Exactly how popular was "Charles in Charge" in its heyday

[TMC]

I thought about this after reading about Small Wonder, which was also a first-run syndicated show in the '80s. This was how the linked article tried to describe what it was like being a scripted show in first-run syndication in that time period:

A big thing Small Wonder did – which was pretty pioneering – was syndicate their original first-run series. This basically means that it started out as a syndicated show – it’s kind of like going direct to video. This was an approach used by studios as it was cheaper to produce and way less expensive to air than a prime-time series.

I think that everybody knows that Charles in Charge started off on CBS, who ultimately canceled it after a single season (1984-85). Charles in Charge would eventually be revived for the syndication market in 1986-87 (Season 2 wouldn't debut until January 1987), where it would continue for another four and a half years.

Of course, it's within reason to believe that being a syndicated show isn't exactly considered or regarded as prestigious or stable as being on a network show. It's interesting that two of Nicole Eggert's biggest roles, CIC and later, Baywatch both started off on a major network (in Baywatch's case, NBC) which dropped them after a single season. And then, they're soon revived for the first-run syndication market, to presumably greater success or longetivty.