The classic sitcom watercooler.
Author: Episode 30
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With westerns dominating the Nielsen ratings once again in the 1958-59 television season, holding six of the top seven positions, the future of sitcoms appeared to be in doubt. Though a few comedies (The Danny Thomas Show, The Real McCoys, Father Knows Best) remained popular, the late ‘50s were a down period for the format.…
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The western craze only grew stronger during the 1957-58 television season. The genre was represented by five entries in the season’s top ten-rated shows. Conversely, sitcoms went into decline, with just three series (The Danny Thomas Show, December Bride, and The Gale Storm Show) in the top 20. There was just one sitcom showdown that…
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Westerns dominated the television landscape in the mid-to-late 1950s. Their increasing popularity came in part at the expense of sitcoms. There were fewer new comedy series debuting in the fall of 1956, and only The Gale Storm Show became a long-term success. As a result of this sitcom drought, there was only one sitcom showdown…
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In the early days of television, it wasn’t unusual for a successful show to maintain the same timeslot for years at a time. To fill schedules, the networks adapted several radio sitcoms for TV. These two trends affected the sitcom showdowns of 1955. Make Room for Daddy vs. Meet Millie on Tuesday at 9:00 Entering…
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With the 1954 television season now more than 70 years in the rearview mirror, it’s understandable why many sitcoms from the era are mostly forgotten—even shows that had long runs. Several sitcom showdowns from the season pitted a classic series often mentioned in television histories against shows almost no one remembers. Make Room for Daddy…
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Sitcoms had become prevalent enough by the fall of 1954 that there were seven instances of sitcoms scheduled opposite each other. Three of those sitcom showdowns were repeats of the previous season, or in one case, of the previous two seasons. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet vs. Mama on Friday at 8:00 These long-running…
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In the fall of 1953, I Love Lucy was the defending ratings champion. So it’s puzzling why NBC scheduled another comedy opposite the monster hit. The other three sitcom showdowns that season were more competitive. I Love Lucy vs. The Dennis Day Show on Monday at 9:00 p.m. (ET) Dennis Day was a longtime player…
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There were no television sitcoms scheduled opposite each other until the fall of 1952. Variety shows and other genres dominated network television in its infancy. It was only after the phenomenal success of I Love Lucy that networks began to consider sitcoms an important part of their lineups. The first head-to-head matches relied heavily on…
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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…
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The 1988-89 television season was delayed by the longest writers’ strike in the history of the Writers Guild of America. Production of prime-time series didn’t ramp up until after the strike was settled in August of 1988. Most shows didn’t premiere until October or November. Once the season started, there were a few (mostly one-sided)…