Episode 1
Bud Takes Up the Dance
30m
Bud tries to learn how to dance from a book for his first school dance.
Episode credits
Directed by James NeilsonWritten by Roswell Rogers, Dorothy Cooper, Paul WestGuest stars Claire Meade, Susan Whitney
TV series
Father Knows Best
1954TV-G6 seasons6.6 / 10
Family man Jim Anderson copes with the everyday problems among his wife Margaret and their three children as they experience day-to-day changes.
Streaming, rental and purchase options
Where to watch in United States
Checked Sep 1, 2026
Father Knows Best is available to stream on Peacock, Peacock Premium, Prime Video, Shout! Factory TV (Via Amazon Prime), Fubo, Amazon Freevee, Hoopla, Pluto TV, Shout! Factory TV, The Roku Channel, and Tubi in United States. You can also rent or buy it from Google Play and Amazon. Use the direct links below to open the provider.
Stream
Watch free
Synopsis
Family man Jim Anderson copes with the everyday problems among his wife Margaret and their three children as they experience day-to-day changes.
Season 1 episodes
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Where to watch Father Knows Best
Episode 2
Lesson in Citizenship
30m
Jim tells his family to help others which leads to complications.
Episode credits
Directed by Peter TewksburyWritten by Paul WestGuest stars Eddy Waller
Episode 3
The Motor Scooter
30m
Jim buys Bud a motor scooter but Margaret won't let him have it.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. Russell
Episode 4
Football Tickets
30m
Jim gets tickets to an important football game, and picks one of the kids to go with him—only to be blackmailed by an important client (who wants to go to the game, too) out of one of his tickets. He then tries frantically to find a second one.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. Russell
Episode 5
Live My Own Life
30m
Bud moves out, but discovers he can't clean, cook, or take care of himself.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. RussellGuest stars Harry Tyler
Episode 6
Grandpa Jim's Rejuvenation
30m
Jim comes to believe that he is over the hill.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. RussellGuest stars Burt Mustin, Donald Curtis
Episode 7
Bud's Encounter With the Law
30m
Bud becomes increasingly paranoid when Kathy (who has a fascination with the new washing machine, and puts everything in there) places a letter addressed to him by the police department in the washing machine, and ruins the letter, so he doesn’t know why he is asked to be there within seven days.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. RussellGuest stars William Fawcett, Maudie Prickett, Stafford Repp
Episode 8
Thanksgiving Day
30m
Kathy writes the best poem in the fourth grade on what Thanksgiving means to her, and Jim builds the poem up in his mind to unreasonable expectations for a fourth grader. When he actually finds out what the poem consists of, his hopes for Kathy’s future are deflated and he disparages the poem to Margaret, unwitting that Kathy has overheard.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. Russell
Episode 9
Second Honeymoon
30m
Jim's weekend retreat, just he and his wife, seems like a perfect idea, at first. But he doesn't want to pass this on to the kids when he learns that the kids have plans with them; and then when the kids take the news too easy, Jim and Margaret are befuddled. They leave, but soon they start thinking about their kids and after reaching the lodge they want to phone in - but no one answers the call...
Episode credits
Directed by William D. Russell
Episode 10
Typical Father
30m
Jim becomes worried that things between Betty and a new male friend of hers are getting too serious.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. Russell
Episode 11
Margaret Goes Dancing
30m
Jim and Margaret rarely disagree on anything. But when he finds out Margaret signed them up to take dancing lessons, Jim refuses to do so, and ends up defiantly going to his old club, leaving her to take lessons alone.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. RussellGuest stars Robert Foulk, Vivi Janiss, Robert Folk, Lester Dorr, Jean Willes, Oliver Blake, Nesdon Booth
Episode 12
The Christmas Story
30m
Jim takes the family into the woods to cut down their own tree, and they become stranded there.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. RussellGuest stars Wallace Ford, William Traylor
Episode 13
Sparrow in the Window
30m
Kathy discovers a wounded Sparrow on the windowsill of the house—which she then considers hers—and the whole family becomes involved in trying to help it get better.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. Russell
Episode 14
Boy's Week
30m
Jim receives a traffic ticket and Bud is appointed to be judge on that day.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. RussellGuest stars Dick Wessel, George Ford, Sarah Selby
Episode 15
A Friend of Old George's
30m
An unwanted visitor that won't leave spoils Kathy's birthday party.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. RussellGuest stars Parley Baer
Episode 16
Bud the Snob
30m
Bud is deemed a snob by the girls in school because he won’t speak to any of them. When Jim talks it over with him, he discovers that Bud‘s real problem is that he becomes tongue-tied around them.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. Russell
Episode 17
The Promised Playhouse
30m
After making a big deal about people keeping their word, Jim is forced to put his words into practice to set a good example for his family.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. RussellGuest stars Robert Foulk, Vivi Janiss
Episode 18
Jim the Farmer
30m
Jim wants to give up his office job in order to move into the country to lead a quiet, and less stressful, life as a farmer. Margaret doesn't think that he means it seriously, but he crosses more lines to fulfill his dream than he ever has before.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. Russell
Episode 19
Father of the Year
30m
Jim is happy to learn his kids are planning to enter him in a Father of the Year contest. But things, of course, don’t go smoothly.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. RussellGuest stars William Fawcett, Louis Mercier
Episode 20
The Mink Coat
30m
Even though finances have grown a little tight in the Anderson household, Jim buys Margaret a mink coat that ends up being more trouble than it’s worth.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. Russell
Episode 21
The Matchmaker
30m
Margaret tries to get her cousin and her boyfriend married.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. RussellGuest stars William Hudson
Episode 22
Bud the Bridesmaid
30m
Margaret's cousin (from the previous episode) is set to wed in the Anderson household, but things go wrong, due to the nervousness of the prospective bride and groom, and the wedding is called off. Poor Bud is reeled in to do a stand-in for the bride at the rehearsal.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. RussellGuest stars William Hudson
Episode 23
Proud Father
30m
Jim tries to help the children regain their confidence.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. RussellGuest stars John Gallaudet, George Ford
Episode 24
Father Delivers the Papers
30m
Bud injures himself, so Jim delivers the papers on his route to avoid Bud being fired.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. RussellGuest stars Dabbs Greer
Episode 25
No Partiality
30m
Kathy and Betty fight for the attention of the same man.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. RussellWritten by John KohnGuest stars Bobby Diamond
Episode 26
Close Decision
30mfinale
Margaret worries the entire day over what will become of Bud’s future if he doesn’t develop good character. This is tied in with a baseball game Bud is trying to get to play in.
Episode credits
Directed by William D. Russell
Episode information updated Sep 17, 2026
More about Father Knows Best
Cast
Robert YoungJim Anderson
Jane WyattMargaret Anderson
Elinor DonahueBetty Anderson
Billy GrayBud Anderson
Lauren ChapinKathy AndersonWilliam Hudson
William Fawcett
Wallace FordCredits
- Created by
- Ed James
- Written by
- Roswell Rogers, Dorothy Cooper, Paul West, Paul West, Paul West, Kay Lenard, Herman J. Epstein, John Kohn, Sumner Arthur Long, Barbara Hammer, Paul West, Herman J. Epstein, Roswell Rogers, Dorothy Cooper, Ben Gershman, Paul West, Carl Herzinger, Paul West, Paul West, Barbara Hammer, Roswell Rogers, Cameron Shipp
Production details
- Status
- Ended
- Series type
- Scripted
- Episodes
- 203
- Original language
- English
Networks & production
CBSUnited States
Columbia Pictures TelevisionUnited States
Themes
familymiddle classsitcom
