The TV series Robert Redford called the best of all time: “The greatest show in television”
These days, it’s common for the biggest stars in Hollywood to star in a TV show, with networks and streaming services awash with prestige dramas boasting an array of heavyweight actors. Obviously, that wasn’t the case when Robert Redford was in his pomp, and he avoided the small screen altogether.
Most aspiring thespians will start their careers by appearing in a number of episodic productions for a background role or guest spot, and Redford was no different. His first credited part came in a 1960 instalment of Maverick, and he’d rack up another 17 shows by the end of 1963, including The Twilight Zone, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and The Virginian.
However, once he made his name in cinema, Redford never looked back. In fact, the Academy Award-winning icon wouldn’t show his face on television for another 62 years until he made a surprise uncredited cameo in the third season premiere of AMC’s Dark Winds – which he also executive produces – in March 2025.
Still, despite his obvious aversion to TV and a complete focus on celluloid that saw him become one of his era’s defining faces, he knows exactly which series he’d call the greatest of all time. There’s a potential hint of bias in play, considering he was briefly a part of it, but if it went off the air in 1960 and still hasn’t been dislodged, then it’s safe to say he won’t be changing his mind.
“I did the last Playhouse 90,” he wistfully recalled to The New York Times. “That was probably the greatest show in television, in terms of drama anthology. To me, that was probably one of the highlights of my career, that I got my start doing the last Playhouse 90, the last Rod Serling script.”
Running for 134 episodes across four seasons, Playhouse 90 boasted an impressive roster of writers, directors, and actors during its run. In addition to Redford and Twilight Zone creator Serling, the likes of John Frankenheimer, Arthur Penn, Sidney Lumet, George Roy Hill, Arthur Hiller, Sterling Hayden, Peter Lorre, Paul Newman, Jack Lemmon, Sydney Pollack were all involved at one time or another, several of whom would become frequent collaborators once Redford made the leap to the big screen.
Francis Ford Coppola was another huge fan of the show, and he attempted to mount a revival that didn’t come to pass in the 1990s, with Spike Lee and himself tentatively attached as potential directors. Redford may not be an avid television consumer, but if he’s had the same favourite series for over 60 years, then it’s clear Playhouse 90 isn’t going to be dislodged as his candidate for the greatest ever.
If it were going to happen, it would have happened by now, and those rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia have evidently retained their thick lenses.
