a/k/a The Trouble with Father
10. The Aldrich Family (1949–1953)
30 min | Comedy, Family
Based on a popular radio show, this middle-class-American-family comedy is built around the life of the Aldrich family of Elm Street, Centerville and particularly focuses on the adventures of high-schooler Henry Aldrich.
Stars: House Jameson, Jackie Kelk, Mary Malone, Robert Casey
Votes: 46
11. Bachelor Father (1957–1962)
30 min | Comedy, Family
The misadventures of a single adoptive father raising a teenage niece with the help of his manservant.
Stars: John Forsythe, Noreen Corcoran, Sammee Tong, Bernadette Withers
Votes: 583
12. Life with Elizabeth (1952–1955)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy
The day-to-day events in the lives of a newly-married couple. Each episode consists of three short, unrelated sketches in which characters often break the imaginary fourth wall.
Stars: Betty White, Del Moore, Jack Narz, Dick Garton
Votes: 342
13. Date with the Angels (1957–1958)
Not Rated | 30 min | Comedy
New bride Vickie and her insurance salesman husband Gus involve their friends and neighbors in a variety of comic episodes.
Stars: Betty White, Bill Williams, Natalie Masters, Roy Engel
Votes: 155
14. The Real McCoys (1957–1963)
TV-14 | 30 min | Comedy, Family
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.
Stars: Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, Kathleen Nolan, Tony Martinez
Votes: 1,298
15. The Bob Cummings Show (1955–1959)
Not Rated | 30 min | Comedy
The romantic misadventures of Bob Collins, a suave, sophisticated bachelor and photographer operating in Hollywood, California. The show is centered around his womanizing ways with his models, and his sister's attempts to make him settle down.
Stars: Robert Cummings, Ann B. Davis, Rosemary DeCamp, Dwayne Hickman
Votes: 472
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