How Gunsmoke Led To The Demise Of Gilligan's Island

"Gilligan's Island" may be viewed as a classic sitcom now, but when the silly series about a group of island castaways aired from 1964 to 1967, it was far from a sure bet for its home network, CBS. As Laura Morowitz writes in the book "Critiquing the Sitcom," the series was "championed by the public" yet "routinely derided by critics." Anything but a classic in its time, the series ultimately became an enduring part of TV history thanks to its seemingly endless replays in syndication. According to Morowitz, it "would come to be the most repeated series in television history."

During its original airing, "Gilligan's Island" was pushed around the prime-time schedule like brussel sprouts on a picky kid's plate. It switched time slots three times during its relatively short run and was finally canceled in 1967. Except, the cancelation of "Gilligan's Island" wasn't straightforward; by several accounts, it came after the show had already seemingly been renewed, making the series an early precursor to the unsettling modern "unrenewal" phenomenon.

According to Thom Shubilla's book "Primetime 1966-1967," the island-set series appeared on the initial CBS schedule for fall 1967 — what would've been its fourth season: 

"When the show wrapped at the end of the season on April 17, 1967, the actors were reportedly assured that it would be picked up for a fourth season; in the last episode of the third season, 'Gilligan, the Goddess,' the castaways had yet to be rescued." 

Unfortunately, though, another popular series would end up taking the show's place after a complicated renewal scenario of its own.

The long-running Western series "Gunsmoke" was canceled in 1967, but it was quickly reinstated. The reason for its quick un-cancelation varies according to different sources. The book "How I Escaped From Gilligan's Island" was written by "Gilligan's Island" writer-producer William Froug, and it asserts that the schedule reshuffling was due to CBS executive William S. Paley, who had reportedly been championing "Gunsmoke" since its radio show days. According to Froug, then-recent CBS president James T. Aubrey was responsible for canceling "Gunsmoke" after 12 seasons, as the show was declining in viewers and, according to some, quality. "Aubrey canceled it without consulting Paley," Froug writes, noting that the cast and crew got cancellation notices and a teary wrap party followed.

Paley apparently wasn't having it. "When Paley was told of the cancellation, he immediately ordered the show renewed," Froug explains, "leaving [business affairs exec Anne Nelson] the extremely difficult job of going back to the many agents involved and trying to pick up the stars' contracts as if the cancellation hadn't happened." CBS paid the price, as the writer-producer says several "Gunsmoke" stars negotiated higher salaries after the screw-up. With "Gunsmoke" back on the air, "Gilligan's Island" could no longer have its time slot, and the show — the creation of which, ironically, Aubrey had reportedly helped oversee — was canceled.

Another version of the story features not Paley himself, but his wife, Barbara "Babe" Paley. Dawn Wells, who played girl next door Mary Ann in "Gilligan's Island," put forth this theory in a 2013 interview with Esquire. "What happened was 'Gunsmoke' was canceled and we were moved into their time slot," she explained. "Mrs. Paley — the wife of the board chairman — had been on vacation when 'Gunsmoke' was canceled, and when she got home, she said, 'You can't cancel 'Gunsmoke.' It's my favorite show.' So they canceled us."

It's not just Wells who claimed this was a reason for the show's cancelation: "Gilligan's Island" creator Sherwood Schwartz wrote in his own book, "Inside 'Gilligan's Island,'" that the Paley family was embarrassed by the low art, critically panned show, which led to them breaking with tradition by moving the popular show around on the schedule. He also says that Paley and fellow exec Frank Stanton removed executives (including Aubrey) from office in 1965, after which the new President of Programming, Mike Dann, initially renewed the show for season 4. According to Schwartz, the Paleys received the final CBS fall schedule while vacationing in the Bahamas, and Paley was furious to see "Gunsmoke" gone as the show was his and his wife's favorite.

According to Schwartz, "Gunsmoke" hadn't actually been on in the "Gilligan's Island" time slot before, but an executive pitched the idea of moving the show — which apparently had an older audience than CBS was hoping to attract — to an earlier slot to appeal to younger viewers. Thus, both "Gilligan's Island" and a show called "Doc" were booted from the schedule. Gilligan and his fellow castaways wouldn't get off the island until a sequel TV movie that aired in 1978, while "Gunsmoke" would amble on for seven more years.