1956–57 United States network television schedule

The following is the 1956–57 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1956 through March 1957. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1955–56 season.

The 1956–57 network television schedule continued the trend of the previous season, with two of the three major U.S. television networks (ABC and CBS) scheduling more and more westerns and adventure series during prime time. In addition to its current stable of Westerns, which included Cheyenne, The Lone Ranger, and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, ABC scheduled two new Western TV series: Broken Arrow and The Adventures of Jim Bowie, while CBS added Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre to its line-up, which already included Gunsmoke and Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. Castleman and Podrazik (1984) called the rush to schedule Western series on network television during this era "a virtual stampede".

CBS "inherited Sunday afternoon NFL contests from the defunct DuMont network in the fall of 1956". Accordingly, "the expansion into Sunday sports by CBS (and NBC) meant that the traditional afternoon 'egghead' slots for highbrow programming had to be broken up, pushing those shows into the few odd spots still open in the day, or eliminating them completely. This reflected the networks' shift in emphasis during the mid-1950s, slanting television much more toward broad-based popular entertainment. Increasingly, this meant television programming produced in Hollywood [...] In 1957, the amount of prime time programming originating on the West Coast jumped from 40% to 71%."

NBC, behind CBS in the network Nielsen ratings, hired Robert Kintner to revamp NBC's schedule. According to Castleman and Podrazik (1982), NBC's plan was to launch a program which would compete directly with CBS's second most popular series, The Ed Sullivan Show, on Sunday, the most heavily viewed TV night: "Sullivan's show was popular enough to boost the ratings of the programs on both before and after his; as a result, CBS had a chain of hits to begin the evening." NBC's strategy was designed to weaken CBS's Sunday night line-up. NBC's new program, The Steve Allen Show, debuted in the summer to get a head start on the competition. Although the two programs enjoyed a fierce rivalry, Sullivan's program would remain wildly popular, finishing second among all TV programs in the ratings that year, while Allen's show missed the top 30. Beginning this season, NBC had at least one show in color for every day of the week.

New fall series are highlighted in bold, while shows ending their runs are highlighted in italics.

Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.


 * Yellow indicates the programs in the top 10 for the season.
 * Cyan indicates the programs in the top 20 for the season.
 * Magenta indicates the programs in the top 30 for the season.

Sunday
Notes: On NBC, Hallmark Hall of Fame ( C O L O R ) aired as a monthly series, 7:30–9 p.m.

On CBS, Air Power, narrated by Walter Cronkite, aired from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on November 11, 1956, and from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. from November 18, 1956 to May 5, 1957.

Monday
On NBC, Producers' Showcase ( C O L O R ) aired as a monthly series, from 8–9:30 p.m. On CBS, in some areas, Douglas Edwards with the News aired at 6:45 p.m.

On March 18, 1957, the popular Western series Tales of Wells Fargo debuted, replacing Stanley Monday nights on NBC at 8:30 PM EST.

From July 1 to September 23, 1957, the summer series Richard Diamond, Private Detective, starring David Janssen, aired on CBS at 8:30-9 p.m. It returned for a second irregular season on the CBS Thursday schedule from January 2 to June 26, 1958.

Tuesday
NOTE: On March 5, 1957, the suspense drama Panic! replaced Noah's Ark, a Jack Webb production, on the NBC schedule.

On NBC, Summer Playhouse was a summer anthology series made up of reruns of episodes of other anthology series.

Wednesday
Note: On CBS, Pick the Winner aired as an interim U.S. election coverage series in September and October from 7:30 to 8 p.m. It previously had aired in 1952.

Thursday
Note: On ABC, Compass and Industries for America shared the 9:30–10:00 p.m. time slot from June to July 1957. Compass aired only in markets where the local affiliate did not choose to air local programming. Industries for America continued to air in the time slot until September 1957.

Friday
Note: On CBS, Mr. Adams and Eve premiered on January 4, 1957.

Saturday
Notes: On NBC, Saturday Color Carnival ( C O L O R ) aired as a monthly series, 9:00–10:30 p.m. The 1957 version of the NBC summer series Encore Theatre consisted of reruns of episodes of Ford Theatre.

ABC
Returning Series
 * The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
 * The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
 * Break the Bank
 * Cheyenne
 * Compass
 * Crossroads
 * The Danny Thomas Show
 * Date with the Angels
 * Disneyland
 * Dollar a Second
 * Du Pont Theater
 * Famous Film Festival
 * Focus
 * Ford Theatre
 * Industries for America
 * It's Polka Time
 * John Daly and the News
 * Kukla, Fran and Ollie
 * Lawrence Welk's Dodge Dancing Party
 * The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
 * Life Is Worth Living
 * The Lone Ranger
 * Masquerade Party
 * Navy Log (moved from CBS)
 * Omnibus (moved from CBS)
 * The Original Amateur Hour
 * Ozark Jubilee
 * Press Conference
 * Telephone Time (moved from CBS)
 * The Vise
 * The Voice of Firestone
 * The Wednesday Night Fights
 * You Asked For It

New Series
 * The Adventures of Jim Bowie
 * Air Time '57 *
 * The Big Beat *
 * The Billy Graham Crusade *
 * Bold Journey *
 * Broken Arrow
 * Circus Time
 * Conflict
 * Deadline for Action
 * The Gale Storm Show
 * Lawrence Welk's Top Tunes and New Talent
 * Open Hearing *
 * The Ray Anthony Show
 * Treasure Hunt
 * Wire Service *

Not returning from 1955–56:
 * The Big Picture
 * Casablanca
 * Chance of a Lifetime
 * Combat Sergeant
 * The Dotty Mack Show
 * Down You Go
 * Ethel and Albert
 * G.E. Summer Originals
 * Grand Ole Opry
 * King's Row
 * Life Begins at Eighty
 * Medical Horizons
 * MGM Parade
 * Outside U.S.A.
 * Paris Precinct
 * Star Tonight
 * Stop the Music
 * Talent Varieties
 * Tomorrow's Careers
 * TV Reader's Digest
 * Warner Brothers Presents

CBS
Returning Series
 * The 20th Century Fox Hour
 * The $64,000 Challenge
 * The $64,000 Question
 * The Adventures of Robin Hood
 * Alfred Hitchcock Presents
 * Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts
 * Arthur Godfrey and His Friends
 * Beat the Clock
 * The Bob Cummings Show
 * Climax!
 * Crusader
 * December Bride
 * Do You Trust Your Wife?
 * The Ed Sullivan Show
 * The Garry Moore Show
 * General Electric Theatre
 * The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
 * Gunsmoke
 * High Finance
 * I Love Lucy
 * I've Got a Secret
 * The Jack Benny Show
 * Joe and Mabel
 * Lassie
 * The Lineup
 * The Millionaire
 * My Friend Flicka
 * Person to Person
 * Pick the Winner
 * Private Secretary
 * The Red Skelton Show
 * Schlitz Playhouse
 * Sergeant Preston of the Yukon
 * Shower of Stars
 * Studio One
 * The United States Steel Hour
 * What's My Line?

New Series
 * The Brothers
 * The Buccaneers
 * Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
 * Dr. Christian
 * The Gale Storm Show
 * Giant Step *
 * The Herb Shriner Show
 * Hey, Jeannie!
 * The Jimmy Dean Show *
 * Mr. Adams and Eve *
 * Playhouse 90
 * Richard Diamond, Private Detective *
 * The Spike Jones Show *
 * The Vincent Lopez Show *
 * The West Point Story
 * You're On Your Own *

Not returning from 1955–56:
 * The Adventures of Champion
 * Beat the Clock
 * Brave Eagle
 * CBS Cartoon Theatre
 * Crusader
 * Damon Runyon Theater
 * Four Star Playhouse
 * The Gene Autry Show
 * Hollywood Summer Theater
 * The Honeymooners
 * It's Always Jan
 * The Johnny Carson Show
 * Mama
 * Meet Millie
 * My Favorite Husband
 * Our Miss Brooks
 * Shower of Stars
 * Stage Show
 * Two for the Money
 * Wanted
 * You'll Never Get Rich

DuMont
New series
 * Ethel Barrymore Theatre

Not returning from 1955-56
 * At Ringside
 * Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena
 * Hollywood Preview
 * What's the Story

NBC
Returning Series
 * The Alcoa Hour
 * Armstrong Circle Theatre
 * The Big Story
 * The Big Surprise
 * Break the $250,000 Bank
 * Caesar's Hour
 * Coke Time with Eddie Fisher
 * Dollar a Second
 * Dragnet
 * Father Knows Best
 * The George Gobel Show
 * Gillette Cavalcade of Sports
 * The Golden Touch of Frankie Carle
 * Goodyear Television Playhouse
 * The Jane Wyman Show
 * The Julius LaRosa Show
 * The Kaiser Aluminum Hour
 * Kraft Television Theatre
 * The Life of Riley
 * The Loretta Young Show
 * Lux Video Theatre
 * Medic
 * National Bowling Championships
 * People Are Funny
 * The People’s Choice
 * The Perry Como Show
 * Producer's Showcase
 * Red Barber's Corner
 * Robert Montgomery Presents
 * Summer Playhouse (last aired in 1954)
 * This Is Your Life
 * Wide Wide World
 * You Bet Your Life
 * Your Hit Parade

New Series
 * The Adventures of Hiram Holiday
 * The Big Moment *
 * Blondie *
 * Caesar's Hour
 * Circus Boy
 * The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
 * Dollar a Second
 * The Ford Show
 * The George Sanders Mystery Theater *
 * The Huntley–Brinkley Report
 * It's a Great Life
 * The Jonathan Winters Show
 * The Joseph Cotten Show
 * The Kaiser Aluminum Hour
 * The Nat King Cole Show
 * Noah's Ark
 * Panic! *
 * Saturday Color Carnival *
 * Stanley
 * Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers
 * Tales of Wells Fargo *
 * Twenty-One
 * The Web *
 * Wire Service *

Not returning from 1955–56:
 * Adventure Theater
 * The Best in Mystery
 * Big Town
 * Camel News Caravan
 * Dear Phoebe
 * Frontier
 * Hollywood Today
 * It's a Great Life
 * Justice
 * The Martha Raye Show
 * Max Liebman Presents
 * The Milton Berle Show
 * The NBC Comedy Hour
 * Screen Director's Playhouse
 * Sneak Preview
 * Star Stage
 * The Tony Martin Show
 * Truth or Consequences

Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.