1976–77 United States network television schedule
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This was the television schedule on all three United States television networks for the fall season beginning in September 1976. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with a few exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.
New fall series are 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, the Public Broadcasting Service, was in operation, but the schedule was set by each local station.
The Muppet Show (syndicated in the U.S.) premiered this season.
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 | Cos | The Six Million Dollar Man (7/24.2) | The ABC Sunday Night Movie (8/23.4) | |||||
| Winter | Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries | ||||||||
| CBS | Fall | 60 Minutes (18/21.9) | The Sonny and Cher Show | Kojak | Delvecchio | ||||
| Winter | Rhoda | Phyllis | Switch | ||||||
| Summer | A Year at the Top | ||||||||
| NBC | The Wonderful World of Disney | NBC Sunday Mystery Movie: | The Big Event (6/24.4) | ||||||
Monday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | The Captain and Tennille | ABC NFL Monday Night Football (22/21.2) | ||||
| Winter | The ABC Monday Night Movie (3/26.0) | ||||||
| Spring | Most Wanted | The Feather and Father Gang | |||||
| Summer | The ABC Monday Night Comedy Special | Monday Night Baseball | |||||
| CBS | Fall | Rhoda | Phyllis | Maude | All's Fair | Executive Suite | |
| Winter | The Jeffersons (24/21.0) | Busting Loose | The Andros Targets | ||||
| Summer | Shields and Yarnell | The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour | |||||
| Follow-up | Szysznyk | ||||||
| NBC | Little House on the Prairie (15/22.3) | NBC Monday Night at the Movies (20/21.8) | |||||
Tuesday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Happy Days (1/31.5) | Laverne & Shirley (2/30.9) | Rich Man, Poor Man Book II (21/21.6) | Family | ||
| Winter | Eight is Enough (23/21.1) | ||||||
| Summer | Rich Man, Poor Man | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | The Tony Orlando and Dawn Rainbow Hour | M*A*S*H (4/25.9) | One Day at a Time (8/23.4) | Switch! | ||
| Winter | Who's Who | Kojak | |||||
| NBC | Baa Baa Black Sheep | Police Woman | Police Story | ||||
Note: On ABC, the 1977 summer miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man consisted of reruns of the 1976 miniseries.
Wednesday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | The Bionic Woman (14/22.4) | Baretta (8/23.4) | Charlie's Angels (5/25.8) | ||||
| CBS | Fall | Good Times (26/20.5) | Ball Four | All in the Family (12/22.9) | Alice (30/20.0) | The Blue Knight | |
| Winter | The Jacksons | CBS Wednesday Night Movies | |||||
| Spring | Loves Me, Loves Me Not | ||||||
| Summer | The Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. Show | ||||||
| Follow-up | Busting Loose | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | The Practice | NBC Movie of the Week | The Quest | |||
| Follow-up | C.P.O. Sharkey | The McLean Stevenson Show | Sirota's Court | The Practice | |||
| Winter | The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams | C.P.O. Sharkey | The McLean Stevenson Show | Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected | |||
| Spring | Sirota's Court | Kingston: Confidential | |||||
| Summer | The Kallikaks | ||||||
| Follow-up | Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected | ||||||
Thursday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Welcome Back, Kotter (13/22.7) | Barney Miller (17/22.2) | The Tony Randall Show (29/20.1) | The Nancy Walker Show | The Streets of San Francisco | |
| Winter | What's Happening!! (25/20.9) | Barney Miller (17/22.2) | The Tony Randall Show (29/20.1) | Westside Medical | |||
| Spring | Three's Company (11/23.1) | ||||||
| CBS | The Waltons (15/22.3) | Hawaii Five-O (18/21.9) | Barnaby Jones | ||||
| NBC | Fall | Gemini Man | NBC's Best Sellers | Van Dyke and Company | |||
| Follow-up | Van Dyke and Company | Gibbsville | |||||
| Winter | The Fantastic Journey | NBC's Best Sellers | |||||
Note: NBC was supposed to have aired Snip (a sitcom starring David Brenner) on Thursdays at 9-9.30 with specials on the 9.30-10 slot, but it never aired.
Friday
A special program, Campaign '76, aired on CBS from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. from September to early November in preparation for the presidential election.
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Donny & Marie | The ABC Friday Night Movie (28/20.2) | |||||
| CBS | Fall | Spencer's Pilots | The CBS Friday Night Movies | ||||
| Winter | Nashville 99 | The Sonny & Cher Show (Jan.-Mar.) | Hunter | ||||
| Follow-up | Code R (Mar.-Apr.) | ||||||
| Summer | A Year at the Top | The Keane Brothers Show | |||||
| NBC | Fall | Sanford and Son (27/20.3) | Chico and the Man | The Rockford Files | Serpico | ||
| Winter | Quincy, M.E. | ||||||
Saturday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Holmes & Yo-Yo | Mr. T and Tina | Starsky and Hutch | Most Wanted | ||
| Winter | Blansky's Beauties | Fish | Dog and Cat | ||||
| Summer | The Feather and Father Gang | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | The Jeffersons (24/21.0) | Doc | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | The Bob Newhart Show | The Carol Burnett Show | |
| Winter | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | The Bob Newhart Show | All in the Family (12/22.9) | Alice (30/20.0) | |||
| NBC | Emergency! | NBC Saturday Night at the Movies | |||||
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.
Additional sources
- Castleman, H. & Podrazik, W. (1982). Watching TV: Four Decades of American Television. New York: McGraw-Hill. 314 pp.
- McNeil, Alex. Total Television. Fourth edition. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-024916-8.
- Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1985). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (3rd ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-31864-1.