[1] The practice of television executives of ordering dozens of pilots for proposed television series each year – far more than their networks could possibly broadcast as series – created a sizable body of unsold pilots that had never aired.

[1] Packaging these unsold pilots in anthology series and airing them during the summer provided television networks with a way of both providing fresh programming during the summer rerun season and recouping at least some of the expense of producing them.

[1] Don Fedderson produced Summer Playhouse, and Steve Allen, Jimmy Durante, and Fred MacMurray were among its notable stars.

Replacing The New Phil Silvers Show, Summer Playhouse ran for 12 episodes over 12 consecutive weeks in the summer of 1964, airing on CBS from 9:30 to 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday evenings.

[1] It returned in 1965 as a summer replacement for The Andy Griffith Show,[2] premiering on June 28 and running on Monday evenings from 8:30 to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time for 11 consecutive weeks.