Antenna TV Is Celebrating Father’s Day 2023 With a 24-Hour ‘Father Knows Best’ Marathon

Jeff Pfeiffer June 17, 2023

a black-and-white cast photo from the 1954-60 sitcom — Courtesy Everett Collection

(L-R): Billy Gray, Jane Wyatt, Lauren Chapin, Robert Young and Elinor Donahue in a cast shot for *Father Knows Best*

On Father’s Day 2023 — Sunday, June 18 — Antenna TV is celebrating with what it is calling its “Father Knows Best Father’s Day Fest Marathon.”

Beginning at 5am ET on June 18, the network will be airing 24 hours of episodes from the beloved Father Knows Best, one of the formative sitcoms of the early television era. It had its origins as a radio show starting in 1949, before moving to TV in 1954.

The series produced 203 episodes over six seasons, airing on CBS from 1954-55, then going to NBC from 1955-58 before ending its run back on CBS from 1958-60.

Robert Young, the only cast member from the radio series to move over to the television program, stars as the titular father, wise family man James “Jim” Anderson Sr., patriarch of a middle-class family living in a Midwestern town called Springfield (and just like the Springfield on The Simpsons, the state in which this town is situated is unspecified).

Jane Wyatt costars as his sensible wife, Margaret. Jim and Margaret are parents to three children: Betty (aka “Princess,” played by Elinor Donahue), James Jr. (aka “Bud,” played by Billy Gray) and Kathy (aka “Kitten,” played by Lauren Chapin).

Over its run, Father Knows Best received four Emmy nominations for Best Comedy Series (or some variation of that award category). Young won two Emmys out of his four nominations; Wyatt won all three of the Emmys for which she was nominated, consecutively between 1958 and 1960; and Donahue and Gray each received one Emmy nod apiece.

(Antenna TV)

Antenna TV’s Father Knows Best Father’s Day Fest Marathon Episode Lineup (All Times Eastern)

Sunday, June 18, 2023

5am: “Bud Takes Up the Dance”
5:30am: “Lesson in Citizenship”
6am: “Football Tickets”
6:30am: “Second Honeymoon”
7am: “Typical Father”
7:30am: “Bud, the Snob”
8am: “Jim the Farmer”
8:30am: “Father of the Year”

black and white episodic shot from the 1955 "Father of the Year" episode of "Father Knows Best." Left in the photo, seated at a table, is Elinor Donahue as Betty Anderson. She is resting her chin on her hand, with her elbow supporting it on the table, and looking disappointed about something. Seated directly to her left is Lauren Chapin as Betty's sister, Kathy, resting her cheek on her right hand and also looking disappointed. Standing between them and looking down and appearing to be in a conversation, perhaps admonishing the girls for something, is Robert Young as family patriarch Jim Anderson Sr.

Donahue, Young and Chapin in the 1955 ‘Father of the Year’ episode of Father Knows Best (Courtesy Everett Collection)

9am: “Proud Father”
9:30am: “Lessons in Civics”
10am: “New Girl at School”
10:30am: “The Big Test”
11am: “Bud, the Lady Killer”
11:30am: “Margaret’s Premonition”
12pm: “Jim, the Tyrant”
12:30pm: “Betty Earns a Formal”
1pm: “The Bus to Nowhere”
1:30pm: “Kathy, the Indian Giver”
2pm: “The Persistent Guest”
2:30pm: “The Family Reunion”
3pm: “Family Dines Out”
3:30pm: “Hero Father”
4pm: “Betty’s Graduation”
4:30pm: “Man About Town”
5pm: “Betty Goes to College”
5:30pm: “Bud, the Millionaire”
6pm: “The Family Goes to New York”
6:30pm: “The Good Prospect”
7pm: “Margaret Hires a Gardener”
7:30pm: “Short Wave”
8pm: “Bud, the Hero”
8:30pm: “Bud, the Philanthropist”
9pm: “Awkward Hero”
9:30pm: “Bud, the Executive”
10pm: “Margaret Learns to Drive”
10:30pm: “The Rivals”
11pm: “Betty’s Crusade”
11:30pm: “Kathy’s Romance”

a black-and-white cast shot from the 1954-60 sitcom "Father Knows Best." Robert Young, as family patriarch Jim Anderson, is sitting on a couch, holding an open book in one hand and appearing to be reading from it aloud. Sitting on his lap, on his right, is Lauren Chapin as his youngest daughter, who is listening to him read and also looking at the book. Close to him, and sitting on the couch to his left, is Jane Wyatt as his wife, Margaret. Standing right behind him and looking down at the book and listening are (on his right) Elinor Donahue as oldest daughter Betty, and (on his left) Billy Gray as son Jim Jr.

(Courtesy Everett Collection)

Monday, June 19, 2023

12am: “The Great Experiment”
12:30am: “Jim, the Answer Man”
1am: “Ideal Father”
1:30am: “Man of Merit”
2am: “Day in the Country”
2:30am: “Margaret’s Old Flame”
3am: “Turn the Other Cheek”
3:30am: “Togetherness”
4am: “Jim’s Big Surprise”
4:30am: “Time to Retire”