☰
Genres
DramaComedyAnimationActionCrimeAdventureRomanceReality-TV More genres →
Decades
2020s2010s2000s1990s1980s1970s1960s1950s1940s1930s1920s1900s
Tags Search Sign in

Best Drama TV Series of the 1950s

386 Drama series that started in the 1950s, ranked by popularity

All Drama series All series from the 1950s
Filter & sort
Genres

Genres as assigned by IMDb. Selecting several means a show must match all of them.

Decades

By first-air year. Several selections widen the range; a specific year narrows within its decade.

Specific year
Tags

Rating patterns, computed from IMDb episode-rating trajectories. Deliberately strict: only shows with an unmistakable pattern carry one, so expect small numbers.

Rating patterns

Taste tags, judged by our AI taste model. They cover the 5,000 most-rated shows.

Tone & mood
Pacing & structure
Humor style
Themes & subject matter
Characters & perspective
Emotional payoff
Craft & style
Format & audience
Viewing-culture clusters
Intensity & content character
386 series

Mr. & Mrs. North

★ 7.4
290 57 1952–1954
Comedy · Drama · Mystery

Climax!

★ 6.5
290 166 1954–1958
Drama

The Ford Television Theatre

★ 7.1
290 195 1952–1957
Drama

Shirley Temple's Storybook

★ 7.4
276 41 1958–1961
Drama · Family · Fantasy

The Detectives

★ 7.5
265 97 1959–1962
Action · Crime · Drama

Telephone Time

★ 7.0
263 81 1956–1958
Drama

The DuPont Show with June Allyson

★ 7.6
255 57 1959–1961
Drama

As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me

★ 7.6
251 6 1959–1959
Drama · War

The 20th Century-Fox Hour

★ 7.1
250 37 1955–1957
Drama

The Third Man

★ 7.7
249 78 1959–1965
Crime · Drama

Startime

★ 6.6
247 33 1959–1961
Comedy · Drama · Musical

Studio 57

★ 7.3
239 138 1954–1958
Drama · Family

You Are There

★ 8.3
236 160 1953–1972
Drama · History

Omnibus

★ 8.2
234 158 1952–1961
Drama · History · Music

The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre

★ 7.7
234 48 1959–1965
Crime · Drama · Mystery

The United States Steel Hour

★ 8.0
220 251 1953–1963
Comedy · Drama

BBC Sunday-Night Theatre

★ 7.0
218 521 1950–1959
Drama · Fantasy

The Buccaneers

★ 7.3
217 39 1956–1957
Adventure · Drama

Medic

★ 8.1
215 59 1954–1956
Drama

Bourbon Street Beat

★ 7.8
212 39 1959–1960
Crime · Drama

Screen Directors Playhouse

★ 7.2
208 35 1955–1956
Comedy · Drama

The Adventures of Champion

★ 7.2
201 26 1955–1956
Drama · Western

The Range Rider

★ 7.6
198 78 1951–1953
Drama · Western

Producers' Showcase

★ 7.2
194 38 1954–1957
Comedy · Drama · Family
Browse by decade
1900s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
Browse by year
1959195819571956195519541953195219511950
Browse by genre
Action Adult Adventure Animation Biography Comedy Crime Documentary Drama Family Fantasy Game-Show History Horror Music Musical Mystery News Reality-TV Romance Sci-Fi Short Sport Talk-Show Thriller War Western