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Fireside Theatre

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Not to be confused with The Firesign Theatre.

Fireside Theatre
Also known as
  • Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre
  • Jane Wyman Theatre
  • The Jane Wyman Show
  • Jane Wyman Presents
GenreAnthology drama
Written by
Directed by
Presented by
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons10
No. of episodes361(268/93) (list of episodes)
Production
Producers
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time30 mins
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseApril 5, 1949 (1949-04-05) –
May 22, 1958 (1958-05-22)[citation needed]

Fireside Theatre (later known as Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre, Jane Wyman Theatre, The Jane Wyman Show and Jane Wyman Presents) is an American anthology drama series that ran on NBC from 1949 to 1958, and was the first successful filmed series on American television. Early episodes (1949-1955) were low-budget and often based on public domain stories. While the series was dismissed by critics, it remained among the top ten most popular shows for most of this period. For the 8th season (1955–1956) Jane Wyman became the host and producer making it only the second filmed prime time network drama anthology to be hosted by a woman. Later episodes (1955–1958) were written by important freelance television writers such as Rod Serling, Aaron Spelling and Gene Roddenberry. It predates the other major pioneer of filmed television production in America, I Love Lucy, by two years.

Overview

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Director Sidney Lanfield and Jane Wyman on the set of The Jane Wyman Show (1955)

Fireside Theatre was created by Frank Wisbar, who also wrote and directed many episodes.[1] He was the producer and director for the program's first six years, resigning on December 6, 1954, and leaving when his contract expired on February 15, 1955.[2] From 1952 to 1958, the program was presented by a host. This role was first filled by Wisbar (1952–1953), then by Gene Raymond (1953–1955), and finally by the person most associated with the series in the public mind, Jane Wyman (1955–1958).

On April 2, 1955 series’ sponsor P&G and NBC announced a deal with MCA Inc. for Wyman to assume the role of host. During the period first-run episodes were produced by Wyman’s production company Lewman Ltd. the series ultimately became known as The Jane Wyman Show. Wyman acted in 51 of the 93 episodes she hosted. Episodes rerun weekdays on ABC as part of its 1961-62 and 1962-63 daytime schedule ran under the title Jane Wyman Presents.

Episodes

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Main article: List of Fireside Theatre episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
112April 5, 1949 (1949-04-05)June 28, 1949 (1949-06-28)
241September 6, 1949 (1949-09-06)June 27, 1950 (1950-06-27)
346August 29, 1950 (1950-08-29)August 21, 1951 (1951-08-21)
444August 28, 1951 (1951-08-28)June 24, 1952 (1952-06-24)
539September 30, 1952 (1952-09-30)June 30, 1953 (1953-06-30)
644September 1, 1953 (1953-09-01)June 29, 1954 (1954-06-29)
743September 7, 1954 (1954-09-07)June 28, 1955 (1955-06-28)
835August 30, 1955 (1955-08-30)April 24, 1956 (1956-04-24)
934August 28, 1956 (1956-08-28)June 11, 1957 (1957-06-11)
1024September 26, 1957 (1957-09-26)May 22, 1958 (1958-05-22)

Cast

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As an anthology series, Fireside Theatre had no regular cast, just a series of guest stars:

Reception

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Critical response

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1949-1954, Seasons 1-8

Billboard praised an episode titled "The Lottery", saying that the cast "all turned in taut, exciting performances to make Lottery a real winner".[3] Unlike most episodes of the series, this episode aired live.

In 1954, Billboard’s “3rd Annual TV Program and Talent Awards” listed it as the fourth-best filmed network drama series, ahead of the General Electric Theater; however, Billboard's list excluded "mystery" shows (which was a separate list topped by Dragnet).[4]

One of Fireside Theatre's most notable early offerings was a 1951 condensed version of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, featuring Ralph Richardson as Ebenezer Scrooge for the only time on American television. He later recreated the role on a spoken word Caedmon Records LP album, with Paul Scofield as narrator. It has since been released on CD.[5]

The Doubleday Book Club also ran a playscripts club called The Fireside Theatre.

1955-1958, Seasons 8-10

Ratings

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Fireside Theatre became a hit for NBC, always in the Top 30 shows at the end of each TV season, until the 1956–1957 season, when its viewership began to decline. After this, it never returned to the Top 30.

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Fireside Theatre on NBC. (Note: In the United States, each network television season starts in September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.)

Season TV season Ranking Viewers (in millions)
3rd 1950–1951 #2 5.365
4th 1951–1952 #7 6.594
5th 1952–1953 #10 8.282
6th 1953–1954 #9 9.464
7th 1954–1955 #20 9.547
8th 1955–1956 #24 10.121

1955-1958, Seasons 8-10

In the first year of Wyman's three-year deal to produce and host the 8th, 9th and 10th seasons of, what would ultimately become, The Jane Wyman Show, her series' lead-in, the new color incarnation of Texaco Star Theatre, continued to decline in the ratings for the 1955-56 season falling behind The Phil Silvers Show on CBS in its timeslot and dropping out of the top 30. It was cancelled in 1956 after eight seasons. By contrast the Wyman-hosted Fireside Theatre added an average half a million viewers per episode(the largest audience in the series history) and finished in the top 25 as the #1 show in its timeslot. Wyman's most direct competitor for the coveted female demographic The Loretta Young Show, also sponsored by P&G on NBC, didn't crack the top 30 shows for the 1955-56 season (it had been #27 in the season prior).

References

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  1. ^ Dick, Bernard F. (2014). The President's Ladies: Jane Wyman and Nancy Davis. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 222–226. ISBN 978-1-61703-980-5. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  2. ^ "P&G Iffy About 'Fireside Theatre'". Variety. February 16, 1953. p. 23. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  3. ^ The Billboard, 1 Sep 1951. Page 3.
  4. ^ The Billboard, 31 Jul 1954. Page 14.
  5. ^ Amazon: Fireside Theater.

Further reading

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  • Lafferty, William. "'No Attempt at Artiness, Profundity, or Significance': 'Fireside Theater' and the Rise of Filmed Television Programming." Cinema Journal (1987): 23–46 online.
  • Seger, Linda. "When Women Call the Shots" Henry Holt and Company (1996): 26, 31–32, 45, 58–59
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