This was the television schedule on all four networks for the fall season beginning in September 1988. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.
New series highlighted in blue.
The highest-rated show for the year is highlighted in lime. The top ten rated programs are highlighted in yellow. The top 20 rated programs are highlighted in cyan. The top 30 rated programs are highlighted in magenta. The top 40 rated programs are highlighted in orange. The top 50 rated programs are highlighted in silver. Rankings determined by Nielsen Media Research.[1]
Note: A writers' strike and the Seoul Olympics hindered the networks' ability to start airing shows in a timely manner. New shows intended for a regular fall launch saw their debuts spread out between September and December. The debut month for each new series is noted as to when it actually premiered.
PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, was in operation, but the schedule was set by each local station.
Ratings data from TVTango.com
Fall Schedule[]
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 | Incredible Sunday (Oct.) #89 7.27 rating | Mission: Impossible (Oct.) #68 9.99 rating | The ABC Sunday Night Movie #32 15.04 rating | ||||||
| CBS | 60 Minutes #6 21.7 rating | Murder, She Wrote #7 20.71 rating | The CBS Sunday Night Movies #27 16.1 rating | ||||||
| Fox | 21 Jump Street #90 7.17 rating | America's Most Wanted #74 9.13 rating | Married... with Children #63 10.45 rating | It's Garry Shandling's Show #101 4.97 rating | The Tracey Ullman Show #102 4.21 rating | Duet #104 3.56 rating | Local | ||
| NBC | The Magical World of Disney (Oct.) #69 9.86 rating | Family Ties #36 14.46 rating | Day by Day #49 12.87 rating | NBC Sunday Night at the Movies #24 16.3 rating | |||||
Monday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | MacGyver #42 13.61 rating | Monday Night Football #22 16.93 rating | |||||
| CBS | Newhart #47 13.10 rating | Coming of Age #78 8.39 rating | Murphy Brown (Nov.) #34 14.60 rating | Designing Women #33 14.98 rating | Almost Grown (Nov.) #62 10.59 rating | ||
| NBC | ALF #15 17.74 rating | The Hogan Family #30 15.30 rating | NBC Monday Night at the Movies #26 16.20 rating | ||||
Note: CBS aired local and paid political programming in September and October. On December 12, the final season of Kate & Allie (#48, 12.90 rating) premiered at 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Who's the Boss? #8 20.33 rating | Roseanne (Oct.) #2 23.78 rating | Moonlighting #56 11.25 rating | thirtysomething #41 13.91 rating | |||
| CBS | official | High Risk #73 9.16 rating | The CBS Tuesday Night Movies #53 12.39 rating | ||||
| follow-up (Oct.) | Local and paid political programming | ||||||
| follow-up (Nov. 29) | TV 101 #96 6.12 rating | ||||||
| NBC | Matlock #16 17.54 rating | In the Heat of the Night #18 17.32 rating | Midnight Caller (Nov.) #37 14.42 rating | ||||
Note: On NBC, NBC Tuesday Night at the Movies (#29, 15.52 rating) often aired from 8–10 p.m. or 9–11 p.m. from September through November. Moonlighting went on hiatus in February 1989 and returned on Sundays in April.
Wednesday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Growing Pains #13 18.20 rating | Head of the Class #21 17.09 rating | The Wonder Years #14 17.76 rating | Hooperman #60 10.66 rating | China Beach #55 11.91 rating | ||
| CBS | The Van Dyke Show (Oct.) #88 7.30 rating | Annie McGuire (Oct.) #86 7.39 rating | The Equalizer #61 10.65 rating | Wiseguy #54 12.24 rating | |||
| NBC | official | Unsolved Mysteries (Sep.) #19 17.21 rating | Night Court #20 17.17 rating | Baby Boom #44 13.46 rating | Tattingers (Oct.) #70 9.85 rating | ||
| follow-up (Jan.) | My Two Dads #46 13.19 rating | ||||||
Note: On CBS, Live! With Dick Clark (#85, 7.63 rating) aired from 8–9 p.m. in September. On NBC, various specials aired from 9:30–10 p.m. from September to November. Then on January 11, the second season of My Two Dads (#46, 13.19 rating) premiered. On ABC, Anything But Love (#11, 18.98 rating) premiered at 9:30 in March 1989. On March 15, Jake and the Fatman (#38, 14.31 rating) premiered an 11 episode second season on CBS at 9:00 p.m. On March 1, Hard Time on Planet Earth (#81, 7.97 rating) premiered at 8:00 p.m. on CBS. On January 25, the American version of Nightingales (#50, 12.86 rating) premiered on NBC at 10:00 p.m. On April 5, The Robert Guillaume Show (#83, 7.96 rating) premiered on ABC at 9:30.
Thursday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Knightwatch (Nov.) #95 6.59 rating | Dynasty #64 10.40 rating | W5 | ||||
| CBS | 48 Hours #67 10.13 rating | Paradise (Oct) #66 10.16 rating | Knots Landing #25 16.26 rating | ||||
| NBC | The Cosby Show #1 25.81 rating | A Different World #3 23.59 rating | Cheers #4 23.00 rating | Dear John (Oct.) #12 18.73 rating | L.A. Law #10 19.05 rating | ||
Note: On ABC, various specials and The ABC Thursday Night Movie (#71, 9.82 rating) aired from 8–11 p.m. from September to early November. On CBS, the CBS Special Movie (#57, 11.16 rating) aired from 9–11 p.m. in September till mid-October. On January 26, the American version of A Fine Romance (#97, 6.03 rating) premiered at 8:00 on ABC, while on January 5, HeartBeat (#91, 7.09 rating) premiered its second and last season at 10:00 p.m. also on ABC.
Friday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Perfect Strangers #39 14.29 rating | Full House #28 15.52 rating | Mr. Belvedere #43 13.54 rating | Just the Ten of Us #51 12.54 rating | 20/20 #40 14.07 rating | ||
| CBS | Beauty and the Beast #65 10.38 rating | Dallas #31 15.17 rating | Falcon Crest #52 12.42 rating | ||||
| NBC | Something is Out There (Oct.) #75 8.77 rating | Miami Vice #58 11.14 rating | Dream Street (Apr. 1989) #87 7.35 rating | ||||
Note: On March 26, Quantum Leap (#72, 9.23 rating) premiered in a Tuesday night slot before moving to Fridays at 9:00 on March 31. On April 14, The Jim Henson Hour (#100, 5.29 rating) premiered at 8:00. On June 2, Highway to Heaven (#80, 8.06 rating) moved to Friday to air its final 9 episodes. On January 20, Father Dowling Mysteries (#45, 13.29 rating) premiered at 8:00 on NBC. On February 3, Unsub (#59, 10.93 rating) premiered on NBC at 10:00 pm
Saturday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Murphy's Law (Dec.) #94 6.71 rating | Police Story (Oct.) #79 8.16 rating | |||||
| CBS | Dirty Dancing (Oct.) #93 6.94 rating | Raising Miranda (Nov.) #98 5.97 rating | Simon & Simon #92 6.95 rating | West 57th #84 7.78 rating | |||
| Fox | The Reporters #103 4.08 rating | COPS (Mar. 1989) #99 5.54 rating | Beyond Tomorrow #105 3.12 rating | Local | |||
| NBC | 227 #35 14.47 rating | Amen #23 16.36 rating | The Golden Girls #6 21.76 rating | Empty Nest (Oct.) #9 19.67 rating | Hunter #17 17.46 rating | ||
Note: On ABC, the limited-run series Crime of the CenturyTemplate:Disambiguation needed aired in October and W5 in November, both from 8–9 p.m. On CBS, Live! With Dick Clark, retitled Dick Clark Presents, moved from Wednesday in September to Saturday in October and aired from 8–9 p.m. On January 28, A Man Called Hawk (#77, 8.46 rating) premiered on ABC at 9 p.m, and CBS's The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (#82, 7.97 rating) moved to Saturday at 9 p.m. On January 21, Dolphin Cove (#76, 8.71 rating) premiered on CBS at 8 p.m.
By Network[]
ABC[]
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CBS[]
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Fox[]
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Pickups and Shows[]
Full Season Shows[]
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References[]
- ↑ "1988-1989 Television Season Top Rated Shows". Archived from the original on 2006-10-31. http://web.archive.org/web/20061031060348/http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/ratings/1988_1989.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
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