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With 1956 and 1966 sitting the week out, the remaining decades produced several noteworthy programs. 1976 produced a family drama miniseries that evolved into an award-winning weekly series, and 1996 saw the return of The Muppets, and four new series that barely made a blip on the TV radar. 2006 had the two biggest new series of the week, one an HBO polygamy drama and the other a CBS sitcom the broke the ‘Seinfeld Curse’. 2016 had a fake game show withing a real game show, a variety series featuring extraordinary children, a kids adaptation of a popular Jack Black movie, a comedy series based on its star’s real-life struggles, and a Biblical epic that was an epic failure. Also of note — Aaron Spelling has two shows on the list this week, exactly twenty years apart. Scroll down to see all of the shows and movies that premiered this week, and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.
1956
- No new shows premiered this week in 1956.
1966
- No new shows premiered this week in 1966.
1976
Spelling-Goldberg Productions
- March 9 – Family (ABC, Five seasons, 86 episodes)
Family was originally broadcast as a six-episode miniseries, but strong ratings prompted ABC to order a full second season. Mike Nichols produced the pilot, with Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg as executive producers. The series was inspired by the docuseries, An American Family. The character of Nancy was played by Elayne Heilveil in the miniseries, and Meredith Baxter in the series. Henry Fonda guested in a 1979 episode directed by Joanne Woodward. The series was originally to be set in Philadelphia, but production considerations, including the option for year-round shooting, led to a shift in the setting to Southern California. Many, including the cast, criticized ABC for its lack of support for the show, giving it little promotion and never airing Summer reruns which could have expanded the audience. A reunion movie was planned for the 1987-1988 season, with the suggestion that strong ratings could lead to a revival of the series. The plans were abandoned due to a 1988 writers strike that halted production. The show was nominated for five Emmy Awards in 1977, winning Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Gary Frank and Kristy McNichol. It received seven nominations in 1978, winning Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Sada Thompson, and four additional nominations between 1979 and 1980, with McNichol winning again in 1979. Between 1976 and 1979, the show earned five Golden Globe nominations, including Best Drama Series in 1977 and 1978.
1986
- March 10 – Between Two Women (ABC, TV movie)
Between Two Women starred Farrah Fawcett, Colleen Dewhurst and Michael Nouri. Dewhurst accepted her role in the movie because she was impressed with Fawcett’s performance in 1984 TV movie The Burning Bed. Dewhurts won a Supporting Actress Emmy for her performance.
1996
- March 8 – Muppets Tonight (ABC/Disney Channel, Two seasons, 22 episodes)
- March 9 – Malibu Shores (NBC, One season, 10 episodes)
- March 11 – A Face to Die For (NBC, TV movie)
- March 12 – The Paranormal Borderline (UPN, One season, 9 episodes)
- March 13 – The Faculty (ABC, One season, 13 episodes)
- March 13 – Swift Justice (UPN, One season, 13 episodes)
Muppets Tonight was a continuation of The Muppet Show. ABC only aired ten of the 13 episodes that were ordered before cancelling the show. When Disney Channel picked it up (Disney bought ABC a year earlier, but did not yet own The Muppets), the three unaired episodes were included with eight new episodes on the new network.
Malibu Shores was an Aaron Spelling teen drama starring Keri Russell. The cast also included Christian Campbell, Charisma Carpenter, Randy Spelling, Essence Atkins, Ian Ogilvy and Michelle Phillips. Guest stars included Brian Austin Green, Barry Watson, Gregg Henry, Tori Spelling and Leigh Taylor-Young.
A Face to Die For was retitled The Face for UK and Australian broadcast. The Faculty starred Meredith Baxter Birney, who was also an executive producer on the show.
Swift Justice was created by Dick Wolf, of Law & Order fame. The show was cancelled due to complaints of excessive violence from viewers, advertisers and critics, though no blood or gore was shown. Jennifer Garner, Drea de Matteo and Ice-T were among the show’s guest stars.
2006
Anima Sola Productions
- March 12 – Big Love (HBO, Five seasons, 53 episodes)
- March 13 – The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS, Five seasons, 88 episodes)
Big Love centers around a fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah that practices polygamy. Bill Paxton starred, with Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin as his wives. The series was primarily filmed in Valencia, California, with The All American Home Center in Downey standing in for ‘Henrickson’s Home Plus’ store. Some exterior shots were filmed in Salt Lake City and Sandy, Utah. Mark Mothersbaugh composed music for the first season, and David Byrne was in charge of music during Season 2. The theme song for the first three seasons was ‘God Only Knows’ by The Beach Boys, and ‘Home’ by Engineers was used for the final two seasons. The series was nominated once by the Emmys and three times by the Golden Globes for Outstanding Drama Series. Bill Paxton received three Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series. Chloë Sevigny won a Golden Globe for Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, and Ellen Burstyn, Sissy Spacek, Mary Kay Place and Bruce Dern were all Emmy-nominated for guest roles.
Following the cancellation of The New Adventures of Old Christine, which creator Kari Lizer deemed as a sexist move, Warner Bros. Television began negotiations to move the show to ABC but the deal fell apart due to high licensing fees. The series was the second for Julia Louis-Dreyfus following Seinfeld, and the first to break the ‘Seinfeld Curse’ of failed shows by other Seinfeld cast members, including her own Watching Ellie. The show’s ratings were high until CBS changed its time slot, losing Two and a Half Men as a lead-in. Despite the struggles, CBS renewed it for midseason for Season 3, ordering 13 episodes. The order was cut to ten due to a writers strike that held up production. Season 4 returned with 22 episodes kicking off a new night of comedy on Wednesdays, and ratings rebounded with nearly 8 million viewers, ranking first in its time slot multiple times. Season 5 had a slightly smaller share of viewers than expected, but the show still ranked higher for the season than Season 4, coming in at 66 compared to Season 4’s 77. The show received two Emmy nominations in 2006, with Louis-Dreyfus winning Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She was nominated again for each consecutive season. It earned nine Emmy nominations total. Louis-Dreyfus was also nominated for one Golden Globe Award.
2016
Wandering Rocks Productions
- March 8 – Of Kings and Prophets (ABC, One season, 9 episodes, 7 unaired)
- March 8 – Little Big Shots (NBC, Four seasons, 48 episodes, 1 special)
- March 8 – Separation Anxiety (TBS, One season, 14 episodes)
- March 9 – Underground (WGN America, Two seasons, 20 episodes)
- March 9 – The Internet Ruined My Life (Syfy, One season, 6 episodes)
- March 11 – Flaked (Netflix, Two seasons, 14 episodes)
- March 11 – Netflix Presents: The Characters (Netflix, One season, 8 episodes)
- March 12 – Party Over Here (FOX, One season, 10 episodes)
- March 12 – School of Rock (Nickelodeon, Three seasons, 45 episodes)
- March 13 – Life or Debt (Spike, One season, 11 episodes)
The creators of Of Kings and Prophets wanted to push the boundaries of sex and violence on broadcast television with its Biblical tale, and scenes in the pilot not aired on ABC were included in the online version. The Parents Television Council objected to the sex and violence that did air, comparing it to Game of Thrones, and called for the show to be removed from the schedule. All nine episodes were eventually made available for purchase on various services like iTunes, Vudu and YouTube.
Little Big Shots was co-created by Steve Harvey and Ellen DeGeneres. Harvey hosted the first three seasons, and Melissa McCarthy hosted the fourth. Harvey received an Emmy nomination for hosting Season 1. A senior-focused spin-off, Little Big Shots: Forever Young, aired in the Summer of 2017 for six episodes.
Separation Anxiety was a game show hosted by Iliza Shlesinger, with Adam Ray as the host of the fake game show within the show. Underground was set in Antebellum Georgia and focused on the Underground Railroad. It was speculated that the series was cancelled because the network’s parent was under consideration for purchase by far-right Sinclair Broadcasting Group, and the latter did not approve of the historical subject matter.
Will Arnett co-created and starred in Flaked, which was based on Arnett’s own struggle with alcoholism — he relapsed during production — and how Alcoholics Anonymous played a role in his sobriety. Party Over Here was a late-night sketch show, created by Paul Scheer and The Lonely Island, and the first live-action late-night series for the network since the cancellation of The Wanda Sykes Show in 2010. It was also the second female-led sketch comedy show — with Nicole Byer, Jessica McKenna and Alison Rich — since The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987. The show was broadcast on Saturdays at 11:00 PM at the behest of the creators so it did not go up against Saturday Night Live at 11:30. The Lonely Island received Lorne Michaels’ blessing to proceed with the show under that condition.
School of Rock was based on the 2003 film of the same name. The show received two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Children’s Program. Life or Debt was a reality series that featured financially well-off subjects facing massive debt, seeking the assistance of former corporate CEO Victor Antonio to help save them from financial ruin. Former pop star Aaron Carter was the subject of Episode 10.