TV by the Decade :: Mar 29•Apr 4

Unusual for a time when network television broadcasts are winding down to May season finales, this week over several decades saw some major new series premieres, as well as one huge miniseries. 1956 saw the birth of two long-running soap operas, one having a historically long run and the other making history by switching networks. 1976 gave us a miniseries with huge ratings based on true life tragic events. 1996 had a long-running entertainment docuseries, a successful action drama series, and a popular morning show that aired on two different networks. 2006 saw the demise of a network with its last two shows, and a sitcom based on its star’s life that should have run longer than it did. Among the list of shows that debuted in 2006, two streaming services had hits with a drama and a comedy, a popular cartoon got a revival, and s Sci-Fi Western became a cult hit. Scroll down to see all of the shows that premiered this week across the decades, and tell us if any of your favorites are celebrating milestone anniversaries.

1956

• April 2 – As the World Turns (CBS, Fifty-four seasons, 13,858 episodes)
• April 2 – The Edge of Night (CBS/ABC, Twenty-eight seasons, 7,420 episodes)

As the World Turns was a sister series to Guiding Light. With over 13,000 hours of narrative, it has the longest running time of any television show. The show was produced in Manhattan for its first 43 years, and in Brooklyn from 2000 to 2010. Along with The Edge of Night, they were the first two soaps to premiere in 30-minute time slots, a new concept to viewers used to 15-minute programs who felt indifferent about the new format, with sluggish ratings until the second season. ATWT became the top soap in 1958, and continued a winning streak from 1959 to 1971. The show switched from black-and-white to color on August 1, 1967, and expanded to an hour on December 1, 1975 when Edge moved to ABC. Actors Helen Wagner, Don Hastings and Eileen Fulton were three of the longest-serving actors in the history of American soaps. Wagner died on May 1, 2010, and on the August 30 episode it was revealed that her character, Nancy Hughes, had died in her sleep. Her memorial episode aired two weeks before the series finale. Fulton’s character, Lisa Miller Hughes, was spun off to a primetime soap, Our Private World, in an effort to duplicate the success of ABC’s Peyton Place. The show lasted just a few months, and Fulton returned to ATWT with little mention of her life on the other show. Plot lines from the primetime series were revisited 26 years later in 1992. The show was being broadcast live on November 22, 1963 when CBS switched to a split screen news bulletin as Walter Cronkite announced that President Kennedy had been shot. The actors were not told the news, but Hastings overheard a cameraman talking to someone in the control booth saying, ‘Don’t tell the actors what? The President’s been shot?’ The actors got their cues and continued the scene, with Cronkite interrupting with audio only reports. When the show ended as usual, it was the last regularly scheduled program viewers would see for the next four days. The cast was finally given the news after the final scene. When CBS expanded the show to an hour to compete with the newly expanded Days of Our Lives on NBC, it also decided to expand The Price is Right to an hour, meaning it needed a 30-minute time slot. ABC had expressed interest in picking up The Edge of Night, and an agreement was made between the networks and Procter & Gamble, and once CBS’ contract ended and ABC found 30 minutes by cancelling game show You Don’t Say!, the show switched networks, keeping its continuity intact, and making ATWT CBS’ first 60-minute soap. It wasn’t until ABC expanded All My Children to an hour that ATWT began suffering in the ratings. The final episode was taped on June 23, 2010 and aired September 17, with Hastings’ character, Dr. Bob Hughes, retiring and packing up his office, speaking the final line, ‘Good night’, which bookended the show’s premiere episode first line, ‘Good morning.’ The show won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in 1987, 1991, 2001 and 2003.

The Edge of Night, a mystery/crime drama soap, was aired live on CBS until November 28, 1975, then moved to ABC on December 1, 1975 with its last episode broadcast on December 28, 1984. Of the show’s more than 7,000 episodes, 1,800 exist on tape for Syndication. Bette Davis, Tallulah Bankhead and Eleanor Roosevelt were reportedly fans of the show. The show’s original working title was The Edge of Darkness. It was the second CBS soap to debut in a 30-minute format. It was conceived as a daytime version of Perry Mason, with Mason’s creator Erle Stanley Gardner to create and write the show, but a last minute disagreement between him and the network, which insisted Mason be given a love interest, caused him to pull out of the project. Gardner patched things up with CBS and eventually created a primetime Perry Mason series that debuted in 1957. A writer from the Perry Mason radio series retooled the concept, and Mason actor John Larkin was cast as the lead, initially a detective, then an attorney in a thinly veiled copy of Mason. The series was set in the fictional Midwestern city of Monticello, with its state capital known only as Capital City. An early setting for the show was a restaurant called the Ho-Hi-Ho, while the skyline of Cincinnati stood in for Monticello from 1956 until about 1980. Procter & Gamble was based in Cincinnati. The Los Angeles skyline replaced Cincinnati, but was dropped altogether for the last two years, as was the word ‘The’ from the title. The show ended on a deliberate cliffhanger as P&G believed they could find another network to pick up the show or continue in First-Run Syndication, but in 1984 there were no outlets willing to take on such an expensive endeavor. Unlike ATWT, The Edge of Night was an instant hit from its debut, likely because the public perceived it to be a daytime Perry Mason. Unlike other soaps of the time, Edge‘s audience was estimated to be 50% male at one point due to the crime format and its late start time of 4:30 PM. The show was moved to 3:30 and still succeeded against Dark Shadows, but when P&G insisted CBS move the show to 2:30 so all of their shows would run back-to-back, ratings took a hit because it was too early in the day for the male viewers to make it home from work or school and, as a consequence, it became CBS’ lowest rated soap. ABC agreed to pick up the show and return it to its late afternoon time slot, being the only P&G soap on the network. ABC gave the show a 90-minute premiere, picking up exactly where the story left off on CBS. It was the first soap to change networks, with only Search for Tomorrow being the other, moving from CBS to NBC. Unfortunately, with its 4:00 PM time slot, the show disappeared for many viewers in the Eastern and Central time zones as local ABC affiliates were running their own programming at that time. Some tape delayed the episodes for an earlier time slot. While ratings suffered, the show was still running first in its time slot due to weaker competition on the other networks at that time, and it regained its youth and male audience, allowing ABC to charge higher rates for advertising. By 1984, only 106 of ABC’s 213 affiliates were airing the show, and more planned to drop it for Syndicated programming. ABC wanted to continue and offered to move the show to an earlier time slot, but P&G could no longer afford the cost of producing the show because of lost revenue from frequent preemptions. P&G and ABC made a joint announcement that the show would end on December 28, 1984. The cancellation had a major impact on First-Run Syndication when New York’s ABC affiliate shifted the revival of Jeopardy!, in the middle of its first season, from an overnight slot to 4:00 PM. Most of the soaps early episodes were broadcast live and any tapes used by CBS were wiped for re-use. The first two years on ABC were also victim of the wiping process, which ended in 1978. USA Network aired reruns from August 5, 1985 to January 19, 1989 of episodes from June 1981 to the 1984 finale. The series won four Daytime Emmy Awards, three in technical categories, and one for writing in 1974. The show also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Program Achievement in Daytime Drama in 1973, the year before the Daytime Emmy Awards were first presented.

1966

• No new shows premiered this week in 1966.

1976

• April 1 – Helter Skelter (CBS, TV miniseries)

Helter Skelter was shown in theaters in some countries, with added nudity, profanity and violence. Based on the murders committed by the Manson Family, the title was taken from The Beatles song of the same name. At the time, it was the most-watched TV movie, surpassing the previous record holder, ABC’s The Night Stalker. Part 1 had a 57% share and Part 2 drew 60%. The record held until 1983’s The Day After, which still remains the most-watched made for television movie. The miniseries earned three Emmy nominations for music, directing and editing.

1986

• No new shows premiered this week in 1986.

1996

• March 29 – E! True Hollywood Story (E!, Seventeen seasons, 501 episodes)
• March 29 – Nash Bridges (CBS, Six seasons, 122 episodes)
• April 1 – Home and Family (The Family Channel/Hallmark Channel, Nine seasons, 1609 episodes)
• April 3 – My Guys (CBS, One season, 6 episodes, 4 unaired)

E! True Hollywood Story began as a series of special, and evolved into a weekly series in October 1996. The first episode focused on the murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer at the hands of a deranged fan. The series earned Emmy nominations consecutively from 2001 to 2003. It won a Gracie Award for the Gilda Radner episode in 1998.

Nash Bridges was created by Carlton Cuse, who would go on to be best known as showrunner for Lost, which was created by Nash Bridges writer Damon Lindelof. The show was filmed on location in the San Francisco Bay area. Permanent sets were located on nearby Treasure Island. While CBS wanted a seventh season, the show was losing its ratings battle to NBC’s Law & Order: SVU, and the $2 million per episode price tag was too steep for producer Paramount to continue. Also contributing to the cancellation was star Don Johnson’s desire to leave the series. A revival TV movie aired on the USA Network on November 27, 2021, which was to have served as a pilot for a potential series revival.

Home and Family was dropped by The Family Channel prior to the network relaunch as Fox Family Channel in 1998. Hallmark picked up a revival of the series in 2012. Cristina Ferrare, Michael Burger, and Chuck Woolery were the original hosts. Mark Steines and Paige Davis hosted the revival, but Davis left after six weeks, replaced by Ferrare, who was then replaced abruptly by Debbie Matenopoulos with no explanation to viewers. Ferrare said simply on social media that the show would continue for a fifth season and the network wanted a new co-host, stating her support for Matenopoulos. Steines was then abruptly fired on May 31, 2018, with Matenopoulos giving an emotional announcement to the viewers that he was no longer with the series. There were no reports of complaints against Steines, and the network stated it was taking a different creative direction with the show. Steines was still under contract, and was not informed until after he taped his last show that he was being let go. Cameron Mathison was named as his replacement. Production on the show was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. It returned in September 2020 for a ninth season, but production was suspended again in December 2020 on the recommendation of Los Angeles health officials. The show resumed in April 2021, and ended on August 4, 2021.

Actor Ted Wass, best known for his roles on Soap and Blossom, directed all six episodes of My Guys.

2006

• March 29 – The Bedford Diaries (The WB, One season, 8 episodes)
• March 31 – Survival of the Richest (The WB, One season, 6 episodes)
• April 2 – So NoTORIous (VH1, One season, 10 episodes)
• April 3 – Call to Greatness (MTV, One season, 5 episodes)
• April 3 – Yo Momma (MTV, Three seasons, 64 episodes)
• April 4 – Pepper Dennis (The WB, One season, 13 episodes)

The Bedford Diaries was cancelled due to the merger of The WB and UPN to create The CW. The WB tried to build interest in the series by posting the pilot episode on its website, which included more adult material that was not in the broadcast version. The cast included Matthew Modine, Penn Badgley, Audra McDonald and Milo Ventimiglia.

So NoTORIous was based loosely on the life of its star, Tori Spelling, who tries to downplay that she is the daughter of Aaron Spelling, who is only referred to as ‘Daddy’ and is only heard in voice-over, taking a cue from Charlie’s Angels. Tori’s mother Candy (KiKi on the show) is played by Loni Anderson. Despite the show’s positive reviews, it was cancelled after one season.

One stunt on Call to Greatness involved cast member Rainbow Borden setting a record for driving an ATV 200 feet through a tunnel of fire. Two previous attempts, the details of which are unknown, resulted in death. MTV refused to air the segment deeming it too deadly for television. It can be viewed on YouTube under ‘Bow Borden Tunnel of Fire.’ The show was moved to MTV2 late in its run, and producers decided not to continue due to budget constraints. 33 records were broken during production.

Reality game show Yo Momma was hosted by Wilmer Valderrama, with Sam Sarpong (Seasons 1 and 2), Jason Everhart and Destiny Lightsy. The show was built around the use of ‘Yo Momma’ jokes, which was parodied in Meet the Spartans.

Pepper Dennis was the last new series to premiere on The WB, and was not carried over to The CW following the merger with UPN. The main cast included Rebecca Romijn, Brooke Burns, Josh Hopkins, Lindsay Price and Rider Strong, with recurring cast including Brett Cullen, Frederick Koehler, Bob Gunton, Pamela Reed and Henry Simmons. Major guest stars include French Stewart, Linda Gray, Eric Winter, Ryan McPartlin, Mackenzie Astin, Yvette Nicole Brown and Dot-Marie Jones.

2016

• March 29 – Like a Boss (Oxygen, One season, 8 episodes)
• March 30 – Lopez (TV Land, Two seasons, 24 episodes)
• March 30 – The Path (Hulu, Three seasons, 36 episodes)
• March 30 – Quit Your Day Job (Oxygen, One season, 7 episodes)
• March 31 – The Eighties (CNN, 7-episode miniseries)
• March 31 – Rush Hour (CBS, One season, 13 episodes)
• April 1 – The Ranch (Netflix, Four seasons, 80 episodes)
• April 1 – Wynonna Earp (Syfy, Four seasons, 49 episodes, 1 special)
• April 4 – The Powerpuff Girls (Cartoon Network, Three seasons, 119 episodes)

Lopez was a semi-autobiographical sitcom starring George Lopez.

The original title of The Path was The Way, but was changed due to the similarity of a real-life ministry and alleged cult, The Way International. The series is centered around members of a fictional religion known as Meyerism. Aaron Paul, Michelle Monaghan and Hugh Dancy starred. Scenes taking place in Peru were shot in the Nyack, New York area with the rest of the series.

The Eighties suffered numerous interruptions during its run due to CNN coverage of the death of Prince and the 2016 presidential campaign, causing episodes to be aired out of order from the original plan.

Rush Hour was based on the film of the same name, and starred Justin Hires in the Chris Tucker role, and Jon Foo in the Jackie Chan role. Guest stars included Robyn Lively, Doug Savant, Vernee Watson and Janel Parrish.

The Ranch was streamed in eight parts over its four seasons. The show originally starred That ’70s Show co-stars Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson, with Sam Elliott, Debra Winger and Elisha Cuthbert. That ’70s Show cast members Wilmer Valderrama, Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp had recurring roles. All of the episodes are named after country music songs. Kucther’s former Two and a Half Men co-stars Jon Cryer, Conchata Ferrell and Maggie Lawson also had guest roles. Masterson was written out during the third season of the series, appearing in just the first ten episodes, following multiple allegations of sexual assault. The show received four Emmy nominations for its cinematography during its run, winning three times. It was also nominated for sound mixing in its final season.

When Wynonna Earp was renewed for its fourth season, production was in limbo due to its production company’s financial difficulties. The show ended after its fourth season in 2021, but a one-off special was produced for the Tubi streaming service that premiered on September 13, 2024, with the major main cast reprising their roles. The series received generally positive reviews upon its premiere. The show was also praised for it LGBTQ+ and Feminist representation, and it received three GLAAD Media Award nominations for Outstanding Drama Series in 2017, 2019 and 2020.

The Powerpuff Girls was a reboot of the original 1998-2005 series, and featured new voice actors for the main characters. Tom Kenny reprised his role as the Mayor and narrator, Tom Kane returned as Professor Utonium and Him, Roger L. Jackson returned as Mojo Jojo, and Jennifer Hale reprised the role of Ms. Keane but not Princess Morbucks. The original Powerpuff Girls voice actors were considered but producers felt new actors would infuse the show with new energy. Original series creator Craig McCracken was not involved with the reboot due to his contract with Disney. The first season received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program.