The BEST episodes of The Andy Griffith Show season 1

Every episode of The Andy Griffith Show season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Andy Griffith Show season 1!

Down-home humor and an endearing cast of characters helped make The Andy Griffith Show one of the most beloved comedies in the history of TV. The show centered around widower Andy Taylor, who divided his time between raising his young son Opie, and his job as sheriff of the sleepy North Carolina town, Mayberry. Andy and Opie live with Andy's Aunt Bee, who serves as a surrogate mother to both father and son. Andy's nervous cousin, Barney Fife, is his deputy sheriff whose incompetence is tolerated because Mayberry is virtually crime-free.

Last Updated: 11/18/2024Network: CBSStatus: Ended
Christmas Story
star
8.55
142 votes

#1 - Christmas Story

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/19/1960

Mayberry's local "Scrooge," storeowner Ben Weaver, manages to have harmless bootlegger Sam Muggins thrown into jail on Christmas -- but the Mayberry folks manage to celebrate Christmas with Sam in a most unusual way.

Directors: Bob Sweeney
Writer: David Adler
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Bringing Up Opie
star
8.02
51 votes

#2 - Bringing Up Opie

Season 1 - Episode 32 - Aired 5/22/1961

After being scolded by Aunt Bee, Opie decides to run away from home -- a plan that quickly turns into a series of eye-opening, and sometimes dangerous, adventures for Opie and a scare for both Aunt Bee and Andy.

Directors: Bob Sweeney
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Alcohol and Old Lace
star
7.76
133 votes

#3 - Alcohol and Old Lace

Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/30/1961

Opie comes home talking about a "flower-making machine" owned by sisters Clarabelle and Jennifer Morrison, the spinsters who run the local flower shop. Andy and Barney do a little investigating -- and discover the contraption is actually a still and the kindly sisters are in the moonshine business!

Directors: Gene Reynolds
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Andy Forecloses
star
7.74
103 votes

#4 - Andy Forecloses

Season 1 - Episode 28 - Aired 4/24/1961

Andy, faced with the unpleasant task of serving an eviction notice on a family who has fallen on hard times, tries desperately to come up with a way for the tenants to keep their home.

Directors: Bob Sweeney
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Opie's Charity
star
7.65
116 votes

#5 - Opie's Charity

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/28/1960

Andy is dismayed when Opie refuses to contribute money to the school charity drive -- but there's a secret reason for Opie's apparent selfishness.

Directors: Don Weis
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Ellie Saves a Female
star
7.64
105 votes

#6 - Ellie Saves a Female

Season 1 - Episode 27 - Aired 4/17/1961

Ellie Walker takes pity on a shy tomboy named Frankie Flint and is determined to give a "Cinderella" makeover to the young girl -- much to her gruff father's displeasure.

Directors: Bob Sweeney
Writer: David Adler
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Quiet Sam
star
7.60
105 votes

#7 - Quiet Sam

Season 1 - Episode 29 - Aired 5/1/1961

Barney is convinced that the new, mysterious farmer in town warrants further investigation. Andy finally agrees to pay a visit to the man's farm -- and finds himself drawn into a predicament he never imagined he'd find himself in.

Directors: Bob Sweeney
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Andy and the Gentleman Crook
star
7.53
110 votes

#8 - Andy and the Gentleman Crook

Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/27/1961

A notorious, nationally known con man dubbed "Gentleman Dan" becomes a hero of epic proportions to Aunt Bee, Opie and Barney when he is held for two days in the Mayberry jail.

Directors: Bob Sweeney
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Manhunt
star
7.35
207 votes

#9 - The Manhunt

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/10/1960

Andy and his bumbling deputy, Barney Fife, offer to help track down an escaped convict, but the captain of the state police scoffs at the small-town sheriff's help.

Directors: Don Weis
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Andy Saves Barney's Morale
star
7.27
85 votes

#10 - Andy Saves Barney's Morale

Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/20/1961

When Andy has to leave Mayberry for the day to testify in a court case held in a neighboring town, Deputy Barney Fife is left in charge of the sheriff's department -- and he proceeds to arrest everyone in Mayberry!

Directors: Bob Sweeney
Writer: David Adler
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Barney Gets His Man
star
7.25
79 votes

#11 - Barney Gets His Man

Season 1 - Episode 30 - Aired 5/8/1961

Barney's reputation as a deputy soars when he inadvertently helps capture Eddie Brooke, an escaped convict. But Brooke vows to escape again and head straight back to Mayberry to exact his revenge.

Directors: Bob Sweeney
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The New Housekeeper
star
7.21
320 votes

#12 - The New Housekeeper

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/3/1960

Sheriff Andy Taylor and his young son Opie are in need of a new housekeeper. Andy's Aunt Bee looks like the perfect candidate and moves in, but her presence causes friction with Opie.

Directors: Sheldon Leonard
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Mayberry on Record
star
7.11
139 votes

#13 - Mayberry on Record

Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/13/1961

A New York City record promoter arrives in Mayberry, intent on making a recording of the region's local folk music, but Andy becomes wary of the stranger and suspects he might be a con artist seeking some fast cash.

Directors: Gene Reynolds
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Inspector
star
7.09
135 votes

#14 - The Inspector

Season 1 - Episode 26 - Aired 4/10/1961

When a state inspector arrives in Mayberry to check the jail and courthouse, Andy and Barney are shocked to discover he's a by-the-book stickler for rules and regulations. Things look shaky until Andy is able to demonstrate the "Mayberry way" of fighting crime.

Directors: Bob Sweeney
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Andy, the Matchmaker
star
6.98
109 votes

#15 - Andy, the Matchmaker

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/14/1960

When Barney's bumbling law enforcement techniques are questioned, Andy and Ellie decide to stage a fake robbery -- a scheme that turns Barney into a real hero!

Directors: Don Weis
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Ellie Comes to Town
star
6.97
127 votes

#16 - Ellie Comes to Town

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/24/1960

When Mayberry's local pharmacist falls ill, his niece Ellie Walker steps in as a temporary replacement -- and creates turmoil with the town's resident hypochondriac.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Guitar Player
star
6.92
135 votes

#17 - The Guitar Player

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/17/1960

A gifted guitar player (James Best) who has self-doubts about his musical talent gets a chance at stardom -- with a little push from Andy.

Directors: Don Weis
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Those Gossipin' Men
star
6.89
92 votes

#18 - Those Gossipin' Men

Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/16/1961

Aunt Bee, accused by Andy of being a hopeless gossip, sets out to prove that the men of Mayberry are even bigger rumormongers than the women.

Directors: Bob Sweeney
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Stranger in Town
star
6.87
134 votes

#19 - Stranger in Town

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/26/1960

Ed Sawyer, a mysterious stranger, arrives in Mayberry and disrupts the lives of the townspeople because he appears to know everyone's name, intimate details about their lives, and other startling facts about them.

Directors: Don Weis
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
A Plaque for Mayberry
star
6.82
73 votes

#20 - A Plaque for Mayberry

Season 1 - Episode 25 - Aired 4/3/1961

The Women's Historical Society is all set to throw a celebration in honor of the last living descendant of a Revolutionary War hero named Nathan Tibbs, who has been traced to Mayberry. But their excitement turns to horror when they discover that the intended honoree is the town drunk, Otis Campbell.

Directors: Bob Sweeney
Watch Now:Apple TV
Andy and Opie, Housekeepers
star
6.80
76 votes

#21 - Andy and Opie, Housekeepers

Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/13/1961

Aunt Bee must leave Mayberry to care for a sick cousin, but not before scolding Andy and Opie for their messy housekeeping habits. The two are determined to clean house before she returns -- a project that suddenly accelerates when she phones to say she'll be coming home earlier than expected!

Directors: Bob Sweeney
Writer: David Adler
Watch Now:Apple TV
Mayberry Goes Hollywood
star
6.78
89 votes

#22 - Mayberry Goes Hollywood

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/2/1961

Lights! Camera! Chaos! A Hollywood producer chooses idyllic Mayberry as the backdrop for his next movie, and the entire town goes into a frenzy as they gear up for the anticipated glamour, fame and fortune.

Directors: Bob Sweeney
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Beauty Contest
star
6.72
82 votes

#23 - The Beauty Contest

Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/23/1961

The Mayberry town council wants to end the annual Founder's Day celebration with a beauty contest, with Andy chosen to pick the winner. The result is pandemonium as candidates of all shapes and sizes descend on the hapless "judge."

Directors: Bob Sweeney
Watch Now:Apple TV
A Feud is a Feud
star
6.70
111 votes

#24 - A Feud is a Feud

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/5/1960

Andy hopes to finally bring peace to two of the county's longtime feuding families, the Carters and the Wakefields -- by arranging a duel between the two patriarchs of the quarreling clans!

Directors: Don Weis
Writer: David Adler
Watch Now:Apple TV
Runaway Kid
star
6.68
103 votes

#25 - Runaway Kid

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/7/1960

Andy must intervene -- and risk breaking a promise to Opie -- when he discovers that one of Opie's young friends has run away from home.

Directors: Don Weis
Watch Now:Apple TV