Fireside Theatre
The Suitors
TV Flash files “The Suitors” as the first listed hour of season 6 — Fireside Theatre (1949–1958) on NBC, season 6, episode 1, aired 1953-12-15, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S06E01: listed hour 4 of 8 in the Fireside Theatre guide, first listed hour of season 6. It aired 1953-12-15 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “New Faces” (S01E03). Next is “Beyond the Cross” (S06E02).

Viewer FAQ
Where does The Suitors sit in the Fireside Theatre guide?
S06E01 is listed hour 4 of 8 — first listed hour of season 6, season 6 episode 1.
When did Fireside Theatre S06E01 air?
The Suitors aired 1953-12-15 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start?
Start with whatever surviving filmed half-hours you can find, Wyman-hosted if that is the door. The Nielsen-ghost story is the context.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Fireside Theatre is the ratings ghost of early television: a filmed half-hour anthology giant, later hosted by Jane Wyman, that once dominated Nielsen lists and now sits half-forgotten. Watch it now to see how filmed drama anthologies conquered the 1950s — and how a most-watched show can still vanish from the conversation.
The half-hour looks like a living room and behaved like a factory. Fireside Theatre (NBC, 1949–1958), Frank Wisbar's filmed anthology giant, later hosted by Jane Wyman, earlier by Gene Raymond, is the ratings ghost of early television: among the top-rated programs of the early 1950s seasons, now half-forgotten. Proved filmed drama anthologies could dominate Nielsen lists. One of early TV's most-watched shows. The work is industrial filmed drama, not a lost-masterpiece cult — which is exactly why the forgetting is…
Filed against
- Gene Raymond as Host
Gene Raymond hosted Fireside Theatre when filmed half-hour anthologies still ate Nielsen lists — a 1950s ratings giant that now sits half-forgotten beside later Jane Wyman evenings. TV Flash files him as the welcome-mat of early filmed…
- Jane Wyman as Host
Jane Wyman’s host weather on Fireside Theatre made a 1950s catalog anthology giant feel like a living-room brand, then Falcon Crest turned the late-career stare into Angela Channing’s vineyard coups. TV Flash files her as the host who…