The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.

Lux Video Theatre began as a live 30-minute Monday evening CBS series on October 2, 1950, switching to Thursday nights during August, 1951.

[2] On August 26, 1954, it debuted on NBC as an hour-long show on Thursday nights,[3] telecast until September 12, 1957.

With the introduction of the one-hour format and the move to Hollywood, abridged versions of popular films were often used as the basis for shows.

To introduce each act and interview the stars at the conclusion, NBC added a series of regular hosts: James Mason[4] (1954–55), Otto Kruger (1955–56), Gordon MacRae (1956–57) and Ken Carpenter (1955–1957).