Thinkfactory Media
With the season winding down and networks preparing for May Sweeps, only four new series made their debuts this week across three decades — one very short-lived game show, a scripted series posing as a reality show, a reality competition series (neither of which lasted more than one season), and an actual reality show that had a long run and got some Emmy love, Scroll down to see the shows that did premiere this week and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.
1955
- No new series premiered this week in 1955.
1965
- No new series premiered this week in 1965.
1975
- April 21 – Blankety Blanks (ABC, One season, 50 episodes)
Bill Cullen hosted game show Blankety Blanks. The show replaced reruns of The Brady Bunch at 11:30 AM, but was scheduled against NBC’s hit The Hollywood Squares and CBS soap Love of Life. When the show was cancelled, The Brady Bunch returned ahead of its success in Syndication a year later. Most game shows of the era had 13 weeks to prove themselves, but the show’s ratings were so low ABC pulled it after ten. The similarities to CBS’ Match Game also did not help the show. As with most game shows of the time, it is believed ABC wiped the videotapes for reuse, with only the pilot and premiere episodes surviving.
1985
- No new series premiered this week in 1985.
1995
- No new series premiered this week in 1995.
2005
- April 24 – Strip Search (VH1, One season, 8 episodes)
Strip Search featured The Thunder from Down Under creator Billy Cross, with Rachel Perry, traveling the country to find 15 men to compete for one of the seven spots in Cross’ new Las Vegas male revue, The American Storm.
2015
Netflix
- April 26 – Queens of Drama (Pop, One season, 10 episodes)
- April 26 – Chef’s Table (Netflix, Seven seasons, 52 episodes)
Queens of Drama was a scripted reality series featuring former daytime and primetime soap stars — Lindsay Hartley, Crystal Hunt, Vanessa Marcil, Chrystee Pharris, and Hunter Tylo — who form a production company to develop and produce of a new serialized drama pilot for television. Donna Mills also appeared as a fictionalized version of herself. Joan Collins made a guest appearance.
Chef’s Table is a docuseries looking at the lives and kitchens of a variety of acclaimed and successful international chefs, with one chef spotlighted in each episode. The series received eight Emmy nominations during its run, and spawned five spin-offs. An eighth season is to be released in 2025 titled ‘Legends’ to celebrate the show’s 10th anniversary.