Tandem Productions
A new TV season begins and it’s time for a reboot and a reformat of TV By the Decade. As the new season kicks off across the last seven decades, new shows are making their premieres, some very successfully and others … not so much. 1952 and 1962 didn’t have any new shows that ran longer than a season, but 1972 was a year to remember with three classic, long-running sitcoms and two classic, long-running dramas. That year also had a few more multi-season shows and several that had shorter runs. 1982 saw the debut of a cult classic cable series for children and adults, and 1992 produced several single and multi-season animated series, but only one live-action series that ran longer than one season. 2002 gave us a long-running WB drama and an ABC sitcom that endured a terrible tragedy, while 2012 saw success in the reality show genre. Check out the list of new shows that celebrate anniversaries this week, and share your favorite memories with us in the comments section.
1952
- September 13 – Cowboy G-Men (Syndication, 39 episodes)
- September 14 – New York Times Youth Forum (DuMont)
- September 15 – Famous Fights from Madison Square Garden (DuMont)
1962
- September 11 – The Lloyd Bridges Show (CBS, 34 episodes)
- September 15 – Sam Benedict (NBC, 28 episodes)
- September 17 – It’s a Man’s World (NBC, 19 episodes)
- September 17 – Saints and Sinners (NBC, 18 episodes)
1972
20th Century Fox Television
- September 11 – The New Bill Cosby Show (CBS, 21 episodes)
- September 12 – Maude (CBS, 141 episodes)
- September 12 – Temperatures Rising (ABC, 46 episodes, aka The New Temperatures Rising Show)
- September 12 – Wait Till Your Father Gets Home (Syndication, 48 episodes)
- September 13 – The Paul Lynde Show (ABC, 26 episodes)
- September 13 – Search (NBC, TV movie & 23 episodes)
- September 14 – The Waltons (CBS, TV movie, 221 episodes, 6 reunion movies)
- September 15 – Banyon (NBC, TV movie, 15 episodes)
- September 15 – The Brian Keith Show (NBC, 48 episodes, aka The Little People)
- September 15 – Ghost Story (NBC, 22 episodes, aka Circle of Fear)
- September 16 – The Bob Newhart Show (CBS, 142 episodes)
- September 16 – Bridget Loves Bernie* (CBS, 24 episodes)
- September 16 – Kid Power (ABC, 17 episodes)
- September 16 – The Streets of San Francisco (ABC, 121 episodes)
- September 17 – Anna and the King (CBS, 13 episodes)
- September 17 – M*A*S*H (CBS, 256 episodes)
1982
- September 11 – Faerie Tale Theatre (Showtime, 27 episodes)
- September 13 – Fantasy (NBC, 5 episodes)
- September 17 – The Powers of Matthew Star (NBC, 22 episodes)
*An interesting fact about Bridget Loves Bernie — The series was the fifth most popular show of the season, and the highest rated series to be cancelled after one season. The reason was that the depiction of a Jew and a Catholic getting married was so offensive in 1972, the network was receiving hate mail and even bomb threats against the show. The official network response to cancelling the show was that it was scheduled between two mega-hits, All in the Family and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and its ratings weren’t strong enough to continue. Star David Birney even suggested CBS could put anything in that time slot and people would have tuned in, but that proved to be false when Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers debuted in the slot in 1974 and was cancelled after five episodes.
1992
Amblin Television
- September 11 – Eek! The Cat (FOX Kids, 75 episodes)
- September 11 – Likely Suspects (FOX, 13 episodes)
- September 11 – The Little Mermaid (CBS, 31 episodes)
- September 12 – California Dreams (NBC, 78 episodes)
- September 12 – Fievel’s American Tails (CBS, 13 episodes)
- September 12 – Name Your Adventure (NBC, 3 seasons)
- September 12 – The Plucky Duck Show (FOX Kids, 13 episodes)
- September 12 – Super Dave: Daredevil for Hire (FOX Kids, 13 episodes, 1 special)
- September 12 – Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa (ABC, 26 episodes)
- September 13 – Conan the Adventurer (Syndication, 65 episodes)
- September 13 – Flying Blind (FOX, 22 episodes)
- September 13 – Frannie’s Turn (CBS, 6 episodes, 1 unaired)
- September 13 – King Arthur and the Knights of Justice (Syndication, 26 episodes)
- September 14 – The Addams Family (ABC, 21 episodes)
- September 14 – ComicView (BET, 16 seasons)
- September 14 – Crossroads (ABC, 12 episodes, 2 unaired)
- September 14 – Hearts Afire (CBS, 54 episodes, 1 unaired)
- September 14 – The Whoopi Goldberg Show (Syndication, 112 episodes)
- September 15 – American Justice (A&E, 255 episodes)
- September 15 – Angel Street (CBS, 8 episodes, 4 unaired)
- September 15 – Delta (ABC, 17 episodes)
- September 16 – Beakman’s World (TLC/Syndication/CBS, 91 episodes)
- September 16 – The Hat Squad (CBS, 13 episodes, 2 unaired)
2002
Warner Bros. Television
- September 11 – Gadget & the Gadgetinis (FOX kids, 52 episodes)
- September 12 – Family Affair (The WB, 15 episodes, 2 unaired)
- September 14 – Fillmore! (ABC, 26 episodes)
- September 14 – Ozzy & Drix (Kids; WB, 26 episodes)
- September 14 – Stargate Infinity (FOX, 26 episodes)
- September 14 – What’s New, Scooby-Doo? (Kids’ WB, 42 episodes)
- September 16 – Baby Looney Tunes (Kids’ WB, 53 episodes)
- September 16 – The Daily Buzz (Syndication, 12 seasons)
- September 16 – Everwood (The WB, 89 episodes)
- September 17 – 8 Simple Rules… for Dating My Teenage Daughter (ABC, 76 episodes, aka 8 Simple Rules)
- September 17 – Beg, Borrow & Deal (ESPN, 14 episodes)
- September 17 – Life with Bonnie (ABC, 44 episodes)
- September 17 – Push, Nevada (ABC, 7 episodes)
2012
Pigeon, Inc.
- September 11 – Go On (NBC, 22 episodes)
- September 11 – Guys with Kids (NBC, 17 episodes)
- September 16 – Iyanla: Fix My Life (OWN, 136 episodes)
- September 17 – Justice for All with Judge Cristina Perez (Syndication, 582 episodes to date)
- September 17 – Let’s Ask America (Syndication, 3 seasons)
- September 17 – The Mob Doctor (FOX, 13 episodes)
- September 17 – Revolution (NBC, 42 episodes)
- September 17 – The Trisha Goddard Show (Syndication, 260 episodes)
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