Warner Bros. Television
The stragglers of the new Fall Season are making their debuts, and several series that went on to become popular with long runs, some even for years after their ends, are celebrating their anniversaries this week. 1952 saw the debut of I Married Joan, a sitcom that was designed to cash in on the popularity of I Love Lucy which debuted a year earlier. The series also gave Jim Backus his first series regular role. 1962 saw the premiere of comedy series McHale’s Navy, which began as a one-hour drama titled ‘Seven Against the Sea’, an episode of Alcoa Premiere, and spun-off two feature films, McHale’s Navy (1964) and McHale’s Navy Joins the Air Force (1965), the latter of which did not include series star Ernest Borgnine. 1972’s debut of Kung Fu was preceded by a TV movie that aired on February 22, 1972 to great acclaim that saw ABC deluged with letters, phone calls and even telegrams for more. The movie won an Emmy for Makeup, and the series won Emmys for Directing and Cinematography in its first season.
Also notable this week is the 2002 debut of Birds of Prey on The WB, based on the DC Comics series. With early teasers designed to link the series to the Michael Keaton Batman universe, the show was the network’s highest rated debut ever but ratings fell sharply and it ended after 13 episodes. Star Ashley Scott reprised her role of Helena Kyle on The CW’s ‘Arrowverse’ 2019 crossover event ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’, which established, retroactively, the show’s world as Earth-203 … before it was destroyed. Ten years after Birds of Prey, The CW unveiled Arrow, which would go on to launch said ‘Arrowverse’ with other DC Comics series including The Flash and Supergirl. 2012 also saw the debut of NBC’s Chicago Fire, which was the first in what has become a Chicago-based franchise of shows on the network. ABC debuted country music series Nashville, which jumped to CMT after four seasons on ABC, and The CW rolled out a remake of the cult favorite CBS series Beauty and the Beast, which ran for one more season than the original.
There are many more shows and specials that made their debuts this week, so check out the list and share memories of your favorites with us in the comments section below!
1952
- October 13 – Ladies’ Date (DuMont, One Season, last broadcast on July 31, 1953)
- October 14 – Leave It to Larry (CBS, One season, 11 episodes)
- October 14 – The Red Buttons Show (CBS, Two seasons / NBC, One season)
- October 15 – I Married Joan (NBC, Three seasons, 98 episodes)
1962
Revue Studios
- October 11 – McHale’s Navy (ABC, Four seasons, 138 episodes)
- October 13 – Exploring (NBC, Four seasons, last broadcast on April 9, 1966)
1972
- October 14 – Kung Fu (ABC, Three seasons, 62 episodes)
1982
- October 10 – Nature (PBS, Forty seasons, 615 episodes to date)
- October 14 – It Takes Two (ABC, One season, 22 episodes)
1992
- October 11 – African Skies (The Family Channel, Two seasons, 52 episodes)
- October 12 – Kino’s Storytime (PBS, Three seasons, 81 episodes)
- October 15 – The Pacific Century (PBS, 10 episodes)
2002
Warner Bros. Television
- October 9 – Birds of Prey (The WB, One season, 13 episodes)
- October 9 – Unsolved History (Discovery, Three seasons, 51 episodes)
- October 13 – Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye (PAX, Three seasons, 56 episodes)
- October 14 – U-Pick Live (Nickelodeon, Five seasons, 401 episodes)
2012
Wolf Entertainment
- October 9 – Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition (Lifetime, Two seasons, 22 episodes)
- October 9 – Keyshia & Daniel: Family First (BET, One season, 8 episodes)
- October 10 – Arrow (The CW, Eight seasons, 170 episodes)
- October 10 – Chicago Fire (NBC, Eleven seasons, 220 episodes to date)
- October 10 – Nashville (ABC, Four seasons / CMT, Two seasons, 124 episodes)
- October 11 – Beauty & the Beast (The CW, Four seasons, 70 episodes)
- October 11 – Transporter: The Series (TNT, Two seasons, 24 episodes)
- October 12 – Dog with a Blog (Disney Channel, Three seasons, 69 episodes)
- October 12 – The Greatest Event in Television History (Adult Swim, 4 episodes)
- October 13 – This Is How I Made It (MTV, One season, 12 episodes)
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