Sony Pictures Television
It was another very slim week for new TV series premieres with just four new shows making it to air as the tradition TV season was ending. 1955 gave us a game show on a dying network, 2005 had short-lived a reality series and a comedy competition series which had a little more success, and 2015 had another reality series that was spun off from a hit business reality series. Scroll down — you don’t have to go far this week — and see the shows that premiered this week across the decades and let us know if you remember any of them.
1955
- May 3 – Have a Heart (DuMont, One season, last broadcast on June 14, 1955)
Have a Heart was a game show hosted by John Reed King. Two teams of four competed, and the prize money was donated to charity. It was one of the last four programs broadcast on the DuMont network, which ceased operations on August 6, 1956, eight days short of its tenth anniversary.
1965
- No new series premiered this week in 1965.
1975
- No new series premiered this week in 1975.
1985
- No new series premiered this week in 1985.
1995
- No new series premiered this week in 1995.
2005
- April 30 – Showdog Moms & Dads (Bravo, One season, 8 episodes)
- May 3 – The Search for the Funniest Mom in America (Nick at Nite, Three seasons, 13 episodes)
The Search for the Funniest Mom in America was a competition series to find the funniest mom in America. Contestants were female comedians, all mothers, with the winner earning $50,000 and the chance to host a special night of programming on the network. Winners for the first two seasons also had a chance to develop a show for the network, which was dropped for the third season, but no series starring either of the winners made it to air. Sandra Bernhard hosted the first ‘season’, which was just a one-off special. Season 2, with six episodes, was hosted by Katey Sagal. Season 3, also with six episodes, was hosted by Roseanne Barr.
2015
- May 1 – Beyond the Tank (ABC, Two seasons, 18 episodes)
Beyond the Tank was a spin-off of Shark Tank that followed up on entrepreneurs who made business deals with the ‘Sharks’, both successes and failures.