1965–66 United States network television schedule
This was the year that ABC and CBS began televising a majority of their prime-time programs in color, while NBC placed their final two black-and-white shows in prime time — the war drama Convoy and the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie, with the latter moving to color the following season.
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This was the television schedule on all three networks for the fall season beginning in September 1965. All times are Eastern and Pacific.
New fall series are highlighted in bold.
Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.[1]
- 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.
Note: This is the first season in which a majority of prime time programs were broadcast in color. The TV shows that were in color are italicized.
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 | Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea | The F.B.I. | The ABC Sunday Night Movie (occasional black-and-white feature film) | |||||
| CBS | Lassie (27/21.8) (Tied with I Dream of Jeannie) |
My Favorite Martian | The Ed Sullivan Show (17/23.2) (Tied with Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color) |
Perry Mason | Candid Camera | What's My Line? | ||
| NBC | 6:30 The Bell Telephone Hour / Actuality Specials | Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (17/23.2) (Tied with The Ed Sullivan Show) |
Branded | Bonanza (1/31.8) | The Wackiest Ship in the Army | |||
Monday
| Network | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | 12 O'Clock High | The Legend of Jesse James | A Man Called Shenandoah | The Farmer's Daughter | Ben Casey | ||
| Follow-up | Peyton Place | |||||||
| Spring | The Avengers | |||||||
| CBS | Fall | To Tell the Truth | I've Got a Secret (19/22.4) (Tied with The Lawrence Welk Show) |
The Lucy Show (3/27.7) | The Andy Griffith Show (6/26.9) | Hazel | The Steve Lawrence Show | |
| Winter | Art Linkletter's Hollywood Talent Scouts | |||||||
| NBC | Hullabaloo | The John Forsythe Show | Dr. Kildare | The Andy Williams Show / Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall (once a month) | Run for Your Life | |||
Note: Art Linkletter's Hollywood Talent Scouts replaced The Steve Lawrence Show in December. The Avengers replaced Ben Casey in March.
Tuesday
| Network | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Combat! | McHale's Navy | F Troop | Peyton Place | The Fugitive | |||
| CBS | Fall | Rawhide | The Red Skelton Hour (4/27.6) | Petticoat Junction (21/22.3) | CBS News Hour / CBS Reports | |||
| Winter | Daktari (14/23.9) | |||||||
| Summer | The Hippodrome | |||||||
| NBC | My Mother the Car | Please Don't Eat the Daisies | Dr. Kildare | NBC Tuesday Night at the Movies | ||||
Wednesday
| Network | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | The Patty Duke Show | Gidget | The Big Valley | Amos Burke — Secret Agent* | ||
| Winter | Batman (10/24.7) | Blue Light | The Long Hot Summer | |||||
| CBS | Fall | Lost in Space | The Beverly Hillbillies (7/25.9) (Tied with Bewitched) |
Green Acres (11/24.6) | The Dick Van Dyke Show (16/23.6) | The Danny Kaye Show | ||
| Summer | The John Gary Show | |||||||
| NBC | The Virginian (23/22.0) (Tied with The Wild Wild West and The Jackie Gleason Show) |
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre / Chrysler Presents a Bob Hope Special | I Spy | |||||
* formerly Burke's Law
Thursday
| Network | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Shindig! | The Donna Reed Show | O.K. Crackerby! | Bewitched (7/25.9) (Tied with The Beverly Hillbillies) |
Peyton Place | The Long Hot Summer | |
| Winter | Batman (5/27.0) | Gidget | The Double Life of Henry Phyfe | The Baron | ||||
| CBS | The Munsters | Gilligan's Island (22/22.1) | My Three Sons (15/23.8) | The CBS Thursday Night Movie | ||||
| NBC | Fall | Daniel Boone (26/21.9) | Laredo | Mona McCluskey | The Dean Martin Show | |||
| Spring | Mickie Finn's | |||||||
| Summer | The Dean Martin Summer Show | |||||||
Friday
| Network | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | The Flintstones | Tammy | The Addams Family | Honey West | Peyton Place | The Jimmy Dean Show | |
| Follow-up | The Farmer's Daughter | |||||||
| Summer | Court Martial | |||||||
| CBS | Fall | The Wild Wild West (23/22.0) (Tied with The Jackie Gleason Show and The Virginian) |
Hogan's Heroes (9/24.9) | Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (2/27.8) | The Smothers Brothers Show | Slattery's People | ||
| Winter | The Trials of O'Brien | |||||||
| Summer | Wayne & Shuster Take An Affectionate Look At... | |||||||
| NBC | Fall | Camp Runamuck | Hank | Convoy | Mister Roberts | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (13/24.0) | ||
| Winter | The Sammy Davis Jr. Show | |||||||
| Summer | Sing Along with Mitch (repeats) | |||||||
Note: The Farmer's Daughter took over the 9:30–10 time period on ABC, effective November 5, because many viewers were not home to watch Peyton Place on Fridays. Starting November 1, Peyton Place was seen Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. In the winter of 1966, The Sammy Davis, Jr. Show replaced Convoy on its timeslot, which was transmitted live in color.
Saturday
| Network | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Shindig! | The King Family Show | The Lawrence Welk Show (19/22.4) (Tied with I've Got a Secret) |
The Hollywood Palace | ABC Scope | ||
| Winter | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | The Donna Reed Show | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | The Jackie Gleason Show (23/22.0) (Tied with The Wild Wild West and The Virginian) |
The Trials of O'Brien | The Loner | Gunsmoke (30/21.3) | |||
| Winter | Secret Agent | |||||||
| Summer | Continental Showcase | The Face is Familiar | ||||||
| NBC | Flipper (29/21.6) | I Dream of Jeannie (27/21.8) (Tied with Lassie) |
Get Smart (12/24.5) | NBC Saturday Night at the Movies | ||||
Note: Even though ABC Scope was scheduled at 10:30 PM, not one major station (including WABC-TV New York, the network's flagship station) carried it in that time period, preferring to schedule local or syndicated programming in its place. Most affiliates aired it in "fringe time" during the weekend.
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 (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-31864-1.