Small screen westerns

From the mid 1940's to the mid 1970's the western was one of the most popular genres for TV drama - during those years there were well over 100 different shows made by American studios.

"It's my job to keep the peace here in town and I'll do it, but I'll do it my way." Marshal Matt Dillon, Gunsmoke.

The TV westerns recreated a world first popularised in the dime novels and pulps and each week a new story would be told until all the western scenarios had been played out. Invariably when that happened a series would end, and another created to revamp those same themes all over again. The western was massively popular and right from the start of television as a mass medium the westerns were present - during the 1959 season alone there were over thirty different western shows in production and many of the faces from these TV western would later dominate the big screen - Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood and James Coburn to name but three.

The earliest of the TV westerns were family friendly and shows like Roy Rogers  attracted huge audiences, but it wasn't until the fifties when Gunsmoke began that a true adult audience was found. True, many children still watched but the themes and stories were much more complex - the TV western had matured.

Gumsmoke opened the way for a rush of TV gold - Bonanza, Rawhide, High Caparral, The Rifleman, The Big valley - this list is endless. The Wikipedia lists 174 separate TV westerns -  I have repeated the list below and each title links to its Wiki Page.

1. Action in the Afternoon
2. The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
3. The Adventures of Champion
4. The Adventures of Cyclone Malone
5. The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers
6. The Adventures of Jim Bowie
7. The Adventures of Kit Carson
8. The Adventures of Lariat Sam
9. The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
10. The Adventures of Spin and Marty
11. The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
12. The Alaskans
13. Alias Smith and Jones
14. Annie Oakley
15. Barbary Coast
16. Bat Masterson
17. Best of the West
18. The Big Valley
19. Black Saddle
20. Bonanza
21. Boots and Saddles
22. Bordertown
23. Branded
24. BraveStarr (animation)
25. Brave Eagle
26. Bret Maverick
27. Broken Arrow
28. Bronco
29. Buckskin
30. Buffalo Bill Jr.
31. The Californians
32. Casey Jones
33. Cheyenne
34. The Chisholms
35. The Cisco Kid
36. Cimarron City
37. Cimarron Strip
38. Circus Boy
39. Colt .45
40. The Cowboys
41. Custer
42. The Dakotas
43. Daniel Boone
44. Davy Crockett
45. Deadwood
46. Death Valley Days
47. The Deputy
48. Destry
49. Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater
50. Dirty Sally
51. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
52. Dundee and the Culhane
53. Dusty's Trail
54. Empire
55. Father Murphy
56. Four Feather Falls (puppet show)
57. Frontier
58. Frontier Circus
59. Frontier Doctor
60. Frontier Justice
61. F Troop
62. The Gabby Hayes Show
63. The Gene Autry Show
64. The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams
65. Gunslinger
66. Guns of Paradise (originally, Paradise)
67. The Guns of Will Sonnett
68. Gunsmoke
69. Harts of the West
70. Have Gun – Will Travel
71. Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans
72. Hec Ramsey
73. Here Come the Brides
74. The High Chaparral
75. Hondo
76. Hopalong Cassidy
77. Hotel de Paree
78. How the West Was Won
79. Into the West
80. The Iron Horse
81. Jefferson Drum
82. Judge Roy Bean
83. Johnny Ringo
84. Kung Fu
85. Lancer
86. Laramie
87. Laredo
88. Law of the Plainsman
89. Lawman
90. The Lazarus Man
91. Legacy
92. Legend
93. The Legend of Jesse James
94. The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
95. Little House on the Prairie
96. The Lone Ranger
97. The Loner
98. Lonesome Dove
99. Lonesome Dove - The Outlaw Years
100. Mackenzie's Raiders
101. The Magnificent Seven
102. A Man Called Shenandoah
103. The Man From Blackhawk
104. Man Without a Gun
105. The Marshal of Gunsight Pass
106. Maverick
107. The Monroes
108. My Friend Flicka
109. Nichols
110. Northwest Passage
111. The Oregon Trail
112. The Outcasts
113. Outlaws
114. Overland Trail
115. Paradise (later Guns of Paradise)
116. Pistols 'n' Petticoats
117. Ponderosa
118. Pony Express
119. Queen of Swords
120. The Quest
121. The Range Rider
122. Rango
123. Rawhide
124. The Rebel
125. Red Ryder
126. Redigo
127. The Restless Gun
128. The Rifleman
129. Riverboat
130. The Road West
131. The Rough Riders
132. The Rounders
133. The Roy Rogers Show
134. The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show
135. Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs
136. Sara
137. Shane
138. Sheriff of Cochise
139. Shotgun Slade
140. Sky King
141. Stagecoach West
142. State Trooper
143. Steve Donovan, Western Marshal
144. Stoney Burke
145. Sugarfoot
146. Tales of the Texas Rangers
147. Tales of Wells Fargo
148. The Tall Man
149. Tate
150. Temple Houston
151. Tombstone Territory
152. Trackdown
153. The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
154. 26 Men
155. Two Faces West
156. Union Pacific
157. The Virginian
158. Wagon Train
159. Wanted: Dead or Alive
160. The Westerner
161. Whiplash
162. Whispering Smith
163. Wichita Town
164. The Wide Country
165. The Wild Wild West
166. Wildside
167. Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa (animation, 1992)
168. Wrangler
169. Yancy Derringer
170. Young Maverick
171. The Young Pioneers
172. The Young Riders
173. Zorro (1957)
174. Zorro (1990)

Westerns have all but vanished from the modern television landscape but they do pop up from time to time, and whilst they may not be there in the quantity no one can complain about the quality of post modern westerns like Deadwood.

Visit the TV westerns homepage HERE