The first season of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood contained 130 episodes. It aired in 1968, beginning with the program's national debut on February 19 and continuing through a much denser production schedule than the later seasons.
Those 130 episodes made the first season the largest single season in the show's history. The initial run was produced for the National Educational Television network, the predecessor to PBS. Unlike later seasons, which generally supplied smaller batches of new episodes, the debut season established a substantial library for repeated educational broadcasting.
The first season also stands out because it was produced in black-and-white. Episode 130, broadcast on August 16, 1968, was the last first-season episode and the final episode of the series to air in that format. Later seasons moved to color, while many of the show's familiar characters and settings continued.
A common mix-up comes from biographical summaries that give different episode totals for the broader early production history or the entire series. For the specifically defined first season, the season listing and the show's broadcast history identify 130 episodes.