Nielsen Ratings facts after the very first airing of the show

[TVFactFan]

After the Jan 27, 1976 airing on ABC, L&S was ranked the number one show in the country above All in the family at #2.

Note: This was the beginning of the downfall for All in the Family and would not be #1 again.

[BestTVever]

Deservingly so. It was also beating its host show Happy Days which was at a crossroads in 1976 introducing Pinkie as Fonzie's girlfriend. Laverne and Shirley was a superior show to Happy Days in 1976 and All In The Family too. Once the kids moved out and Joey came people still clung to the show for nostalgia and to keep up with the Bunkers. Laverne and Shirley had some great seasons in the 70s.

I had totally forgot about the "new" Sonny and Cher show in 1976. Those top 20 shows were all so good. I still watch Barnaby Jones, Maude, One Day At A Time, Sanford and Son, and All In The Family.

[Alan Brady's Hair]

Sanford & Son's rating is pretty amazing, considering it was five years old, leading off Friday nights the whole time, and how much turmoil the show had seen.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

Sanford & Son's rating is pretty amazing, considering it was five years old, leading off Friday nights the whole time, and how much turmoil the show had seen.

Ranking at the #13th spot was low for S&S based on previous rankings from 1972 to 1975 when it was a Top 5 show.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Ranking at the #13th spot was low for S&S based on previous rankings from 1972 to 1975 when it was a Top 5 show.

On the Real Brady Bros podcast Chris Knight said Sandford and Son killed the Brady Bunch since it aired opposite of them on Friday nights.

[opus]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

I still watch......One Day At A Time......

You do? You should come over to that board and talk about it with us occasionally. Where are you watching it?

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

On the Real Brady Bros podcast Chris Knight said Sandford and Son killed the Brady Bunch since it aired opposite of them on Friday nights.

Yes it aired in the same time slot as S&S for 3 seasons. Surprised ABC never moved the Brady Bunch to another night

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by opus

You do? You should come over to that board and talk about it with us occasionally. Where are you watching it?

I dont see no episode talk on that board just that Cuddling Cooper Thread

[Duster76]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

Deservingly so. It was also beating its host show Happy Days which was at a crossroads in 1976 introducing Pinkie as Fonzie's girlfriend. Laverne and Shirley was a superior show to Happy Days in 1976 and All In The Family too. Once the kids moved out and Joey came people still clung to the show for nostalgia and to keep up with the Bunkers. Laverne and Shirley had some great seasons in the 70s.

I had totally forgot about the "new" Sonny and Cher show in 1976. Those top 20 shows were all so good. I still watch Barnaby Jones, Maude, One Day At A Time, Sanford and Son, and All In The Family.

Let's put this in context, Happy Days was hitting on all four burners at this point, although it finished at number 3 keep in mind it was up against top 25 hit Good Times on CBS. Laverne and Shirley was up against Popi, a show that bombed its first week on the air (January 20), and did even worse its second week. All in the Family was up against tough competition as well, a hit movie The Day of the Jackal on NBC, and a special edition of Monday Night Football (the Pro Bowl) on ABC. The Pinky Tuscadero storyline you referred to didn't occur until later on in the year at the start of season 4.

A couple of interesting footnotes, Laverne and Shirley appear in the episode of Happy Days that ran the night of January 27 as back-up singers for Fonzie who sang Heartbreak Hotel dressed like Las Vegas Elvis of the 70's. The Cunninghams are off to see the film Psycho which was released midyear 1960! We are forever lost in the Happy Days time inconsistencies, a year earlier there was episode about the 1956 Presidential campaign, now the Cunninghams are going to a film released in 1960, with Fonzie dressed as Elvis of the 70's.

[Duster76]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

Sanford & Son's rating is pretty amazing, considering it was five years old, leading off Friday nights the whole time, and how much turmoil the show had seen.

This was not a good year for the series, it finished 7th in the year-end ratings a significant drop from the prior three years where it finished in the top 3. By season 6 it was out of the top 25.

[Duster76]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

After the Jan 27, 1976 airing on ABC, L&S was ranked the number one show in the country above All in the family at #2.

Note: This was the beginning of the downfall for All in the Family and would not be #1 again.

The series would once again lead the pack for the year but this marked the end of its domination. The following season the show would drop out of the top 10. The episode on January 26, was the one where Jack Gilford appeared as the inventor looking for start-up money, he dies at the end, not exactly a laugh out loud episode.

[BestTVever]

Laverne and Shirley was a really good show for about 4 years. The spin off from one of the biggest shows helped it. However I believe even if it was not a spin off, the show would still have been a success. Maybe not at first since it had the limelight of Happy Days over it. The premise of 2 single working women sharing a basement apartment and their struggles really provided some great comedy. Lenny and Squiggy became so popular that they released and album and toured the country with it.
The actresses even made changes to make the series work. Cindy once said the network provided this posh apartment for the girls. They put their foot down and said they would never be able to afford such nice things.
Looking back, Laverne and Shirley broke just as Happy Days was becoming all Fonzie and about to jump the shark. Laverne and Shirley was such a superior show to Happy Days at that time although we may not have realized it in real time.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

Laverne and Shirley was a really good show for about 4 years. The spin off from one of the biggest shows helped it. However I believe even if it was not a spin off, the show would still have been a success. Maybe not at first since it had the limelight of Happy Days over it. The premise of 2 single working women sharing a basement apartment and their struggles really provided some great comedy. Lenny and Squiggy became so popular that they released and album and toured the country with it.
The actresses even made changes to make the series work. Cindy once said the network provided this posh apartment for the girls. They put their foot down and said they would never be able to afford such nice things.
Looking back, Laverne and Shirley broke just as Happy Days was becoming all Fonzie and about to jump the shark. Laverne and Shirley was such a superior show to Happy Days at that time although we may not have realized it in real time.

Its still odd they lost so many fans in the 79-80 season. They went from #1 to 50 lol

[James28]

Guess what the CBS slogan was during Laverne & Shirley's first season? "Catch the Brightest Stars". Well, with the runaway ratings successes of Welcome Back, Kotter and Starsky & Hutch, midseason replacements such as Laverne & Shirley and The Bionic Woman, and the weekly miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man, American audiences sure have caught even brighter stars on ABC than they have on CBS during the 1975-76 season. (All CBS had ware Phyllis and the original One Day at a Time, BTW).

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by James28

Guess what the CBS slogan was during Laverne & Shirley's first season? "Catch the Brightest Stars". Well, with the runaway ratings successes of Welcome Back, Kotter and Starsky & Hutch, midseason replacements such as Laverne & Shirley and The Bionic Woman, and the weekly miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man, American audiences sure have caught even brighter stars on ABC than they have on CBS during the 1975-76 season. (All CBS had ware Phyllis and the original One Day at a Time, BTW).

CBS ruled the school in the early 70s with All In The Family. All the other networks passed on that show. Lear was on fire. But when the mid 70s came along ABC broke out and CBS fell way back. I remember in the mid to late 80s articles about why CBS did not have good sitcoms and were being blown out of the water by ABC in the mid to late 70s and when the mid 80s hit NBC dominated.