In a Western-happy television era, Gunsmoke was the summit. It was a hit as soon as it debuted on CBS in 1955, the most-watched series in four of its first five seasons. The show outlasted competitors and imitators, running until 1975 after lengthening from a half-hour to an hour in 1961. There are no new episodes, but still, 70 years on, Marshal Matt Dillon is back on top. Twice this year, Gunsmoke has made Nielsen's Top 10 list of most-streamed acquired series, the Los Angeles Times reports, up there with fresher programs such as NCIS and Grey's Anatomy. For one week in March, Gunsmoke tallied 646 million minutes viewed.
One reason could be the popularity of the much newer series Yellowstone and its spinoffs, said Dan Cohen of Paramount Global and Republic Pictures. "There is a halo effect that Westerns are seeing internationally," Cohen said. "When we license Yellowstone, it leads to the conversation of, 'Do you have anything else kind of like it?' Gunsmoke is our answer." The show can be seen on channels including MeTV and TV Land, but also through Paramount+. Most of its audience watches through Pluto TV, a free, advertising-supported streamer. "If there's a great show, people will seek it out wherever it is," said Neal Sabin, another broadcasting executive.
Other TV Westerns were aimed at children. But Gunsmoke was made for adults, per the Times—a violent drama that didn't sugarcoat the difficulties of frontier life. In anxious times, an executive said, people might be taking comfort in James Arness' Dillon, a morally centered hero who could be counted on for two decades. "Matt Dillon represents a lot of what we don't have right now," Sabin said.
- People has an update on the cast's lives after Gunsmoke—including Miss Kitty, Doc Adams, and Festus—here.
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