TV by the Decade :: January 5•11

Lee Daniels Entertainment

Even though it’s January, the networks were in full force — outside of 1965 — rolling out new mid-season series to replace the Fall failures. Quite a few notable series made their debuts this week including the first regular network TV series produced in color in 1955, a game show that had its first spin on daytime in 1975 and is still going strong in Syndication today, the launch of a late, late night talk show and an entire network in 1995, two reality spin-offs in 2005 along with one series that had the unfortunate fate of ending after one episode, and one long-running 2015 musical soap and another short-run series that has developed a devoted fan base. Scroll down the list to see all of the shows that premiered this week, and tell us if your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.

1955

NBC

• January 5 – Norby (NBC, One season, 13 episodes)
• January 8 – The Star and the Story (Syndication, One season, 39 episodes)
• January 10 – Soldiers of Fortune (Syndication, Two seasons, 52 episodes)

Norby was the first television series filmed in color, and sponsored by Eastman Kodak, the company’s first venture into TV sponsorship. Kodak also provided the film used for the series.

The Star and the Story was an anthology series with 13 of its episodes based on the works of W. Somerset Maugham. Henry Fonda was the host/sponsor’s spokesperson (Rheingold beer), the first actor of stature to deliver commercials for someone else’s program causing some controversy (several major stars of the era had their own programs with their names in the title). Fonda responded that he saw the commercials as a form of acting and was paid more than he would have made for a movie role.

Soldiers of Fortune began as a pilot titled ‘Adventure in Java’ that aired on the Chevron Theatre in 1953. The pilot starred Tim Holt and Charles Buchinsky (later Bronson), but neither carried over to the series which starred John Russell and Chick Chandler. 7-Up was the show’s sponsor. The complete series has been released on DVD.

1965

• No new series premiered this week in 1965.

1975

• January 6 – Blank Check (NBC, One season, 130 episodes)
• January 6 – Wheel of Fortune (NBC/CBS, 16 seasons)

Game show Blank Check was hosted by Art James and produced by Jack Barry, the first for Barry since he was involved in the quiz show scandals of the 1950s. Barry’s company threatened to sue Goodson-Todman Productions when The Price is Right added the pricing game ‘Blank Check’. The game was eventually renamed ‘Check Game’. The show replaced Name That Tune, which was hosted by James’ brother Dennis. Art James and the show’s staff disliked the format, referring to the show as ‘Blank Mind’ because they felt it was a dumb luck guessing game. The 12:30 PM program was designed for a 25-minute time slot as NBC broadcast a 5-minute news update at 12:55 PM. The show was the eleventh program to air in the 12:30 PM time slot since 1960. The series was replaced with The Magnificent Marble Machine, which was also hosted by Art James.

Chuck Woolery was the original host of Wheel of Fortune when it made its daytime debut, with Susan Stafford as the letter turner. Woolery quit over a salary dispute in 1981 and producer Merv Griffin hired Pat Sajak to replace him, over the objections of NBC president Fred Silverman. Griffin said if Sajak didn’t get the job, he would end production on the show. Sajak left the daytime version of the show in 1989 to host his own late night talk show on CBS, with a number of candidates auditioned on air to replace him, including John Davidson and Bert Convy. NFL placekicker Rolf Benirschke was hired, but NBC cancelled the show after five months on June 30, 1989. CBS rebooted the series on July 17, 1989 with Bob Goen as host. The show returned to NBC on January 14, 1991 and was cancelled a second and final time on September 20, 1991. Susan Stafford left the show to become a humanitarian worker, and was replaced with Vanna White in December 1982. Over 200 women applied for the job and White and Playboy centerfold Vicki McCarty were the top two, with Griffin feeling White worked the puzzle board better than anyone. Sajak and White continued together on the Syndicated edition of the show for 41 seasons. Sajak left the show on June 7, 2024, with Ryan Seacrest taking over, although he continued to host the primetime celebrity edition while Seacrest was tied up with American Idol. White has extended her contract through the 2025-2026 season.

1985

• January 5 – Berrenger’s (NBC, One season, 12 episodes, 1 unaired)
• January 7 – Time Machine (NBC, One season, 80 episodes)

Berrenger’s was a primetime soap from the same company that produced more successful series like Dallas, Knots Landing and Falcon Crest.

Time Machine was a pop culture/recent history trivia quiz show hosted by John Davidson.

1995

Bregman/Baer Productions

• January 8 – House of Buggin’ (FOX, One season, 10 episodes)
• January 9 – A Whole New Ballgame (ABC, One season, 11 episodes, 4 unaired)
• January 9 – The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder (CBS, Four seasons, 777 episodes)
• January 11 – Muscle (The WB, One season, 13 episodes)
• January 11 – Unhappily Ever After (The WB, Five seasons, 100 episodes)
• January 11 – The Wayans Bros. (The WB, Five seasons, 101 episodes)

House of Buggin’ was a Latino-themed sketch show starring John Leguizamo, who was also a co-creator, and Luis Guzman. By the tenth episode, ratings had declined by 50% and FOX suggested replacing the entire cast for a second season. Leguizamo refused and the show ended. According to Leguizamo, the show was a replacement for In Living Color, and was itself replace with Mad TV.

Sitcom A Whole New Ballgame replaced Blue Skies, which came from the same creators and featured several of the same actors (Julia Campbell, Richard Kind and Stephen Tobolowsky).

Tom Snyder was the first host of The Late Late Show, chosen personally by David Letterman, whose company, Worldwide Pants, produced the show. Snyder’s previous NBC late night series Tomorrow had been replaced with Late Night with David Letterman. The Snyder format of the show featured more intimate interviews, like he did on Tomorrow, and had no studio audience. The show was simulcast on some CBS Radio stations as well. The show was broadcast live in the Eastern and Central time zones so Snyder could take calls from viewers and listeners, although some network affiliates would delay the program to as late as 3:05 AM. Letterman initially offered the hosting gig to Garry Shandling, who turned it down in favor of The Larry Sanders Show (NBC had also courted Shandling to replace Letterman, but he also turned that down and Conan O’Brien got the job). Bob Costas was also made an offer that was refused, and Letterman then insisted on Snyder over the objections of CBS, which wanted a younger host with a comedy background. There has been debate over Snyder’s departure. Either CBS demanded a younger host and Snyder’s contract was not renewed, or Snyder made the decision to leave before his contract was up. Craig Kilborn took over the reformatted show in 1999. Snyder did return to guest host some episodes of Letterman’s show while he recuperated from heart surgery in 2000.

Muscle was a comedy series that parodied primetime soaps like Melrose Place. It debuted with The Wayans Bros., The Parent ‘Hood and Unhappily Ever After, but was the only one of the four to not get past its first season, and was the first series cancelled by the fledgling WB network. It ended with all of the show’s characters killed off. Amy Pietz, Michael Boatman, Nestor Carbonell and Alan Ruck were among the cast. Adam West played gym owner ‘Big’ Jim Atkinson, whose murder kicked off the storyline. West appeared in occasional flashbacks and provided voice-overs.

Unhappily Ever After was originally conceived as a star vehicle for Stephanie Hodge (Jennifer), but the focus soon shifted to Jack, played by Geoff Pierson. The show also featured a toy rabbit named Mr. Floppy, voiced by Bobcat Goldthwait. By the third season, Nikki Cox had become the breakout star of the show and more of the stories began to focus on her character, Tiffany. By Season 4, producers killed off Jennifer but had her return as a poltergeist to continue to torment the family. The family realized the show didn’t work without Jennifer as a common enemy, so she was brought back to life after a metefictional sequence in which a network executive entered the house and explained that the jokes were not funny and ‘Dead Mom’ is no longer dead. Hodge returned but decided to leave the show after several episodes, with Jennifer eloping with a lesbian lover, never to be seen again.

The Wayans Bros. starred real life brothers Shawn and Marlon Wayans. It was the first of four sitcoms that helped launch The WB as part of the original Wednesday line-up. The show’s working title was Brother to Brother. The show was cancelled due to declining ratings and did not get a proper final episode, which Shawn Wayans addresses in a fourth wall-breaking moment in Scary Movie.

2005

• January 5 – The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott (UPN, One season, 10 episodes)
• January 5 – Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search (NBC, One season, 5 episodes)
• January 8 – The Will (CBS, One season, 6 episodes, 5 unaired)
• January 9 – Strange Love (VH1, One season, 11 episodes)
• January 9 – Zoey 101 (Nickelodeon, Four seasons, 61 episodes)
• January 11 – Queer Eye for the Straight Girl (Bravo, One season, 13 episodes)

The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott featured Elliott as host and main judge, with a judging panel that included singer Teena Marie, producer Dallas Austin and manager Mona Scott. The season was won by singer Jessica Betts, who married Niecy Nash in August 2020.

The Will, from The Bachelor creator Mike Fleiss, was cancelled after one episode due to extremely low ratings, CBS’ lowest ranked show for the week it debuted. Some publications expected the series to be a hit, but it was replaced the second week with a repeat of Cold Case. The unaired episodes were eventually made available on the Fox Reality Channel.

Strange Love was a spin-off of the third season of The Surreal Life, focusing on the romance that developed between Brigitte Nielsen and Flavor Flav. The couple fought constantly and went their separate ways by the end of the season. Flavor Flav went on to his own dating show, Flavor of Love.

Zoey 101 was the most expensive production ever for a Nickelodeon series, as it was shot completely on location in Malibu for the first two seasons. Production moved to the Santa Clarita Valley when it became impossible to film at Pepperdine University outside of the Summer months, with not enough time to produce a 26-episode season. The Mann Biomedical Park became the stand-in for Pepperdine. It was nominated for an Outstanding Children’s Program Emmy in 2005. The sequel film Zoey 102 premiered on Paramount+ on July 27, 2023.

Queer Eye for the Straight Girl was a spin-off of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, set in Los Angeles with four hosts, instead of five, known as ‘The Gal Pals’ even though it included three gay men and a lesbian. The show failed to match the success of its originator.

2015

Marvel Television

• January 6 – Agent Carter (ABC, Two seasons, 18 episodes)
• January 6 – Child Genius (Lifetime, Two seasons, 20 episodes)
• January 6 – Framework (Spike, One season, 10 episodes)
• January 7 – Empire (FOX, Six seasons, 102 episodes)
• January 7 – Hindsight (VH1, One season, 10 episodes)
• January 11 – Togetherness (HBO, Two seasons, 16 episodes)

Agent Carter was centered around Marvel character Peggy Carter, played by Hayley Atwell, who made her first live-action appearance in Captain America: The First Avenger. The series is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and shares continuity with the films, introducing several characters and storylines from the MCU. Both seasons of the series aired between mid-season breaks of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. The series was developed out of the Agent Carter Marvel One-Shot short. The show was originally envisioned as a 13-episode limited series. ABC requested that the show focus on developing the characters and not be a ‘Bad Guy of the Week’ or ‘Gadget of the Week’ show. Atwell was optimistic that since she had played Carter from the 1940s through to her death as a senior citizen, the series could explore different eras of her life through multiple seasons. Producers, however, wished for the show to remain in its 1940s time period with location changes, keeping it in a pre-SHIELD setting. Season 2 moved from New York to Los Angeles (although it was always film in Los Angeles). James D’Arcy was cast as Edwin Jarvis, the character who would inspire the artificial intelligence J.A.R.V.I.S., voiced in the MCU films by Paul Bettany (who eventually took on the physical form Vision). D’Arcy did, however, appear in Avengers: Endgame, marking the first time a character introduced in an MCU television series appears in an MCU film. Producers fought for a third season on ABC, or on a streaming service like Netflix. It was also suggested Marvel should copy was CBS was doing with its Star Trek series and create a streaming subscription service of its own where consumers could access Marvel’s films and TV series. ABC had no interest in continuing the series and requested that storylines be tied up for the finale. Atwell stated ABC wanted her to star in the new series Conviction instead of remaining on Agent Carter, but she was not involved in any conversations about the show’s fate. Enver Gjokaj guested as his character Sousa in a Season 7 episode of Agents of SHIELD, as the head of the SHIELD-run Area 51 base.

Season 2 of Child Genius was retitled Child Genius: Battle of the Brightest. Framework was the first ever furniture design competition series.

Empire was set in New York but filmed in Chicago. The series debuted to 10 million viewers following the Season 14 premiere of American Idol, with the first season finale attracting 17 million. A spin-off series centered around Taraji P. Henson’s character Cookie was to launch in 2020, but FOX passed on the pilot and no other networks were interested. Lee Daniels, who was an Oscar-nominated director, made his TV directorial debut with the show. Producer Danny Strong said the show was inspired by King Lear and The Lion in Winter, while Daniels added primetime soap Dynasty was also an influence. The series earned five Emmy nominations between 2015 and 2016, with Henson nominated both years in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category. The show also received two nominations for costumes and one for an original song.

Hindsight was renewed for a second season, but after a change in leadership at VH1 the renewal was reversed. The entire second season had already been mapped out and the writers were working on Episode 5 at the time of the cancellation. The show was originally developed for NBC in 2009. The show included a companion web series called Planet Sebastian, which streamed on the VH1 website.

Togetherness received Critics’ Choice Television Awards nominations for Melanie Lynsky as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and Peter Gallagher was nominated for Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series.