1997–98 United States network television schedule
The 1997-98 network television schedule is for United States broadcast television on all six commercial television networks for the fall season beginning in September 1997. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.
New series highlighted in bold.
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 is not included; member stations have local flexibility over most of their schedules and broadcast times for network shows may vary.
From February 7 to 22, 1998, all of CBS' primetime programming was preempted in favor of coverage of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.
For new series debuting during the season, it would ultimately prove to be one of the weakest seasons in American television history, as only seven shows would be picked up for a second season. Of those seven, only Dharma & Greg, Two Guys and a Girl, Dawson's Creek, and Ally McBeal would last beyond three seasons, and would all end their run within five years.
For its tenth and final season, onetime CBS powerhouse Murphy Brown was moved from its lifelong home of Monday nights to Wednesday, where it lost a significant number of viewers. For its last block of episodes in the spring, the show was put back into the familiar timeslot that it had once used to anchor the CBS Monday night lineup.
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Fall | Home Improvement repeats | Soul Man | Home Improvement (#10/12.0) (Tied with Frasier) |
Hiller and Diller (#28/9.3) (Tied with Walker, Texas Ranger) |
NYPD Blue (#17/10.8) (Tied with Primetime Live) | |
Follow Up | Soul Man | Over the Top | |||||
November | Grace Under Fire | Soul Man | Various programming | ||||
Winter | Various repeats | Grace Under Fire | |||||
Spring | Home Improvement repeats | Something So Right | That's Life | ||||
Follow-up | Soul Man | Something So Right | |||||
CBS | Fall | JAG | Michael Hayes | Dellaventura | |||
Winter | CBS Tuesday Movie | ||||||
Follow-up | Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel | Four Corners | |||||
Spring | Various programming | ||||||
Fox | Fox Tuesday Night Movie | Local Programming | |||||
NBC | Fall | Mad About You (#23/9.7) (Tied with King of the Hill) |
NewsRadio | Frasier (#10/12.0) (Tied with Home Improvement) |
Just Shoot Me! (#12/11.9) | Dateline Tuesday (#13/11.5) | |
Spring | For Your Love | LateLine | |||||
Follow-up | NewsRadio | Just Shoot Me! (#12/11.9) | |||||
UPN | Fall | Clueless | Moesha | Hitz | Head Over Heels | Local Programming | |
Follow Up | Moesha | Clueless | Various UPN Comedy Repeats | Hitz | |||
Winter | Moesha and Clueless repeats / UPN Special Presentation | ||||||
Spring | Malcolm & Eddie | In the House / Good News | |||||
The WB | Winter (began Jan. 20th) |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Dawson's Creek | ||||
Summer | Invasion America | Invasion America | |||||
Mid-Summer | Dawson's Creek |
Wednesday
Thursday
Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Fall | Nothing Sacred | Cracker | 20/20 Thursday | |||
Winter | Prey | The ABC Thursday Night Movie | |||||
Spring | Various programming | ||||||
CBS | Promised Land | Diagnosis: Murder (#22/9.8) | 48 Hours | ||||
Fox | Fall | Living Single | Between Brothers | 413 Hope St. | Local Programming | ||
Winter | Between Brothers | Ask Harriet | New York Undercover | ||||
Spring | World's Wildest Police Videos | Various Programming | |||||
Summer | Fox Files | ||||||
NBC | Fall | Friends (#4/16.1) | Union Square (#8/13.6) | Seinfeld (#1/22.0) | Veronica's Closet (#3/16.6) | ER (#2/20.4) | |
Spring | Just Shoot Me! (#12/11.9) |
Friday
Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Fall | Sabrina the Teenage Witch | Boy Meets World | You Wish | Teen Angel | 20/20 Friday (#16/10.9) | |
Winter | Sabrina the Teenage Witch repeats | Sabrina the Teenage Witch | |||||
Spring | Hiller and Diller | ||||||
Follow-up | Boy Meets World repeats | ||||||
Summer | Sabrina the Teenage Witch | You Wish | Boy Meets World | Teen Angel | |||
CBS | Fall | Family Matters | Meego | The Gregory Hines Show | Step by Step | Nash Bridges | |
Follow-up | Various programming | Family Matters | |||||
Winter | Kids Say the Darndest Things | The Gregory Hines Show | |||||
Follow Up | Candid Camera | The Gregory Hines Show | |||||
Spring | Unsolved Mysteries | ||||||
Fox | Fall | The Visitor | Millennium | Local Programming | |||
Winter | Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction | ||||||
NBC | Players | Dateline Friday | Homicide: Life on the Street |
Saturday
Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | Fall | C-16 | Total Security | The Practice | |||
Follow-up | Various programming | ||||||
Winter | Nothing Sacred | Cracker | ABC News Saturday Night | ||||
Follow-up | The ABC Saturday Night Movie | ||||||
CBS | Fall | Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman | Early Edition | Walker, Texas Ranger (#28/9.3) (Tied with Hiller and Diller) | |||
Winter | The Magnificent Seven | ||||||
Follow-up | Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman | The Magnificent Seven | |||||
Spring | Early Edition | ||||||
Fox | COPS | COPS | America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back | Local Programming | |||
NBC | Fall (Started on Nov. 1st) |
The Pretender | Sleepwalkers | Profiler | |||
Follow Up | The Pretender repeats / NBC Specials | The Pretender | |||||
Winter | All Star TV Bloopers |
By network
ABC
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CBS
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Fox
NBC
UPN
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The WB
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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.