10 Hit TV Shows the Networks Moved to a New Night — And Destroyed

CBS moved one sitcom to a new night at least ten times in four years — and when they finally cancelled it, the last episode reportedly landed in the Nielsen top ten. The audience was never missing. They just could never find the show. These are ten television series that were working fine until somebody in a scheduling meeting moved them to a different night. Some of them died in three weeks. Two of them came back and proved the network wrong. All of them lost an audience that had done nothing except learn where the show used to live. We're covering the Emmy-winning drama that dropped nine full points of audience share by moving from Wednesday to Saturday, the Michael Mann series NBC put in exactly the right slot and then moved out of it, the sixties spy phenomenon that went from lunchboxes to cancelled in seven days, and the animated comedy that couldn't hold a Thursday night — and is still on the air more than twenty years later because DVD box sets didn't have a timeslot. CHAPTERS 00:00 — The show CBS moved ten times 01:38 — 10. Boomtown (NBC, 2002–2003) 03:09 — 9. American Dreams (NBC, 2002–2005) 04:37 — 8. Crime Story (NBC, 1986–1988) 06:06 — 7. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (NBC, 1964–1968) 07:31 — 6. Frank's Place (CBS, 1987–1988) 09:19 — 5. China Beach (ABC, 1988–1991) 10:57 — 4. Bewitched (ABC, 1964–1972) 12:51 — 3. Family Guy (FOX, 1999–2002) 14:26 — 2. Cagney & Lacey (CBS, 1982–1988) 16:00 — 1. WKRP in Cincinnati (CBS, 1978–1982) 18:28 — What all ten have in common If you grew up with any of these, subscribe — we dig into the shows, the cancellations, and the behind-the-scenes decisions that shaped television from the '70s through the 2000s. New videos every few days. #classictv #RetroTV #TVHistory #WKRP #Bewitched #FamilyGuy #CagneyAndLacey #80sTV #90sTV #CancelledTV