SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1996-1997 Sundays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Sunsdays in the 1996-97 season! After this week, I will be taking a two week holiday break from the blog.

ABC	7:00	7:30	8:00	8:30	9:00	10:00
Sep	America’s Funniest Home Videos	America’s Funniest Home Videos	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman		Sunday Night Movie
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman		America’s Funniest Home Videos	America’s Funniest Home Videos
Feb	America’s Funniest Home Videos	America’s Funniest Home Videos	Various Programs
Mar	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman		America’s Funniest Home Videos	America’s Funniest Home Videos
Apr	America’s Funniest Home Videos	America’s Funniest Home Videos	Various Programs
May

It looks like there was a lot happening on Sunday nights on ABC when looking at this grid but the reality is there was just a lot of flip-flopping between America's Funniest Home Videos and Lois & Clark. The two shows were airing on Sunday nights together for a fourth consecutive season but ratings were dropping for both shows. ABC tried flipping the hours for both then pulled Lois & Clark for a month with Videos going back to 7pm. Then Lois came back and Videos flipped back to 8pm. At the end of the season, Lois & Clark got sent to Saturdays before being cancelled while Videos returned to 7pm. Host Bob Saget decided to leave the show as his contract was expiring and he had grown tired of the hosting role. ABC ended up putting America's Funniest Home Videos on the bench to start the 1998-99 season as it was re-tooled. The show had gone from being a Top 10 hit to an afterthought over the years. The movie at 9pm was well behind competing movies on CBS and NBC.

CBS	7:00	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	60 Minutes	Touched by an Angel	Sunday Night Movie
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

CBS aired Murder, She Wrote for eleven seasons on Sunday nights and then tried one ill-fated year of a comedy block in 1995-96. They went back to the gentle drama wheelhouse for 1996-97 by moving Touched by an Angel to the night after it had a breakout year on Saturdays the previous season. The result paid off big time for CBS as Angel vaulted into the Top 10 and was CBS's highest rated show. 60 Minutes continued to be a warhorse at 7pm while the movie topped the competition on ABC and NBC. This was CBS's strongest night.

NBC	7:00	8:00	8:30	9:00	10:00
Sep	Dateline NBC	3rd Rock From the Sun	Boston Common	Sunday Night Movie
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan			Various Programs
Feb
Mar			Boston Common
Apr
May			3rd Rock From the Sun

A year after trying Mad About You on Sundays, NBC was still trying to make a comedy block work on Sundays. This time, they moved 3rd Rock From the Sun to the night. This made a little bit more sense because it was a breakout hit for the network but didn't really fit into the upscale, "single people in the city" vibe that most of their shows had. 3rd Rock did pretty well in its move but the move may have hampered more breakout potential especially with star John Lithgow surprisingly winning the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy. It was followed by Boston Common, which had been a Top 10 hit as a Thursday night as a midseason replacement. Unlike 3rd Rock, it proved to be a timeslot hit and suffered greatly in its move to Sundays. It was pulled at various points in the Spring and also aired on Mondays for a short time but it was cancelled after two seasons. Dateline NBC continued at 7pm and a movie continued to close out the night.

FOX	7:00	7:30	8:00	8:30	9:00
Sep	Big Deal!		Sunday Night Movie
Oct	Various Programs	Various Programs
Nov		Married… With Children	The Simpsons	Ned & Stacey	The X-Files
Dec
Jan	Various Programs			King of the Hill
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

FOX's Sunday lineup got off to a late start as they were dealing with MLB playoffs, the World Series and debates in September and October. The only show that started in September was Big Deal!, a game show hosted by Mark DeCarlo that was sort of like Let's Make a Deal but with stunts. The series bombed on Sunday nights and was gone before the rest of the lineup launched. There were plans for LA Firefighters to air a second season at 7pm but the entire season was scrapped before it even premiered. When the rest of the lineup came on, the big news was The X-Files had moved to Sunday nights after airing on Fridays for three seasons. The move paid off big time as Files vaulted into the Top 20 and became FOX's highest rated show as its mass audience appeal was matching the critical love. Earlier in the night, Married... With Children aired at 7:30pm after quickly failing in its move to Saturdays before it eventually moved to Mondays and FOX aired specials at 7pm for the entire second half of the season. The Simpsons continued as the 8pm anchor and was initially followed by Ned & Stacey. That show had some critical love but struggled on Monday nights in its freshman season. FOX thought a timeslot upgrade might help matters but it didn't. It was a gaping hole between two hits and FOX pulled it off the air before the New Year. They replaced it with a new animated series, King of the Hill, which came from Mike Judge (creator of Beavis & Butthead). The series, centered on a family in a small Texas town, was a breakout hit for FOX and even outperformed The Simpsons. Sunday nights had suddenly become very hot for FOX with King of the Hill and The X-Files completely transforming the night.

WB	7:00	7:30	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30
Sep	Kirk	Brotherly Love	The Parent ‘Hood	The Steve Harvey Show	Unhappily Ever After	Life With Roger
Oct
Nov
Dec	Brotherly Love
Jan		Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher
Feb						Unhappily Ever After
Mar						Life With Roger
Apr
May						Various Programs

The WB completely revamped its Sunday night lineup for the 1996-97 season though it stuck with mostly comedies. At 7pm was marginal renewal Kirk followed by NBC cast-off Brotherly Love. Kirk was cancelled just a couple months into its second season and Brotherly moved to 7pm. Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher came over to the night from Wednesday nights to air at 7:30pm and the hour continued to be the lowest rated hour on TV. At the end of the season, Brotherly Love was cancelled by a second network in two years while Nick Freno eked out a renewal. Things were a little bit better at 8pm with The Parent 'Hood taking over as the 8pm anchor and new comedy The Steve Harvey Show following at 8:30pm. The show was the second vehicle for Harvey after ABC's Me and the Boys and it was a success by WB standards. It starred Harvey as a music teacher and vice principal at a Chicago high school. At 9pm was Unhappily Ever After, moving over from Wednesdays. Another new sitcom followed at 9:30pm. Life with Roger starred Mike O'Malley and Maurice Godin and had an unusual premise. It centered on two roommates who had gotten to know each other when one convinced the other to not commit suicide. The dark premise morphed into a pretty standard sitcom though but Life with Roger was the weak link of the later half of the night and was cancelled after one season.

Top Rated Sunday Show of 1996-97: Touched by an Angel (#10)

Lowest Rated Sunday Show of 1996-97: Nick Frenco: Licensed Teacher (#160)

What would I have watched on Sundays in 1996-97?

Not a ton. Maybe 3rd Rock From the Sun and maybe Touched by an Angel. I'm not an animated show fan but I might have sampled King of the Hill. That's about it. I would have hoped for some good movies.

Tomorrow: A One Season Wonder post on Love and Marriage!