Bus Stop

Not every great drama makes it onto the major platforms, and Bus Stop is a reminder of why it's always worth looking beyond the obvious. Every episode is out there — TV Butler finds it for you instantly without the guesswork.

Originally commissioned by ABC, Bus Stop quickly became exactly the kind of show that viewers rearrange their evenings for. Bus Stop is a 26-episode American drama which aired on ABC from October 1, 1961, until March 25, 1962, starring Marilyn Maxwell as Grace Sherwood, the owner of a bus station and diner in the fictitious town of Sunrise in the Colorado Rockies. The program was adapted from William Inge's play, Bus Stop, and Inge was a script consultant for the series, which followed the lives of travelers passing through the bus station and the diner. Maxwell's co-stars were Richard Anderson as District Attorney Glenn Wagner, Rhodes Reason as Sheriff Will Mayberry, Joan Freeman as waitress Elma Gahrigner, Bernard Kates as Ralph the coroner, and Buddy Ebsen as Virge Blessing. It aired in 1961–1962.

If you're looking for television that takes its characters seriously and rewards patient viewing, Bus Stop is exactly that. One of the more rewarding dramas of its era.