SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1995-1996 Mondays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Mondays in the 1995-96 season!

ABC	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	The Marshal	Monday Night Football
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan	Monday Night Movie		Murder One
Feb	Second Noah	Various Programs
Mar		High Incident
Apr
May	Various Programs	Monday Night Movie

Since MacGyver ended in 1992, ABC had been looking for a lead-in to Monday Night Football. After trying (and failing) with comedies in the 1994-95 season, they went back to an action drama with the only returning sophomore series, The Marshal. The series had been a quiet performer on Saturday nights in 1994-95 and might have been a "save face" renewal. When it got to air in the higher profile Monday slot, the results were not good and the series was cancelled by the time the calendar turned to 1996. Monday Night Football continued to be a huge draw but they didn't replace it with a movie and instead went with scripted dramas for the second half of the season though each one launched about a month apart. First to the night in January was Murder One. The high profile legal drama was one of the fall's best reviewed new shows, but it languished against ER on Thursday nights. ABC wasn't about to fold quickly with the show that got more attention than any other so they moved it to Monday nights. The series fared a little bit better in its new slot but still didn't break through. Next up, premiering a month later, was 8pm entry Second Noah. The gentle family drama was created in partnership with Busch Gardens and filmed on location in Tampa. Finally in March, there was a 9pm entry as well with High Incident joining the lineup. The police drama counted Steven Spielberg among its creators/executive producers and he was heavily involved in the production. The series received decent reviews. Despite none of the dramas doing all that well, all three managed to get renewed for second seasons as ABC believed in their auspices and potential and gave each of them a chance. Murder One got a chance because ABC got wind of CBS's plans to pick up the show if they cancelled it. Of course, none of them showed that they deserved that chance as they were all two-and-done shows, but we'll get to that in the 1996-97 season. All the dramas were over by the end of April so movies and specials aired on the night during May sweeps.

CBS	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	The Nanny	Can’t Hurry Love	Murphy Brown	If Not for You	Chicago Hope
Oct
Nov				High Society
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar		Almost Perfect		Good Company
Apr
May		Dave’s World		Cybill

CBS kept its anchors in place on Monday night for the 1995-96 season while plugging in several new shows at 8:30 and 9:30 before finally resorting to the previous occupants by the end of the season. The Nanny continued at 8pm and became the highest rated scripted series for CBS. Murphy Brown continued at 9pm and, though it was still one of the top shows on the network, it was definitely a show whose best days were behind it. Chicago Hope continued at 10pm for its second season. The acclaimed medical drama was still in the shadow of ER, but it was no longer airing against the NBC behemoth and had become a solid performer in its own right even with star Mandy Patinkin departing just eight episodes into the second season. The 8:30pm entry was the new Can't Hurry Love, one of the many Friends-style sitcoms that premiered in the 1995-96 season. The Manhattan "hangout" comedy starred Nancy McKeon and a young Mariska Hargitay. It did pretty well in the ratings, well above many shows that did get renewed, but it lost too much of The Nanny's lead-in so it was off the air by February. Check back tomorrow for a closer look at Can't Hurry Love! It was replaced by Almost Perfect, which was one of the only "success" stories on CBS among their slew of new shows. At the end of the season, Dave's World briefly returned to its old stomping grounds after having difficulty on Wednesdays. While Can't Hurry Love was a disappointment, there was an outright bomb at 9:30pm. It Not for You was a romantic comedy starring Elizabeth McGovern and Hank Azaria that followed a couple who fell in love despite being tied down with other people. It suffered from behind the scenes turmoil before it premiered as the pilot was re-tooled and then it ultimately only lasted four weeks before being cancelled. CBS had another series ready to go and High Society was on the air just a couple weeks later. That series starred Jean Smart and Mary McDonnell and was compared to the popular British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. It lasted longer than If Not for You, but was still a ratings disappointment. A third new sitcom followed. Good Company was set in a Manhattan ad agency and starred Wendie Malick and Jason Beghe. It lasted six episodes, so a little more than If Not for You and a little less than High Society. At the end of the season, Cybill returned to Monday nights after airing on Sundays for much of the season.

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

NBC's Monday night lineup was the same one that ended the 1994-95 season. As usual, the lead-off show was The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In its sixth season, Prince had never aired in another slot. Series star Will Smith was enjoying a burgeoning film and music career. The series had never been a massive ratings hit but NBC would probably have continued with it if Smith wanted to continue. But his contract was up and he was ready to move on so the show came to an end. It has of course enjoyed a very successful run in reruns while Smith continued to become a megastar just months after the ending of Fresh Prince with the blockbuster movie Independence Day. In the House continued at 8:30pm after being a midseason replacement the previous season. It didn't catch on in the ratings and with Fresh Prince ending, there was no obvious place for it on NBC's schedule. It was cancelled by NBC but then picked up by UPN for a third season. In the House was briefly replaced by Brotherly Love at midseason before that show headed to another network as well (The WB). NBC's biggest success on the night was the Monday Night Movie, which was one of NBC's highest rated non-Thursday programs.

FOX	8:00	9:00	9:30
Sep	Melrose Place	Partners	Ned & Stacey
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan		Ned & Stacey	Partners
Feb
Mar
Apr		Profit
May		Various Programs

After three different freshmen dramas aired at 9pm in the 1994-95 season, FOX went with a comedy block for the hour in 1995-96. Up first at 8pm though was Melrose Place, returning to its same slot. It continued to be one of FOX's marquee shows. The two new comedies at 9pm were Partners and Ned & Stacey. Partners starred Jon Cryer and Tate Donovan as San Francisco architects and Maria Pitillo as the fiancée to Donovan's character. Ned & Stacey starred Thomas Haden Church (straight from Wings) and Debra Messing as two Manhattanites who agree to fake a marriage to help each other out. The two comedies were linked throughout the season (and even crossed over with each other at one point). They flipped timeslots in January but ultimately only one survived. Ned & Stacey did slightly better in the ratings and got renewed while Partners was cancelled after airing a full season of episodes. Late in the season, the 9pm slot went back to a drama with Profit. The dark drama was set in the corporate world and is considered a drama that was well ahead of its time with its dark themes and antihero as the central character. Shows like The Sopranos and The Shield were still a few years away and audiences in 1996 didn't know what to do with a show like Profit. Despite the strong reviews and garnering some controversy, Profit only lasted a few weeks. It didn't really become a cult hit but some savvy TV critics still point to it as an early adopter of a new kind of TV show that became commonplace a few years later.

UPN	8:00	9:00
Sep	Star Trek: Voyager	Nowhere Man
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

UPN had launched in the Winter of 1995 and ended up cancelling all its shows except Star Trek: Voyager in May they at least had a bit of a building block for Monday nights as Voyager returned to the same timeslot. It was paired with their highest profile new show - Nowhere Man, a sci-fi/mystery drama that starred Bruce Greenwood as a man who discovers his life has been erased. The series received decent critical buzz and may have managed to survive elsewhere but this was the UPN equivalent of following Friends or Seinfeld on NBC. It was their one slot where they could reasonably hope for a new show to break through and Nowhere Man did not do that. It was not much stronger in the ratings than shows on other nights so it ran a full season but was a one and done.

Top Rated Monday Show of 1995-96: Monday Night Football (#5)

Lowest Rated Monday Show of 1995-96: Nowhere Man (#148)

What would I have watched on Mondays in 1995-96?

I would have watched most of the CBS lineup - probably all of it actually. I would have checked out Monday Night Football of course and might have watched the FOX comedies from time to time. I would have also been interested in the trio of Monday dramas on ABC at midseason. Mondays would have been busy for me!

Tomorrow: A One Season Wonder look at Can't Hurry Love!

Next Tuesday: A look at Tuesdays in the 1995-96 season!