Go WEST!

The new network is home to the popular Western series we all grew up with

- BY DIANE SNYDER

Arness and Gunsmoke are still popular today, especially on streaming channels

IN THE 1950s and ‘60s, Westerns commanded big swaths of land on network television. As baby boomers and their parents retreated to comfortable couches in safe homes, the adventures of courageous sheriffs, pioneering settlers, reformed gunslingers and rambunctious cowboys on the 19th century frontier looked mighty exciting. During the 1958-59 season, in fact, eight of the Top 10 TV shows were Westerns (No. 1: Gunsmoke). The Emmy Awards even handed out a trophy for Best Western Series in 1959 (winner: Maverick). Now Weigel Broadcasting, the parent company of MeTV, has launched a new network devoted to the genre's golden age and branded it MeTV WEST (aka Western Entertainment Series Television).

That means you can travel to Laramie, spend time with The Texan and The Californians, and get acquainted (or reacquainted) with Fess Parker's