Anthology Series - Television

Television

In the history of television, live anthology dramas were especially popular during the Golden Age of Television of the 1950s with series such as The United States Steel Hour and The Philco Television Playhouse.

Dick Powell came up with an idea for an anthology series, Four Star Playhouse, with a rotation of established stars every week, four stars in all. The stars would own the studio and the program, as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz had done successfully with Desilu studio. Powell had intended for the program to feature himself, Charles Boyer, Joel McCrea and Rosalind Russell. When Russell and McCrea backed out, David Niven came on board as the third star. The fourth star was initially a guest star. CBS liked the idea, and Four Star Playhouse made its debut in fall of 1952. It ran on alternate weeks only during the first season, alternating with Amos 'n' Andy. It was successful enough to be renewed and became a weekly program from the second season until the end of its run in 1956. Ida Lupino was brought on board as the de facto fourth star, though unlike Powell, Boyer and Niven, she owned no stock in the company.

American television networks would sometimes run summer anthology series which consisted of unsold television pilots. Beginning in 1971, the long-run Masterpiece Theatre drama anthology series brought British productions to American television.

Television drama anthology series included

• Academy Theatre
• Alcoa Premiere
• Armstrong Circle Theatre
• The Barbara Stanwyck Show
• The Danny Thomas Hour
• Disneyland
• Dramarama
• Espionage
• Fireside Theater
• General Electric Theater
• Goodyear Theatre
• Kraft Television Theater
• Lux Video Theater
• Masterpiece Theatre
• MGM Parade
• The Millionaire
• Orient Express
• The Philco Television Playhouse
• Playhouse 90
• Police Call
• Police Story
• Producers' Showcase
• Thriller
• The Twentieth Century-Fox Hour
• The United States Steel Hour
• Warner Bros. Presents
• Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse

Science fiction, horror, suspense and mystery anthology TV series:

• Alfred Hitchcock Presents
• American Horror Story
• Amazing Stories
• Are You Afraid of the Dark?
• Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
• Fear Itself
• Ghost Stories
• Ghost Story
• Goosebumps
• The Hitchhiker
• Journey to the Unknown
• Lee Martin's The Midnight Hour
• Masters of Horror
• Masters of Science Fiction
• Monsters
• Mystery!
• Night Gallery
• Night Visions
• Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond
• The Outer Limits
• Perversions of Science
• Ray Bradbury Theatre
• R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour
• Science Fiction Theatre
• Scene of the Crime
• Tales of Tomorrow
• Tales from the Crypt
• Tales from the Darkside
• The Twilight Zone
• Way Out

Anthology comedy TV series:

• George Burns Comedy Week
• Love, American Style
• Undressed
• Comedy Lab

Anthology animated series:

• Acme Hour
• Cartoon Alley
• Cartoon Sushi
• Ciné si
• Cream Lemon
• Disney's House of Mouse
• Donald Duck Presents
• Donald's Quack Attack
• Dragons et princesses
• Force Five
• Good Morning, Mickey!
• Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics
• KaBlam!
• Liquid Television
• Mickey Mouse Works
• Mickey's Mouse Tracks
• O Canada!
• Oh Yeah! Cartoons
• Princes et princesses
• Random! Cartoons
• Raw Toonage
• Rumic Theater
• Short Circutz
• Shorts in a Bunch
• Shorty McShort's Shorts
• Spicy City
• Sunday Pants
• Super Sunday
• The Bob Clampett Show
• The Bugs Bunny Show
• The Cartoon Cartoon Show
• The Catoonstitute
• The Harveytoons Show
• The Looney Tunes Show
• The Pink Panther Show
• The Popeye Show
• The Porky Pig Show
• The Tex Avery Show
• The Woody Woodpecker Show
• ToonHeads
• Wake, Rattle, and Roll