Who directed the first episode of The Twilight Zone, 'Where Is Everybody?'?

Robert Stevens directed the first episode of The Twilight Zone, “Where Is Everybody?” The episode introduced viewers to the series on October 2, 1959, with Earl Holliman starring as Mike Ferris.

Ferris awakens on a deserted road with no memory of who he is or how he arrived there. He finds an apparently abandoned diner, a town filled with mannequins, and telephones that provide no human contact. The mystery builds toward the revelation that the entire experience is a psychological simulation designed to test whether a person could endure isolation during a space mission.

Rod Serling wrote the teleplay, but he did not direct it. Robert Stevens was an experienced television director and producer whose earlier work included the anthology series Suspense and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. “Where Is Everybody?” was filmed at Universal Studios rather than Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, using Courthouse Square as the fictional town of Oakwood.

A common mix-up comes from Serling’s prominent role as creator, writer, host, and narrator. Those roles made him closely associated with the premiere, but the director’s credit belongs to Stevens.