Name: Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Genre: Drama
Released: 1958-10-06
Rating: 6.3

The TV womb that birthed Twilight Zone and The Untouchables. 1958 was WILD.

Vintage prestige TVBlack-and-white time capsuleAnthology roulette

Latest Episode

60 min

Season 2 • Episode 16

Latest

Murder is a Private Affair

Jun 10, 1960

Overview

Drama

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu Productions. The show ran on CBS television between 1958 and 1960. Two of its 48 episodes served as pilots for the 1950s television series The Twilight Zone and The Untouchables.

Content warning

anthology playhouse

Postwar American anxietyMoral parablesTelevision as emerging art formCold War cultural shifts

Standout Aspects

Production

Desilu's factory-floor approach to prestige anthology drama.

Direction

Arnaz shepherding Rod Serling toward immortality.

Best for:Solo·Rewatch

Creator

Desi Arnaz

First AiredOct 6, 1958

StatusEnded

Vibe

Pacesteady

Intensitymedium

Tonemixed

Feelmedium

Seasons2·Episodes47

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Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

Rod Serling's 'The Time Element' aired November 1958; CBS initially rejected Twilight Zone as too weird for sponsors. Desi Arnaz personally championed it.

Cultural

This series embodies the moment when television stopped being 'radio with pictures' and started becoming cinema for the living room—sponsored by your friendly Westinghouse appliances.