1996–97 United States network television schedule

The 1996–97 United States network television schedule for the six major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers primetime hours from September 1996 through August 1997. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1995–96 season.

PBS is not included; member stations have local flexibility over most of their schedules and broadcast times for network shows may vary.

New series highlighted in bold.

All times are U.S. Eastern Time 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.

Legend

  • Light blue indicates local programming.
  • Gray indicates encore programming.
  • Blue-gray indicates news programming.
  • Light green indicates sporting events.
  • Light purple indicates movies.
  • Red indicates series being burned off and other regularly scheduled programs, including specials.
  • 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

Network 7:00 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 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 America's Funniest Home Videos Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman The ABC Sunday Night Movie
Winter Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman America's Funniest Home Videos
Spring America's Funniest Home Videos Various programming
Late spring Second Noah America's Funniest Home Videos
CBS 60 Minutes (11/13.3) Touched by an Angel (10/13.6) CBS Sunday Movie (14/12.1)
Fox Fall Big Deal Fox Sunday Movie Local programming
Mid-fall Married... with Children The Simpsons Ned & Stacey The X-Files (21/11.4)
(Tied with Cosby)
Winter Special programming King of the Hill
Spring Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
NBC Fall Dateline NBC 3rd Rock from the Sun (27/10.8)
(Tied with Law & Order)
Boston Common NBC Sunday Night Movie (18/11.5)
(Tied with The Drew Carey Show)
Spring NewsRadio (R)
The WB Fall Kirk Brotherly Love The Parent 'Hood The Steve Harvey Show Unhappily Ever After Life with Roger Local programming
Mid-fall Brotherly Love (R)
Winter Brotherly Love Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher
Spring Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher (R) The Parent 'Hood (R) The Steve Harvey Show (R) The Wayans Bros. (R)
Summer Buffy the Vampire Slayer (R)
Late summer The Jamie Foxx Show (R)

Monday

Network 8:00 PM 8:30 PM 9:00 PM 9:30 PM 10:00 PM 10:30 PM
ABC Fall Dangerous Minds Monday Night Football (#7/16.0)
Winter The ABC Monday Night Movie
Spring Spy Game
Follow Up Relativity
May Various Specials
Summer World of Discovery
August Preseason NFL Football
CBS Fall Cosby (#21/11.2)
(Tied with The X-Files)
Pearl Murphy Brown Cybill (#30/10.5)
(Tied with Chicago Hope and Dateline NBC)
Chicago Hope (#30/10.5)
(Tied with Dateline NBC and Cybill)
Follow Up Ink
Spring Everybody Loves Raymond Cybill (#30/10.5)
(Tied with Chicago Hope and Dateline NBC)
Ink
May Murphy Brown
Summer Everybody Loves Raymond Murphy Brown
Fox Fall Melrose Place Party Girl Lush Life Local Programming
Winter Ned and Stacey Married... with Children
Follow Up Married... with Children
Spring Pauly
May Married... with Children
Summer MAD TV Primetime The Ruby Wax Show
Mid-Summer Various Specials Roar
NBC Fall The Jeff Foxworthy Show Mr. Rhodes The NBC Monday Movie (#23/11.0)
(Tied with Walker, Texas Ranger, Mad About You and Caroline in the City)
Spring Boston Common
Summer The NBC Monday Movie (#23/11.0)
(Tied with Walker, Texas Ranger, Mad About You and Caroline in the City)
Dateline NBC
Follow Up Suddenly Susan Fired Up Caroline in the City (#23/11.0)
(Tied with Walker, Texas Ranger Mad About You and The NBC Monday Movie)
Wings
UPN Fall In the House Malcolm & Eddie Goode Behavior Sparks Local Programming
Winter Sparks Goode Behavior
The WB Fall 7th Heaven Savannah
Spring Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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.

Tuesday

Network 8:00 PM 8:30 PM 9:00 PM 9:30 PM 10:00 PM 10:30 PM
ABC Fall Roseanne Life's Work Home Improvement (#9/14.0) Spin City (#17/11.7) NYPD Blue (#13/12.5)
Winter Ellen (Repeats)
Spring Home Improvement (Repeats) Soul Man The Practice
Summer Roseanne Life's Work NYPD Blue (#13/12.5)
August Grace Under Fire
CBS Promised Land CBS Tuesday Movie
Fox Fox Tuesday Night Movie Local Programming
NBC Fall Mad About You (#23/11.0)
(Tied with Walker, Texas Ranger, Caroline in the City and The NBC Monday Movie)
Something So Right Frasier (#16/11.8) Caroline in the City (#23/11.0)
(Tied with Walker, Texas Ranger Mad About You and The NBC Monday Movie)
Dateline Tuesday (#20/11.4)
July The Naked Truth
August NewsRadio Just Shoot Me!
UPN Fall Moesha Homeboys in Outer Space The Burning Zone Local Programming
Spring Social Studies
Follow Up Homeboys in Outer Space
Mid-Summer Social Studies Malcolm & Eddie In the House

Wednesday

Network 8:00 PM 8:30 PM 9:00 PM 9:30 PM 10:00 PM 10:30 PM
ABC Fall Ellen (#29/10.6) Townies Grace Under Fire The Drew Carey Show (#18/11.5)
(Tied with The NBC Sunday Night Movie)
Primetime Live (#15/11.9)
Winter Grace Under Fire Coach The Drew Carey Show (#18/11.5)
(Tied with The NBC Sunday Night Movie)
Ellen (#29/10.6)
Spring Arsenio
May Ellen (#29/10.6)
CBS Fall The Nanny Almost Perfect CBS Wednesday Movie
Late October Pearl Almost Perfect Public Morals EZ Streets
Follow Up CBS Wednesday Movie
Winter Coast to Coast Orleans
Spring Temporarily Yours Feds EZ Streets
Follow Up Dave's World CBS Wednesday Movie
Summer Pearl
Mid-Summer Murphy Brown Coast to Coast 48 Hours
Fox Fall Beverly Hills, 90210 Party of Five Local Programming
Spring Pacific Palisades
Summer Various Specials
NBC Fall Wings The John Larroquette Show NewsRadio Men Behaving Badly Law & Order (#27/10.8)
(Tied with 3rd Rock from the Sun)
November 3rd Rock from the Sun (Repeats)
Winter Chicago Sons
Spring NewsRadio Wings Just Shoot Me! Prince Street
Follow Up The Single Guy Men Behaving Badly Law & Order (#27/10.8)
(Tied with 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Summer Wings Chicago Sons
Mid-Summer NBC Wednesday Night Movie
UPN The Sentinel Star Trek: Voyager Local Programming
The WB Fall Sister, Sister Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher The Wayans Bros. The Jamie Foxx Show
Spring Smart Guy The Jamie Foxx Show The Wayans Bros.
Summer The Parent 'Hood
Mid-Summer The Steve Harvey Show
Follow Up Smart Guy The Wayans Bros. The Steve Harvey Show

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. This lasted for only one week in late October. CBS cancelled Public Morals after it aired the 1st, and only, episode. This meant Almost Perfect would soon be cancelled. EZ Streets would be given a 2nd chance in the spring.

Thursday

Network 8:00 PM 8:30 PM 9:00 PM 9:30 PM 10:00 PM 10:30 PM
ABC Fall High Incident Murder One Turning Point
Winter The ABC Thursday Night Movie
Spring Vital Signs Turning Point
Mid-Summer Turning Point Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
Follow Up Various ABC News Specials
CBS Fall Diagnosis: Murder Moloney 48 Hours
Mid-Summer Promised Land Diagnosis: Murder
Fox Martin Living Single New York Undercover Local Programming
NBC Fall Friends (#4/16.8)
(Tied with The Naked Truth)
The Single Guy (#8/14.1) Seinfeld (#2/20.5) Suddenly Susan (#3/17.0) ER (#1/21.2)
Winter The Naked Truth (#4/16.8)
(Tied with Friends)
Spring Suddenly Susan (#3/17.0) Law & Order (#27/10.8)
(Tied with 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Follow Up Fired Up (#6/16.5) ER (#1/21.2)
Summer Men Behaving Badly Suddenly Susan (#3/17.0)
August 3rd Rock from the Sun

Friday

Network 8:00 PM 8:30 PM 9:00 PM 9:30 PM 10:00 PM 10:30 PM
ABC Fall Family Matters Sabrina the Teenage Witch Clueless Boy Meets World 20/20 (#12/12.8)
Follow Up Boy Meets World Sabrina the Teenage Witch Clueless
Spring Step by Step
Summer Step by Step Clueless
August Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
CBS Fall Dave's World Everybody Loves Raymond Mr. & Mrs. Smith Nash Bridges
December Various Specials
January JAG
Spring JAG Orleans
Summer Dave's World Life... and Stuff JAG
Mid-Summer Ordinary Extraordinary
Fox Fall Sliders The X-Files (#21/11.4)
(Tied with Cosby)
Local Programming
October Millennium
NBC Fall Unsolved Mysteries Dateline NBC (#30/10.5)
(Tied with Chicago Hope and Cybill)
Homicide: Life on the Street
Follow Up Crisis Center
Spring Homicide: Life on the Street
Summer Profiler
Mid-Summer Homicide: Life on the Street

Note: CBS picked up JAG after NBC cancelled it due to low ratings and it became a success afterwards.

This is the last season of Family Matters and Step by Step and the only season of Clueless to air on ABC's TGIF block, until the following season, the former two shows were picked up by CBS and Clueless moved to UPN on Tuesdays.

Saturday

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 Second Noah Coach Common Law Relativity
Winter The ABC Saturday Night Movie
Late winter Dangerous Minds The ABC Saturday Night Movie
Spring Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Leaving L.A. Gun
Late spring Family Matters (R) Hangin' with Mr. Cooper Dangerous Minds (R) Spy Game
Summer Special programming The Practice (R)
CBS Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Early Edition Walker, Texas Ranger (23/11.0)
(Tied with Mad About You, Caroline in the City
and The NBC Monday Movie)
Fox Fall COPS COPS (R) Married... with Children Love and Marriage Local programming
Mid-fall America's Most Wanted:
America Fights Back
NBC Fall Dark Skies The Pretender Profiler
Late spring Special programming
Summer The Pretender NBC Saturday Night Movie

Note: America's Most Wanted would return 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. Lawless which aired on March 27, 1997, replacing the second half of America's Most Wanted was canceled after one episode.

By network

ABC

CBS

Fox

NBC

UPN

The WB


This page was last updated at 2023-11-14 02:33 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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