TV by the Decade :: January 15•21

Outerbanks Entertainment

It’s mid-January and only three decades gave us new, original programming to fill out the cold winter days and nights. In 1993, NBC added one new game show and one rebooted game show to the daytime schedule, while FOX added two dramas to the primetime schedule. Syndication also saw the launch of a new sc-fi series, and of the five shows only the syndicated show lasted more than one season. 2003 only had one new show, on cable, but it broke new ground for its network. 2013 gave us a dozen new shows across the spectrum — reality, faux reality, comedy, competition, and drama — and only four had single season runs. Read on to see what shows are celebrating anniversaries this week, get a little trivia about some of the shows, and tell us if your favorites are on the list this week!

1953

• No new series debuted this week in 1953.

1963

• No new series debuted this week in 1963.

1973

• No new series debuted this week in 1973.

1983

• No new series debuted this week in 1983.

1993

• January 18 – Scattergories (NBC, One season, 105 episodes)
• January 18 – Scrabble (NBC, One season, 105 episodes)
• January 19 – Class of ’96 (FOX, One season, 17 episodes)
• January 19 – Key West (FOX, One season, 13 episodes)
• January 20 – Time Trax (PTEN, Two seasons, 44 episodes)

Scattergories, based on the Milton Bradley board game, was the second to last American game show produced by the Australian Reg Grundy Productions. The show aired at 12:30 PM against the popular soaps The Young & the Restless on CBS, and Loving on ABC, while many NBC affiliates pre-empted the show for local news in the Noon hour so its run lasted just 21 weeks. Scrabble, which aired at Noon and suffered the same fate as Scattergories, was a revival of the game show which originally aired for six seasons on NBC between 1984 and 1990.

Time Trax was the last new series produced by Lorimar Television, which was knowns for The Waltons, Eight Is Enough, Dallas, Knots Landing, Family Matters, Step By Step and more. The series was one of three original programs on the Prime Time Entertainment Network along with Kung Fu: The Legend Continues and Babylon 5. While set in Washington DC, the series was filmed in Queensland, Australia.

2003

Disney Channel

• January 17 – That’s So Raven (Disney Channel, Four seasons, 100 episodes)

That’s So Raven was Disney Channel’s first multi-camera sitcom, and was the first program on the network to reach four seasons and 100 episodes. The series ended because the actors had aged beyond the show’s target audience. The series received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Children’s Program in 2005 and 2007. A spin-off, Cory in the House, aired for two seasons between 2007 and 2008, and a sequel series, Raven’s Home, with several original cast members, debuted in 2017. Working titles for the show were The Future is On Me and Absolutely Psychic. Raven-Symoné auditioned for the role of the lead and the best friend Chelsea, and wanted the Chelsea role. A pilot was filmed with her as Chelsea, but the test audience reception to her impressed producers and the program was re-written with her as the lead and the show was retitled That’s So Raven.

2013

5×5 Media

• January 15 – Real Husbands of Hollywood (BET, Five seasons, 58 episodes, 2 specials)
• January 15 – Second Generation Wayans (BET, One season, 10 episodes)
• January 15 – Redrum (Investigation Discovery, Three seasons, 42 episodes)
• January 16 – Ghost Mine (Syfy, Two seasons, 18 episodes)
• January 16 – Bobby’s Dinner Battle (Food Network, One season, 5 episodes)
• January 16 – Kroll Show (Comedy Central, Three seasons, 30 episodes)
• January 17 – King of the Nerds (TBS, Three seasons, 24 episodes)
• January 17 – Legit (FX, One season, 13 episodes / FXX, One season, 13 episodes)
• January 17 – Newsreaders (Adult Swim, Two seasons, 24 episodes)
• January 19 – Stuff You Should Know (Science Channel, One season, 10 episodes)
• January 20 – Chasing the Saturdays (E!, One season, 10 episodes)
• January 21 – The Following (FOX, Three seasons, 45 episodes)

Real Husbands of Hollywood was revived for the BET+ streaming service as a six-episode limited series titled Real Husbands of Hollywood — More Kevin, More Problems, with the original cast.

King of the Nerds was a reality competition series inspired by the movie Revenge of the Nerds and two of the film’s stars, Robert Carradine and Curtis Armstrong, were the hosts. Carrdine and Armstrong originally pitched the idea for the show in the mid-2000s, but it was rejected because Beauty and the Geek was airing and networks felt two ‘nerd shows’ would be a drain on the market. Six years later, the idea was pitched again and TBS snapped it up to pair with syndicated reruns of The Big Bang Theory.

Newsreaders was a spin-off of Adult Swim’s Children’s Hospital.

The Following was born out of Kevin Williamson’s original — and discarded — notes for Scream 3 with all references to the previous films removed. Williamson pitched the series to FOX because it was the home of his all-time favorite show, 24. Williamson wanted someone like Kevin Bacon for the lead, and Bacon’s agent had suggested him for the role. Williamson later learned Bacon had been looking for a TV series that interested him for four years.