As of July 2026, American Playhouse Season 1 aired in 1982 with 25 episodes. Full episode guide and where to watch below.
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American Playhouse Season 1

1982 25 Episodes Drama · Comedy ⭐ 7/10

If you are after a comedy that actually makes you laugh out loud, American Playhouse Season 1 is available on streaming right now. A single, tightly-focused season means there is plenty to get through without ever feeling padded. 8 people have weighed in on TMDB, and the verdict leans heavily positive. No single performer carries it alone — the whole cast pulls its weight. Start it whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

There is a reason American Playhouse Season 1 keeps coming up in conversation. American Playhouse Season 1 gets the fundamentals right first, then finds room to get weird with it. Season 1 of American Playhouse includes 25 episodes. It aired from January 1982 to June 1982. Episodes include "The Shady Hill Kidnapping", "King of America", "Seguin". It was aired in 1982. The real test of any comedy is whether it is still funny once you know all the jokes, and American Playhouse Season 1 holds up on rewatch in a way that separates it from one-off curiosities. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

American Playhouse Season 1 is the kind of thing you put on in the background and end up fully watching. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. The complete run is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. It holds up on rewatch, which is the real test of any comedy. Put it on when you need something guaranteed to land.

📡 Where to Watch American Playhouse Season 1

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🎬 American Playhouse Season 1 — Episode Guide

E1
The Shady Hill Kidnapping
1982-01-12
John Cheever's comedy of a supposedly kidnapped five-year-old boy. At first, the police aren't interested until a ransom note is discovered. Then the town goes into action to support the finding of Toby.
E2
King of America
1982-01-19
Hot-tempered Greek immigrant Andreas arrives in 1915 America, and finds work on a railroad. However, after giving his corrupt foreman Mekakis a savage beating, Andreas flees and makes his way west.
E3
Seguin
1982-01-26
In 19th-century Texas, soldier Juan Nepomuceno Seguin fought at the Alamo and became a highly respected politician to insure better living conditions for his people. Frustration arose when American ranchers move into the flatlands bringing prejudice and bigotry against the Mexican populations.
E4
Who Am I This Time?
1982-02-02
Shy hardware store employee Harry Nash decides to step out of his comfort zone, and takes part in a local amateur theatre troupe, where he becomes the character he plays—literally. Helene Shaw is new in town, a lonely itinerant telephonist. On a whim, she auditions for and gets the part of Stella in...
E5
Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby Is a Friend of Mine
1982-02-09
The arrival in a small town of a stranger who calls himself 'Charles Dickens' makes a magical and lasting change in the lives of an imaginative 12-year-old boy and a loving young woman.
E6
Come Along with Me
1982-02-16
Recently widowed Mabel Lederer sells all her belongings and leaves home to start a new life. Mabel believes she has powers to see into the future and to conduct seances. She changes her name to 'Angela Motorman' and moves into a boarding house where she interacts with the strange residents.
E7
For colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
1982-02-23
Nameless women identified by color (e.g., Lady in Red, Lady in Blue) share their experiences with racism, sexism, abuse, and abandonment, ultimately finding strength and sisterhood.
E8
Echoes and Silences
1982-03-02
In search of Carl Sandburg, actor John Cullum travels to the poet's native home, Galesburg, IL, speaking with close friends and family. Through a remarkable recently discovered trove of period photographs of Galesburg, the small-town America of Sandburg's childhood – the horse carriages, the ice-man...
E9
Fifth of July
1982-03-09
Ken Talley is 32, strong, goodlooking and a Vietnam vet with both legs shot off seven years earlier. His lover Jed is bigger and stronger, a gardner, a good listener. On Independence Day 1977, Ken's home in Lebanon Missouri is visted by his army buddies. Much of their past relationships, pre- and po...
E10
The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters
1982-03-16
Teenage Ralph recounts the Fourth of July and similar chaoses with his family and friends. Based on the writings of Jean Shepherd.
E11
Pilgrim, Farewell
1982-03-23
A woman suffering from terminal cancer determines to resolve several relationships in her life, especially with her daughter.
E12
Northern Lights
1982-03-30
On a North Dakota wheat farm at the turn of the 20th century, Ray Sorenson builds his world around childhood sweetheart Inga. Then Ray sees his plans come apart when the bank forecloses on his family's farm.
E13
Medal of Honor Rag
1982-04-06
A Medal of Honor-winning Vietnam vet has difficulty readjusting to civilian life, and turns to a psychiatrist for help when he finds himself descending to robbery.
E14
Working
1982-04-13
A musical following American workers from diverse backgrounds, from gravediggers to studio heads, exploring their feelings, frustrations, and search for meaning in their jobs.
E15
Weekend
1982-04-20
A drifting, affluent couple spend a weekend at their country home, where the husband cheats on his complacent wife as they host guests for their son's first birthday.
E16
Private Contentment
1982-04-27
A young soldier attends his mother's funeral just before he's shipped out to serve in World War II.
E17
My Palikari
1982-05-04
A middle-aged Greek immigrant visits his native village, with his American-born son in tow. The elder finds that the place he remembered as paradise on Earth now seems like a desolate wasteland, while the son, who has mede this journey reluctantly, falls in love with his ancestral homeland.
E18
Oppenheimer (1)
1982-05-11
Robert Oppenheimer meets and decides to marry the hard-drinking, much-divorced Kitty, although his friends and relatives dislike her.
E19
Oppenheimer (2)
1982-05-18
Oppenheimer is now in charge of the top-secret Manhattan Project, but his left-wing politics mean that he is constantly watched by the FBI and others.
E20
Oppenheimer (3)
1982-05-25
Oppenheimer's extramarital relationship with the neurotic Jean Tatlock comes to a tragic end.

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