Mastermind Laboratories
Several new shows premiered this week across the decades, but TV viewers didn’t get anything new until 1985 with a sitcom that got cancelled and swiftly revived, becoming a TV classic in the process. 1995 had an The X-Files inspired series about virtual reality, way ahead of its time, and a comedy with a very familiar title. 2005 gave us a kids show for adults, and a second comedy that was cancelled and revived, though its fate was not the same as the other show. And 2015 saw a network known for entertainment news and reality venture into scripted quite successfully, while an animated series jumped networks, and a show about the dead returning to life could not get itself revived after a single season. Scroll down to see all the shows that premiered this week, and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.
1955
- No new shows premiered this week in 1955.
1965
- No new shows premiered this week in 1965.
1975
- No new shows premiered this week in 1975.
1985
Lazy B/F.O.B. Productions
- March 15 – Mr. Belvedere (ABC, Six seasons, 117 episodes, 8 unaired)
- March 15 – Off the Rack (ABC, One season, 6 episodes, 1 pilot)
Mr. Belvedere is based on the Lynn Aloysius Belvedere character created by Gwen Davenport for her 1947 novel Belvedere, which was later adapted into the 1948 film Sitting Pretty. The series was known for its ‘very special episodes’ including a Season 2 episode in which one of Wesley’s classmates contracts HIV through factor VIII treatment for hemophilia, similar to how the real life Ryan White contracted HIV. The series never placed in the Top 30 Nielsen ratings but it had a devoted fan base and often won its timeslot. ABC cancelled the show after Season 3, but the backlash from fans was swift and the network reversed the decision. ABC moved the show from its Friday TGIF timeslot to Saturday which led to a steep decline in ratings, and the show was pulled from the schedule with ten episodes left to air. ABC, in an unusual move, finally did air the two-part series finale on Sunday, July 8, 1990, but eight episodes remained unaired until they were eventually shown in Syndication. The show was nominated for one Emmy in 1985 — Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic) for a Series — which it won.
The pilot for Off the Rack was broadcast as a special on December 7, 1984. The setting was New York City, but ABC demanded the setting be changed to Los Angeles for the series.
1995
- March 10 – VR.5 (FOX, One season, 13 episodes, 3 unaired)
- March 11 – The Office (CBS, One season, 6 episodes, 1 unaired)
- March 13 – Medicine Ball (FOX, One season, 9 episodes)
- March 14 – Under One Roof (CBS, One season, 6 episodes)
VR.5‘s visual effects for when characters were inside virtual reality were created by shooting on black-and-white film and then manually adding color to each image. This effect took four weeks to create for each episode and added to the cost of the show, which was about U.S. $1.5 million per episode. The expense and the show’s difficult Friday time slot contributed to the show’s failure.
Not to be confused with NBC’s 2005 comedy series, The Office starred Valerie Harper in a series billed as an office comedy version of the British series Upstairs, Downstairs. The cast for medical drama Medicine Ball included Jensen Daggett, Donal Logue, Vincent Ventresca, Timothy Omundson and Sam McMurray.
Under One Roof starred Joe Morton, Vanessa Bell Calloway and James Earl Jones. Many scenes were filmed in the old Ballard High School and the Phinney Neighborhood Center in Seattle. Jones received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
2005
- March 11 – Wonder Showzen (MTV2, Two seasons, 16 episodes)
- March 13 – Jake in Progress (ABC, Two seasons, 21 episodes, 7 unaired)
An early concept for Wonder Showzen was created in 1999 and pitched to USA Network in 2000, but after a few minutes of viewing the pilot, execs determined it did not fit the network’s programming style. With MTV2 undergoing a rebranding, Viacom picked up the series as part of its new programming lineup. The pilot was titled Kids Show. The show featured cameos from Flavor Flav, Dick Gregory, Amy Sedaris, Christopher Meloni, David Cross, Amy Poehler, John Oates, Rick Springfield, and Zach Galifianakis. Eric André cited the show as an inspiration behind his own show on Adult Swim.
Jake in Progress was a comedy that was originally conceived to take place in real time, but the concept was dropped during development and the show became more conventional and episodic. The main cast included John Stamos, Wendie Malick, Rick Hoffman and Ian Gomez. The series was initially cancelled after its first season, but the decision was reversed and the show was paired with new series Emily’s Reasons Why Not, which premiered in January 2006. The pairing did not go well, and a rerun of The Bachelor filled the second week’s timeslot with only one of the eight Season 2 episodes airing (Emily’s Reasons Why Not only aired one of its six first season episodes).
2015
A+E Studios
- March 9 – The Returned (A&E, One season, 10 episodes)
- March 10 – Powers (PlayStation Network, Two seasons, 20 episodes)
- March 14 – Transformers: Robots in Disguise (Cartoon Network, Three seasons, 71 episodes)
- March 15 – The Royals (E!, Four seasons, 40 episodes)
The Returned was an American adaptation of the 2012 French series Les Revenants, which was broadcast internationally as The Returned. The show was originally developed in 2012 by Paul Abbott and FremantleMedia under the title They Came Back, but by 2013 Abbott was no longer involved and A&E took over the project with Lost executive producer Carlton Cuse.
Powers is based on the Image/Marvel comic book series of the same name by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming. The series was PlayStation Network’s first venture into scripted original programming. The series had originally been developed for the FX network, and the pilot starred Charles S. Dutton, Lucy Punch (in a role Katee Sackhoff campaigned for), and Jason Patric (in a role rumored to be lined up for Kyle Chandler). The show transferred to FX in December 2014 with Sharlto Copley, Noah Taylor, Michelle Forbes, Eddie Izzard and Michael Madsen among the cast. Enrico Colantoni, Tricia Helfer, and Wil Wheaton were among the recurring cast members. Mario Lopez guest starred as himself in the first episode.
Transformers: Robots in Disguise is the stand-alone sequel to Transformers: Prime that ran from 2010 to 2013 on The Hub Network. The series was scheduled to premiere on The Hub Network, but days before the network’s rebranding to Discovery Family, it was announced the series would premiere on Cartoon Network, which Hasbro Studios felt was a better home as The Hub had been skewed toward girls, and previous Transformers series had aired on Cartoon Network. Most of the voice actors from that series reprised their roles on the new series. Voice actors included Darren Criss, Will Friedle, Ted McGinley, Khary Payton and Constance Zimmer. It was the first Transformers series to feature Bumblebee as the main protagonist rather than Optimus Prime.
The Royals was E!’s first scripted series, which began as a loose adaptation of the 2011 Michelle Ray novel Falling for Hamlet. The show was renewed for a second season two months before the show premiered. After E! cancelled the show, producers shopped it to other networks with a pick-up by the Pop network a possibility but the deal feel through and the show was officially cancelled. Series creator Mark Schwahn was suspended from the series after the completion of Season 4 filming on November 15, 2017, following sexual harassment allegations by female cast and crew of both The Royals and his previous series, One Tree Hill, came to light. He was officially fired on December 22, 2017, and the series was cancelled on August 16, 2018.