
Whether you call it the Old West, the American Frontier, or the Wild West, these names depict an interesting time in American history. Westerns came to be known as TV shows or movies depicting the American Wild West in the later half of the 19th century, spotlighting figures such as cowboys, outlaws, sheriffs, gunslingers, or Native Americans. It was mainly popular from the 1950s to the 1970s when Westerns were abundant on TV channels, but have somewhat died out since the 1980s (though they continue to inspire modern filmmaking). We’re here to take a stroll back in time and look at the most popular TV shows of the genre that defined the Golden Age of television.
#1: Gunsmoke (1955–1975)
Gunsmoke is one of the most memorable Westerns of all time and holds the record of one of the longest-running primetime TV shows, with 20 seasons and 20 consecutive years on air between 1955 and 1975. The plot takes place in Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, and the show is also where the phrase “Get the hell out of Dodge” first originated.
