Misplaced Pages

The following is the 1964–65 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1964 through August 1965. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancel after the 1963–64 season.

This is the first full season in which NBC broadcast more than 50% of its schedule in color, a fact which the network emphasized during its September 19–25 premiere week.

CBS and ABC, still mostly in black and white, continued rolling out rural sitcoms; in fall 1964, the networks added Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (CBS) and No Time For Sergeants (ABC) to their respective schedules. According to television historians Castleman and Podrazik (1982), critics objected to CBS's rural sitcom-heavy schedule, particularly the Gomer Pyle character, but the "high ratings earned by the silly gimmicks and simpleton heroes would assure rural sitcoms spots in the network schedules for years".

Castleman and Podrazik also point out the large number of "escapist" programs which debuted during the fall of 1964: Gilligan's Island (CBS), Bewitched (ABC), My Living Doll (CBS), The Addams Family (ABC) and The Munsters (CBS). Only NBC avoided the escapist trend during the season, with the exception of The Man From U.N.C.L.E..

All times are Eastern and Pacific. Premieres are highlighted in bold while endings are highlighted in italics.

Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.

  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.

Sunday

Notes: Mister Ed aired on CBS from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. until January 1965, when World War One took over the time period.

On NBC, some episodes of Branded aired in color. Buckskin, which aired on NBC in July and August 1965, consisted of reruns of the 1958–1959 series.

On CBS, Bill & Martha was originally supposed to have aired 9:30 p.m., but it was replaced by The Joey Bishop Show before it ever began.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Note: On CBS, Vacation Playhouse was an anthology series made up entirely of unsold television pilots.

Saturday

By network

ABC

CBS

NBC

Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.

References

1. ^ Castleman, Harry; Walter J. Podrazik (1982). Watching TV: Four Decades of American Television. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 171–179. ISBN 0-07-010269-4.
2. 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.
3. "What's to be new next fall on network TV" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 20, 1964. p. 28. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
4. "$1 million a night on the table" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 11, 1964. p. 60. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

• 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 (1964). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (3rd ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-31864-1.

• United States primetime network television schedules
• 1964 in American television
• 1965 in American television