Looking back...Primetime Ratings from the 80's

[kalbir]

1982-1985 CBS had success with action shows Magnum, P.I. and Simon & Simon, but then post-Super Bowl 1985 The Cosby Show blew up and weakened Magnum, P.I. and 1985/86 Cheers took off and clobbered Simon & Simon.

Fall 1985 until the end of the decade that CBS struggled with dramas. Of all the dramas launched in that period, the longest running was Jake and the Fatman (5 seasons).

It's so funny how the fortunes of CBS primetime lineup and CBS daytime lineup went in opposite directions in the 1980s. CBS primetime lineup started the decade riding high with Who Shot JR but was an absolute mess by the end of the decade. CBS daytime lineup started the decade shaken by the huge rise and dominance of ABC but ended the decade #1 with all four soaps hitting their stride plus the game show block.

That was mostly due to the Aaron Spelling hit factory, but Brandon Stoddard and Robert Iger put an end to that.

As we all know NBC was a mess until The Cosby Show came along and that lead to NBC Thursday dominating primetime for the better part of the next 20 years.

[Khan]

Did CBSD do anything to up their game?  Or did the ABC soaps just sort of peter out?

In a way, it's fitting for CBS to be the home these days for shows like "NCIS" and "Tracker," to name but two.  They're sort of carrying on the tradition created by "Magnum, P.I.," "Simon & Simon" and, to a lesser extent, the original "Equalizer."  Again: CBS might be very conservative in terms of their programming, but theirs is a meat-and-potatoes approach that serves their core demographics rather well.

[kalbir]

We saw in the 1980s daytime ratings thread that CBS changed their daytime schedule plus changes to the daytime soaps themselves and ABC eventually lost their momentum.

Exactly.

[soapfan770]

One thing these 80’s ratings always remind me was there was once an audience for Friday and Saturday nights amongst the networks but it’s been lost over the years. 
 

Heck I like to imagine myself cozying up on the couch on a Friday evening with some Chardonnay making appointment time with Dallas and Falcon Crest after a long week at work, barring the fact I did the same the night before for Knots Landing

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Then stay in for Golden Girls on Saturday nights just long enough before going out lol to Oliver Cheatham’s “Get Down Saturday Night”

By the 90s for me Friday & Saturday nights were for The X-Files and Sisters but of course I still underage lol.

I didn’t realize this pure absence until later on in the mid-00’s when I realized often my Saturday nights I didn’t go out often revolved watching Knots & Y&R reruns on SoapNet or Doctor Who revival on SciFi.

Not going to lie but the last soapy Friday night fare i actually watched live was Dynasty 2.0, which provided a campy  soapy comfort on Friday nights I was missing.

[kalbir]

@soapfan770 1980s Fridays went from Dukes of Hazzard/Dallas/Falcon Crest to new hotness Miami Vice then TGIF comedies. 1980s Saturdays went from Aaron Spelling hit factory to The Golden Girls.

[soapfan770]

LOL I wasn’t going to mention my school age self may or may not have watched Mr Belvedere…  

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But seriously if I had been an adult in the late 70’s and early 80’s I would have laughed out loud and sneered at both The Love Boat and Fantasy Island, and maybe Webster too.

[Soapsuds]

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[Soapsuds]

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[kalbir]

Maybe its me, but 1986/87 was not one of the more memorable seasons of the 1980s. NBC Thursday dominated and there was really no breakout hit that season.

[Paul Raven]

My Sister Sam was doing OK at Mon @8.30 but CBS threw it away next season on Sat night. With their shortage of sitcoms, it seemed a foolish move. Of course real life tragedy would have probably halted production anyway.

And seeing Jack & Mike Tues @10 on ABC reminded me of how many attempts ABC made to find a viable show for that timeslot to follow Moonlighting.

Spenser, Our Family Honor, Max Headroom before Thirtysomething established itself there.

[Khan]

Whenever I hear or read about "My Sister Sam," I'm always reminded of Diane English's comments about the show on her Archive of American Television interview.  Basically, she took the EP job, because (IIRC) she was under contract to Warner Bros., which produced MSS; and even though she and her team of writers managed to make the show work, they actually were relieved when the show was cancelled, because producing the show was just so arduous.  (English alluded to there being a toxic environment on the set.  She doesn't name any names, but I kind of suspect Pam Dawber was a source of a lot of the tension).

[Soapsuds]

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[Paul Raven]

Wed and Thurs @10 all 3 networks competitive.

[kalbir]

I just love that Thanksgiving Thursday was won by a repeat of The Cosby Show.

November 27, 1986 was Hill Street Blues last Thursday episode. The following week was NBC's big drama switch: Hill Street Blues moved from Thursday 10 pm to Tuesday 9 pm, L.A. Law moved from Friday 10 pm to Thursday 10 pm, and Crime Story moved from Tuesday 9 pm to Friday 10 pm.

Edited December 8, 2024 by kalbir