The most memorable movies and TV shows set during the 1950s

Still the quintessential ‘50s nostalgia TV show. It’s the sitcom that gave us The Fonz and "jumping the shark." The show was part of fondness for the 1950s that emerged in the 1970s. In turn, in the 1990s, we got That ‘70s Show, also set in Wisconsin.

Yes, Laverne and Shirley is a spinoff of Happy Days, but we wanted to count it anyway. Laverne and Shirley were basically only established on Happy Days to facilitate a show for the two gals on the go. Eventually, they would move to Los Angeles, and Cindy Williams, aka Shirley, would leave the show, but it was an effective spinoff that became its own thing.

Every season of Fargo is set in a different period. The fourth season was set during the 1950s, starring, among others, Chris Rock and Jason Schwartzman. Now, it’s the worst of the show's four seasons, but it still has its positive points.

MASH is “about” Vietnam, but it is set during the Korean War to give people some distance. Also, it’s a sitcom? About army surgeons? MASH was a massively popular show, and its series finale remains the highest-rated non-Super Bowl program in the United States.

Standup comedy was growing in the United States. Women were searching for roles in life beyond being a homemaker or a mother. This is at the core of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, the story of the titular housewife who decides to pursue a career as a standup in the 1950s. As the show has gone on, it has moved from the 1950s into the 1960s, but it was still very much a 1950s show when it began.

This is a historical drama about Masters and Johnson, two doctors who did groundbreaking sexual research in the 1950s. Starring Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan, this show also ended up going into the 1960s, following historical fact, but it began in 1956 and went from there, earning critical acclaim along the way.

Apparently, Marion Ross really enjoyed playing a 1950s homemaker. She did it in Happy Days, and then she did it in Brooklyn Bridge. While Brooklyn Bridge only lasted two seasons, with the second being truncated at only 13 episodes, it was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmys anyway.

While it has a distinctly vintage look, watching the limited series The Queen’s Gambit doesn’t necessarily scream the 1950s. However, that is when the story begins for chess prodigy Beth Harmon. Or maybe we were just distracted by the fact they tried to have Anya Taylor-Joy play a tween girl.

The Hour ran two seasons and 12 episodes on the BBC, which is about as long of a run as possible for a British show that isn’t a weird sitcom from the 1970s that ran, like, 500 episodes. The show is set in 1956 and is about the launch of a current affairs program on, well, the BBC. It has a notable cast, including Dominic West and Ben Whishaw.

A fresh addition to the list, this Paramount+ show is a prequel to the film Grease. Set in 1954, it is about the rebellious teenage girls at Rydell that form the famed Pink Ladies gang. Like the film and the play, it is a musical.

This is a smooth transition to the film portion of this piece. Grease may be set after this new show, but it is still decidedly set in the 1950s. One look at the outfits would tell you that. The musical takes place throughout 1958 at good ol’ Rydell, where the students look mysteriously like adults in their late twenties and early thirties.

Paul Newman’s anti-authority film about a rebel who fights not to have his spirit broken in a brutal prison system is seen as being inspired by the rise in dissatisfaction with the Vietnam War. However, it was set during the 1950s. This isn’t a MASH-type situation, as Cool Hand Luke is based on a novel.

Steven Spielberg decided to make a movie based on his list. Of course, it was fascinating. His childhood was a tumultuous one, and The Fabelmans was surprisingly unsparing. Given Spielberg’s age, the film is also set in the 1950s.

From one of the greatest filmmakers of all time to one of the worst. No, not Tim Burton, although his Alice in Wonderland does raise some questions on that front. Ed Wood was not a competent filmmaker, but his work lived in infamy as some of the worst ever made. Burton has an affinity for Wood and crafted a film that is as loving as it is honest about his lack of skill as a director.

Another film tied to Spielberg in a way, as he directed another adaptation of the musical. The first adaptation of West Side Story, though, won Best Picture at the Oscars. That gives it the edge over Spielberg’s, even if a film released in 1961 maybe isn’t dipping too far into the past to touch on the 1950s.

Stephen King likes to add morbidity to Americana. Thus, why not a story about some boys in the 1950s on a truly somber adventure? Stand by Me had a noteworthy cast of young actors and was generally well-received, which is not always true for King adaptations.

George Clooney’s first three films were all period pieces. Good Night, and Good Luck, his second, was the most acclaimed of the three and is still largely seen as his best film. It is set in 1953 and focuses on CBS newscaster Edward R. Murrow and his quest to fight against Joseph McCarthy’s “Red Scare” tactics.

This is a movie that Clooney is in, working with his old compatriots, the Coen Brothers. The star-studded cast of this Hollywood-skewering comedy is centered around Eddie Mannix, a studio fixer in 1951. He has a lot on his plate, including dealing with the kidnapping of the doofus-y star played by Clooney, who has been kidnapped by, yes, Communists.

A beloved sports film and a classic underdog story, “Hoosiers” is set, naturally, in Indiana. It’s also set in 1951. Gene Hackman plays Norman Dale, a coach who leads a high school basketball team from a small town to the state championship.

Barry Levinson made a lot of period pieces, including his directorial debut. “Diner” was particularly close to home for him, one of his four films he made about his younger days in Baltimore. This one is an ensemble story about friends in 1959 who are dealing with early adulthood, which in the ‘50s often meant marriage and such. The cast is stacked, and while it wasn’t a hit at the time, it was critically well-received and has seen its stock rise over the ensuing years.