Although the Fox network had been on the air in primetime since 1987, it was not yet a major factor in the ratings by the beginning of the 1989-90 television season. However, with the premiere of The Simpsons and In Living Color and the increasing popularity of Married With Children, Fox became a threat to the other networks by the end of the season. In the last fall where the big three networks only had two major competitors to consider when making their schedules, there were four head-to-head sitcom matches. The number would increase considerably in the 1990s.
Sister Kate/My Two Dads vs. Free Spirit/Homeroom on Sunday from 8:00-9:00 p.m. (ET)
Facing CBS’ top ten series Murder, She Wrote, ABC and NBC tried to counterprogram with youth-oriented sitcoms. NBC’s Sister Kate involved a nun supervising unruly children, with Jason Priestley in the cast. It was followed by third-season sitcom My Two Dads, which had performed well in the 8:30 slot two seasons ago. ABC countered with Free Spirit, about a witch, and Homeroom, about an elementary school teacher.
Murder, She Wrote continued to dominate. While neither NBC nor ABC did well in the slot, NBC performed a bit better. My Two Dads moved to Wednesday in November, with Sister Kate shifting back to 8:30. Ann Jillian replaced it at 8:00, to no advantage. ABC dropped Homeroom in December, with Free Spirit only lasting a few weeks longer. When ABC premiered America’s Funniest Home Videos at 8:00 in January, it became an immediate hit, ending any chance that Ann Jillian or Sister Kate would catch on. Both were pulled from the lineup in late January with remaining episodes burned off over the summer. Suddenly, the hour went from four sitcoms to none.
Winners: No one
Major Dad/The People Next Door vs. Alf/The Hogan Family on Monday from 8:00-9:00
NBC’s Alf and The Hogan Family were coming off of two strong seasons in which they won the Monday from 8:00-9:00 timeslot. CBS challenged them with two new sitcoms, Major Dad starring Gerald McRaney, and The People Next Door, a supernatural sitcom. Major Dad premiered solidly, while Alf and The Hogan Family dipped a bit from their previous numbers. The silly The People Next Door flopped and was gone in less than a month. CBS later tried The Famous Teddy Z starring Jon Cryer, and City starring Valerie Harper, in the slot, but neither succeeded. NBC experimented in the spring with the combo of My Two Dads and Working Girl, starring Sandra Bullock, without much success. Neither made the fall schedule. Concerned by Alf’s declining ratings, NBC rescheduled it to Saturday in the spring, where its ratings continued to drop. While Alf won the battle on Monday, Major Dad won the war. Alf, in 39th place, was cancelled by NBC, while Major Dad,in 44th was renewed by CBS and lasted four seasons. While The Hogan Family won the 8:30 slot, NBC did not renew it under the conditions demanded by its studio. CBS picked it up for a final season.
Winners: Tie/The Hogan Family
227/Amen vs. Mr. Belvedere/Living Dolls on Saturday from 8:00-9:00
CBS tried sitcoms unsuccessfully for the last two seasons to end NBC’s dominance of early Saturday evening. This time it was ABC’s turn. NBC brought back timeslot winners 227 and Amen. ABC moved long-running Mr. Belvedere from Friday and scheduled a new sitcom, Living Dolls, behind it. While Mr. Belvedere had never been a hit, it had performed well enough to keep a spot on the schedule. Living Dolls was a spinoff of ABC’s hit, Who’s the Boss?. A young Halle Berry was among the cast members.
As CBS found out, it was hard to find an audience in this slot. Mr. Belvedere and Living Dolls were among the season’s lowest-rated series. Both were dropped at mid-season. A couple of additional episodes of Mr. Belvedere aired that summer, but several remaining segments didn’t air until the series went into syndication.
While Mr. Belvedere was no competition, 227 began to bleed viewers. However, Amen still drew ratings similar to the season before. Looking for a potential new 8:00 series, NBC tested Alf and Robert Mitchum’s A Family for Joe to no avail in the slot. The return of summer series 13 East was also a no-go during a brief trial at 8:30. Amen was good for 33rd place in the ratings, which won the series a renewal, but the sinking 227 was cancelled.
Winners: No one/Amen
Night Court/The Nutt House vs. Doogie Howser, M.D./Anything But Love on Wednesday from 9:00-10:00
After having battled ABC’s The Wonder Years the previous season, NBC’s Night Court now faced ABC’s new dramedy Doogie Howser, M.D. Night Court was followed by The Nutt House, a wacky hotel comedy starring Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman, co-created by Mel Brooks. ABC followed Doogie with Anything But Love, which had performed well in a spring run on Tuesday the previous season.
Doogie Howser, M.D. proved to be relatively strong for a new show, while Night Court also continued to perform well. Night Court (30th) edged Doogie Howser, M.D. (33rd) for the season.
Their lead-outs didn’t do nearly as well. After an okay start, The Nutt House fell so fast that NBC cancelled it after a little more than a month. My Two Dads temporarily took its place before NBC moved Thursday hit Dear John to Wednesday at 9:30, a move that dented Anything But Love. While Dear John didn’t do as well as it had following Cheers on Thursday, it did improve NBC’s Wednesday ratings. ABC tried and failed in the spring at 9:30 with a new sitcom called The Marshall Chronicles. Anything But Love was renewed but held from the schedule until later the next season.
Winner: Tie/Anything But Love
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