This was the United States broadcast television schedule on all six commercial television networks for the fall season beginning in September 1996. All times are Eastern and Pacific.
New series highlighted in bold.
The highest-rated show for the year is highlighted in lime. The top ten rated programs are highlighted in yellow. The top 20 rated programs are highlighted in cyan. The top 30 rated programs are highlighted in magenta. The top 40 rated programs are highlighted in orange. The top 50 rated programs are highlighted in silver. Rankings determined by Nielsen Media Research.[1]
PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, was in operation, but the schedule was set by each local station.
Contents |
| PM | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | America's Funniest Home Videos #98 (tied) 6.6 rating | America's Funniest Home Videos #71 (tied) 7.8 rating | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman #104 (tied) 6.2 rating | ABC Sunday Night Movie #40 9.4 rating | ||||
| CBS | 60 Minutes #11 13.3 rating | Touched by an Angel #10 13.6 rating | CBS Sunday Movies #14 12.1 rating | |||||
| Fox | Big Deal #131 (tied) 3.8 rating | The Simpsons #53 (tied) 8.6 rating | Ned and Stacey #108 (tied) 6.1 rating | The X-Files #20 11.4 rating | Local | |||
| NBC | Dateline Sunday #73 (tied) 7.7 rating | The John Larroquette Show #84 (tied) 7.3 rating | 3rd Rock from the Sun #28 (tied) 10.8 rating | Boston Common #51 (tied) 8.7 rating | NBC Sunday Night Movie #18 11.5 rating | |||
| WB | Kirk #152 (tied) 2.4 rating | Brotherly Love #154 (tied) 2.3 rating | The Parent 'Hood #152 (tied) 2.4 rating | The Steve Harvey Show #147 2.7 rating | Unhappily Ever After #144 2.9 rating | Life with Roger #158 2.2 rating | Local | |
Note: On Fox, the animated television series King of the Hill (#43, 9.2 rating) premiered on January 12, 1997 at 8:30.
| PM | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Dangerous Minds #100 (tied) 6.4 rating | Monday Night Football #7 16.2 rating | ||||
| CBS | Cosby #22 (tied) 11.2 rating | Ink #37 9.6 rating | Murphy Brown #34 10.4 rating | Cybill #31 (tied) 10.5 rating | Chicago Hope #31 (tied) 10.5 rating | |
| Fox | Melrose Place #58 (tied) 8.5 rating | Party Girl #126 4.8 rating | Lush Life #131 (tied) 3.8 rating | Local | ||
| NBC | The Jeff Foxworthy Show #71 (tied) 7.8 rating | Mr. Rhodes #80 (tied) 7.5 rating | NBC Monday Night Movie #24 (tied) 11.0 rating | |||
| UPN | In the House #139 (tied) 3.3 rating | Malcolm and Eddie #135 (tied) 3.4 rating | Goode Behavior #149 (tied) 2.6 rating | Sparks #149 (tied) 2.6 rating | Local | |
| WB | 7th Heaven #154 (tied) 2.3 rating | Savannah #154 (tied) 2.3 rating | Local | |||
Note: On CBS, the debut of Ink was delayed by a month due to production problems, resulting in another new sitcom, Pearl, which aired temporarily in its slot before moving to its own originally designated Wednesday time period in late October.
The WB premiered Buffy the Vampire Slayer on March 10, 1997 at 9 p.m.
| PM | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Roseanne #35 10.1 rating | Soul Man #22 (tied) 11.2 rating | Home Improvement #9 14.0 rating | Spin City #17 11.7 rating | N.Y.P.D. Blue #13 12.5 rating | |
| CBS | Promised Land #58 (tied) 8.5 rating | CBS Tuesday Movies #36 10.0 rating | ||||
| Fox | Fox Tuesday Night Movie #94 (tied) 6.9 rating | Local | ||||
| NBC | Mad About You #24 (tied) 11.0 rating | Something So Right #38 (tied) 9.5 rating | Frasier #16 11.8 rating | Caroline in the City #24 (tied) 11.0 rating | Dateline Tuesday #20 (tied) 11.4 rating | |
| UPN | Moesha #134 3.5 rating | Homeboys in Outer Space #145 (tied) 2.8 rating | The Burning Zone #154 (tied) 2.3 rating | Local | ||
Note: On ABC, the David E. Kelley law drama The Practice had a six-episode run from March 4, 1997 to April 8, 1997 at 10:00.
UPN premiered the short-lived teenage sitcom Social Studies in March as a midseason replacement. The show lasted for six episodes.
| PM | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Ellen #30 10.6 rating | Townies #63 8.2 rating | Grace Under Fire #45 (tied) 9.1 rating | The Drew Carey Show #18 (tied) 11.5 rating | Primetime Live #15 11.9 rating | |||
| CBS | The Nanny #45 (tied) 9.1 rating | Pearl #45 (tied) 9.1 rating | Almost Perfect #76 (tied) 7.6 rating | Public Morals #124 5.1 rating | EZ Streets #118 (tied) 5.5 rating | |||
| Fox | Beverly Hills, 90210 #61 (tied) 8.4 rating | Party of Five #82 (tied) 7.4 rating | Local | |||||
| NBC | Wings #76 (tied) 7.6 rating | Michelle #47 (tied) 5.3 rating | NewsRadio #92 (tied) 7.0 rating | Men Behaving Badly #73 (tied) 7.7 rating | Law & Order #28 (tied) 10.8 rating | |||
| UPN | The Sentinel #135 (tied) 3.4 rating | Star Trek: Voyager #128 4.3 rating | Local | |||||
| WB | Sister, Sister #142 (tied) 3.0 rating | Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher #142 (tied) 3.0 rating | The Wayans Bros. #139 (tied) 3.3 rating | The Jamie Foxx Show #135 3.4 rating | Local | |||
Note: On CBS, due to the effect of the debut delay of Ink on Monday, the first month of the new season on this night aired Almost Perfect at 8:30 p.m., followed by CBS Wednesday Movies at 9 p.m. The originally planned fall Wednesday lineup took shape at the end of October with Pearl taking over at 8:30 p.m., Almost Perfect moving to 9 p.m., Public Morals debuting at 9:30 p.m., and EZ Streets debuting at 10 p.m.
| PM | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | High Incident #102 (tied) 6.3 rating | Murder One #113 (tied) 5.7 rating | Turning Point #89 (tied) 7.2 rating | |||
| CBS | Diagnosis: Murder #45 (tied) 9.1 rating | Moloney #68 (tied) 8.0 rating | 48 Hours #73 (tied) 7.7 rating | |||
| Fox | Martin #110 (tied) 6.0 rating | Living Single #104 (tied) 6.2 rating | New York Undercover #104 (tied) 6.2 rating | Local | ||
| NBC | Friends #4 16.8 rating | The Single Guy #8 14.1 rating | Seinfeld #2 20.5 rating | Suddenly Susan #3 17.0 rating | ER #1 21.2 rating | |
Note: On NBC, the sitcom The Naked Truth, canceled by ABC in 1996, aired from January 16, 1997 to February 27, 1997 at 9:30, then later moved to Friday nights. Its season finale aired on Wednesday, May 14, 1997. Also on NBC, the sitcom The Single Guy was moved to Wednesdays in March 1997 to make room for the sitcom Fired Up (#4)(tied) , which aired at 8:30 beginning April 10, 1997.
| PM | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Family Matters #50 8.8 rating | Sabrina, the Teenage Witch #41 (tied) 9.3 rating | Clueless #53 (tied) 8.6 rating | Boy Meets World #51 (tied) 8.7 rating | 20/20 #12 12.8 rating | |
| CBS | Dave's World #94 (tied) 6.9 rating | Everybody Loves Raymond #84 (tied) 7.3 rating | Mr. & Mrs. Smith #84 (tied) 7.3 rating | Nash Bridges #64 (tied) 8.1 rating | ||
| Fox | Sliders #118 (tied) 5.5 rating | Millennium #94 (tied) 6.9 rating | Local | |||
| NBC | Unsolved Mysteries #53 (tied) 8.6 rating | Dateline Friday #31 (tied) 10.5 rating | Homicide: Life on the Street #68 (tied) 8.0 rating | |||
Note: Step by Step would debut in March on ABC.
| PM | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Second Noah #113 (tied) 5.7 rating | Coach #64 (tied) 8.1 rating | Common Law #125 5.0 rating | Relativity #122 5.4 rating | ||
| CBS | Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman #58 (tied) 8.5 rating | Early Edition #49 9.0 rating | Walker, Texas Ranger #24 (tied) 11.0 rating | |||
| Fox | COPS #113 (tied) 5.7 rating | COPS #102 (tied) 6.3 rating | Married... with Children #97 6.7 rating | Love and Marriage #133 3.6 rating | Local | |
| NBC | Dark Skies #113 (tied) 5.7 rating | The Pretender #89 (tied) 7.2 rating | Profiler #82 (tied) 7.4 rating | |||
Note: America's Most Wanted would debut in November at 9:00 on Fox. Married... with Children moved to Sundays at 7-8pm in November, Mondays at 9:30 in January, and Mondays at 9pm in February.
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Returning series:
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New series:
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CBS
Fox
NBC
UPN
The WB
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