The following is the 1989–90 United States network television schedule, the broadcast television schedule of the four United States television networks—ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC—for the fall season beginning in September 1989. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football. PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, was in operation, but its schedule varied by local station.
New series are highlighted in bold. 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 programs are highlighted in orange. The top 50 programs are highlighted in silver.
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 | official | Life Goes On #84 9.49 rating | Free Spirit #86 9.29 rating | Homeroom #106 7.20 rating | The ABC Sunday Night Movie #49 13.1 rating | ||||
| follow-up (Jan. 14) | America's Funniest Home Videos #4 20.95 rating | Various Programs | |||||||
| CBS | 60 Minutes #7 19.7 rating | Murder, She Wrote #10 18.59 rating | The CBS Sunday Movie #29 14.8 rating | ||||||
| Fox | official | Booker #111 5.67 rating | America's Most Wanted #85 9.35 rating | Totally Hidden Video #98 8.06 rating | Married... with Children #40 13.69 rating | Open House #104 7.71 rating | The Tracey Ullman Show #113 4.70 rating | It's Garry Shandling's Show #115 3.31 rating | |
| follow-up (Dec. 17) | The Simpsons #27 14.87 rating | ||||||||
| NBC | The Magical World of Disney #90 9.09 rating | Sister Kate #75 10.43 rating | My Two Dads #65 11.07 rating | NBC Sunday Night Movie #35 14.1 rating | |||||
Note: On ABC, America's Funniest Home Videos (#4, 20.95 rating) premiered as a series at 8:00 on January 14, 1990 and the first episode of Twin Peaks aired at 8:30 on April 8, 1990.
On Fox, The Simpsons (#27, 14.87 rating) premiered as a series at 8:30 on January 14, 1990 after airing its Christmas special on December 17, 1989 in the same time slot. On March 25, 1990, The Outsiders (4.38 rating) premiered at 9:30, before moving to 7:00 the following week.
Monday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | MacGyver #53 12.55 rating | Monday Night Football #12 18.05 rating | |||||
| CBS | Major Dad #46 13.45 rating | The People Next Door #56 12.22 rating | Murphy Brown #25 15.16 rating | The Famous Teddy Z #67 10.79 rating | Designing Women #21 15.68 rating | Newhart #39 13.73 rating | |
| Fox | 21 Jump Street #109 5.77 rating | Alien Nation #110 5.67 rating | Local | ||||
| NBC | ALF #37 13.84 rating | The Hogan Family #43 13.52 rating | NBC Monday Night at the Movies #33 14.4 rating | ||||
Note: City (#88, 9.14 rating) premiered on CBS on January 29 at 8:30. The ABC Monday Night Movie (#36, 13.90 rating) premiered at 9:00 on January 8. On CBS, Doctor, Doctor (#64, 11.18 rating) premiered its second season at 10:30 on November 13, 1989, while its replacement His & Hers (#100, 7.98 rating) premiered in the same slot on March 5, 1990.
Tuesday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | official | Who's the Boss? #13 18.05 rating | The Wonder Years #9 19.17 rating | Roseanne #1 23.1 rating (tied with The Cosby Show) | Chicken Soup #11 18.16 rating | thirtysomething #51 12.58 rating | |
| follow-up (Nov. 21) | Coach #18 17.08 rating | ||||||
| CBS | Rescue 911 #54 12.44 rating | Wolf #82 9.65 rating | Island Son #74 10.48 rating | ||||
| NBC | Matlock #19 16.78 rating | In the Heat of the Night #17 17.15 rating | Midnight Caller #41 13.68 rating | ||||
Note: On ABC, Coach (#18, 17.08 rating) aired its second season at 9:30 beginning on November 21, 1989 as a replacement for Chicken Soup (#11, 18.16 rating), which declined in audience numbers each week and lost much of the lead-in audience of the #1 hit, Roseanne.
Wednesday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Growing Pains #22 15.64 rating | Head of the Class #30 14.80 rating | Anything but Love #57 11.91 rating | Doogie Howser, M.D. #28 14.85 rating | China Beach #59 11.58 rating | ||
| CBS | A Peaceable Kingdom #96 8.31 rating | Jake and the Fatman #45 13.50 rating | Wiseguy #66 10.84 rating | ||||
| NBC | official | Unsolved Mysteries #14 18.0 rating | Night Court #31 14.55 rating | Nutt House #48 13.22 rating | Quantum Leap #71 10.55 rating | ||
| follow-up (Jan. 17) | Dear John #20 16.45 rating | ||||||
Note: On NBC, the sitcom Dear John (#20, 16.45 rating) moved to 9:30 on January 17, 1990, and on March 28, 1990, FM (#61, 11.38 rating) aired the rest of its run at 9:30. On July 5, 1989, Seinfeld premiered at 9:30 p.m. On CBS, Beauty and the Beast (#93, 8.87 rating) premiered its final season at 8:00 on December 13, 1989, while Grand Slam (#91, 9.07 rating) premiered at 8:00 on January 31, 1990, and on March 21, 1990, two shows, Normal Life (#112, 5.39 rating) and Sydney (#97, 8.17 rating) premiered at 8:00 and 8:30 respectively. On March 28, 1990, Equal Justice (#69, 10.59 rating) premiered its first season at 10:00 on ABC.
Thursday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Mission: Impossible #94 8.41 rating | The Young Riders #70 10.57 rating | Primetime Live #92 9.05 rating | ||||
| CBS | 48 Hours #76 10.35 rating | Top of the Hill #78 9.95 rating | Knots Landing #34 14.36 rating | ||||
| NBC | official | The Cosby Show #1 23.1 rating (tied with Roseanne) | A Different World #5 20.48 rating | Cheers #3 23.09 rating | Dear John #20 16.45 rating | L.A. Law #15 17.99 rating | |
| follow-up | Grand #16 17.56 rating | ||||||
Note: Father Dowling Mysteries (#63, 11.32 rating) premiered its second season on ABC at 8:00 on January 4, 1990. On NBC, the sitcom Grand (#16, 17.56 rating) premiered at 9:30 on January 18, 1990. ABC premiered the Twin Peaks pilot on April 8, 1990 in the Sunday 9pm time slot for The ABC Sunday Night Movie; regular episodes of Twin Peaks (#42, 13.61 rating) began airing on Thursdays starting April 12, 1990, replacing The Young Riders for the rest of the season.[1] On NBC, the first season of Seinfeld aired at 9:30 p.m. over the summer.
Friday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Full House #23 15.35 rating | Family Matters #38 13.73 rating | Perfect Strangers #47 13.27 rating | Just the Ten of Us #52 12.57 rating | 20/20 #44 13.5 rating | ||
| CBS | Snoops #102 7.86 rating | Dallas #55 12.38 rating | Falcon Crest #81 9.89 rating | ||||
| NBC | Baywatch #73 10.53 rating | Hardball #79 9.94 rating | Mancuso, F.B.I. #68 10.78 rating | ||||
Note: On CBS, The Bradys (#80, 9.92 rating) premiered at 8:00 on February 9, Bagdad Cafe (#58, 11.75 rating) premiered at 9:00, and Sugar & Spice (#89, 9.13 rating) at 9:30, both on March 30. On NBC, Nasty Boys (#72, 10.54 rating) debuted on March 2 at 9:00, and True Blue (#62, 11.38 rating) premiered at 9:00 on December 8.
Saturday[]
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Mr. Belvedere #105 7.29 rating | Living Dolls #99 8.04 rating | The ABC Saturday Mystery: B.L. Stryker, Columbo, Kojak, Christine Cromwell #83 9.57 rating | ||||
| CBS | Paradise #77 10.13 rating | Tour of Duty #101 7.94 rating | Saturday Night with Connie Chung #103 7.79 rating | ||||
| Fox | COPS #107 6.78 rating | The Reporters #114 4.64 rating | Beyond Tomorrow #116 3.14 rating | Local | |||
| NBC | 227 #60 11.53 rating | Amen #32 14.45 rating | The Golden Girls #6 20.30 rating | Empty Nest #8 19.18 rating | Hunter #26 15.06 rating | ||
Note: A Family for Joe (#87, 9.21 rating) premiered at 8:00 on March 24. Carol and Company (#24, 15.32 rating) premiered at 9:30 on March 31. Down Home (#50, 12.68 rating) premiered at 10:30 on April 7. 13 East (#95, 8.40 rating) premiered its second season on April 14, all on NBC. On ABC, H.E.L.P. (#108, 6.48 rating) premiered at 8:00 on March 3, 1990.
By network[]
ABC[]
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Returning Series:
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New Series:
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Not Returning From Last Season
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CBS[]
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Fox[]
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Returning Series:
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New Series:
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Not Returning From Last Season
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NBC[]
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Returning Series:
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New Series:
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Not Returning From Last Season
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Pickups and shows[]
Full season shows[]
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ABC
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CBS
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Fox
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NBC
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References[]
General references: Template:Refbegin Rankings determined by Nielsen Media Research:
- "1989-1990 Television Season Top Rated Shows". The Envelope (blog) (Los Angeles Times). Archived from the original on 2006-10-31. http://web.archive.org/web/20061031060326/http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/ratings/1989_1990.htm. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
- "Nielsen's top 50 shows" (JPEG image). 2.bp.blogspot.com. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TIHU89_R9xg/SjaOm4Rev6I/AAAAAAAAAFY/uMll15W_ySk/s1600-h/Ratings_19900409_Top50.jpg. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
Ratings data for some showsTemplate:Citation needed from TVTango.com. Template:Refend
Specific references:
- ↑ Tom Jicha (March 4, 1990). "ABC Announces Twin Peaks, Other Premieres". Sun-Sentinel. http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1990-03-04/features/9001270740_1_twin-peaks-blue-velvet-china-beach. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
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