He was hired as bandleader for the "Burns and Allen Show" broadcast from Hollywood. He organized a band that was modeled after his swing band concept of the late 1930s with the addition of six violins, two violas, and one cello. The addition of a string section to a popular big band was not novel, as it had been done by Paul Whiteman and others since the 1920s. Shaw updated the idea with the music trends of the 1940s. Strings gave him a wider tonal palette and allowed him to concentrate on ballads rather than the fast dance songs of the swing era. Shaw was at or near the top of the list of virtuoso jazz bandleaders. The band was showcased on the Burns and Allen program every week.