1977–78 United States network television schedule
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The following is the 1977–78 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1977 through August 1978. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1976–77 season. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.
New fall series are highlighted in bold. Series ending their original runs are in italics.
Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.[1]
- Yellow indicates the programs in the top 10 for the season.
- Cyan indicates the programs in the top 20 for the season.
- Magenta indicates the programs in the top 30 for the season.
PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, was in operation, but the schedule was set by each local station. On ABC, debuting news brief, airs all seven nights at 9:58, pm.
Sunday
[edit]| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries | The Six Million Dollar Man | The ABC Sunday Night Movie (20/20.8) (Tied with The Waltons) | |||||
| Winter | How the West Was Won (11/22.5) | ||||||||
| CBS | Fall | 60 Minutes (4/24.4) (Tied with Charlie's Angels and All in the Family) |
Rhoda (25/20.1) | On Our Own (29/19.6) | All in the Family (4/24.4) (Tied with 60 Minutes and Charlie's Angels) |
Alice (8/23.2) (Tied with M*A*S*H) |
Kojak | ||
| December | The Carol Burnett Show | ||||||||
| Spring | Dallas | ||||||||
| Summer | Switch | ||||||||
| NBC | Fall | The Wonderful World of Disney | The Big Event (30/19.4) | ||||||
| Winter | The Wonderful World of Disney | Project U.F.O. (19/21.2) | |||||||
NOTE: On NBC, Off the Wall and C.P.O. Sharkey were supposed to air at 8:00-9:00 p.m., but the former was canceled before it aired due to action by Universal Television, the show's producer.[2][3]
Monday
[edit]| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | The San Pedro Beach Bums | ABC NFL Monday Night Football (16/21.5) | ||||
| Winter | Lucan | The ABC Monday Night Movie (24/20.3) | |||||
| Follow-up | The Six Million Dollar Man | ||||||
| Spring | Sugar Time! | Monday Night Baseball | |||||
| CBS | Fall | Young Dan'l Boone | The Betty White Show | Maude | Rafferty | ||
| Follow-up | Logan's Run | M*A*S*H (8/23.2) (Tied with Alice) |
One Day at a Time (10/23.0) | Switch | |||
| Winter | Lou Grant | ||||||
| Follow-up | Good Times | Baby I'm Back | |||||
| Summer | The Jeffersons | Good Times | |||||
| NBC | Little House on the Prairie (7/24.1) | NBC Monday Night at the Movies (15/21.7) | |||||
Tuesday
[edit]| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Happy Days (2/31.4) | Laverne & Shirley (1/31.6) | Three's Company (3/28.3) | Soap (13/22.0) | Family (26/19.9) (Tied with The Incredible Hulk and Welcome Back, Kotter) | |
| Spring | Having Babies | ||||||
| Follow-up | The Harvey Korman Show | ||||||
| Summer | Carter Country | 20/20 | |||||
| CBS | Fall | The Fitzpatricks | M*A*S*H (8/23.2) (Tied with Alice) |
One Day at a Time (10/23.0) | Lou Grant | ||
| Winter | Celebrity Challenge of the Sexes | The Shields and Yarnell Show | CBS Tuesday Night Movie | ||||
| Spring | Sam | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | The Richard Pryor Show | Man from Atlantis | Police Woman | |||
| Follow-up | Man from Atlantis | Mulligan's Stew | |||||
| Winter | Chuck Barris Rah Rah Show | Event and miniseries programming | |||||
| Spring | Rollergirls | Joe & Valerie | |||||
Wednesday
[edit]| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Eight Is Enough (12/22.2) | Charlie's Angels (4/24.4) (Tied with 60 Minutes and All in the Family) |
Baretta | |||
| Winter | Starsky & Hutch | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Good Times | Busting Loose | The CBS Wednesday Night Movies | |||
| Follow-up | Szysznyk | ||||||
| Spring | The Amazing Spider-Man | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams | The Oregon Trail | Big Hawaii | |||
| Follow-up | The Black Sheep Squadron | Police Woman | |||||
| Summer | Headliners With David Frost | ||||||
Thursday
[edit]| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Welcome Back, Kotter (26/19.9) (Tied with The Incredible Hulk and Family) |
What's Happening!! | Barney Miller (17/21.4) (Tied with Fantasy Island) |
Carter Country | The Redd Foxx Comedy Hour | |
| Winter | Fish | Baretta | |||||
| Spring | A.E.S. Hudson Street | ||||||
| CBS | The Waltons (20/20.8) (Tied with The ABC Sunday Night Movie) |
Hawaii Five-O (23/20.4) | Barnaby Jones (22/20.6) | ||||
| NBC | Fall | CHiPs | Man from Atlantis | Rosetti and Ryan | |||
| November | James at 15 | What Really Happened to the Class of '65? | |||||
| February | James at 16 | ||||||
| March | The Black Sheep Squadron | ||||||
| Spring | The Hanna-Barbera Happy Hour | The Runaways | Police Woman | ||||
| May | CHiPs | James at 16 | |||||
Friday
[edit]| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Donny & Marie | The ABC Friday Night Movie | |||||
| CBS | Fall | The New Adventures of Wonder Woman | Logan's Run | Switch! | |||
| Follow-up | The CBS Friday Night Movie | ||||||
| Winter | The Incredible Hulk (26/19.9) (Tied with Family and Welcome Back, Kotter) |
Husbands, Wives & Lovers | |||||
| NBC | Fall | Sanford Arms | Chico and the Man | The Rockford Files | Quincy, M.E. | ||
| October | C.P.O. Sharkey | ||||||
| Winter | Quark | C.P.O. Sharkey | |||||
| Spring | Richie Brockelman, Private Eye | ||||||
| April | The Rockford Files | ||||||
| Summer | C.P.O. Sharkey | Chico and the Man | |||||
Saturday
[edit]| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Fish | Operation Petticoat | Starsky & Hutch | The Love Boat (14/21.9) | ||
| November | Tabitha | ||||||
| Winter | What's Happening!! | The Love Boat (14/21.9) | Fantasy Island (17/21.4) (Tied with Barney Miller) | ||||
| Spring | Mel & Susan Together | ||||||
| June | Free Country | ABC Comedy Special | |||||
| Summer | Family | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | The Bob Newhart Show | We've Got Each Other | The Jeffersons | The Tony Randall Show | The Carol Burnett Show | |
| Winter | The Tony Randall Show | Maude | Kojak | ||||
| Spring | The Jeffersons | The Ted Knight Show | Another Day | ||||
| NBC | The Bionic Woman | NBC Saturday Night at the Movies | |||||
By network
[edit]Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced 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.
- ^ "Fall line-ups now complete; emphasis is on comedy and specials" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 9, 1977. p. 28. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
- ^ "In Brief" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 13, 1977. p. 33. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
Additional sources
[edit]- Castleman, H. & Podrazik, W. (1982). Watching TV: Four Decades of American Television. New York: McGraw-Hill. 314 pp.
- McNeil, Alex. Total Television. Fourth edition. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-024916-8.
- Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1985). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (3rd ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-31864-1.