1989–90 United States network television schedule
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The 1989–90 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers primetime hours from September 1989 through August 1990. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1988–89 season.
Beginning this season, Fox started their prime time expansion starting with Mondays.
This is the first season to feature entirely closed captioning programs on the Big Four networks.
This was the first time that two programs were tied for the no. 1 spot in the Nielsen ratings.
PBS is not included; member stations have local flexibility over most of their schedules and broadcast times for network shows may vary.
New series are highlighted in bold.
All times are U.S. Eastern and Pacific Time (except for some live sports or events). Subtract one hour for Central, Mountain, Alaska and Hawaii–Aleutian times.
Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.[1]
Legend
[edit]- Light blue indicates local programming.
- Gray indicates encore programming.
- Blue-gray indicates news programming.
- Light green indicates sporting events.
- Red indicates series being burned off and other regularly scheduled programs, including specials and movies.
- Lime indicates the number-one most-watched program of the season.
- Yellow indicates the top-10 most watched programs of the season.
- Cyan indicates the top-20 most watched programs of the season.
- Magenta indicates the top-30 most watched programs of the season.
Sunday
[edit]Note: In Living Color premiered Sunday, April 15, 1990 at 9:30 PM on Fox.
Monday
[edit]| Network | 8:00 p.m. | 8:30 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | MacGyver | Monday Night Football (10/18.1) | ||||
| Winter | The ABC Monday Night Movie | ||||||
| Spring | China Beach | Capital News | |||||
| Mid-spring | The Young Riders | The ABC Monday Night Movie | |||||
| Summer | MacGyver | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Major Dad | The People Next Door | Murphy Brown (27/14.7) | The Famous Teddy Z | Designing Women (22/15.3) (Tied with Full House) |
Newhart |
| Mid-fall | The Famous Teddy Z | Designing Women (22/15.3) (Tied with Full House) |
Newhart | Doctor Doctor | |||
| Winter | City | ||||||
| Spring | His & Hers | ||||||
| Mid-spring | Newhart | Special programming | |||||
| Summer | Sydney | Newhart | The Dave Thomas Comedy Show | ||||
| Mid-summer | Doctor Doctor | Saturday Night with Connie Chung | |||||
| Fox | 21 Jump Street | Alien Nation | Local programming | ||||
| NBC | Fall | ALF | The Hogan Family | NBC Monday Night at the Movies | |||
| Winter | |||||||
| Spring | My Two Dads | ||||||
| Mid-spring | Working Girl | Hunter (24/14.9) (Tied with CBS Sunday Movie) |
Shannon's Deal | ||||
| Summer | ALF | The Hogan Family | NBC Monday Night at the Movies | ||||
| Mid-summer | Sister Kate | Working Girl | |||||
Tuesday
[edit]| Network | 8:00 p.m. | 8:30 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Who's the Boss? (12/17.9) | The Wonder Years (8/19.2) | Roseanne (1/23.4) (Tied with The Cosby Show) |
Chicken Soup (13/17.7) (Tied with Murder, She Wrote) |
Thirtysomething | |||
| Mid-fall | Coach (18/17.0) | ||||||||
| Winter | |||||||||
| Spring | |||||||||
| Summer | |||||||||
| CBS | Fall | Rescue 911 | Wolf | Island Son | |||||
| Winter | CBS Tuesday Night Movie | ||||||||
| Spring | |||||||||
| Summer | |||||||||
| NBC | Fall | Matlock (20/16.6) | In the Heat of the Night (19/16.9) | Midnight Caller | |||||
| Winter | |||||||||
| Spring | |||||||||
| Summer | Real Life with Jane Pauley | ||||||||
Wednesday
[edit]| Network | 8:00 p.m. | 8:30 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Growing Pains (21/15.4) | Head of the Class (26/14.8) | Doogie Howser, M.D. (28/14.5) (Tied with The Simpsons and Night Court) |
Anything but Love | China Beach | |
| Winter | |||||||
| Spring | The Marshall Chronicles | Equal Justice | |||||
| Mid-spring | Brewster Place | ||||||
| Summer | Anything but Love | China Beach | |||||
| CBS | Fall | Peaceable Kingdom | Jake and the Fatman | Wiseguy | |||
| Mid-fall | Beauty and the Beast | ||||||
| Winter | Grand Slam | ||||||
| Spring | Normal Life | Sydney | |||||
| Mid-spring | Sydney | Normal Life | Special programming | ||||
| Summer | This Is America, Charlie Brown (R) | ||||||
| Mid-summer | Newhart (R) | His & Hers | Top Cops | ||||
| NBC | Fall | Unsolved Mysteries (11/18.0) | Night Court (28/14.5) (Tied with The Simpsons and Doogie Howser, M.D.) |
The Nutt House | Quantum Leap | ||
| Mid-fall | My Two Dads | ||||||
| Winter | Dear John (17/17.2) | ||||||
| Spring | FM | ||||||
| Late spring | Dear John (17/17.2) | ||||||
| Summer | Singer & Sons | ||||||
| Mid-summer | Night Court (28/14.5) (Tied with The Simpsons and Doogie Howser, M.D.) | ||||||
Notes: Molloy aired at 9:00 p.m. on Fox from July 25 until August 15, 1990. Fox aired movies at 8:00 p.m. on an irregular basis.
Thursday
[edit]| Network | 8:00 p.m. | 8:30 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Mission: Impossible | The Young Riders | Primetime Live | |||
| Winter | Father Dowling Mysteries | ||||||
| Spring | Twin Peaks | ||||||
| Summer | |||||||
| CBS | Fall | 48 Hours | Top of the Hill | Knots Landing | |||
| Winter | Island Son | ||||||
| Spring | Max Monroe: Loose Cannon | ||||||
| Mid-spring | Falcon Crest | ||||||
| Summer | Wiseguy | Wolf | |||||
| Mid-summer | Northern Exposure | The Eddie Capra Mysteries (R) | |||||
| Fox | Mid-summer (begins July 25th, 1990) |
The Simpsons (R) | Molloy | Glory Days | Local programming | ||
| NBC | Fall | The Cosby Show (1/23.4) (Tied with Roseanne) |
A Different World (4/21.1) | Cheers (3/22.7) | Dear John (17/17.2) | L.A. Law (16/17.4) | |
| Winter | Grand (15/17.6) | ||||||
| Spring | Wings | ||||||
| Summer | Seinfeld | ||||||
| Mid-summer | Grand (15/17.6) | ||||||
Notes: The Eddie Capra Mysteries, which CBS aired from July 26 to August 30, consisted of reruns of episodes from the 1978-79 NBC series.
Friday
[edit]| Network | 8:00 p.m. | 8:30 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Full House (22/15.3) (Tied with Designing Women) |
Family Matters | Perfect Strangers | Just the Ten of Us | 20/20 | ||
| Winter | ||||||||
| Spring | ||||||||
| Summer | New Attitude | |||||||
| CBS | Fall | Snoops | Dallas | Falcon Crest | ||||
| Winter | Max Monroe: Loose Cannon | |||||||
| Mid-winter | The Bradys | |||||||
| Spring | Various programming | Bagdad Cafe | Sugar and Spice | Dallas | ||||
| Mid-spring | Small Talk | City | ||||||
| Summer | Falcon Crest | CBS Friday Movie | ||||||
| Mid-summer | Candid Camera | Bagdad Cafe | Newhart (R) | Wish You Were Here | Room for Romance | |||
| Late summer | Prime Time Pets | Candid Camera | ||||||
| NBC | Early fall | Baywatch | NBC Friday Night at the Movies | |||||
| Fall | Hardball | Mancuso, F.B.I. | ||||||
| Winter | True Blue | |||||||
| Mid-winter | Nasty Boys | |||||||
| Spring | Hardball | |||||||
| Mid-spring | Mancuso, F.B.I. | |||||||
| Late spring | Baywatch | |||||||
| Summer | Bret Maverick (R) | The Yellow Rose (R) | Midnight Caller (R) | |||||
| Mid-summer | Quantum Leap (R) | Shannon's Deal (R) | ||||||
| Late summer | Night Court (R) | Wings (R) | ||||||
Notes: Bret Maverick, which aired on NBC, consisted of reruns of the series' 1981–82 network run. The Yellow Rose, which also aired on NBC, consisted of reruns of the series' 1983–84 network run.
Saturday
[edit]| Network | 8:00 p.m. | 8:30 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Mr. Belvedere | Living Dolls | The ABC Saturday Mystery Movie | |||
| Winter | Mission: Impossible | ||||||
| Spring | H.E.L.P. | ||||||
| Late spring | Sunset Beat | ||||||
| Early summer | Elvis | Various programming | |||||
| Summer | Super Jeopardy! | Monopoly | |||||
| Late summer | China Beach (R) | Twin Peaks (R) | |||||
| CBS | Fall | Paradise | Tour of Duty | Saturday Night with Connie Chung | |||
| Winter | |||||||
| Spring | |||||||
| Summer | Beauty and the Beast | Tour of Duty | |||||
| Fox | Fall | COPS | The Reporters | Beyond Tomorrow | Local programming | ||
| Winter | Totally Hidden Video | The Reporters | |||||
| Spring | In Living Color | The Tracey Ullman Show | |||||
| Summer | |||||||
| NBC | Fall | 227 | Amen | The Golden Girls (6/20.1) | Empty Nest (9/18.9) | Hunter (24/14.9) (Tied with CBS Sunday Movie) | |
| Winter | |||||||
| Spring | ALF | ||||||
| Mid-spring | A Family for Joe | 13 East | Carol and Company | Down Home | |||
| Late spring | 13 East | Amen | |||||
| Summer | 227 | Hunter (24/14.9) (Tied with CBS Sunday Movie) | |||||
| Mid-summer | Amen | 13 East | |||||
| Late summer | Carol and Company | Various programming | |||||
Note: Comic Strip Live aired at 11:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. on Fox.
By network
[edit]
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Not returning from 1988–89:
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Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.
+ These shows returned as "backup" programming in midseason
References
[edit]- ^ Highest-rated series is based on the annual top-rated programs list compiled by Nielsen Media Research and reported in: Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.