SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1992-1993 Mondays

Welcome back from the holiday break on this blog! On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Mondays in 1992-93 season!

ABC	8:00	8:30	9:00	10:00
Sep	The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles		Monday Night Football
Oct
Nov	FBI: The Untold Stories	American Detective
Dec
Jan			Monday Night Movie
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

For six seasons, ABC had paired MacGyver with Monday Night Football but the long running action drama was cancelled in Spring 1992 so it was time for a new pairing. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles was a high profile midseason show from the previous season that didn't get huge ratings but did get renewed perhaps due as much to its auspices as anything else. The series was extremely expensive with the show filming all around the world and it had George Lucas as creator and executive producer. The move to the high profile Monday slot did not help the ratings and it was yanked from the night in mid October. It eventually resurfaced on Saturdays before being cancelled for good though four TV movies were made for what was then The Family Channel. It was replaced on Mondays by the cheap options FBI: The Untold Stories and American Detective, which had previously aired in that slot after MacGyver vacated it. The unscripted duo lasted the rest of the season in the hour but were cancelled at the end of the season. As usual, a movie replaced football but it trailed NBC's competing movie.

CBS	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	Evening Shade	Hearts Afire	Murphy Brown	Love & War	Northern Exposure
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr		Bob
May

CBS added no new shows to its successful Monday lineup in 1991-92 and the result was big ratings across the board. Though every show on the night was successful, CBS decided to make some moves as it sent Major Dad and Designing Women over to Fridays and it shook up the Monday night offerings. Evening Shade continued at 8pm in its third season. It was followed by Hearts Afire, a DC-set comedy that brought John Ritter and Markie Post back to TV as staffers of a US Senator. It was created by Linda Bloodsworth-Thomason who was on a hot streak with CBS with Shade and Designing Women. The series did pretty well but not as well as Major Dad had in the same slot the previous season. It also got some notoriety for its very sexual themes in the family friendly 8:30pm slot. Hearts Afire ended its season early and was replaced by Bob, moving over to the night from Fridays in an attempt to get the newest Bob Newhart series more traction. It did enough to get renewed but was not the hit that Newhart was on Monday nights for so many years. At 9pm was Murphy Brown coming off a very buzzy summer after the Dan Quayle controversy. It was also the reigning Emmy champ for Outstanding Comedy Series. Though it continued to be a Top 5 hit, it seemed to lose the buzz a little bit as the season went on as it had probably peaked with Murphy's pregnancy and the Quayle mess though it still had several more highly rated seasons. Another new show followed at 9:30pm: Love & War, which starred Susan Dey and Jay Thomas as an on-again, off-again New York City couple. The series was from Murphy Brown creator Diane English (who left Murphy Brown to work on this show) and did quite well in the ratings with its cozy timeslot. However, the producers and network felt that there was not enough chemistry between Dey and Thomas and Dey was fired from the show at the end of the first season and replaced by Annie Potts. Northern Exposure continued at 10pm and was fresh off an Emmy win for Outstanding Drama Series. Star Rob Morrow demanded a raise and got one heading into this season even though the show really rested on the strength of its ensemble.

NBC	8:00	8:30	9:00	10:00
Sep	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Blossom	Monday Night Movie
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

For a third straight season, NBC went with a youthful comedy block of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Blossom at 8pm followed by a movie at 9pm. Fresh Prince continued to grow in the ratings and the 1992-93 season was the highest rated one of its run. Blossom continued to be a solid pairing with Fresh Prince while the movie did pretty well too.

FOX	8:00	9:00
Sep	Monday Night Movie
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

FOX expanded to seven days a week in the 1992-93 season but its Mondays were just a movie each week as they didn't make any attempt to do scripted or unscripted shows on the night.

Top Rated Monday Show of 1992-93: Murphy Brown (#4)

Lowest Rated Monday Show of 1992-93: FOX Monday Night Movie (#122)

What would I have watched on Mondays in 1992-93?

Just Monday Night Football and the CBS lineup but I probably would have watched the entire CBS lineup.

Tomorrow: My Top 10 Most Anticipated Returning Series in 2022!

Next Monday: A look at Tuesdays in the 1992-93 season!