Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953. The original premise was that Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes. However, several other performers took the lead from time to time, including Ronald Colman and Joan Fontaine. Blake Edwards was among the writers and directors who contributed to the series. Edwards created the recurring character of illegal gambling house operator Willie Dante for Dick Powell to play on this series. The character was later revamped and spun off in his own series starring Howard Duff, then-husband of Lupino. The pilot for Meet McGraw, starring Frank Lovejoy, aired here, as did another episode in which Lovejoy recreated his role of Chicago newspaper reporter Randy Stone, from the radio drama Nightbeat.
The story follows teacher and veteran solo camper Kensuke, who forms a camping group with four girls.
Mahiro Aizawa starts fresh at a new job, only to find her estranged husband, Naoto Igarashi, working at the same company. To avoid awkwardness, they pretend to be strangers, but this complicates their relationship further.
Hina Tsurugi and her family have just moved to a quaint seaside town. Hoping to savor the sight of the peaceful ocean, Hina stumbles upon a girl named Yuuki Kuroiwa—an upperclassman at her new school—who invites Hina to join her in fishing. Hina reels in an octopus, which falls onto her; being afraid of bugs and big creatures, she panics and begs Yuuki to remove it from her. Yuuki sees this as an opportunity to force Hina to join the school's Breakwater Club—a club where members gather, catch, and eat various types of marine life as their main activity. Although her attempts to refuse to join fail, Hina slowly begins to discover the hidden joy in fishing. Her view on the sport changes, now looking forward to all the delightful experiences she can take part in alongside her fellow club members.
A little girl named Kohina ends up summoning a Kokkuri-san, a lower-ranking ghost in Japanese folklore. The Kokkuri-san she calls ends up being a white-haired handsome, young man. Although he had intended to merely haunt her at first, he becomes worried about her terrible eating habit of cup ramen for every meal, so he decides to haunt her in order to protect her.
Kaoru is an office lady you can find anywhere, serious and works diligently, but her husband is a super otaku and more-or-less a NEET. She is caught up in one of her husband's whims one day or the subject of his concerns another, but the two are so close that it's embarrassing to even watch them!
Tatsumi is a high school student who lives on his own, until a merman named Wakasa takes up residence in his bathtub. His solitary lifestyle is turned upside down by the self-centered (but handsome) new roommate.
A timid, anime-loving teen gets drawn into a school cycling club, where his new friends help him face tough challenges to develop his racing talent.
A species of parasitic aliens descends on Earth and quickly infiltrates humanity by entering the brains of vulnerable targets; insatiable beings that gain total control of their host and are capable of transforming themselves to feed on unsuspecting prey. High school student Shinichi Izumi falls victim to one of these parasites, but the creature fails to take over his brain and ends up in his right hand.
In this "romantic comedy but sometime serious magical school story," life as Arata Kasuga knows it is wiped out by a bizarre incident known as "Collapse Phenomenon," which causes worldwide destruction and takes his cousin Hijiri Kasuga to the next world. To resolve the "Collapse Phenomenon" and bring back Hijiri, Arata enrolls in the Royal Biblia Academy. Waiting in the school are seven beautiful female magic users — the Trinity Seven.
The legend of the Four Dragons and the origin of the land has been passed down for generations in the land of Kouka. Currently, Hiryuu Palace has no one else next in line for the throne other than the fifteen year old princess, Yona, who had been raised with care. Finally, the night of her sixteenth birthday arrives. She expects it to be a wonderful day spent with her peace-loving father, Il, her servant and friend Hak, and her cousin Soo-won, who she had feelings for... However... That night, Yona goes to visit her father to tell him how she really feels, because he opposes to her getting married to Soo-won. However, when she gets to her room, she encounters a shocking truth. The destinies of Yona and the Four Dragons entwine in this period drama fantasy romance!
Haruka Takayama and Yū Sonoda were inseparable during middle school, but upon entering high school, they end up being seated on opposite sides of the classroom. Having to spend time with more friends, the two decide to make their relationship special by kissing each other in secret.
Naru is a high school girl who is average in every way. She loves fairy tale heroines, though she’s never had the courage to escape her ordinary life. One day, she sees Hannah, a transfer student, dancing in the moonlit and becomes inspired to learn Yosakoi dancing.
Hōzuki is the aide to the great king of Hell, King Enma. Calm and super-sadistic, Hōzuki tries to resolve the various problems in Hell, including a rampaging Momotarō and his companions. However, he also likes spending his free time on his hobbies, such as fawning over cute animals and raising "Goldfish Flowers."
The story revolves around Nekoyama Suzu, a timid, shy tsundere girl loves dogs, and Inugami Yachiyo, a super masochistic, air-headed, friendly girl who loves cats. One day, after a fateful meeting, the two find themselves attracted to each other. In response to Inugami's instinctive approaches, Nekoyama is always bashful. Their friend Aki has to work hard to make jabs at some of the situations of the two, and also to stop Inugami from going berserk.
Izumi was born in a family of celebrities. His father is a singer, his mother an artist, his older brother the lead vocalist for the popular band Crashers. Izumi himself, however, is just a nerdy college student. He loves the manga "Magical Girl Lala Lulu" and dreams of becoming a manga writer himself. One day he is roped into filming a commercial where he wears a dress. Another actor on the set, Ryoma Ichijo, mistakes him for a woman and falls in love at first sight. As it turns out, though, they met ten years in the past. And Ryoma feelings don't change when he finds out Izumi is a boy.
A musical loco drama about the love and coming-of-age story of a group of passionate young people who pursue their dreams of classical music.
Suzuki’s a high school girl in love, but the guy she’s fallen for is nothing like her! While she’s cheerful, outgoing, and always trying to fit in, her classmate Yusuke Tani is stoic, quiet, and doesn’t seem to care what people think of him. Will Suzuki be able to overcome her anxieties and ask him out, or will she discover that opposites really don’t attract?
On the way home from school one day, Konoha Koga rescues Satoko Kusagakure, a ninja who escaped her village. Soon, pursuers from the village show up in search of Satoko only to be deftly dealt with by Konoha. As it turns out, the unassuming high schooler is actually an assassin. Thus, the potentially cutthroat cohabitation of a ninja and an assassin begins!
The series weaves together seven stories, exploring themes of love found in unexpected places: from finding love to boost grades, romance between two sworn enemies, and the struggles of a group of queer students deprived by men.