what year did gunsmoke first air
Best Answer: Probably more info than you wanted to know, but here ya go .... ~Gunsmoke Tidbits. Not only was Gunsmoke (1955-1975) TV's longest running Western, it was also television's longest running prime-time series with continuing characters. In total, 233 half-hour episodes and 400 hour episodes were filmed. Gunsmoke took the #1 rating in the 1957-1958 season - a slot it held thru four more years. Although it had some slump years, by the 1967-1968 season it regained space in the Nielson Top Ten which it held for another 6 years. Color broadcasts began in 1966.