1989–90 United States network television schedule
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The following is the 1989–90 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1989 through August 1990. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1988–89 season. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.
PBS is not included; member stations have local flexibility over most of their schedules and broadcast times for network shows may vary.
New series are highlighted in bold.
This is the first season to feature entirely closed captioning programs on the Big Three networks.
This was the first time that two programs were tied for the no. 1 spot in the Nielsen ratings.
All times given are in U.S. Eastern Time and Pacific Time (except for some live events or specials). Subtract one hour for Central and Mountain times.
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.
- Blue-grey indicates a news program.
- Light green indicates a sports program.
- Orange indicates a movie.
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 | Life Goes On | Free Spirit | Homeroom | The ABC Sunday Night Movie | ||||
| Mid-season | America's Funniest Home Videos (#5/20.9) | Elvis | |||||||
| Summer | Mr. Belvedere | ||||||||
| Follow-up | Tim Conway's Funny America | ||||||||
| CBS | 60 Minutes (#7/19.7) | Murder, She Wrote (#13/17.7) (Tied with Chicken Soup) |
CBS Sunday Movie (#24/14.9) (Tied with Hunter) | ||||||
| Fox | Fall | Booker | America's Most Wanted | Totally Hidden Video | Married... with Children | Open House | The Tracey Ullman Show | It's Garry Shandling's Show | |
| Winter | The Simpsons (#28/14.5) (Tied with Night Court and Doogie Howser, M.D.) | ||||||||
| Spring | The Outsiders | Booker | |||||||
| NBC | Fall | Brand New Life | Sister Kate | My Two Dads | NBC Sunday Night Movie | ||||
| Winter | The Magical World of Disney | ||||||||
| Follow-up | Ann Jillian | Sister Kate | |||||||
| Spring | Various programs | ||||||||
| Follow-up | 227 | ALF | |||||||
| Summer | The Magical World of Disney | ||||||||
NOTE: In Living Color premiered Sunday April 15 at 9:30 PM on Fox.
Monday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | MacGyver | Monday Night Football (#10/18.1) | ||||
| Winter | The ABC Monday Night Movie | ||||||
| Spring | China Beach | Capital News | |||||
| Follow-up | The Young Riders | The ABC Monday Night Movie | |||||
| Summer | MacGyver | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Major Dad | The People Next Door | Murphy Brown (#27/14.7) | The Famous Teddy Z | Designing Women (#22/15.3) (Tied with Full House) |
Newhart |
| Follow-up | The Famous Teddy Z | Designing Women (#22/15.3) (Tied with Full House) |
Newhart | Doctor Doctor | |||
| Winter | City | ||||||
| Spring | His & Hers | ||||||
| Follow-up | Newhart | Various programs | |||||
| Summer | Sydney | Newhart | The Dave Thomas Comedy Show | ||||
| Follow-up | Major Dad | Doctor Doctor | |||||
| Fox | 21 Jump Street | Alien Nation | Local Programming | ||||
| NBC | Fall | ALF | The Hogan Family | NBC Monday Night at the Movies | |||
| Spring | My Two Dads | ||||||
| Follow-up | Working Girl | Hunter (#24/14.9) (Tied with The CBS Sunday Movie) |
Shannon's Deal | ||||
| Follow-up | Various programs | ||||||
| Summer | ALF | The Hogan Family | NBC Monday Night at the Movies | ||||
| Follow-up | Working Girl | ||||||
NOTE: Fox started their prime time expansion this season starting with Mondays.
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? (#12/17.9) | The Wonder Years (#8/19.2) | Roseanne (#1/23.4) | Chicken Soup (#13/17.7) (Tied with Murder, She Wrote) |
Thirtysomething | |
| Follow-up | Coach (#18/17.0) | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Rescue 911 | Wolf | Island Son | |||
| Follow-up | CBS Tuesday Night Movie | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | Matlock (#20/16.6) | In the Heat of the Night (#19/16.9) | Midnight Caller | |||
| Summer | Real Life with Jane Pauley | ||||||
Wednesday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Growing Pains (#21/15.4) | Head of the Class (#26/14.8) | Doogie Howser, M.D. (#28/14.5) (Tied with The Simpsons and Night Court) |
Anything but Love | China Beach | |
| Spring | The Marshall Chronicles | Equal Justice | |||||
| Follow-up | Brewster Place | ||||||
| Summer | Anything but Love | China Beach | |||||
| CBS | Fall | A Peaceable Kingdom | Jake and the Fatman | Wiseguy | |||
| Follow-up | Beauty and the Beast | ||||||
| Winter | Grand Slam | ||||||
| Spring | Normal Life | Sydney | |||||
| Follow-up | Sydney | Normal Life | Knots Landing | ||||
| Summer | This Is America, Charlie Brown (Repeats) | ||||||
| Follow-up | Newhart | His & Hers | Top Cops | ||||
| NBC | Fall | Unsolved Mysteries (#11/18.0) | Night Court (#28/14.5) (Tied with The Simpsons and Doogie Howser, M.D.) |
The Nutt House | Quantum Leap | ||
| Follow-up | My Two Dads | ||||||
| Winter | Dear John (#17/17.2) | ||||||
| Spring | FM | ||||||
| Summer | Dear John (#17/17.2) | ||||||
Notes: FM premiered Thursday, August 17 on NBC. Seinfeld premiered on July 5. Molloy aired at 9:00 p.m. on Fox from July 25 until August 15, 1990.
Thursday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Mission: Impossible | The Young Riders | Primetime Live | |||
| Mid-season | Father Dowling Mysteries | ||||||
| Spring | Twin Peaks | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | 48 Hours | Top of the Hill | Knots Landing (29/14.3)[2] | |||
| Winter | Island Son | ||||||
| Spring | Max Monroe: Loose Cannon | ||||||
| Follow-up | Falcon Crest | ||||||
| Summer | Wiseguy | Wolf | |||||
| Follow-up | Northern Exposure | The Eddie Capra Mysteries | |||||
| NBC | Fall | The Cosby Show (#2/23.1) | A Different World (#4/21.1) | Cheers (#3/22.7) | Dear John (#17/17.2) | L.A. Law (#16/17.4) | |
| Winter | Grand (#15/17.6) | ||||||
| Spring | Wings | ||||||
| Summer | Seinfeld | ||||||
| Follow-up | Grand (#15/17.6) | ||||||
NOTE: The Eddie Capra Mysteries, which CBS aired from July 26 to August 30, consisted of reruns of episodes from the 1978-79 NBC series.
Friday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall (through Jul 27) |
Full House (#22/15.3) (Tied with Designing Women) |
Family Matters | Perfect Strangers | Just the Ten of Us | 20/20 | ||
| Late summer | New Attitude | |||||||
| CBS | Fall | Snoops | Dallas | Falcon Crest | ||||
| Winter | Max Monroe: Loose Cannon | |||||||
| Follow-up | The Bradys | |||||||
| Spring | Various programs | Bagdad Cafe | Sugar and Spice | Dallas | ||||
| Follow-up | Small Talk | City | ||||||
| Summer | Falcon Crest | CBS Friday Movie | ||||||
| Follow-up | Candid Camera | Bagdad Cafe | Newhart | Wish You Were Here | Room for Romance | |||
| Follow-up | Prime Time Pets | Candid Camera | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | Baywatch | Hardball | Mancuso, F.B.I. | ||||
| Winter | True Blue | |||||||
| Follow-up | Nasty Boys | |||||||
| Spring | Hardball | |||||||
| Follow-up | Mancuso, F.B.I. | |||||||
| Summer | Bret Maverick | The Yellow Rose | Midnight Caller | |||||
Saturday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Mr. Belvedere | Living Dolls | The ABC Saturday Mystery Movie (B.L. Stryker/Columbo/Kojak/Christine Cromwell) | |||
| Winter | Mission: Impossible | ||||||
| Spring | H.E.L.P. | ||||||
| Late spring | Sunset Beat | ||||||
| Follow-up | Elvis | Growing Pains | |||||
| Summer | Super Jeopardy! | Monopoly | |||||
| CBS | Fall | Paradise | Tour of Duty | Saturday Night with Connie Chung | |||
| Winter | |||||||
| Spring | |||||||
| Summer | Beauty and the Beast | Tour of Duty | |||||
| Fox | Fall | COPS | The Reporters | Beyond Tomorrow | Local Programming | ||
| Winter | Totally Hidden Video | The Reporters | |||||
| Spring | In Living Color | The Tracey Ullman Show | |||||
| NBC | Fall | 227 | Amen | The Golden Girls (#6/20.1) | Empty Nest (#9/18.9) | Hunter (#24/14.9) (Tied with The CBS Sunday Movie) | |
| Spring | ALF | ||||||
| Follow-up | A Family for Joe | 13 East | Carol and Company | Down Home | |||
| Follow-up | 13 East | Amen | |||||
| Summer | 227 | Singer & Sons | Hunter (#24/14.9) (Tied with The CBS Sunday Movie) | ||||
By network[]
ABC[]
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Not returning from 1988–89:
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CBS[]
Fox[]
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Not returning from 1988–89:
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NBC[]
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Not returning from 1988–89:
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Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.
+ These shows returned as "backup" programming in midseason
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.
- ^ "1989-90 Ratings History -- ABC Claws Closer to 1st Place NBC as FOX Finds Its Next Hit - The TV Ratings Guide". March 18, 2018. Archived from the original on March 18, 2018.
Categories:
- United States primetime network television schedules
- 1989 in American television
- 1990 in American television