Must See TV
Network | NBC |
---|---|
Launched | Original run: 1993 Second run: September 28, 2017 |
Closed | Original run: 2006 Second run: March 25, 2021 |
Country of origin | United States |
Running time | Thursday nights |
Original language(s) | American English |
Must See TV was an American advertising slogan that was used by
Usage
In popular culture, the phrase is most strongly associated with the network's entire Thursday night lineup, including both sitcoms and dramas, which dominated the ratings from the 1980s through the late 1990s.
As originally conceived, "Must See TV" originally applied to sitcoms only (dramas would normally be promoted separately), and for much of the 1990s the phrase was used several nights a week as an attempt at brand extension. At one point in the fall of 1997, the brand was used five nights a week, with four sitcoms a night from Monday to Thursday, and two on Sunday.[2] NBC itself would later adopt the more common interpretation; the 2002 retrospective, 20 Years of Must See TV, focused on NBC's overall dominance on Thursday nights from 1982 onwards, and overlooked extensions such as "Must See TV Tuesday."
History
First years
By 1979,
Success in the 1980s
Branding the quality Thursday night lineup began during the
What marked the beginning of NBC's dominance on Thursday nights was during the 1984-85 season, when the network premiered a new show to lead that evening: The Cosby Show, receiving critical acclaim, with TV Guide listing the series as "TV's biggest hit in the 1980s", adding it "almost single-handedly revived the sitcom genre and NBC's ratings fortunes".[3] The enormous success of Cosby (which became the third-most watched show of the season in the US) also helped the other shows on its Thursday night lineup increase its ratings dramatically, with Family Ties entering the top-ten for the first time; and Cheers and Night Court both entering the top-twenty; while Hill Street Blues remained steadily on the top-thirty. When Cosby debuted, it marked a major turning point for NBC as well, as the network rose to second place at the end of the season; and reached first place at the end of the 1985-86 season, with Cosby being the number-one show in the United States, which it managed to stay on that position for four more seasons until 1990.
As the decade was progressing, NBC decided to move some of their most successful shows to make room for new freshman hits. Hill Street Blues, which enjoyed success during most of its run on Thursday nights since its debut, was replaced midway through its seventh and final season, by legal drama L.A. Law, which premiered in 1986 and stayed its entire run at the 10pm slot until its end in 1994, becoming a runaway success for the network. Other hits on NBC Thursday nights included Cosby spinoff A Different World (premiered in 1987 and replaced Family Ties, which was moved to Sunday nights that year until its end in 1989), and Dear John, Judd Hirsch's starring vehicle after Taxi (premiered in 1988 and replaced Night Court, which was moved to Wednesday nights that year until its end in 1992). Eventually, Dear John, then on its second season, was moved to Wednesdays (alongside Night Court) and was replaced by the sitcom Grand, which premiered in 1990, but enjoyed moderate success, and was canceled by NBC at the end of the year after two abbreviated seasons. That same year, a mid-season replacement, Wings (created by Cheers producers David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee) saw its debut, and began to enjoy popularity among viewers on Thursday nights in the following years. As a result of this, NBC ended the 1980s decade as the number-one network on both Thursday nights and overall.
Early 1990s doldrums
However, that dominance during the 1980s, would began to fade by the start of the
Must See TV
The "Must See" slogan was created by Dan Holm, an NBC promotional producer, during a network
On November 3, 1994, NBC's Thursday night lineup featured the "Blackout Thursday" programming stunt, in which three of the four sitcoms on that night's "Must See TV" schedule incorporated a storyline involving a power outage in New York City.[6] The stunt started with Mad About You episode "Pandora's Box", in which Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt) accidentally causes the blackout while trying to steal cable; it continued with the Friends episode "The One with the Blackout", featuring a sub-plot in which Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) is trapped in an ATM vestibule with Victoria's Secret model Jill Goodacre and ended with the Madman of the People episode "Birthday in the Big House" (the Seinfeld episode that followed Friends and preceded Madman, "The Gymnast", did not have a blackout storyline though was promoted as part of the event).
As the lineup includes flagship hits such as Friends and ER, NBC dominated once again Thursday nights for the rest of the 1990s decade, with other shows joining and becoming hits for the network, such as Will & Grace, Caroline in the City, Suddenly Susan, Veronica's Closet and The Single Guy. The series finale of Seinfeld, "The Finale", became the fourth-most watched overall series finale in the US after M*A*S*H, Cheers and The Fugitive, with its ninth and final season reaching the top of the Nielsen ratings, becoming only the third show finishing its runs at the top of the ratings, following I Love Lucy and The Andy Griffith Show.[7][8] Consequently, Friends emerged as NBC's biggest television show after the 1998 Seinfeld final broadcast.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday nights
Seeing how "Must See TV" dominated prime time on Thursdays, NBC felt that the same marketing power could translate into success for Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday nights.
The expansion began during the 1994-95 season, when NBC added a second night comedy block: "Must See TV Tuesday", with Frasier and Wings moving to that night and being joined by The John Larroquette Show and the short-lived sitcom The Martin Short Show (which was replaced by freshman hit NewsRadio). The "Must See TV Tuesday" was created to compete with ABC's powerhouse Tuesday lineup, which includes flagship hits such as Home Improvement, Full House and Grace Under Fire.
Another hit,
For the
However, though it received heavy promotion by the network, all three nights did not replicate the enormous success of "Must See TV Thursday", as during the 1996-97 season, the Sunday night two-hour comedy was shortened to one hour, to gave priority to
Decline
By the early 2000s, Friends and ER were still performing strong on Thursday nights, with the former series reaching number one on the Nielsen ratings during its
After airing a two-hour comedy block on Thursday for 21 straight seasons, NBC broke with tradition in 2004 by replacing the 9 p.m. hour with the hour-long reality competition program The Apprentice, although its Thursday night lineup retained its top 20 position.[9]
Thursday programming has also become increasingly stronger on other networks. CBS was first to break through with its lineup of Survivor, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and later Without a Trace. For the 2010–11 season, CBS moved the highly rated comedy The Big Bang Theory, which had become the highest-rated sitcom in the United States, to the Thursday 8:00 p.m. slot, and Two and a Half Men to the 8:30 p.m. slot, which earned very strong ratings.
ABC had success on Thursday nights with its hit reality series, Dancing with the Stars, before moving the program to Mondays in 2006 (where it has remained since). In the fall of 2006, sophomore drama Grey's Anatomy was moved to Thursdays to counter CSI; ABC's lineup of Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy has proved successful in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, and the 2011 transfer of Fox's American Idol, regarded as the longest reigning #1 program on U.S. television from 2004 to 2011, into the Thursday timeslot adversely affected NBC's ratings for Thursday primetime programming lineup since that television season.
The "Must See TV" slogan reappeared briefly in early 2006 with the addition of two critically acclaimed and ratings-successful comedies, My Name Is Earl and The Office, in an attempt to re-establish a four-sitcom block after the rise and fall of The Apprentice, which was moved to Monday nights.
In November 2006, NBC rebranded the Thursday format with a different slogan, "Comedy Night Done Right", and added another two critically acclaimed shows, Scrubs and 30 Rock, to the lineup, forming an entire lineup of comedy series without laugh tracks or the multiple-camera setup common with past "Must See TV" comedies.[10]
On January 20, 2011, NBC rebranded the night once again, renaming it "Comedy Night Done Right – All Night", adding a third hour of comedies at 10 p.m. (the network had previously run a three-hour comedy lineup once annually on Thursdays during the late 1990s and early 2000s as a programming stunt). The three-hour comedy block was discontinued in the fall of 2011, when the night reverted to two hours of comedies and one drama and, in 2012, two hours of comedy and the
Change and record ratings lows
Prior to the 2013 fall season, NBC cancelled or ended nine of its eleven comedies, including the long-running 30 Rock and The Office, in an effort to broaden its comedy lineup.[11] In May 2013, NBC picked up three family comedies (The Michael J. Fox Show, Sean Saves the World and Welcome to the Family) and rebranded its Thursday night lineup as "NBC's New Family of Comedies" for the fall season.[12]
The debut of The Michael J. Fox Show was the lowest-rated Thursday fall comedy series premiere in network history.[13] One week later, the debut of Welcome to the Family became the new record-holder, with Sean Saves the World ranking as the second lowest ever.[14]
On October 10, 2013, NBC tied an all-time low on Thursday nights (tied with May 17, 2012), while finishing in fourth place (or combined with programming on Spanish-language network
2014–16: End of comedy programming
In May 2014, NBC announced their schedule for the upcoming fall schedule at upfronts, with only a single hour of Thursday comedy in fall for the first time since 2005. Veteran reality show The Biggest Loser would take the 8pm slot, followed by short-lived new comedies Bad Judge and A to Z and the final season of Parenthood. They also announced that breakout drama The Blacklist would take the 9pm slot at mid-season the week following the Super Bowl, hinting at the end of NBC's Thursday comedy tradition.
In December 2014, NBC announced their mid-season schedule, with three dramas scheduled on Thursday to compete with
In May 2015, it was announced that NBC's Thursday broke into the Top 50 most watched programming for the first time in five years, with The Blacklist being number 14. It was the night's best showing since The Office was in the Top 50 in the 2009–10 season. NBC Thursday repeated its success in the next season, with The Blacklist at 22 and new drama Shades of Blue at 35.[19]
2016–21: Revival and the End of Must See TV
In May 2016, NBC announced the return of Thursday comedy for the 2016–17 season with returning comedy Superstore and new comedy The Good Place for the first time in two years. The network also began to broadcast the second half of the Thursday Night Football season in a simulcast with NFL Network in November, effectively breaking those shows' seasons into half-seasons.
In May 2017, NBC announced the return of the Must See TV branding, with
NBC Thursday night lineup history
- #1 most-watched program of the season.[23]
- 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.
- Orangeindicates the top-40 most watched programs of the season.
- Silver indicates the top-50 most watched programs of the season.
^2 During the second half of the 2014–15 season, The Slap initially occupied the 8:00 p.m. time slot; it was moved to the 10:00 p.m. time slot midway through its run after Allegiance was canceled.
Other series and specials
Several series aired on Thursdays to take advantage of the huge audience. These series include:
- Night Court (summer 1984)
- Our House(September 11, 1986)
- Crime Story (September 18, 1986)
- The Tortellis (January 22, 1987)
- Roomies (March 19, 1987)
- The Bronx Zoo (March 19, 1987)
- The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (summer 1987)
- Beverly Hills Buntz (November 5, 1987; December 24, 1987)
- Mama's Boy (November 26, 1987)
- Day by Day (March 3, 1988)
- My Two Dads (April 7, 1988)
- Dream Street (April 13, 1989)
- Tattingers (April 20, 1989)
- Baby Boom (July 13, 1989)
- FM (August 17, 1989, September 14, 1989, summer 1990)
- Sister Kate (September 21, 1989)
- Hardball (September 21, 1989)
- Mancuso, F.B.I. (October 19, 1989)
- Ann Jillian (November 30, 1989)
- Down Home (April 12, 1990; February 28, 1991)
- Seinfeld (summer 1990)
- Quantum Leap (summer 1990; June 27, 1991)
- Blossom (July 5, 1990; January 3, 1991)
- Ferris Bueller (August 23, 1990)
- Parenthood (September 6, 1990; repeat of pilot episode)
- Law & Order (September 13, 1990; October 4, 1990; October 11, 1990; June 2, 1994; spring 1997)
- American Dreamer (September 20, 1990)
- Sisters (summer 1991)
- The Adventures of Mark and Brian
- Dear John (September 19, 1991)
- Reasonable Doubts (September 26, 1991)
- The Torkelsons (January 9, 1992)
- Home Fires(June 25, 1992)
- Dateline NBC (October 8, 1992; July 29, 1993; March 31, 1994; June 16, 1994; June 30 – July 14, 1994; July 28 – August 11, 1994; August 25 – September 1, 1994; September 1, 2005)
- Mad About You (summer 1993, August 5, 1999)
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (November 5, 1992)
- South Beach (August 12, 1993)
- First Person with Maria Shriver (August 26, 1993; July 21, 1994)
- seaQuest DSV (December 30, 1993)
- Sweet Justice (September 15, 1994)
- Prince Street (March 6, 1997)
- NewsRadio (August 3, 1995, June 1997)
- Men Behaving Badly (summer 1997: June 12, 1997)
- Suddenly Susan (summer 1998)
- 3rd Rock from the Sun (summer 1996, July 9, 1998, summer 1999, summer 2000)
- Working (August 20, 1998)
- Frasier (August 27, 1998, September 3, 1998)
- Just Shoot Me! (August 5, 1999, summer 2000)
- Will & Grace (c. spring-summer 2000)
- Las Vegas (July 8, 2004)
- Medical Investigation (September 9, 2004)
- Medium (January 6, 2005)
Specials that the network has aired on Thursdays to take advantage of the audience on that night:
- Michael Nesmith in Television Parts (March 7, 1985)
- Bigshots in America (June 20, 1985)
- Phil Donahue Examines the Human Animal (August 14, 1986)
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: 24th Anniversary (September 25, 1986)
- Splitting Image: The 1987 Movie Awards (March 26, 1987)
- The Art of Being Nick (August 27, 1987)
- Act II (September 3, 1987)
- NBC Investigates Bob Hope (September 17, 1987)
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: 25th Anniversary (October 1, 1987)
- Late Night with David Letterman: 6th Anniversary Show (February 4, 1988)
- Heart and Soul (July 21, 1988)
- Channel 99 (August 4, 1988)
- Stand by for HNN: The Hope News Network (September 8, 1988)
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: 26th Anniversary (October 6, 1988)
- Late Night with David Letterman: 7th Anniversary Show (February 2, 1989)
- Jackee (May 11, 1989)
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: 27th Anniversary (October 26, 1989)
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: 28th Anniversary (September 27, 1990)
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: 29th Anniversary (October 3, 1991)
- Bob Hope's Star-Studded Comedy Special of the New Season (September 1991)
- The Funny Women of Television (October 24, 1991)
- Late Night with David Letterman: 10th Anniversary Show (February 6, 1992)
- The Comedy Store's 20th Anniversary (September 24, 1992)
- A Spinal Tap Reunion (December 31, 1992)
- Hillary: America's First Lady(June 10, 1993)
- The Michael Jordan Special (August 5, 1993)
- The Seinfeld Story(November 25, 2004)
Summer programming
Series airing on Thursday night during and after the run of "Must See TV" during the summer months have included Spy TV, Come to Papa, Last Comic Standing, Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, The Law Firm, Windfall and Love Bites.
Ratings
- Highest Rated Episode in the 1990s: 84.0 million viewers (Series Finale – "One for the Road"; May 1993; 9:22 p.m.-11:00 p.m. ET)
- Highest Rated Episode in the 2000s: 52.5 million viewers (Series Finale – "The Last One"; May 6, 2004; 9:00 p.m.-10:06 p.m. ET)
- Highest Rated Episode of the line-up (Drama): 48.0 million viewers (ER: "Hell and High Water"; November 1995; 9:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. ET)
- Highest Rated Episode of the line-up (Overall) and Peak viewership: 93.5 million viewers (Series Finale; May 1993; 9:22 p.m.-11:00 p.m. ET)
Note: Friends's peak viewership in its 2004 series finale reached 80 million viewers as tallied by the
See also
- Thank God It's Thursday, a primetime Thursday branding on ABC in 2014
- TGIF, a primetime Friday branding on ABC from 1989 to 2005
References
- ^ Levin, Gary (May 15, 2017). "NBC sets new lineup, return of 'must-see' Thursdays with 'This Is Us' move". USA Today. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (May 13, 2006). "Peacock pulls back on 'Must See' revival". Variety.
- ^ "The Cosby Show: Cast & Details". TV Guide. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
- ^ "NBC wins May sweeps; Cheers ratings No. 2 all-time." Toronto Star May 30, 1993, SU2 ed: C4. Web. January 6, 2012. (subscription required)
- ^ Margulies, Lee. "TV Ratings: Surprise! 'Cheers' Finale Powers NBC to Top."
- ^ "Non-Crossover: "Blackout Thursday"". Poobala.com. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ^ "All Videos—Newest—Video—NBC.com". Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
- ^ Dostis, Melanie. "Looking back at 'I Love Lucy' 64 years later". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 2020-05-22. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
- Money.
- ^ Gilbert, Matthew (January 28, 2007). "For sitcoms today, quality trumps quantity". The Boston Globe.
- ^ Yeoman, Kevin. "NBC Reveals Programming Shift; No More Niche Comedies". Screen Rant. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie. "NBC's 2013–14 Schedule: 'Revolution' Moves To Wednesday, 'Parenthood' To Thursday, 'Blacklist' Gets Post 'Voice' Slot". Deadline. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ^ "Ratings: Robin Williams's 'Crazy Ones' Easily Tops 'The Michael J. Fox Show' – TheWrap". TheWrap. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ^ "NBC's Thursday Night Comedies Fall Flat". AdWeek. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie. "NBC Ratings — Finishes No. 7 On Night After Tying Record Thursday Low – Deadline". Deadline. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie. "CW Ratings – Nework Tops NBC In Demo From 8–10 PM For First Time – Deadline". Deadline. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ^ Barsanti, Sam (December 12, 2014). "NBC Has Officially Killed Its Thursday Night Comedy Block". The A.V. Club.
- ^ Rife, Katie (December 1, 2014). "NBC moves Parks and Recreation to Tuesday in Final-Season 'Event'". The A.V. Club.
- ^ "Full 2015–16 TV Season Series Rankings". Deadline Hollywood. May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
- ^ "NBC bringing back 'Must See TV'". CNN. May 14, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 4, 2021). "NBC Goes Comedy-Free On Thursday As 'Manifest' & 'Good Girls' Get Premiere Dates, 'Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist' Sets Return In New Slot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 14, 2021). "NBC 2021-22 Schedule: 'Law & Order' Thursday, 'This Is Us' Farewell In Midseason, No Comedies In Fall". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
- ^ "Die Season ist vorbei: Amerikas heißeste Liste". quotenmeter.de. 2010-07-05. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
- ^ "'Scrubs' Returns as NBC Remakes Thursdays". Zap2It. 2006-10-25.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 13, 2007). "NBC switches "30 Rock," "Scrubs"". Yahoo!. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ^ "NBC Orders Extra 'Office,' 'Earl'". Zap2It.com. 2007-05-14.
- ^ "NBC Slots 'Medium,' Firms Up Schedule". Zap2It.com. 2007-12-07.
- ^ "'30 Rock,' 'Scrubs' Swap Timeslots". Zap2It.com. 2008-05-22.
External links
- NBC.com
- Timeslot Source
- “Must See TV”: The Rise and Fall of NBC’s Thursday Night Schedule
- NBC reveals fall TV schedule: Thursday comedy shakeup
- "Must See TV" creator exits
- How Must See TV Lost Its Way
- A 7 episode British television series of the same name, documenting programmes that 'must be seen'.