The Best TV Shows Of The 1960s

May 2024 ยท 2 minute read

"Wagon Train" aired on NBC from 1957 until 1965 and was the network's way of breaking into the western genre. The show featured a slew of guest stars, often plucked from film, who appeared alongside series regulars such as Ward Bond and Robert Horton, according to the Television Academy Foundation. Executives allowed spending of $100,000 per episode, which was significantly more than its competition, which spent about $70,000 per episode on their western series. The show was a success due to its excellent scripts and direction. The producers believed the program was just as good as what audiences watched in movie theaters, and those audiences ate it up.

The show centered on people traveling from St. Joseph, Missouri, to California on a wagon train caravan. Every week, viewers got a view of the American West and its variety of characters. "Wagon Train" aired for eight seasons and was even moved from NBC to ABC, which, interestingly, didn't effect its popularity. There was also a variety of cast member changes, and only Frank McGrath, who played the cook Charlie Wooster, and assistant wagon master Bill Hawks, played by Terry Wilson, stayed on for the entire series. The show's closest rival was "Gunsmoke," but "Wagon Train" hit the top spot in the ratings in 1960 and held onto that spot in the 1961-62 season.

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