CBS Sunday Nights in the Early 1980s

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https://terrencemoss.blogspot.com/20...rly-1980s.html

But often overlooked in the annals of great TV lineups is CBS Sunday nights in the early 1980s. From my recently-concluded exploration of The Jeffersons, I learned that the series not only experienced its highest ratings during this time, but was surrounded by other great shows such as Alice, One Day at a Time, Archie Bunker's Place and Trapper John, M.D. that consistently ranked in the Top 20 of the annual Nielsen ratings.

The beginnings of this solid lineup began during the 1977-1978 TV season when All in the Family (ranked #12 for the 1976-1977 TV season) was brought over from Wednesday nights at 9pm to take over the comparable slot on Sunday nights -- bringing with it its Wednesday night lead-out Alice. All in the Family, in its eighth season, returned to the Top 10 with a 4th-place ranking and Alice, then in its second season, followed suit with an 8th-place ranking (up from a 30th-place ranking the previous season).

Mary Tyler Moore's ill-fated return to TV with a variety series led off the night at 8pm for the first month of the 1978-1979 TV season. After its quick demise, All the Family (in its ninth and final season) and #13-ranked Alice (in its third season) were moved up an hour to replace it. In the spring, One Day at a Time (in its fourth season) slid in at 830pm (from Tuesday nights at 930pm following M*A*S*H), pushing Alice in to the 9pm tentpole position. In the summer, The Jeffersons was brought over from the Wednesday night 8pm anchor position to replace Stockard Channing in Just Friends at 930pm leading into the final summer reruns of the cancelled Kaz. For the season, All in the Family ranked #9, One Day at a Time #10 and Alice #13. The Jeffersons, which ranked 49th on Wednesday nights, would get a new lease on sitcom life as a result of this move.

By the 1979-1980 TV season, one of the most successful lineups in TV history -- in terms of both ratings, programming and stability -- had come together. The All in the Family continuation series Archie Bunker's Place took over its predecessor's anchor position at 8pm and ranked #11 for the season, One Day at a Time, Alice and The Jeffersons maintained their respective 830pm, 9pm and 930pm slots to respectively rank #10, #4 and #8 for the season. A new series, Trapper John, M.D., followed at 10pm and ranked #19 for the season. Trapper John would hold this time slot for its entire seven-season run -- six ranked in the Top 30 including four ranked in the Top 20.

This lineup would remain intact for an unheard of three seasons -- with every show ranked in the annual Nielsen Top 20 for each of those seasons.

For the 1980-1981 TV season, Archie Bunker's Place ranked #13 at 8pm, One Day at a Time ranked #11 at 830pm, Alice ranked #7 at 9pm, The Jeffersons ranked #6 at 930pm and Trapper John, M.D. ranked #17 at 10pm.

For the 1981-1982 TV season, Archie Bunker's Place ranked #12 at 8pm, One Day at a Time ranked #10 at 830pm, Alice ranked #5 at 9pm, The Jeffersons ranked #3 at 930pm and Trapper John, M.D. ranked #15 at 10pm. This was the strongest year for CBS's Sunday night as the entire lineup ranked in the Top 15. The Jeffersons and Trapper John, MD achieved their highest Nielsen rankings while Archie Bunker's Place, One Day at a Time and Alice either matched or achieved their second-highest Nielsen ranking.

To accommodate the new Archie Bunker's Place spinoff Gloria, CBS made its first changes to the Sunday night lineup in three years for the 1982-1983 TV season. Alice, now in its seventh season, was moved over to Wednesday nights as the 9pm tentpole where, having to prop up a failed lineup of forgettable shows, fell out of the Top 30 for the first time in its series run. One Day at a Time, now in its eighth season, shifted back an hour to 930pm where it ranked #16 for the season. The Jeffersons, now in its ninth season, was shifted up a half hour to the 9pm tentpole position where it ranked #12 for the season. Archie Bunker's Place (in its fourth season) remained in the 8pm anchor position, but only ranked #22 for the season while Gloria, which took over the 830pm time slot, ranked #18 in a tie with Trapper John, M.D. (also in its fourth season) still closing out the night at 10pm.

With the unexpected and inexplicable cancellations of Archie Bunker's Place and Gloria, the CBS Sunday lineup began to falter during the 1983-1984 TV season. Alice was brought back to the night to take over the 8pm slot vacated by Archie Bunker's Place. But Alice was in its eighth of nine seasons and though the show returned to the Nielsen Top 30 with a 25th-place ranking, the show wasn't as strong in its return to Sunday nights as it had previously been in the 9pm tentpole position. One Day at a Time, now in its ninth and final season, returned to the 830pm time slot but fell out of the Top 30 altogether. The Jeffersons, now in its tenth season, remained in the 9pm tentpole position and despite the upheaval, managed a 19th-place ranking. Goodnight Beantown, which had a brief run the previous spring, was moved into the 930pm time slot, but was neither a compatible lead-out for The Jeffersons nor an effective lead-in for Trapper John, M.D. -- which fell to a 30th-place ranking at 10pm.

With the conclusion of One Day at a Time and the cancellation of Goodnight Beantown, Alice (now in its ninth season) shifted back from the 8pm anchor position to 930pm following the The Jeffersons (now in its eleventh season), which remained in the 9pm tentpole position for the 1984-1985 TV season. The new series Murder, She Wrote took over the 8pm anchor position as the night's first drama since Trapper John, M.D. five years earlier and was an immediate hit with an 8th-place ranking for the season. Perhaps due to declining ratings and/or their respective ages, The Jeffersons and Alice were moved to the 8pm hour on Wednesday nights at midseason opposite NBC's big hit The A-Team -- which ranked #6 for the season. The Jeffersons fell to #56, Alice fell to #60 and both were cancelled at the end of the season. Another new series, Crazy Like a Fox, took over the 9pm hour following Murder, She Wrote and ranked #10 for the season. And Trapper John, M.D., now in its sixth season, remained in the 10pm time slot and ranked #29 for the season.

By the 1985-1986 TV season, Trapper John, M.D. (now in its seventh season) was all that remained of this once-glorious CBS Sunday night lineup. Despite the lead-in from #3-ranked Murder, She Wrote at 8pm, Crazy Like a Fox and Trapper John, M.D. fell well out of the Top 30 and were replaced by The CBS Sunday Movie -- which ranked #12 for the season. Crazy Like a Fox was moved to Wednesday nights and ranked 44th for the season before being cancelled while Trapper John, M.D. ended its run with a 59th-place ranking...

...and the CBS Sunday night lineup of the early 1980s, one of the greatest but most underrated in TV history, faded into...well...TV history.