''New Comedy Showcase'' is an American

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

television series that aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

in the summer of 1960. The 30-minute episodes consisted of unsold television pilots.

Background

By the mid-1950s, the practice of television executives of ordering dozens of pilots for proposed television series each year – far more than their networks could possibly broadcast as series – had created a sizable body of unsold pilots that had never aired. By 1954, the American

television industry Television (TV) is a telecommunications, telecommunication media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of signal transmission, ...

had begun to consider the idea of packaging these unsold pilots in

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

and airing them during the summer, providing television networks with a way of both providing fresh programming during the summer rerun season and recouping at least some of the expense of producing them.

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

pioneered the concept in the summer of 1956, simultaneously premiering ''

G.E. Summer Originals ''G.E. Summer Originals'', referred to in some sources as ''General Electric Summer Originals'', is an American anthology television series that aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the summer of 1956. The 30-minute episodes consi ...

'' (on ABC) and ''

Sneak Preview A film screening is the displaying of a motion picture or film, generally referring to a special showing as part of a film's production and release cycle. To show the film to best advantage, special screenings may take place in plush, low seat-cou ...

'' (on NBC), but

did not air its first two such series, ''

The Comedy Spot ''The Comedy Spot'' is an American anthology television series that aired on CBS in the summers of 1960, 1961 (when it was known as ''Comedy Spotlight''), and 1962. The 30-minute episodes consisted of a combination of unsold television pilots an ...

'' and ''New Comedy Showcase'', until the summer of 1960. ''New Comedy Showcase'' was a summer replacement for ''

Hennesey ''Hennesey'' is an American military comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1962, starring Jackie Cooper and Abby Dalton. Cooper played a United States Navy physician, Lt. Charles W. "Chick" Hennesey, with Abby Dalto ...

'' and consisted entirely of unsold pilots for

situation comedies A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent setting, such as a home ...

. Stars appearing in the series included

Leon Ames Leon Ames (born Harry Leon Wycoff;U.S. Federal Census for 1910 for Fowler, Center Township, Benton County, State of Indiana, access via Ancestry.com January 20, 1902 – October 12, 1993) was an American film and television actor. He is best rem ...

Jack Carson John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963), known as Jack Carson, was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including '' The Strawberry Blonde'' ...

Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. Dick Van Dyke on screen and stage, His work spans screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Dick Van Dyke, his awards includ ...

Wayne Morris Wayne Morris (born Bert DeWayne Morris Jr. February 17, 1914 – September 14, 1959) was an American film and television actor, as well as a decorated World War II fighter ace. He appeared in many films, including '' Paths of Glory'' (1957), ' ...

George Murphy George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 – May 3, 1992) was an American actor and politician. Murphy was a song-and-dance leading man in many big-budget Hollywood musicals from 1930 to 1952. He was the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1944 to ...

Margaret O'Brien Angela Maxine O'Brien (born January 15, 1937), known professionally as Margaret O'Brien, is an American actress. Beginning a career in feature films for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at age four, O'Brien became a child star and received a Juvenile Acade ...

Janis Paige Janis Paige (born Donna Mae Tjaden; September 16, 1922 – June 2, 2024) was an American actress and singer. With a career spanning nearly 60 years, she was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Born in Tacoma, Wash ...

Martha Scott Martha Ellen Scott (September 22, 1912 – May 28, 2003) was an American actress. She was featured in major films such as Cecil B. DeMille’s '' The Ten Commandments'' (1956), and William Wyler's ''Ben-Hur'' (1959). Martha played the mother of ...

Walter Slezak Walter Slezak (; 3 May 1902 – 21 April 1983) was an Austrian-born film and stage actor active between 1922 and 1976. He mainly appeared in German films before migrating to the United States in 1930 and performing in numerous Hollywood productio ...

, and

Gil Stratton Gil Stratton Jr. (June 2, 1922 – October 11, 2008) was an actor and sportscaster who was born in Brooklyn, New York. He most recently resided in Toluca Lake, California, until his death from congestive heart failure. Early life Stratton wa ...

Broadcast history

''New Comedy Showcase'' ran for eight episodes over the course of eight consecutive weeks in the summer of 1960, airing on CBS from 10:00 to 10:30 p.m.

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behi ...

on Monday evenings. It premiered on August 1, and its last episode aired on September 19.

Episodes

SOURCE

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0439950
The ''New Comedy Showcase'' episode "Maggie"
as aired on ''

'' in 1962, on YouTube
Excerpt from ''New Comedy Showcase'' episode "Maggie"
on YouTube 1960s American anthology television series 1960 American television series debuts 1960 American television series endings CBS original programming Black-and-white American television shows Television pilots not picked up as a series American English-language television shows