Firing Line

Firing Line was an American public affairs show founded and hosted by conservative William F. Buckley, Jr., founder and publisher of National Review magazine. Its 1,504 episodes over 33 years made Firing Line the longest-running public affairs show in television history with a single host. The erudite program, which featured many of the most prominent intellectuals and public figures in the United States, won an Emmy Award in 1969. Reflecting Buckley's talents and preferences, the exchange of views was almost always polite, and the guests were given time to answer questions at length, slowing the pace of the program. "The show was devoted to a leisurely examination of issues and ideas at an extremely high level", according to Jeff Greenfield, who frequently appeared as an examiner. John Kenneth Galbraith said of the program, "Firing Line is one of the rare occasions when you have a chance to correct the errors of the man who's interrogating you." The show might be compared in politeness and style of discourse to other national public interview shows, specifically those hosted by Charlie Rose or Terry Gross, but Buckley was clearly interested in debate. In a 1999 Salon.com article, The Weekly Standard editor William Kristol summarized Buckley's approach to the show: "Buckley really believes that in order to convince, you have to debate and not just preach, which of course means risking the possibility that someone will beat you in debate." Ended December 15, 1999

English
  • TheTVDB.com Series ID 283183
  • Status Ended
  • First Aired April 6, 1966
  • Recent December 14, 1999
  • Network PBS
  • Average Runtime 60 minutes
  • Genres News Talk Show
  • Original Country United States of America
  • Original Language English
  • On Other Sites IMDB TheMovieDB.com
  • Episode Screenshot Format 4:3 Screencap
  • Favorited This series has been favorited by 6 people.
  • Created June 26, 2014 by
    Administrator admin
  • Modified June 9, 2023 by
    a92jslad
Season From To Episodes
All Seasons
Specials July 1987 December 1999 38
Season 1 April 1966 December 1966 29
Season 2 January 1967 December 1967 25
Season 3 January 1968 December 1968 17
Season 4 February 1968 December 1969 11
Season 5 January 1970 December 1970 8
Season 6 January 1971 December 1971 17
Season 7 January 1972 December 1972 12
Season 8 January 1973 December 1973 27
Season 9 January 1974 October 1975 29
Season 10 January 1975 December 1975 15
Season 11 January 1976 December 1976 13
Season 12 January 1977 November 1977 14
Season 13 November 1977 December 1978 15
Season 14 January 1979 December 1979 18
Season 15 January 1980 December 1980 17
Season 16 January 1981 December 1981 21
Season 17 January 1982 October 1982 9
Season 18 January 1983 December 1983 11
Season 19 January 1984 December 1984 11
Season 20 February 1985 December 1985 9
Season 21 January 1986 October 1986 11
Season 22 February 1987 October 1987 6
Season 23 January 1988 August 1988 5
Season 24 January 1989 November 1989 10
Season 25 January 1990 December 1990 10
Season 26 January 1991 August 1991 4
Season 27 January 1992 December 1992 7
Season 28 January 1993 October 1993 11
Season 29 January 1994 October 1994 3
Season 30 April 1995 December 1995 9
Season 31 May 1996 July 1996 2
Season 32 January 1997 October 1997 6
Season 33 January 1998 December 1998 11
Season 34 January 1999 December 1999 9
Unassigned Episodes 44
Season From To Episodes
Specials 0
Unassigned Episodes 514
Absolute ordering places all episodes in a single ordered season. This is generally used for anime.
Season From To Episodes
Season 1 September 1966 April 1969 3
Unassigned Episodes 511

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