1997–98 United States network television schedule
The 1997-98 network television schedule is for United States broadcast television on all six commercial television networks for the fall season beginning on September 1, 1997 and ending on August 31, 1998. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.
New series 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.
PBS is not included; member stations have local flexibility over most of their schedules and broadcast times for network shows may vary.
From February 7 to 22, 1998, all of CBS' primetime programming was preempted in favor of coverage of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.
For new series debuting during the season, it would ultimately prove to be one of the weakest seasons in American television history, as only seven shows would be picked up for a second season. Of those seven, only Dharma & Greg, Two Guys and a Girl, Dawson's Creek, and Ally McBeal would last beyond three seasons, and would all end their run within six seasons.
For its tenth and final season, onetime CBS powerhouse Murphy Brown was moved from its lifelong home of Monday nights to Wednesday, where it lost a significant number of viewers. For its last block of episodes in the spring, the show was put back into the familiar timeslot that it had once used to anchor the CBS Monday night lineup.
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Nothing Sacred | Cracker | 20/20 Thursday | |||
| Winter | Prey | The ABC Thursday Night Movie | |||||
| Spring | C-16 | ||||||
| CBS | Promised Land | Diagnosis: Murder (#22/9.8) (Tied with King of the Hill) |
48 Hours | ||||
| Fox | Fall | Living Single | Between Brothers | 413 Hope St. | Local Programming | ||
| Winter | Between Brothers | Ask Harriet | New York Undercover | ||||
| Spring | World's Wildest Police Videos | Beverly Hills 90210 | |||||
| Summer | Fox Files | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | Friends (#4/16.4) | Union Square (#8/13.6) | Seinfeld (#1/22.0) | Veronica's Closet (#3/16.8) | ER (#2/20.7) | |
| Spring | Just Shoot Me! (#10/12.0) (Tied with Frasier and Home Improvement) | ||||||
NOTE: On Fox, Rewind was supposed to air 8-8:30, but it was cancelled due to production troubles.
Friday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Sabrina the Teenage Witch | Boy Meets World | You Wish | Teen Angel | 20/20 Friday (#16/10.9) | |
| Winter | Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Repeats) | Sabrina the Teenage Witch | |||||
| Spring | Hiller and Diller | ||||||
| Follow-up | Boy Meets World (Repeats) | ||||||
| Summer | Sabrina the Teenage Witch | You Wish | Boy Meets World | Teen Angel | |||
| CBS | Fall | Family Matters | Meego | The Gregory Hines Show | Step by Step | Nash Bridges | |
| Follow-up | Various Specials | Family Matters | |||||
| Winter | Kids Say the Darndest Things | The Gregory Hines Show | |||||
| Follow Up | Candid Camera | The Gregory Hines Show | |||||
| Spring | Unsolved Mysteries | ||||||
| Fox | Fall | The Visitor | Millennium | Local Programming | |||
| Winter | Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction | ||||||
| NBC | Players | Dateline Friday (#25/9.5) (Tied with Dharma & Greg, Cosby and NBC Sunday Night Movie) |
Homicide: Life on the Street | ||||
Saturday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | C-16 | Total Security | The Practice | |||
| Follow-up | ABC News Saturday Night | ||||||
| Winter | Nothing Sacred | Cracker | ABC News Saturday Night | ||||
| Follow-up | The ABC Saturday Night Movie | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman | Early Edition | Walker, Texas Ranger (#29/9.3) (Tied with The Simpsons and Hiller and Diller) | |||
| Winter | The Magnificent Seven | ||||||
| Follow-up | Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman | The Magnificent Seven | |||||
| Spring | Early Edition | ||||||
| Fox | COPS | COPS | America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back | Local Programming | |||
| NBC | Fall (Started on November 1st) |
The Pretender | Sleepwalkers | Profiler | |||
| Follow Up | Dateline NBC | The Pretender | |||||
| Winter | All Star TV Bloopers | ||||||
By network
ABC
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CBS
Fox
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NBC
UPN
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The WB
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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.