SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1995-1996 Wednesdays

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

ABC	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	Ellen	The Drew Carey Show	Grace Under Fire	The Naked Truth	Primetime Live
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar		The Faculty		Buddies
Apr		The Drew Carey Show		The Faculty
May

ABC solidified their anchor shows for the 1995-96 season with Roseanne and Home Improvement on Tuesdays and Ellen and Grace Under Fire holding things down on Wednesdays. Grace Under Fire was in its third season and still a big hit that was more than capable of being an anchor show. Ellen was moved out of a cushy slot to take the 8pm lead-off spot. It was not as strong as the other anchors, but was a more stable performer than Thunder Alley and Sister, Sister in the previous season. Two new shows aired in the half-hour slots. At 8:30pm was The Drew Carey Show, yet another sitcom given to a stand-up comedian. The Cleveland set comedy had a blue collar appeal like many ABC comedies but was a hangout show instead of a family comedy. At 9:30pm was The Naked Truth, which starred Tea Leoni as a tabloid photographer. The series definitely felt more like an NBC show with its more upscale setting and sophistication and Leoni got raves for her performance in the show. While The Naked Truth earned higher ratings than The Drew Carey Show, it was Drew that got a renewal because it was doing better relative to expectations. Timeslots really mattered back in those days and Naked was bleeding too much of the Grace Under Fire lead-in. Both shows were off the lineup in March but it was just a hiatus for Drew while Naked was cancelled (and picked up by NBC where it probably belonged to begin with). Two new shows temporarily took those slots. At 8:30pm was The Faculty, a sitcom that marked Meredith Baxter's return to TV, this time as a middle school principal. At 9:30pm was Buddies, a little remembered sitcom starring Dave Chappelle. It was cancelled after five episodes and Chappelle has since trashed the show. When it was cancelled, The Faculty moved to 9:30pm to allow for Drew Carey's return to the lineup so it lasted longer than Buddies but was also cancelled at the end of the season. Throughout the season, newsmagazine Primetime Live continued at 10pm. The networks sure loved their newsmagazines in the 90s.

CBS	8:00	8:30	9:00	10:00
Sep	Bless This House	Dave’s World	Central Park West	Courthouse
Oct
Nov	Dave’s World	Bless This House
Dec			Various Programs
Jan			Matt Waters	American Gothic
Feb		The Louie Show	Wednesday Night Movie
Mar		The Nanny
Apr		My Guys
May	Various Programs

After a very messy Wednesday lineup in 1994-95, CBS completely revamped the night for 1995-96. Up first was a comedy hour starting with the new Bless This House, a comedy that brought R-rated comic Andrew Dice Clay to a family sitcom. Clay toned his act way down for this series but people either weren't willing to give him a chance or didn't care to see a sanitized version. It was paired with Dave's World, which had been a solid performer on Mondays for two years but took a big drop in the ratings in the Wednesday move though it did get a renewal for a fourth season. The two comedies flipped slots in November and Bless This House was gone early in 1996. Two other sitcoms, along with repeats of The Nanny, filled the 8:30pm slot the rest of the way. The Louie Show was yet another stand-up comedian driven sitcom. This one starred Louie Anderson as a Minnesota psychotherapist. It lasted five episodes, which was three more than the next new show in the slot. My Guys was about a family running a limousine company and it was an instant flop, getting cancelled after just two airings. CBS made a big deal heading into the 1995-96 season about how they wanted to be a "younger" and "sexier" network and their big push in that direction came in the form of Central Park West, a soapy and glossy drama from the creator of Melrose Place. Everything about CBS promotion in the summer of 1995 was centered on Central Park West, but audiences were not interested. Check back tomorrow for a One Season Wonder post on Central Park West! The series was paired with another adult themed drama, Courthouse, that pushed some CBS standards a bit including a prominent gay character. Both dramas were bombs with the audience though and CBS had no choice but to pull them both from the lineup midway through November Sweeps. CBS seemed to learn its lesson from trying to be a different type of network and went with much older appealing fare for 1996-97 after this disaster. In January, there were two different dramas. The new Matt Waters starring talk show host Montel Williams as a high school teacher aired at 9pm while American Gothic moved over from Fridays to air at 10pm. These dramas were not any more successful and CBS finally gave up with the final two hours of the night and started airing a movie in February.

NBC	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	SeaQuest 2032	Dateline NBC	Law & Order
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan	Various Programs
Feb
Mar	JAG
Apr
May

There were two nights in the Fall of 1995 that NBC didn't have comedies on their lineup: Wednesdays and Fridays. Wednesdays were devoted to a trio of hour long problems with Dateline NBC and Law & Order continuing at 9pm and 10pm and continuing to do well. At 8pm was the show formerly known as SeaQuest DSV that changed its name to SeaQuest 2032. The show moved forward in time to be set in, you guessed it, 2032. After so-so ratings on Sundays for two seasons, it was put on Wednesdays in the lead-off slot but the ratings continued to get worse and it was cancelled midway through the season after 57 episodes and quite a few re-toolings. After a few months of specials and no permanent occupant, JAG moved over to the night from Saturdays. The only new drama from NBC's fall slate had not done very well on Saturday nights and this was an attempt to salvage the show. It didn't fare much better and NBC cancelled the show but it was famously picked up by CBS where it ran for nine (!) more seasons (and of course led to the NCIS franchise). Granted, JAG always felt more like a CBS show but this was a move that has continued to pay dividends to CBS for decades.

FOX	8:00	9:00
Sep	Beverly Hills, 90210	Party of Five
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr		Kindred: The Embraced
May

FOX was steady on Wednesday nights for much of the season with Beverly Hills, 90210 continuing at 8pm for a fourth consecutive season. It was followed by Party of Five, which had been an acclaimed but low-rated show in its first season. FOX was patient with it and renewed it for a second season. The ratings improved a little bit but the biggest news in the second season was a very surprising Golden Globe win for Outstanding Drama Series. Back in these days, it was hard for a show to survive on critical/awards acclaim but Party of Five was definitely one of the rare exceptions. Party of Five's season ended early to make room for a late drama addition. Kindred: The Embraced came from Aaron Spelling's production company but it was a very different type of show. It was based on a role playing game called Vampire: The Masquerade and it was a rare attempt in that era of a vampire (or even fantasy in general) show. It lasted just seven episodes but still has a very small cult following like most shows with that type of premise.

UPN	8:00	9:00
Sep	No UPN Programming
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar	The Sentinel	Swift Justice
Apr
May

UPN did not program on Wednesdays for much of the season but they joined the fray on Wednesday to make it the first night with six different broadcast networks airing programming. Two new dramas were chosen to air on the night. First up was The Sentinel, an action drama about an army ranger who develops unique sensory abilities after being on his own in a jungle for 18 months. Starring Richard Burgi, the series was UPN's third highest rated show of the season behind Star Trek: Voyager and Moesha and that got it renewed for a second season. Less successful was Swift Justice, a drama about a former NAVY Seal working as a detective in New York City. The series was created by Dick Wolf, yes that Dick Wolf, who also had Law & Order on NBC and New York Undercover on FOX at the time. It was criticized for being too violent and was cancelled after 13 episodes, which Wolf has lamented multiple times in the years since.

WB	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30
Sep	Sister, Sister	The Parent ‘Hood	The Wayans Bros.	Unhappily Ever After
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

The WB continued with a comedy lineup on Wednesdays that was geared towards a black audience. Three of the shows from the inaugural lineup the previous spring: The Parent 'Hood, The Wayans Bros. and Unhappily Ever After. The Parent 'Hood was the WB's top show though that wasn't saying much. Replacing the cancelled Muscle was Sister, Sister, which had been cancelled by ABC after two seasons. The ratings dropped quite a bit, of course, but expectations were much lower for the WB and it fit in well with their lineup.

Top Rated Wednesday Show of 1995-96: Grace Under Fire (#13)

Lowest Rated Wednesday Show of 1995-96: Unhappily Ever After (#150)

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

Party of Five would have been my top choice but aside from that, it would have been all about ABC for me as I probably would have watched all their comedies, at least casually. I may have given Central Park West or Courthouse a chance but I don't know that they would have been for me and I probably would have checked in with Law & Order sometime.

Tomorrow: A One Season Wonder look at Central Park West!

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