Alcoa Premiere (1961)

Hosted by famous dancer and actor Fred Astaire, this series presented a new drama with each week's episode. Unlike some of the earlier drama series, which tended either toward classics or toward light subject matter, this series often had powerful stories about painful or controversial subjects. Many big names got involved with this series, including actors like Charlton Heston and Lee Marvin, directors like John Ford, and writers like Ray Bradbury.