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1996–97 United States network television schedule

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1996–97 United States network television schedule for the six major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers the primetime hours from September 1996 to August 1997. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series canceled after the 1995–96 season.

PBS is not included; member stations have local flexibility over most of their schedules and broadcast times for network shows may vary.

Each of the 30 highest-rated shows released in May 1997 is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.[1]

New series highlighted in bold.

Repeat airings or same-day rebroadcasts are indicated by (R).

All times are U.S. Eastern and Pacific Time (except for some live sports or events). Subtract one hour for Central, Mountain, Alaska and Hawaii-Aleutian times.

All sporting events air live in all time zones in U.S. Eastern time, with local and/or late-night programming (including Fox affiliates during the 10 p.m. ET/PT hour) by affiliates after game completion.

Legend

[edit]
  Yellow indicates the programs in the top 10 for the season.
  Cyan indicates the programs in the top 20 for the season.
  Magenta indicates the programs in the top 30 for the season.

Other Legend

  •   Light blue indicates local programming.
  •   Gray indicates encore programming.
  •   Blue-gray indicates news programming.
  •   Light green indicates sporting events.
  •   Light Purple indicates movies.
  •   Red indicates series being burned off and other scheduled programs, including specials.

Sunday

[edit]
Network 7:00 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 8:00 p.m. 8:30 p.m. 9:00 p.m. 9:30 p.m. 10:00 p.m. 10:30 p.m.
ABC Fall America's Funniest Home Videos Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman The ABC Sunday Night Movie
Winter Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman America's Funniest Home Videos
Spring America's Funniest Home Videos ABC News programming
Late spring Second Noah America's Funniest Home Videos
CBS 60 Minutes (11/13.3) Touched by an Angel (10/13.6) CBS Sunday Movie (14/12.1)
Fox Fall Big Deal Fox Movie Special Local programming
Mid-fall Married... with Children (R) Married... with Children The Simpsons Ned & Stacey The X-Files (21/11.4)
(Tied with Cosby)
Winter Special programming King of the Hill
Spring Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
NBC Fall Dateline NBC 3rd Rock from the Sun (27/10.8)
(Tied with Law & Order)
Boston Common NBC Sunday Night Movie (18/11.5)
(Tied with The Drew Carey Show)
Spring NewsRadio (R)
The WB Fall Kirk Brotherly Love The Parent 'Hood The Steve Harvey Show Unhappily Ever After Life with Roger Local programming
Mid-fall Brotherly Love (R)
Winter Brotherly Love Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher
Spring Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher (R) The Parent 'Hood (R) The Steve Harvey Show (R) The Wayans Bros. (R)
Summer Buffy the Vampire Slayer (R)
Late summer The Jamie Foxx Show (R)

Monday

[edit]
Network 8:00 p.m. 8:30 p.m. 9:00 p.m. 9:30 p.m. 10:00 p.m. 10:30 p.m.
ABC Fall Dangerous Minds Monday Night Football (7/16.0)
Winter The ABC Monday Night Movie
Late winter Spy Game
Spring Relativity
Mid-spring Special programming
Summer World of Discovery (R)
Mid-summer Monday Night Football Preseason
CBS Fall Cosby (21/11.2)
(Tied with The X-Files)
Pearl Murphy Brown Cybill (30/10.5)
(Tied with Chicago Hope and Dateline NBC)
Chicago Hope (30/10.5)
(Tied with Dateline NBC and Cybill)
Mid-fall Ink
Winter Everybody Loves Raymond Cybill (30/10.5)
(Tied with Chicago Hope and Dateline NBC)
Ink
Spring Murphy Brown
Late spring Everybody Loves Raymond (R) Murphy Brown (R)
Fox Fall Melrose Place Party Girl Lush Life Local programming
Winter Ned and Stacey Married... with Children
Late winter Married... with Children Pauly
Spring MADtv Primetime The Ruby Wax Show Married... with Children (R)
Summer Various programming Roar
NBC Fall The Jeff Foxworthy Show Mr. Rhodes The NBC Monday Movie (23/11.0)
(Tied with Walker, Texas Ranger, Mad About You and Caroline in the City)
Spring Boston Common
Late spring The NBC Monday Movie (23/11.0)
(Tied with Walker, Texas Ranger, Mad About You and Caroline in the City)
Dateline NBC
Summer Suddenly Susan (R) Fired Up (R) Caroline in the City (R) Wings (R)
UPN Fall In the House Malcolm & Eddie Goode Behavior Sparks Local programming
Winter Sparks Goode Behavior
The WB Fall 7th Heaven Savannah
Winter Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Note: On CBS, the debut of Ink was delayed by a month due to production problems, resulting in another new sitcom, Pearl, which aired temporarily in its slot before moving to its own originally designated Wednesday time period in late October.

Tuesday

[edit]
Network 8:00 p.m. 8:30 p.m. 9:00 p.m. 9:30 p.m. 10:00 p.m. 10:30 p.m.
ABC Fall Roseanne Life's Work Home Improvement (9/14.0) Spin City (17/11.7) NYPD Blue (13/12.5)
Winter Ellen (R)
Late winter The Practice
Spring Home Improvement (R) Soul Man NYPD Blue (13/12.5)
Late spring Roseanne Life's Work
Summer Grace Under Fire (R)
CBS Promised Land CBS Tuesday Movie
Fox Fox Tuesday Night Movie Local programming
NBC Fall Mad About You (23/11.0)
(Tied with Walker, Texas Ranger, Caroline in the City and The NBC Monday Movie)
Something So Right Frasier (16/11.8) Caroline in the City (23/11.0)
(Tied with Walker, Texas Ranger Mad About You and The NBC Monday Movie)
Dateline Tuesday (20/11.4)
Summer The Naked Truth (R)
Mid-summer NewsRadio (R) Just Shoot Me! (R)
UPN Fall Moesha Homeboys in Outer Space The Burning Zone Local programming
Winter Social Studies
Spring Homeboys in Outer Space
Summer Social Studies (R) Malcolm & Eddie (R) In the House (R)

Wednesday

[edit]
Network 8:00 p.m. 8:30 p.m. 9:00 p.m. 9:30 p.m. 10:00 p.m. 10:30 p.m.
ABC Fall Ellen (29/10.6) Townies Grace Under Fire The Drew Carey Show (18/11.5)
(Tied with The NBC Sunday Night Movie)
Primetime Live (15/11.9)
Winter Grace Under Fire Coach The Drew Carey Show (18/11.5)
(Tied with The NBC Sunday Night Movie)
Ellen (29/10.6)
Late winter Arsenio
Spring Ellen (29/10.6)
CBS Fall The Nanny Almost Perfect CBS Wednesday Movie
Mid-fall Pearl
Winter Coast to Coast Orleans
Late winter Temporarily Yours Feds EZ Streets
Spring Various programming CBS Wednesday Movie
Late spring Pearl
Summer Murphy Brown (R) Coast to Coast 48 Hours
Fox Fall Beverly Hills, 90210 Party of Five Local programming
Spring Pacific Palisades
Late spring Special programming
NBC Fall Wings The John Larroquette Show NewsRadio Men Behaving Badly Law & Order (27/10.8)
(Tied with 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Mid-fall 3rd Rock from the Sun (R)
Winter Chicago Sons
Late winter NewsRadio Wings Just Shoot Me! Prince Street
Spring The Single Guy Men Behaving Badly Law & Order (27/10.8)
(Tied with 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Late spring Various programming NBA on NBC
Summer Wings (R) Chicago Sons Law & Order (R)
Mid-summer NBC Wednesday Night Movie
UPN The Sentinel Star Trek: Voyager Local programming
The WB Fall Sister, Sister Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher The Wayans Bros. The Jamie Foxx Show
Spring Smart Guy The Jamie Foxx Show The Wayans Bros.
Late spring The Parent 'Hood (R)
Summer The Steve Harvey Show (R)
Mid-summer Smart Guy (R) The Wayans Bros. (R) The Steve Harvey Show (R)

Note: On CBS, due to the effect of the debut delay of Ink on Monday, the first month of the new season on this night aired Almost Perfect at 8:30 p.m., followed by CBS Wednesday Movies at 9 p.m. The originally planned fall Wednesday lineup took shape at the end of October with Pearl taking over at 8:30 p.m., Almost Perfect moving to 9 p.m., Public Morals debuting at 9:30 p.m., and EZ Streets debuting at 10 p.m. This lasted for only one week in late October. CBS cancelled Public Morals after it aired the 1st, and only, episode. This meant Almost Perfect would soon be cancelled. EZ Streets would be given a 2nd chance in the spring.

Thursday

[edit]
Network 8:00 p.m. 8:30 p.m. 9:00 p.m. 9:30 p.m. 10:00 p.m. 10:30 p.m.
ABC Fall High Incident Murder One Turning Point
Winter The ABC Thursday Night Movie
Late winter Vital Signs Turning Point
Summer Turning Point ABC News programming
CBS Fall Diagnosis: Murder Moloney 48 Hours
Summer Promised Land (R) Diagnosis: Murder (R)
Fox Martin Living Single New York Undercover Local programming
NBC Fall Friends (4/16.8)
(Tied with The Naked Truth)
The Single Guy (8/14.1) Seinfeld (2/20.5) Suddenly Susan (3/17.0) ER (1/21.2)
Winter The Naked Truth (4/16.8)
(Tied with Friends)
Late winter Suddenly Susan (3/17.0) Law & Order (27/10.8)
(Tied with 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Spring Fired Up (6/16.5) ER (1/21.2)
Late spring Men Behaving Badly (R) Suddenly Susan (R)
Summer 3rd Rock from the Sun (R)

Friday

[edit]
Network 8:00 PM 8:30 PM 9:00 PM 9:30 PM 10:00 PM 10:30 PM
ABC Fall Family Matters Sabrina the Teenage Witch Clueless Boy Meets World 20/20 (12/12.8)
Mid-fall Boy Meets World Sabrina the Teenage Witch Clueless
Late Winter Step by Step
Spring Step by Step Clueless (R)
Summer Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
CBS Fall Dave's World Everybody Loves Raymond Mr. & Mrs. Smith Nash Bridges
Late fall Special programming
Winter JAG
Spring JAG Orleans
Late spring Dave's World Life... and Stuff JAG (R)
Summer Ordinary Extraordinary
Fox Fall Sliders The X-Files (21/11.4)
(Tied with Cosby)
Local programming
Mid-fall Millennium
NBC Fall Unsolved Mysteries Dateline NBC (30/10.5)
(Tied with Chicago Hope and Cybill)
Homicide: Life on the Street
Winter Crisis Center
Spring Homicide: Life on the Street
Late spring Profiler (R)
Summer Homicide: Life on the Street (R)

Note: CBS picked up JAG after NBC cancelled it due to low ratings and it became a success afterwards.

This is the last season of Family Matters and Step by Step and the only season of Clueless to air on ABC's TGIF block, until the following season, the former two shows were picked up by CBS and Clueless moved to UPN on Tuesdays.

Saturday

[edit]
Network 8:00 p.m. 8:30 p.m. 9:00 p.m. 9:30 p.m. 10:00 p.m. 10:30 p.m.
ABC Fall Second Noah Coach Common Law Relativity
Winter The ABC Saturday Night Movie
Late winter Dangerous Minds The ABC Saturday Night Movie
Spring Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Leaving L.A. Gun
Late spring Family Matters (R) Hangin' with Mr. Cooper Dangerous Minds (R) Spy Game
Summer Special programming The Practice (R)
CBS Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Early Edition Walker, Texas Ranger (23/11.0)
(Tied with Mad About You, Caroline in the City
and The NBC Monday Movie)
Fox Fall COPS COPS (R) Married... with Children Love and Marriage Local programming
Mid-fall America's Most Wanted:
America Fights Back
NBC Fall Dark Skies The Pretender Profiler
Spring Special programming
Summer The Pretender NBC Saturday Night Movie

Note: America's Most Wanted would return in November at 9:00 on Fox. Married... with Children moved to Sundays at 7-8pm in November, Mondays at 9:30 in January, and Mondays at 9pm in February. Lawless which aired on March 27, 1997, replacing the second half of America's Most Wanted was canceled after one episode.

By network

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Highest-rated series is based on the annual top-rated programs list compiled by Nielsen Media Research and reported in: Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.