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 six seasons.

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.