Cowboys in Television from 1949 to The Present

The year 1949 was significant for pop culture. Almost every home in America had a television in their living room by this time and the makers of arguably the most popular genre of film, cowboy westerns, wanted to bring the magic right to everyone’s doorstep.

Cowboys have had a major influence on popular culture since the first cowboy film The Great Train Robbery in 1903, but it wasn’t until the invention of the television in the mid 1940s that the idea of bringing cinema to your home began a frenzy of cowboy-themed western television shows that lasted until the 1970s. After that, there may have been a fatigue with American audiences as these types of shows began to lose ratings and had shorter runs, such as Young Dan’l Boone which ran for only 4 episodes before getting cancelled. There was a brief resurgence of western themes in the 1990s, but again the ratings suffered and only a couple shows had popularity. Popular television simply shifted toward other themes the audience wanted and shows such as courtroom dramas, police procedurals, teen soap operas, and family sitcoms really stole the spotlight.

In recent years, however, cowboys have started to come back in style, with a wide variety of different types of shows. Below is a list of just some of the popular western cowboy-themed shows since 1949 to the present.

1. The Adventures of Cyclone Malone (1949–1951) – 3 seasons
2. The Lone Ranger (1949-1957) – 5 seasons
3. The Roy Rogers Show (1951-1957)
4. The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1951-1958) – 8 seasons
5. Hopalong Cassidy (1952-1954)
6. Gunsmoke (1955-1975) – 20 seasons
7. The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955-1961) – 6 seasons
8. Buffalo Bill Jr. (1955-1956) – 2 seasons
9. Cheyenne (1955-1963) – 7 seasons
10. Zane Grey Theater (1956-1961) – 5 seasons
11. Maverick (1957-1962) – 5 seasons
12. Colt .45 (1957-1960) – 3 seasons
13. Have Gun – Will Travel (1957-1963) – 6 seasons
14. The Rifleman (1958-1963) – 5 seasons
15. Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958-1961) – 3 seasons
16. Bonanza (1959-1973) – 14 seasons
17. Rawhide (1959-1965) – 8 seasons
18. Laramie (1959-1963) – 4 seasons
19. The Virginian (1962-1971) – 9 seasons
20. Branded (1965-1966) – 2 seasons
21. The Big Valley (1965-1969) – 4 seasons
22. The High Chaparral (1967-1971) – 4 seasons
23. Little House on the Prairie (1974-1983) – 9 seasons
24. Dallas (1978-1991, 14 seasons)
25. Walker, Texas Ranger (1993-2001, 8 seasons)
26. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993-1998, 6 seasons)
27. The Young Riders (1989-1992, 3 seasons)
28. The Magnificent Seven (1998-2000) – 2 seasons.
29. Godless (2017, limited series)
30. Longmire (2012-2017, 6 seasons)
31. Hell on Wheels (2011-2016, 5 seasons)
32. Deadwood (2004-2006, 3 seasons)
33. Justified (2010-2015, 6 seasons)
34. Yellow Stone (2018-present)