Ratings from the 1990s

[kalbir]

Bill Cosby used his clout with NBC to get A Different World the lead out time slot from The Cosby Show and NBC agreed because they were so indebted to Bill Cosby for saving their primetime lineup. The fortunes of A Different World were clearly tied to that of The Cosby Show.

[BetterForgotten]

It's weird a situation though - because going back to Cheers, had it not been for the breakout success of The Cosby Show, that show would have never found a mass audience. But unlike ADW, its audience seemed to deviate from Cosby at some point and it was never in the shadows of TCS once more people watched it. I guess it also had critical acclaim and Emmy's on its side, but those things can only get you so far at the end of the day.

The same with Seinfeld, had NBC not moved it to Thursdays, it would have never found a mass audience. Not only did it manage to become a hit on that night, but THE definitive hit of its era. But again, no one would ever classify it as a "timeslot hit" as it wasn't overshadowed by anything else. 

That said, ADW did carve out a unique niche from its parent show - namely, it did out-rate TCS in black households and I believe was still the #1 show in black households until the end ( even when its ratings on Saturday were baaaaad). 

Edited February 23, 2022 by BetterForgotten

[Paul Raven]

Cosby did the same for Family Ties. It's ratings were average until Cosby became the lead in.

[Khan]

Also, let's not forget that ADW managed to survive and even thrive beyond the departure of its' original lead (Lisa Bonet).  I don't care which show proceeded it on the sked.  There was no guarantee that ADW could have withstood such a blow even with the Cosby lead-in.

[BetterForgotten]

It seems like the relative obscurity of ADW (at least compared to other sitcoms that aired on NBC’s Must-See TV lineup) in syndication may have hurt its memory in the long-run as well. There was a long period in the 90s/early 00s where the show wasn’t present even on an niche cable channel. Compare that to how a show like The Golden Girls, for example, found a second life in re-runs on Lifetime, ADW was never able to get that. 

[Khan]

Agree.  AntennaTV, for example, would be a good place to air ADW reruns.

[kalbir]

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Remember when CBS tried to be young and cool in 1995/96? This was another low point in their primetime mess era 1986/87 to 2000/01.

CBS's only Top 10 show in 1995/96 was 60 Minutes at 9th and their Top 30 shows were The Nanny at 16th, Walker Texas Ranger and Murphy Brown tied for 18th, Chicago Hope at 23rd, and CBS Sunday Movie and Can't Hurry Love (first and only season) tied for 24th. CBS's only new fall show to return in 1996/97 was Almost Perfect and their only midseason show to return in 1996/97 was Nash Bridges. 1995/96 was also the final seasons for Due South, Murder She Wrote, Picket Fences, and Rescue 911.

1996/97 CBS tried to be comforting and homey.

CBS's only Top 10 show in 1996/97 was Touched by an Angel at 10th and their Top 30 shows were 60 Minutes at 11th, CBS Sunday Movie at 14th, Cosby (first season) at 21st, Walker Texas Ranger at 23rd, Chicago Hope and Cybill tied for 30th.

At least the new fall shows were a bit more successful, w/ Cosby, Early Edition, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Promised Land returning for 1997/98. Midseason saw JAG move to CBS from NBC. 1996/97 was the final seasons for Almost Perfect and Dave's World. 

Edited March 7, 2022 by kalbir

[Forever8]

The You're on CBS promos remind me something like HBO would've done around this era. 

Edited March 5, 2022 by Forever8

[BetterForgotten]

CBS had major identity issues for most of the 90's, I guess that's to be expected when it seemed like there was a new network head at CBS every 5 minutes back then. 

It's funny that Y&R's rise to #1 in daytime for CBS kind of coincided with their primetime fall from grace. 

Edited March 5, 2022 by BetterForgotten

[kalbir]

I never thought of it that way, but breaking it down, it's so true.

1982/83: Y&R becomes CBS's top rated daytime drama, finishing 4th behind General Hospital, All My Children, One Life to Live. CBS primetime has 6 shows in the Top 10 (technically Top 11): 60 Minutes (#1 overall), Dallas, M*A*S*H (final season), Magnum, P.I., Simon & Simon, Falcon Crest. CBS's sitcoms are weakening, with the Top 10 fallouts of The Jeffersons, Alice, One Day at a Time.

1983/84: Y&R moves up to 3rd, behind General Hospital and All My Children. CBS primetime has 7 shows in the Top 10: Dallas (#1 overall), 60 Minutes, Simon & Simon, Magnum, P.I., Falcon Crest, Kate & Allie (first season), Cagney & Lacey. 

1984/85: Y&R remains in 3rd, behind General Hospital and All My Children. CBS primetime has 7 shows in the Top 10 (technically Top 11): Dallas, 60 Minutes, Simon & Simon, Murder She Wrote (first season), Knots Landing, Falcon Crest, Crazy Like a Fox (first season). After Kate & Allie fell out of the Top 10, CBS wouldn't have another Top 10 sitcom entry until Murphy Brown and Designing Women in 1990/91. Magnum, P.I. Top 10 fallout pinpointed to being head-to-head w/ The Cosby Show. Primetime soaps are at their peak, with the CBS big three all in the Top 11.

1985/86: Y&R moves up to 2nd, behind General Hospital. CBS primetime is down to 3 shows in the Top 10: Murder She Wrote, 60 Minutes, Dallas. Top 10 fallouts of Simon & Simon and Falcon Crest pinpointed to being head-to-head w/ Cheers and Miami Vice respectively. Knots Landing had a writing change. Crazy Like a Fox was done once it no longer had Murder She Wrote as its lead in.

1986/87: Y&R remains in 2nd, behind General Hospital. CBS primetime is down to 2 shows in the Top 10: Murder She Wrote and 60 Minutes. Dallas drops to 11th, the Top 10 fallout pinpointed to the aftermath of the "it was all a dream" resolution in the 1986/87 season premiere. 

1987/88: Y&R ties General Hospital for #1. 60 Minutes and Murder She Wrote remain CBS primetime's only Top 10 shows. Dallas drops to 22nd and Knots Landing and Falcon Crest are below the Top 30. I would've ended the CBS big three primetime soaps at this point.

1988/89: Y&R overtakes General Hospital for #1. 60 Minutes and Murder She Wrote remain CBS primetime's only Top 10 shows.

 

Edited March 6, 2022 by kalbir

[Khan]

AP was a fantastic show that deserved a much longer run, but CBS tampered with it, forcing the writer/producers to ditch Kevin Kilner, rather than nurture it.

In retrospect, I'd have to agree.

[kalbir]

@Khan As far as the CBS big three primetime soaps go, 1985/86 was when they started declining and the end should have been 1987/88. We would've been spared budget mode and storylines going off the rails. CBS was such a mess in the second half of the 1980s that they hung on to shows that were well past their peak. Even their one-time big action dramas Magnum, P.I. and Simon & Simon lasted a couple seasons too long. 

Back to CBS's second half of the 1990s identity crisis, 1997/98 to 1999/2000, they turned Welcome Home into The Address is CBS.

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1997/98 CBS's Top 10 shows were Touched by an Angel at 5th (it's highest finish ever), 60 Minutes at 8th, and CBS Sunday Movie at 9th, and its Top 30 shows were Walker Texas Ranger at 21st, Diagnosis Murder at 26th, and Cosby at 28th. The new fall shows were a disaster, w/ none returning in 1998/99 (I don't count Unsolved Mysteries as 1997/98 was its first season on CBS after moving over from NBC). Midseason only saw two returns, Kids Say the Darndest Things and The Magnificent Seven. 1997/98 was the final seasons for Cybill, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, and Murphy Brown (I don't count Family Matters and Step By Step as 1997/98 was their first and only season on CBS after moving over from ABC).

1998/99 CBS's Top 10 shows were 60 Minutes at 7th, Touched by an Angel at 8th, and CBS Sunday Movie at 9th, and its Top 30 shows were Everybody Loves Raymond at 11th, JAG at 16th, Becker (first season) and CBS Tuesday Movie tied at 19th, Walker Texas Ranger at 25th, and 60 Minutes II (first season) and Diagnosis Murder tied at 30th. The new fall shows returning for 1999/2000 were 60 Minutes II, Becker, The King of Queens, and Martial Law. No midseason returns. 1998/99 was the final seasons for The Magnificent Seven, The Nanny, Promised Land, and Unsolved Mysteries.

1999/2000 CBS's Top 10 shows were 60 Minutes at 8th and Touched by an Angel at 10th, and its Top 30 shows were Everybody Loves Raymond at 12th, CBS Sunday Movie at 14th, Becker at 18th, Judging Amy (first season) at 19th, JAG at 20th, 60 Minutes II at 23rd, Family Law (first season) at 27th, and CBS Wednesday Movie at 30th. The new fall shows returning for 2000/01 were Family Law, Judging Amy, and Ladies Man. Only midseason return was City of Angels. Summer 2000 was the first editions of Big Brother and Survivor, and we all know how the latter show played a big part in CBS's comeback in the 2000s. 1999/2000 was the final seasons for Chicago Hope, Cosby, Early Edition, Kids Say the Darndest Things, and Martial Law.

As we all know 2000/01 saw Survivor at #1, Everybody Loves Raymond enter the Top 10, the start of CSI, and the rest is history.

Edited March 20, 2022 by kalbir

[Khan]

If you look at early "Big Brother" or "Survivor" today, it seems almost quaint; but, back then, it was mind-blowing.

"Touched by an Angel" is another, quality show that gets an unfair reputation as a show only "oldsters" would like.

[kalbir]

Touched by an Angel could not have been a Top 10 show for four seasons just on the 50+ audience alone. It was a show that families could watch together. It was smart of CBS to move Touched by an Angel from Saturday 9 pm to Sunday 8 pm in 1996/97, where it basically inherited the Murder She Wrote audience.

[soapfan770]

CBS was such a disaster in 1997-98 lol. I still have the promotional VHS that my local CBS station KRQE at the time was handing out for free one Saturday at the mall in Sept 97

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That was the year they snagged Step By Step, Family Matters, Unsolved Mysteries and had all their new shows not get renewed at all. 
 

Wasn’t the biggest night Saturday and Sunday nights? I did like Early Edition. I know Everyone Loves Raymond and Cosby helped on Mondays with the forgettable Chicago Hope.