BBC Studios
The first week of June saw an unusually large number of new series premieres, though mostly in the later decades as cable TV and Summer programming began to take hold. But 1955 did see the premiere of a quiz show that was instantly popular. Nothing else premiered until 1985, which saw the launch of a news talk show that ran for two decades. 1995 saw the debut of a cable TV dating show that ran multiple seasons and has had two additional iterations, while 2005 saw the Summer launch of a dancing competition that is still going strong today, as well as another dating reality series that was also a social experiment that also had a successful multi-season run. Three of the four new 2015 series were scripted dramas, one with supernatural overtones and the other two in the sci-fi genre, each with varying levels of success. Scroll down to see the shows that premiered this week across the decades and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.
1955
CBS
- June 3 – It’s Alec Templeton Time (Dumont, One season, last broadcast on August 26, 1955)
- June 7 – The $64,000 Question (CBS, Four seasons, last broadcast on November 2, 1958)
It’s Alec Templeton Time was a musical program hosted by blind satirist and musician Alec Templeton. It was one of the last shows to air on the DuMont network, which had actually begun shutting down operations before the show even aired. Paramount Pictures took control of the network during the Summer, resulting in a very brief run for the show. Unfortunately, no episodes of the series are known to exist, as with most DuMont series.
The $64,000 Question was inspired by the earlier radio quiz show Take It or Leave It, which aired on CBS from 1940-1947, and NBC from 1947-1952. After 1950, the show was renamed The $64 Question. The top prize was expanded to $64,000 when the show moved to television. The decision to use actor Hal March as the host of the new TV show came about after radio host Phil Baker bombed with his sole TV effort, Who’s Whose (1951), which was cancelled after one episode. The TV show was also simulcast on CBS Radio for its first two months. The show was an instant success, with legend suggesting President Eisenhower did not want to be disturbed while the show was on, and the crime rate, movie theatre and restaurant patronage dropped significantly when the show aired. It was Number 1 in the ratings for the 1955-1956 season, the only show to knock I Love Lucy out of the spot. Shows like The Big Surprise, Tic-Tac-Dough and Twenty-One, were either inspired by or imitations of the show. The show also inspired the spin-off, The $64,000 Challenge (1956-1958). The show made celebrities out of some of its everyday contestants, including one of the longest enduring contestants, Joyce Brothers, whose area of expertise was boxing. The show found its way into other CBS programs, usually as a punchline, with at least three episodes of The Honeymooners mentioning the show. The show’s fortunes took a turn in August 1958 when CBS cancelled the game show Dotto without explanation. A Federal investigation had determined a contestant had been given answers in advance, and the probe included NBC’s Twenty-One, and was expected to expand. A contestant on The $64,000 Challenge came forward in September and claimed he had been given answers in advance resulting in Lorillard Tobacco Company pulling its sponshorship of the show, making the September 7 episode the last. The $64,000 Question took over the time slot on September 21, but after the investigation public interest in quiz shows rapidly waned and the show was cancelled after the November 2 broadcast, with the final airing on November 21, 1958. While the brunt of the scandal hit Twenty-One the hardest, and CBS moved swiftly to cancel Dotto the minute the rigging was discovered, the scandal in general force CBS president Louis Cowan out of the network. By the end of 1959, all big-money quiz shows were gone and a federal law against fixing game shows was enacted. Over the course of the 1960s, five-figure jackpot game shows began to wind down with only two bowling shows (as bowling was harder to rig), Beat the Clock, You Bet Your Life and The Nighttime Price is Right offering large prizes. ABC attempted a big-money game show, 100 Grand, but it was short-lived. It wasn’t until the early 1970s and the premiere of The $10,000 Pyramid that big-money game shows began to return to the television landscape. After the demise of the quiz shows, Westerns became the new TV obsession in the 1960s. The scandals also shifted the balance of power over the shows from the sponsors to the networks, giving them more control and oversight to prevent rigging. The show was revived in 1976 as The $128,000 Question, with the first season hosted by Mike Darrow (from the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City), and the second by Alex Trebek (from Global Television Studios in Toronto). Producer Michael Davies attempted another revival in 1999, The $640,000 Question, but abandoned the idea in favor of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, which has a similar format. Due to Millionaire‘s success, CBS attempted to revive the original show as $64,000 Question, and a pilot was taped with Greg Gumbel as host, but format issues could not be overcome and the pilot was never aired (although it was uploaded to Wink Martindale’s YouTube channel, Wink’s Vault, shortly after Gumbel’s death on December 29, 2024).
1965
- No new series premiered this week in 1965.
1975
- No new series premiered this week in 1975.
1985
CNN
- June 3 – Larry King Live (CNN, Twenty seasons, 6,120 episodes)
- June 3 – Turkey Television (Nickelodeon, One season, last broadcast in 1986)
Larry King Live was CNN’s most-watched and longest running program, with over a million viewers nightly. Then-New York Governor Mario Cuomo was King’s first guest. Barbara Walters was King’s guest for the show’s 20th anniversary, but she interviewed King. Tammy Faye Messner appeared on the July 19, 2007 episode to talk about her battle with lung and colon cancer. She died the following day. The show switched to high definition on September 7, 2009. Ryan Seacrest and Bill Maher were co-hosts of the final episode with surprise appearances by Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric and Brian Williams, among others.
Turkey Television was created as a response to the popular You Can’t Do That on Television, which also aired on Nickelodeon. The show consisted of video clips of varying vintage, from public domain footage to music videos.
1995
- June 5 – Singled Out (MTV, Three seasons, last broadcast on May 22, 1998)
Original hosts of dating game show Singled Out were Chris Hardwick and Jenny McCarthy. When McCarthy left to headline her own sitcom, Carmen Elektra replaced her for the last season and a half. MTV relaunched to show on November 19, 2018 as S1NGLED OUT on its YouTube channel, with Justina Valentine and Conceited as hosts. That version lasted seven episodes. The show was rebooted again for the short-lived Quibi streaming service on April 6, 2020, with Keke Palmer and Joel Kim Booster as hosts. The show moved to Roku Channel following Quibi’s demise.
2005
- June 1 – Dancing with the Stars (ABC/Disney+, Thirty-three seasons, 503 episodes to date)
- June 1 – Hit Me, Baby, One More Time (NBC, One season, 5 episodes)
- June 1 – Sports Kids Moms & Dads (Bravo, One season, 8 episodes)
- June 2 – Beauty and the Geek (The WB/The CW, Five seasons, 48 episodes)
- June 6 – Fire Me…Please (CBS, One season, last broadcast on July 5, 2005)
- June 7 – The Scholar (ABC, One season, last broadcast on July 18, 2005)
Tom Bergeron hosted Dancing with the Stars for its first 28 seasons, with Lisa Canning as the Season 1 co-host. Samantha Harris replaced Canning for Seasons 2-9, followed by Brooke Burke from Seasons 10-17, and Erin Andrews from Season 18-28. Bergeron announced he’d been let go from the show on July 13, 2020 — with ABC also announcing Andrews’ departure — and Tyra Banks was named host the following day, with Alfonso Ribeiro taking the co-host spot. Banks departed ahead of the 32nd season, with Ribeiro elevated to host and Julianne Hough named co-host. The main judges panel consisted of head judge Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tolioni. Goodman was absent for much of Season 19, all of Season 21, much of Season 23 and all of Season 29. Julianne Hough was a full-time judge from Seasons 19-21 and 23-24. Due to COVID restrictions, Goodman was unable to travel from London for Season 29 and Derek Hough took over. Goodman shared his ballroom expertise through pre-taped clips. Goodman announced his retirement from the show during the Season 31 semi-finals, and he died not long after the season ended. The Mirrorball Trophy was renamed The Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy beginning with Season 32. The Harold Wheeler Orchestra provided the music for the first 17 seasons. Ray Chew was announced as Wheeler’s replacment on February 7, 2014. A dance troupe was added to the show in Season 12, was eliminated in Season 32, and was brought back for Season 33. Season 21 (2015) winner Bindi Irwin had her payment of $350,000 (stars are guaranteed $125,000 just for appearing, with the amount increasing the longer they are on the show) withheld by a Los Angeles County Superior Court because she was a minor and her contract required the signature of her parents. Her mother had signed but her father, world-renowned naturalist Steve Irwin, died in 2006, which was widely known. The contract was finally validated when Irwin’s death certificate was presented to the court. Romeo was the first celebrity to withdraw from the show before Season 2 began. He was replaced by his father, Master P, who infamously refused to wear traditional dance shoes, preferring to stick to his sneakers, making some of dance steps nearly impossible to do properly and sparking a fan backlash with many demanding he be removed from the competition. Sara Evans left the show in Season 3, resulting in no elimination that week. Vincent Pastore withdrew during the lead up to Season 4, unaware of the training the show required, which he was not up to. He was replaced with John Ratzenberger. Misty May-Treanor withdrew in Season 7 after rupturing her Achilles tendon, and no one was eliminated that week. Before Season 8, Jewel and Nancy O’Dell were both injured in reheasals and had to withdraw, replaced with Holly Madison and Melissa Rycroft. Jewel did return later in the season to perform ‘Over the Rainbow’ on a Results show. Dorothy Hamill had to withdraw in Season 16 due to a spinal injury. Victor Ortiz or Lisa Vanderpump would have been eliminated that episode, but Hamill withdrew before the results were announced. Billy Dee Williams withdrew in Season 18 due to a chronic back problem and no one was eliminated. Season 21 was the first season to have two withdrawals. Kim Zolciak-Bierman had to leave after suffering a mini-stroke due to a blood clot, and Tamar Braxton also withdrew due to blood clots in her lungs. Christie Brinkley had to withdraw a week before Season 28 due to an arm injury that required emergency surgery, and she was replaced by her daughter who only had a week to prepare for the season premiere. Ray Lewis also had to withdraw later that season due to a toe injury that also required surgery. Jeannie Mai withdrew in Season 29 after being hospitalized for epiglottitis, and instead of the scheduled double elimination that week, only one couple was eliminated. Selma Blair had to withdraw during Season 31 to prevent her health from further deteriorating due to her multiple sclerosis, marking the first time a celebrity got a perfect score and withdrew on the same episode. Following the Season 1 controversy over Kelly Monaco surging from behind to win the trophy over consistently strong John O’Hurley, ABC arranged for a ‘Dance Off’ episode that pitted the two against each other. O’Hurley scored 77 points to Monaco’s 74, but it was the audience vote that detemined the winner — O’Hurley by a slim 1%. Many considered the episode a mistake and Monaco retained her title as the winner of Season 1, but no rematch episodes have been staged since. The show has been nominated for 43 Emmy Awards to date, winning six including Outstanding Host for Bergeron in 2012, and awards for choreography in 2013 (Derek Hough), 2015 (Derek Hough, Julianne Hough, Tessandra Chavez), 2017 (Mandy Moore), 2021 and 2023 (Derek Hough).
Hit Me, Baby, One More Time first aired on ITV in the UK from April 2-May 22, 2005, with the US version premiering on June 2 and airing until June 30. Both versions were hosted by Vernon Kay. Despite the show being a Summer hit for NBC, the program was not renewed. The show featured a well-known pop star singing one of their hit songs and a cover version of another popuar song. The studio audience in the US version would vote for a winner, with a monetary donation made to the charity of their choice. Episodes were taped the night before they aired.
Beauty and the Geek made the transition from The WB to The CW for its second season. MTV personality Brian McFayden hosted the first season, with Mike Richards taking over with Season 2. The show was never cancelled, just placed on an indefinite hiatus to drum up interest for a return. In 2008 casting began for a sixth season for MTV featuring minor celebrities as the beauties, but it never materialized.
The on screen title for hidden camera show Fire Me…Please was Fire Me Please!, but CBS insisted the official title was the former. The show was based on the BBC series The Sack Race. Two contestants report to a new job and try to get fired as close to 3:00 PM as possible. The owners of the businesses were in on the joke, but the managers were not. It is believed to be the first reality show to use a laugh track.
The Scholar gave ten high-achieving high school seniors a chance to compete in various academic skills to win a college scholarship.
2015
Netflix
- June 1 – The Whispers (ABC, One season, 13 episodes)
- June 2 – Stitchers (ABC Family/Freeform, Three seasons, 31 episodes)
- June 5 – Catching Monsters (Discovery Channel, One season, 5 episodes)
- June 5 – Sense8 (Netflix, Two seasons, 24 episodes)
The Whispers was based on the Ray Bradbury short story ‘Zero Hour’, which appeared in 1951’s The Illustrated Man. Lily Rabe and Milo Ventimiglia starred.
The first season of Stitchers was aired as an eleven-episode limited series.
Sense8 was created by Lana and Lilly Wachowski (The Matrix) and J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5). The show was filmed mostly on location in cities around the world. The show was praised for its LGBTQ characters and themes, and won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Drama Series for its first season. Netflix was heavily criticized for cancelling the series on a cliffhanger as a third season was under negotiation, so to resolve the story a two-and-a-half hour finale was produced. Netflix insisted the show be shot in 4K resolution to make the look of the show future-proof. Because of the tight schedule and budget, most of the show’s visual effects were done in-camera, with digital enhancements where necessary. Technicolor provided dailies and color graded the episodes, delivering both 2K and 4K masters. The show received two Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards nominations.