SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1995-1996 Thursdays

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

ABC	8:00	8:30	9:00	10:00
Sep	Charlie Grace		The Monroes	Various Programs
Oct				Murder One
Nov	Various Programs
Dec	Various Programs		Thursday Night Movie
Jan
Feb	World’s Funniest Videos	Before They Were Stars!
Mar
Apr
May

NBC was the powerhouse on Thursday nights but ABC still gave it the old college try in the Fall of 1995 with a trio of new dramas that they hoped would help them cut into the Peacock's dominance. Headlining their night was Murder One, a high profile new show from Steven Bochco that received much of the network's attention before the season started. The series focused on one murder case for an entire season, which was a very different approach to a TV drama back in those days. It received across the board raves from critics in a season where very few critical hits. To give it a solid start, it aired on Tuesdays for a couple weeks and by the time it came to Thursdays, the earlier part of the night had already fallen apart. At 8pm was Charlie Grace, a PI drama starring Mark Harmon. At 9pm was The Monroes, a soapy family drama about a powerful D.C. family that starred William Devane and Susan Sullivan. Both dramas were already in serious ratings trouble by the time Murder One arrived on the night so the three of them only aired together on Thursdays once before Charlie and Monroes were cancelled. Murder One limped along for a little bit, getting walloped by ER, before ABC threw up the white flag and moved Murder One to Mondays. After going big with scripted dramas in the fall, ABC barely tried on the night the rest of the season as they aired cheap unscripted fare World's Funniest Videos and Before They Were Stars! at 8pm leading into a movie at 9pm.

CBS	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	Murder, She Wrote	New York News	48 Hours
Oct
Nov
Dec		Various Programs
Jan
Feb		Rescue: 911
Mar
Apr
May	Various Programs

In the Fall of 1994, CBS aired My So-Called Life on Thursdays at 8pm and the series received tremendous acclaim but the ratings were very bad. They went clear in the other direction for Fall 1995 with the move of Murder, She Wrote to the night after eleven years on Sundays. Much to the chagrin of star Angela Lansbury, Murder was sent to the wolves on Thursdays as part of CBS's attempt to get younger on Sunday nights with comedies. The series dropped from the Top 10 to #58 in the ratings and CBS cancelled the series after 12 seasons and 264 episodes. CBS did let it return to Sundays for the very end of its run. Initially following it on Thursdays was New York News, a newspaper drama starring Gregory Harrison and Mary Tyler Moore. The series didn't receive good reviews and Moore was reportedly unhappy with the show, but it didn't matter much because it was cancelled at the end of the season. It would prove to be Moore's last regular TV role before her death in 2017. Rescue 911 replaced it after sitting on the bench to start the season. It aired the rest of the season but was cancelled at the end of the summer after seven seasons. Throughout the season, CBS did not get into the drama battle at 10pm and continued with newsmagazine 48 Hours.

NBC	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	Friends	The Single Guy	Seinfeld	Caroline in the City	ER
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar		Boston Common
Apr
May		The Single Guy

Nothing could stop NBC on Thursday nights in the mid 1990s. In the 1995-96 season, six of the top seven scripted shows airing on TV were from NBC's Must See TV lineup. The anchors were the iconic shows: Friends, Seinfeld and ER. They were also the top three shows on TV. Friends moved to 8pm for its second season in a move that seemed somewhat bold at the time, but it would prove to be a great choice as it became the lead-off show for nearly a decade. Friends also aired after the Super Bowl in the 1995-96 season to the best ratings ever for a Super Bowl lead-out show. NBC has received much derision over the years for their "hammock" shows - the ones that aired between Friends and Seinfeld as well as between Seinfeld and ER. There were a lot of shows that took a turn in those slots and they ranged from timeslot hits to outright flops. The 1995-96 season saw two timeslot hits with The Single Guy and Caroline in the City. Single Guy starred Jonathan Silverman as the only single friend in his group while Caroline starred Lea Thompson. Like Friends and Seinfeld, both shows were set in Manhattan and part of NBC's attempt to be the hip network with all shows that glamorized life in Manhattan. Neither Single Guy or Caroline became a cornerstone show for the network but they both were giant hits in the 1995-96 season with Caroline ranking #4 and The Single Guy ranking #6. The Single Guy took a brief hiatus in the spring and NBC used the time to launch another new sitcom about young 20-somethings. The difference with this one, Boston Common, was that it was set in Boston. NBC could do no wrong on the night and even airing in the spring and sometimes surrounded by repeats, Boston still placed #8 for the year. Not surprisingly, all of NBC's shows on the night were renewed for another season but not all of them returned to Thursdays.

FOX	8:00	8:30	9:00
Sep	Living Single	The Crew	New York Undercover
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb		Martin
Mar
Apr
May

FOX went after Friends with a show that has often been compared to Friends in the years since, Living Single. It was also about a group of young 20-something friends but it had a primarily black cast and, as has been pointed out in the years since, never got the same attention. It was still a solid lead-off for FOX on Thursdays. It led into The Crew, a new comedy about a group of flight attendants living in Miami. It was not a black-led sitcom and back then, it was pretty rare for a network to mix and match shows with different demographic appeals. The Crew lasted until January when it was pulled from the lineup, though it returned in the summer to finish out its run. Check back tomorrow for a closer look at The Crew! Replacing it on Thursdays was Martin, which had been the 8pm show leading into Living Single the previous season. The two were always a compatible pair. At 9pm was New York Undercover, a show that flew under the radar but had some critical support and kept the lights on for FOX in a difficult slot and was actually FOX's highest rated show on the night.

Top Rated Thursday Show of 1995-96: ER (#1)

Lowest Rated Thursday Show of 1995-96: The Monroes (#126)

Tomorrow: A One Season Wonder look at The Crew!

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