- Gunsmoke, a classic Western TV series from the 1950s, remains popular among fans and is considered one of the greatest of its genre by CBR.
- The show starred James Arness as U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon and ran for an impressive 20 years, with Milburn Stone’s ‘Doc’ Adams being the only other character to appear throughout the entire series.
- Gunsmoke’s success in the ’50s and beyond not only changed the structure of Western TV shows but also proved that the genre could endure for decades through different cultural movements.
There aren’t many television shows from the 1950s that still have an active fanbase, but Gunsmoke seems to have defied those odds. The classic Western series remains a staple of the genre today, with many fans citing it as the best of its kind
CBR ranked Gunsmoke at No. 2 on their list of the greatest Western TV shows ever made, just behind HBO’s indisputable classic, Deadwood. The series was originally conceived as a radio series before gaining huge popularity and making the transition to television in 1955
Gunsmoke starred James Arness as U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon, the show’s noble protagonist who aims to protect the Western frontier of 1870s America from dangerous outlaws and cowboys. Arness continued playing the character throughout the show’s incredible 20-year run
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Milburn Stone’s ‘Doc’ Adams was the only other character who made it through the entire duration of the show, with supporting actors Amanda Blake, Dennis Weaver, and Ken Curtis also appearing throughout
Gunsmoke was only the second Western TV series ever made for adults, with The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp landing on television screens just four days earlier. The ’50s were already becoming known as the so-called “Golden Age” of Hollywood Western movies, and these two shows were responsible for continuing that legacy on the silver screen
When Gunsmoke entered its second season in 1956, it immediately ranked among the most-watched television shows in the United States. When it entered its third season, it became the single most-watched U.S. show at that time—a record that it held onto until 1961. This was an unpreceded level of success that fundamentally changed the structure of the Western genre on television
Not only did Gunsmoke prove that Westerns could survive in a small-scale, episodic format rather than the sweeping epics that were being shown in theaters, but it also proved that the genre could endure for decades throughout many different styles and cultural movements. As society rapidly changed throughout the ’60s and ’70s, Gunsmoke was one of the few cultural constants
This story was originally published byMen’s Journalon Jul 11, 2026, where it first appeared in theNewssection. Add Men’s Journal as aPreferred
