1985–86 United States network television schedule
The following is the 1985–86 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1985 through August 1986. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1984–85 season. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.
New series are highlighted in bold.
Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.[1]
This was also the first television season wherein the Nielsen people meter technology was used for the nationwide audience measurement system, largely replacing the diaries system in place from the 1950-1951 television season.[2]
- 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 is not included; member stations have local flexibility over most of their schedules and broadcast times for network shows may vary.
Much of the ratings come from AmericanRadioHistory.com's PDF archive[3]
Sunday[]
| 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 | Ripley's Believe It or Not! | MacGyver | The ABC Sunday Night Movie | |||||
| Winter | The Disney Sunday Movie | ||||||||
| CBS | Fall | 60 Minutes (#4, 23.9/38) | Murder, She Wrote (#3, 25.3/37) | Crazy Like a Fox | Trapper John, M.D. | ||||
| Winter | CBS Sunday Movie (#12, 20.5/31) | ||||||||
| NBC | Fall | Punky Brewster | Silver Spoons | Amazing Stories | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | NBC Sunday Night at the Movies (#21, 18.5/28) | |||
| Spring | Silver Spoons | Fathers and Sons | |||||||
| Follow-up | Punky Brewster | ||||||||
Monday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Hardcastle and McCormick | Monday Night Football (#15, 19.8/32) | ||||
| Mid-season | ABC Monday Night Movie | ||||||
| Summer | Monday Night Baseball | ||||||
| CBS | Scarecrow and Mrs. King (#28, 17.4/26) | Kate & Allie (#14, 20.0/29) | Newhart (#16, 19.6/29) | Cagney & Lacey | |||
| NBC | Fall | TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes | NBC Monday Night at the Movies (#22/18.3) (Tied with Hotel) | ||||
| Spring | You Again? (#19, 19.2/29) | Valerie (#24, 18.1/27) (Tied with Moonlighting and Falcon Crest) | |||||
Tuesday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Who's the Boss? (#10, 21.1/32) | Growing Pains (#17, 19.5/29) (Tied with Knots Landing) |
Moonlighting (#24, 18.1/27) (Tied with Falcon Crest and Valerie) |
Our Family Honor | ||
| Follow-up | Spenser: For Hire | ||||||
| Spring | Perfect Strangers | ||||||
| Summer (May 6 - Sep 9) |
Growing Pains (#17, 19.5/29) (Tied with Knots Landing) | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Hometown | CBS Tuesday Night Movie | ||||
| Follow-up | Various programs | ||||||
| Follow-up | Stir Crazy | ||||||
| Mid-season | Melba | Charlie & Co. | Trapper John, M.D. | Various programs | |||
| Follow-up | Trapper John, M.D. | CBS Tuesday Night Movie | |||||
| Spring | Morningstar/Eveningstar | Mary | Foley Square | The Equalizer | |||
| Follow-up | Various programs | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | The A-Team (#30, 16.9/26) | Riptide | Remington Steele | |||
| Mid-season | Hunter | Stingray | |||||
Wednesday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | The Insiders | Dynasty (#7, 21.8/33) (Tied with The Golden Girls) |
Hotel (#22, 18.3/31) (Tied with The NBC Monday Movie) | |||
| Mid-season | MacGyver | ||||||
| Summer | Hardcastle and McCormick | ||||||
| Follow-up | Perfect Strangers | Mr. Sunshine | MacGyver | ||||
| CBS | Fall | Stir Crazy | Charlie & Co. | George Burns Comedy Week | The Equalizer | ||
| Follow-up | Air Wolf | ||||||
| Follow-up | Mary | Foley Square | |||||
| Mid-season | Crazy Like a Fox | ||||||
| Follow-up | Fast Times | Tough Cookies | |||||
| Spring | West 57th | CBS Wednesday Night Movie | |||||
| Summer | Foley Square | Newhart | Airwolf | West 57th | |||
| NBC | Fall | Highway to Heaven (#13, 20.1/31) | Hell Town | St. Elsewhere | |||
| Mid-season | Blacke's Magic | ||||||
| Summer | Gimme a Break! | You Again? (#19, 19.2/29) | |||||
Thursday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | The Fall Guy | Lady Blue | 20/20 | |||
| Follow-up | ABC Thursday Night Movie | ||||||
| Follow-up | Shadow Chasers | Dynasty II: The Colbys | |||||
| Mid-season | Ripley's Believe It or Not! | The Colbys | |||||
| CBS | Fall | Magnum, P.I. | Simon & Simon (#29, 17.2/26) | Knots Landing (#17, 19.5/32) (Tied with Growing Pains) | |||
| Spring | Simon & Simon (#29, 17.2/26) | Bridges to Cross | |||||
| Summer | Price is Right Special | Crazy Like a Fox | Trapper John, M.D. | ||||
| NBC | The Cosby Show (#1, 33.7/51) | Family Ties (#2, 30.0/44) | Cheers (#5, 23.7/35) | Night Court (#11, 20.9/31) | Hill Street Blues | ||
Friday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Webster | Mr. Belvedere | Diff'rent Strokes | Benson | Spenser: For Hire | |
| Follow-up | Our Family Honor | ||||||
| Mid-season | He's the Mayor | The Fall Guy | |||||
| Spring | Mr. Sunshine | Joe Bash | |||||
| Follow-up | The ABC Friday Night Movie | ||||||
| Summer | Growing Pains | Mr. Sunshine | The Love Boat | ||||
| Follow-up | The Fall Guy | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | The Twilight Zone | Dallas (#6, 21.9/35) | Falcon Crest (#24, 18.1/30) (Tied with Moonlighting and Valerie) | |||
| Spring | Charlie & Co. | Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills | |||||
| Summer | The Twilight Zone | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | Knight Rider | Misfits of Science | Miami Vice (#9, 21.3/36) | |||
| Mid-season | Misfits of Science | Knight Rider | |||||
| Follow-up | Riptide | ||||||
| Follow-up | The Last Precinct | ||||||
Note: Diff'rent Strokes 1-hour Season 8 Premiered on September 27 at 9:00pm
Saturday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Hollywood Beat | Lime Street | The Love Boat | |||
| Follow-up | The Fall Guy | Lady Blue | |||||
| Mid-season | The Redd Foxx Show | Benson | Fortune Dane | ||||
| Spring | The Love Boat | ||||||
| Follow-up | Diff'rent Strokes | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Airwolf | CBS Saturday Night Movie | ||||
| Spring | Crazy Like a Fox | ||||||
| Follow-up | Airwolf | Magnum, P.I. | |||||
| NBC | Gimme a Break! | The Facts of Life (#27, 17.7/30) | The Golden Girls (#7, 21.8/36) (Tied with Dynasty) |
227 (#20, 18.8/31) | Hunter | ||
Note: Due to the death of Samantha Smith and her father in a plane crash, ABC ceased production on Lime Street and was forced to move Lady Blue into its slot.
By network[]
ABC[]
|
Returning series
|
New series
|
Not returning from 1984–85:
|
CBS[]
|
Returning series
|
New series
|
Not returning from 1984–85:
|
NBC[]
|
Returning series
|
New series
|
Not returning from 1984–85:
|
Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.
^ Diff'rent Strokes switched networks for the 1985–1986 season.
+ Mike Hammer abruptly ended production after series star Stacy Keach was sentenced to six months in prison for cocaine possession. Production resumed during the 1986–1987 season.
@ T. J. Hooker continued production for CBS' late night schedule for the 1985–1986 season.
References[]
- ^ 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.
- ^ de Moraes, Lisa. "David Cook Wasn't the Only Winner on Wednesday, as 'Idol' Ratings Spike". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
- ^ http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1986/BC-1986-04-28.pdf[bare URL PDF]
- United States primetime network television schedules
- 1985 in American television
- 1986 in American television