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The 1985–86 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers primetime hours from September 1985 through August 1986. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1984–85 season.
This was also the first television season wherein the Nielsen people meter technology was used for the nationwide audience measurement system, largely replacing the diaries system in place from the 1950-1951 television season.
PBS is not included; 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 1986 is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.
New series are highlighted in bold.
Repeat airings or same-day rebroadcasts are indicated by (R).
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.
Most of the ratings come from AmericanRadioHistory.com's PDF archive.
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 | Fall | Ripley's Believe It or Not! | MacGyver | The ABC Sunday Night Movie | |||||
| Winter | The Disney Sunday Movie | ||||||||
| CBS | Fall | 60 Minutes (4/23.9) | Murder, She Wrote (3/25.3) | Crazy Like a Fox | Trapper John, M.D. | ||||
| Winter | CBS Sunday Movie (12/20.5) | ||||||||
| NBC | Fall | Punky Brewster | Silver Spoons | Amazing Stories | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | NBC Sunday Night at the Movies (21/18.5) | |||
| Spring | Silver Spoons | Fathers and Sons | |||||||
| Late spring | Punky Brewster | ||||||||
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 | Hardcastle and McCormick | Monday Night Football (15/19.8) | ||||
| Winter | ABC Monday Night Movie | ||||||
| Spring | Monday Night Baseball | ||||||
| CBS | Scarecrow and Mrs. King (28/17.4) | Kate & Allie (14/20.0) | Newhart (16/19.6) | Cagney & Lacey | |||
| NBC | Fall | TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes | NBC Monday Night at the Movies (22/18.3) (Tied with Hotel) | ||||
| Winter | You Again? (19/19.2) | Valerie (24/18.1) (Tied with Moonlighting and Falcon Crest) | |||||
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 | Who's the Boss? (10/21.1) | Growing Pains (17/19.5) (Tied with Knots Landing) |
Moonlighting (24/18.1) (Tied with Falcon Crest and Valerie) |
Our Family Honor | ||
| Mid-fall | Spenser: For Hire | ||||||
| Spring | Perfect Strangers | ||||||
| Late spring | Growing Pains (17/19.5) (Tied with Knots Landing) | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Hometown | CBS Tuesday Night Movie | ||||
| Mid-fall | Various programming | ||||||
| Late fall | Stir Crazy | ||||||
| Winter | Melba | Charlie & Co. | Trapper John, M.D. | Various programming | |||
| Mid-winter | Trapper John, M.D. | CBS Tuesday Night Movie | |||||
| Spring | Morningstar/Eveningstar | Mary | Foley Square | The Equalizer | |||
| Mid-spring | Various programming | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | The A-Team (30/16.9) | Riptide | Remington Steele | |||
| Spring | Hunter | Stingray | |||||
| Summer | 1986 | ||||||
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 | The Insiders | Dynasty (7/21.8) (Tied with The Golden Girls) |
Hotel (22/18.3) (Tied with The NBC Monday Movie) | |||
| Winter | MacGyver | ||||||
| Summer | Hardcastle and McCormick | ||||||
| Mid-summer | Perfect Strangers | Mr. Sunshine | MacGyver | ||||
| CBS | Fall | Stir Crazy | Charlie & Co. | George Burns Comedy Week | The Equalizer | ||
| Mid-fall | Airwolf | ||||||
| Late fall | Mary | Foley Square | |||||
| Winter | Crazy Like a Fox | ||||||
| Mid-winter | Fast Times | Tough Cookies | |||||
| Spring | West 57th | CBS Wednesday Night Movie | |||||
| Summer | Foley Square | Newhart | Airwolf | West 57th | |||
| NBC | Fall | Highway to Heaven (13/20.1) | Hell Town | St. Elsewhere | |||
| Winter | Blacke's Magic | ||||||
| Summer | Gimme a Break! | You Again? (19/19.2) | |||||
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 | The Fall Guy | Lady Blue | 20/20 | |||
| Mid-fall | ABC Thursday Night Movie | ||||||
| Late fall | Shadow Chasers | Dynasty II: The Colbys | |||||
| Winter | Ripley's Believe It or Not! | The Colbys | |||||
| CBS | Fall | Magnum, P.I. | Simon & Simon (29/17.2) | Knots Landing (17/19.5) (Tied with Growing Pains) | |||
| Spring | Simon & Simon (29/17.2) | Bridges to Cross | |||||
| Summer | Price is Right Special | Crazy Like a Fox | Trapper John, M.D. | ||||
| NBC | Fall | The Cosby Show (1/33.7) | Family Ties (2/30.0) | Cheers (5/23.7) | Night Court (11/20.9) | Hill Street Blues | |
| Winter | |||||||
| Spring | All Is Forgiven | ||||||
| Mid-spring | Family Ties (2/30.0) | ||||||
| Late spring | All Is Forgiven | ||||||
| Summer | Family Ties (2/30.0) | ||||||
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 | Webster | Mr. Belvedere | Diff'rent Strokes | Benson | Spenser: For Hire | |
| Mid-fall | Our Family Honor | ||||||
| Winter | He's the Mayor | The Fall Guy | |||||
| Spring | Mr. Sunshine | Joe Bash | |||||
| Mid-spring | The ABC Friday Night Movie | ||||||
| Summer | Growing Pains (R) | Mr. Sunshine | The Love Boat | ||||
| Mid-summer | The Fall Guy | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | The Twilight Zone | Dallas (6/21.9) | Falcon Crest (24/18.1) (Tied with Moonlighting and Valerie) | |||
| Spring | Charlie & Co. | Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills | |||||
| Summer | The Twilight Zone | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | Knight Rider | Misfits of Science | Miami Vice (9/21.3) | |||
| Winter | Misfits of Science | Knight Rider | |||||
| Late winter | Riptide | ||||||
| Spring | The Last Precinct | ||||||
Note: Diff'rent Strokes 1-hour Season 8 Premiered on September 27 at 9:00pm
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 | Hollywood Beat | Lime Street | The Love Boat | |||
| Mid-fall | The Fall Guy | Lady Blue | |||||
| Winter | The Redd Foxx Show | Benson | Fortune Dane | ||||
| Spring | The Love Boat | ||||||
| Mid-spring | Diff'rent Strokes | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Airwolf | CBS Saturday Night Movie | ||||
| Spring | Crazy Like a Fox | ||||||
| Mid-spring | Airwolf | Magnum, P.I. | |||||
| NBC | Fall | Gimme a Break! | The Facts of Life (27/17.7) | The Golden Girls (7/21.8) (Tied with Dynasty) |
227 (20/18.8) | Hunter | |
| Spring | Remington Steele | ||||||
Note: Due to the death of Samantha Smith and her father in a plane crash, ABC ceased production on Lime Street and was forced to move Lady Blue into its slot.
By network
ABC
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Returning series
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New series
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Not returning from 1984–85:
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CBS
|
Returning series
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New series
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Not returning from 1984–85:
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NBC
Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.
^ Diff'rent Strokes switched networks for the 1985–1986 season.
+ Mike Hammer abruptly ended production after series star Stacy Keach was sentenced to six months in prison for cocaine possession. Production resumed during the 1986–1987 season.
@ T. J. Hooker continued production for CBS' late night schedule for the 1985–1986 season.
References
- de Moraes, Lisa. "David Cook Wasn't the Only Winner on Wednesday, as 'Idol' Ratings Spike". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
- 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.
- "Broadcasting Magazine" (PDF). Broadcasting. Vol. 110, no. 17. April 28, 1986.
- ^ "NBC breezes another ratings victory" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 17, 1986. p. 78. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
| United States network television schedules | |
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