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The 1975–76 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers the primetime hours from September 1975 through August 1976. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series canceled after the 1974–75 season.
This was the first season since 1971 in which a four-hour Sunday night schedule was implemented.
This was also the first season for the 22-hour weekly prime-time schedule (four hours on Sunday, three hours each on Monday through Saturday). It remains in effect to this day.
PBS is not included as member stations have local flexibility over most of their schedules, and broadcast times for network shows may vary.
Each of the 30 highest-rated shows released in May 1976 is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.
New series are highlighted in bold.
All times are U.S. Eastern and Pacific Time (except for some live sports or events). Subtract one hour for Central, Mountain, Alaska and Hawaii–Aleutian times.
Legend
- Gray indicates encore programming.
- Blue-gray indicates news programming.
- Light green indicates sporting events.
- Red indicates series being burned off and other regularly scheduled programs, including specials and movies.
- highlight Yellow highlights indicates the top-10 most watched programs of the season.
- highlight Cyan highlights indicates numbers 11-20 most watched programs of the season.
- highlight Magenta highlights indicates numbers 21-30 most watched programs of the season.
- highlight Highlights indicates that it falls in multiple of the above categories.
Sunday
| Network | 7:00 p.m. | 7:30 p.m. | 8:00 p.m. | 8:30 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | The Swiss Family Robinson | The Six Million Dollar Man (9/24.3) | The ABC Sunday Night Movie (13/23.0) | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Three for the Road | Cher | Kojak (20/21.8) | Bronk | ||||
| Winter | 60 Minutes | The Sonny & Cher Show (23/21.2) | |||||||
| Summer | Johnny Cash and Friends | Cannon | |||||||
| NBC | Fall | The Wonderful World of Disney | The Family Holvak | The NBC Mystery Movie: Columbo / McCloud / McMillan & Wife / McCoy | |||||
| Winter | Ellery Queen | ||||||||
Note: As of the 2022–23 television season, since December 1975, 60 Minutes has continually aired at the same 7:00 PM ET (or after sporting event overrun) time slot on CBS.
Monday
| Network | 8:00 p.m. | 8:30 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Barbary Coast | Monday Night Football | |||||
| Mid-fall | Mobile One | |||||||
| Winter | On the Rocks | Happy Days | The ABC Monday Night Movie (10/24.2) | |||||
| Spring | Good Heavens (16/22.5) (Tied with Starsky and Hutch) |
Barbary Coast | Rich Man, Poor Man (2/28.0) | |||||
| Mid-spring | Good Heavens (16/22.5) (Tied with Starsky & Hutch) |
Monday Night Baseball | ||||||
| Summer | Viva Valdez | |||||||
| CBS | Rhoda (7/24.4) (Tied with Sanford and Son) |
Phyllis (6/24.5) | All in the Family (1/30.1) | Maude (4/25.0) | Medical Center | |||
| NBC | Fall | The Invisible Man | NBC Monday Night at the Movies | |||||
| Winter | The Rich Little Show | Joe Forrester | Jigsaw John | |||||
| Summer | The John Davidson Show | |||||||
| July | Comedy Theatre | |||||||
Tuesday
| Network | 8:00 p.m. | 8:30 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Happy Days (11/23.9) | Welcome Back, Kotter (18/22.1) | The Rookies | Marcus Welby, M.D. | ||
| Winter | Laverne & Shirley (3/27.5) | ||||||
| Spring | Family | ||||||
| Summer | Specials | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Good Times (24/21.0) | Joe and Sons | Switch | Beacon Hill | ||
| Winter | Popi | M*A*S*H (14/22.9) (Tied with The Waltons) |
One Day at a Time (12/23.1) | Switch | |||
| Spring | The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show | Good Times (24/21.0) | |||||
| Summer | I've Got a Secret | ||||||
| Mid-summer | Popi | ||||||
| NBC | Early fall | Movin' On | Police Story | Joe Forrester | |||
| Fall | Police Woman (30/20.2) | ||||||
| Winter | City of Angels | ||||||
Note: Beginning March 9, Family was added onto ABC's lineup, replacing Marcus Welby, M.D..
Wednesday
| Network | 8:00 p.m. | 8:30 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | When Things Were Rotten | That's My Mama | Baretta (22/21.3) | Starsky & Hutch (16/22.5) (Tied with Good Heavens) | ||
| Winter | The Bionic Woman (5/24.9) | ||||||
| Spring | Wonder Woman | ||||||
| Late spring | The Bionic Woman (5/24.9) | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Tony Orlando and Dawn | Cannon | Kate McShane | |||
| Winter | The Blue Knight | ||||||
| Summer | The Jacksons | The Kelly Monteith Show | |||||
| NBC | Fall | Little House on the Prairie | Doctors' Hospital | Petrocelli | |||
| Winter | Chico and the Man (25/20.8) | The Dumplings | |||||
| Spring | The Best of Sanford and Son | Chico and the Man (25/20.8) | Hawk | ||||
| Mid-spring | Fay | ||||||
Note: The Best of Sanford and Son consisted of reruns of Sanford and Son from earlier seasons; Sanford and Son continued to air in its normal Friday 8:00-8:30 time slot during The Best of Sanford and Son's run. Hawk consisted of reruns of the 1966 ABC television series.
Thursday
| Network | 8:00 p.m. | 8:30 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Barney Miller | On the Rocks | The Streets of San Francisco (26/20.7) (Tied with The Bob Newhart Show and Donny & Marie) |
Harry O | ||
| Winter | Welcome Back, Kotter (18/22.1) | Barney Miller | |||||
| Summer | What's Happening!! | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | The Waltons (14/22.9) (Tied with M*A*S*H) |
CBS Thursday Night Movie | ||||
| Late fall | Hawaii Five-O | Barnaby Jones | |||||
| NBC | Fall | The Montefuscos | Fay | Ellery Queen | Medical Story | ||
| Winter | Grady | The Cop and the Kid | NBC Thursday Night at the Movies | ||||
| Spring | The Mac Davis Show | ||||||
Friday
| Network | 8:00 p.m. | 8:30 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Mobile One | The ABC Friday Night Movie | ||||
| Mid-fall | Barbary Coast | ||||||
| Winter | Donny & Marie (26/20.7) (Tied with The Bob Newhart Show and The Streets of San Francisco) | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Big Eddie | M*A*S*H (14/22.9) (Tied with The Waltons) |
Hawaii Five-O | Barnaby Jones | ||
| Winter | Sara | The CBS Friday Night Movie | |||||
| NBC | Early fall | Sanford and Son (7/24.4) (Tied with Rhoda) |
Chico and the Man (25/20.8) | The Rockford Files | Police Woman (30/20.2) | ||
| Fall | Police Story | ||||||
| Winter | The Practice | ||||||
Saturday
| Network | 8:00 p.m. | 8:30 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell | S.W.A.T. | Matt Helm | |||
| Winter | Almost Anything Goes! | Bert D'Angelo/Superstar | |||||
| CBS | Fall | The Jeffersons (21/21.5) | Doc | The Mary Tyler Moore Show (19/21.9) | The Bob Newhart Show (26/20.7) (Tied with Donny & Marie and The Streets of San Francisco) |
The Carol Burnett Show (29/20.5) | |
| Summer | Ivan the Terrible | ||||||
| NBC | Emergency! | NBC Saturday Night at the Movies | |||||
By network
ABC
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Returning Series
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New Series
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Not returning from 1974–75:
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CBS
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Returning Series
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New Series
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Not returning from 1974–75:
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NBC
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Returning Series
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New Series
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Not returning from 1974–75:
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Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.
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.
| United States network television schedules | |
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