TV series
The adventures of two young drifters across America
After discovering that his late father has gone through most of the family fortune, Tod Stiles hits the title trans-America highway in his Corvette in search of adventure with friend Buz Murdock, a survivor of New York's mean streets. The two work odd jobs as they meet and interact with colorful characters and find themselves plunged into one situation after another, some of them romantic, some of them very dangerous. Later, Linc Case, a Vietnam war hero trying to find himself, takes over as Tod's travel companion.
Availability
Route 66 premiered October 7, 1960. We don't have a confirmed streaming, rental or purchase option yet.
After discovering that his late father has gone through most of the family fortune, Tod Stiles hits the title trans-America highway in his Corvette in search of adventure with friend Buz Murdock, a survivor of New York's mean streets. The two work odd jobs as they meet and interact with colorful characters and find themselves plunged into one situation after another, some of them romantic, some of them very dangerous. Later, Linc Case, a Vietnam war hero trying to find himself, takes over as Tod's travel companion.
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Episode 1
Buz falls in love with actress Arlene Sims who has a fatal disease and has returned to her home town to die. Filming Location: Butte, Montana
Directed by Arthur HillerWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars Betty Garde, Anne Francis, Conrad Nagel
Episode 2
Tod and Buz deliver ""Blue Murder"", a wild rodeo stallion, to Jim Bludge's ranch. Later Bludge is found dead with the mark of a horse hoof on him. Filming Location: Butte, Montana
Directed by Arthur HillerWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars Suzanne Pleshette, Emile Meyer, Gene Evans, Claude Akins
Episode 3
Ethel Waters is a dying blues singer who asks Tod and Buz to locate her old jazz band for one last show. Filming Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Directed by Jack SmightGuest stars Frederick O'Neal, Ethel Waters, Juano Hernández
Episode 4
Buz uses his experience as a former drug addict in an attempt to rehabilitate heroin addict Arnie. Filming Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Directed by Elliot SilversteinWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars Mike Kellin, Diana Millay, Robert Duvall
Episode 5
Tod and Buz are working in a Russian -American neighborhood for Jack and Mike in a steel mill. Mike's daughter is found dead and Jack's son Janosh was with the girl when she died. Filming Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Directed by William ConradGuest stars Martin Balsam, Nancy Malone, Robert Redford, Nehemiah Persoff, Peggy Feury, Richard X. Slattery
Episode 6
Tod and Buz are working on a fishing boat. The owner Leigh Adams is killed in an accident and his wandering daughter Prudence returns for the funeral. She takes over the boat and falls in love with Tod. Filming Location: Gloucester, Massachusetts
Directed by Arthur HillerGuest stars Janice Rule, Murray Matheson, Robert F. Simon
Episode 7
In the small Maryland town of Hester, Buz meets some people who physically resemble him (played by Maharis' relatives). He has been looking for his mother and thinks she may be in the town. Filming Location: Near Baltimore, Maryland
Directed by James SheldonWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars Sylvia Miles, Betty Field, Ed Asner, Lon Chaney Jr.
Episode 8
Tod and Buz are working at a shipyard. They meet Lillian Aldrich, another employee. Lillian has been released from a mental hospital. Filming Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Directed by Richard DonnerWritten by Howard RodmanGuest stars James Dunn, James Patterson, Nina Foch, Jean Muir
Episode 9
Tod and Buz meet French singer Perette and her controlling tough-guy manager Glenn. Filming Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Directed by Sam PeckinpahWritten by Sam PeckinpahGuest stars Bert Remsen, Edward Atienza, Lee Marvin, Lee Aaker, Fred Stromsoe
Episode 10
Maximillian Coyne is running a beauty contest. He claims to have connections with Hollywood and that the winner will get into pictures. Tod and Buz discover that Max is a fraud. Filming Location: Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Directed by Robert Altman, Sam PeckinpahWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars Sid Raymond, Lois Nettleton, Keenan Wynn, Arnold Soboloff
Episode 11
While at a party, Tod is accidentally given a powerful psychosis-producing drug. Buz tries to keep him from killing himself. Filming Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Directed by David Lowell RichWritten by Leonard FreemanGuest stars Al Lewis, Sylvia Miles, Darrell Sandeen, Murray Hamilton, Anita Gillette, Leonardo Cimino, Doris Rich
Episode 12
Johnny quits a juvenile gang. Packy takes over and also claims Johnny's girlfriend Marva. Filming Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Directed by Elliot SilversteinWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars Milt Kamen, Frank Campanella, Martin Sheen, James Caan, Susan Silo
Episode 13
Tod and Buz are working on a chicken farm. They meet Agnes Brack who doesn't like her son's widow Julie. Agnes tries to cause trouble for Julie. Filming Location: Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania
Directed by Charles F. HaasWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars Beulah Bondi, Lenka Peterson, Inger Stevens, Pat Hingle
Episode 14
In Boston, Tod and Buz encounter right-wing nuts armed with plastic explosives. Filming Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Directed by James SheldonGuest stars Frank Sutton, Logan Ramsey, Dan O'Herlihy, Simon Oakland, Joseph Campanella
Episode 15
Ollie Crump is a rodeo clown who is in love with Babe Hunter. Filming Location: Mesquite, Texas
Directed by David Lowell RichWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars Albert Salmi, Audrey Totter, Ben Johnson, Slim Pickens, Denver Pyle
Episode 16
After five years in prison, David Job and his mob return to Harcourt Junction, Texas. Their mission is to take over the town and put its leading citizen Bob Harcourt on trial for sending them to jail. Filming Location: Harcourt Junction (?), Texas
Directed by David Lowell RichGuest stars Noah Beery Jr., Marion Ross, Herb Armstrong, DeForest Kelley
Episode 17
Tod and Buz work with wheel chair patients at a veteran's hospital. Nurse Lori Barton falls in love with patient Frank Madera. Filming Location: Long Beach (Veterans Hospital), California
Directed by David Lowell RichGuest stars James T. Callahan, Jacqueline Scott, Steven Hill, John Lasell, Henry Beckman, Bethel Leslie
Episode 18
Tod and Buz meet Vicki Russell who is cruising around on her motorcycle. Vicki doesn't have a driver's license and the bike hasn't got plates. Filming Location: Tucson, Arizona
Directed by David Lowell RichWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars George D. Wallace, Frank McHugh, Phil Arnold, Julie Newmar, Ray Teal, Med Flory
Episode 19
In Dallas, Tod and Buz are delighted to be staying at a hotel hosting a secretary's convention. Then Caine, a religious serial killer armed with nerve gas kidnaps Buz. He plans to kill Buz unless the city ""repents"". Filming Location: Dallas, Texas
Directed by James SheldonWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars David Wayne, K Callan
Episode 20
Tod and Buz are working in building construction. Tod's attempt to pick up Terry involves the boys in a corporate executive training program. Filming Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Directed by David Lowell RichWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars Peter Graves
Episode 21
Tod and Buz befriend a Jewish boy whose family is a victim of anti-Semitism. Filming Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Directed by David Lowell RichGuest stars Susan Gordon, Michael McGreevey, Ed Asner
Episode 22
Tod and Buz work with a former Broadway show dancer Rosemarie Brown who is trying to make a comeback in a television show. Filming Location: Hollywood, California
Directed by Arthur HillerWritten by Leonard FreemanGuest stars Zeme North, Akim Tamiroff, Elaine Joyce, Joseph Mell, Larri Thomas, Harvey Lembeck
Episode 23
Tod is working as a high-speed boat test driver. He gets to pilot a boat whose new engine is developed by Tod's boss Sandy Mason. Filming Location: Colorado River (?)
Directed by Arthur HillerWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars Cathleen Cordell, Frank Maxwell, John Larch, Lois Smith, Russell Johnson, Elizabeth MacRae, John Astin, Harold Gould
Episode 24
Buz is blinded in an accident. At a school for the blind he falls for a blind girl (Celia). His sight returns and he has to leave her. Filming Location: Austin and Kerrville, Texas
Directed by Robert GistGuest stars Paul Tripp, Barbara Barrie, Booth Colman
Episode 25
Tod and Buz encounter Miriam, who steps off a bus wearing a mask. Filming Location: Lewisville, Texas.
Directed by Jack SmightWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars Harry Townes, Malcolm Atterbury, Burt Reynolds, Tuesday Weld, Cloris Leachman, Veronica Cartwright, Patrick Cranshaw
Episode 26
Tod and Buz meet Charles Clayton, a fugitive swindler who has returned to the US. Filming Location: Dallas, Texas
Directed by David Lowell RichWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars Zina Bethune, Michael Tolan, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Beatrice Straight, Arthur Hill, Elena Verdugo
Episode 27
Several school children are touring Lake Erie aboard an excursion boat when ""poor little rich boy"" Ritchie McIntyre falls overboard. When Ritchie is brought back onboard the boat, he claims that he was pushed. Filming Location: Cleveland and Lake Erie, Ohio
Directed by David Lowell RichWritten by Gilbert RalstonGuest stars Barnard Hughes, Patricia Smith, Henry Jones, Ralph Meeker, Herb Voland, Robert Weil
Episode 28
Tod and Buz visit Santa Catalina Island. A woman on the beach has caught her foot in a rock and the tide is coming in. Filming Location: Santa Catalina Island, California
Directed by John NewlandWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars Émile Genest, Joanna Moore
Episode 29
Tod and Buz visit Pacific Ocean Park, a Southern California amusement park. While there they encounter a woman with two identities. Filming Location: Pacific Ocean Park, California
Directed by David Lowell RichWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars Herschel Bernardi, Susan Oliver
Episode 30
A refugee Hungarian wrestling champion finds that American wrestling has it's own set of rules when he is offered a position as a ""good guy"" wrestler. Filming Location: Los Angeles, California
Directed by David Lowell RichWritten by Joseph Petracca, Howard RodmanGuest stars Mushy Callahan, Jack Warden, Jesslyn Fax, Joe De Santis, Signe Hasso
Episode 31
Tod goes to work for Peter Hale, who owns a wild animal park. Peter's first wife was killed by an animal. Hale has re-married and his new wife is frightened. Filming Location: Jungleland, Thousand Oaks, California
Directed by Paul StanleyWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars Peter Graves, Michael Pate, Henry Beckman
Episode 32
Tod works as a dental assistant to Dr. Anna Martin. Her husband Lawrence Martin, a famous inventor, has moved out and is living at a religious retreat. Filming Location: Southern California
Directed by William A. GrahamWritten by Stirling SilliphantGuest stars Arthur O'Connell, Anne Helm, Milton Selzer, Josie Lloyd
Episode information updated Sep 21, 2026
Available now in United States
These shows are available now and closely match Route 66.
Glenn CorbettLinc Case
George MaharisBuz Murdock
Martin MilnerTod Stiles
Peter Graves
Susan Oliver
Lois Nettleton
Al Lewis
CBSUnited States
Screen GemsUnited States
