Message Bookmarked
Bookmark Removed
The network's first program was a late-night talk show, The Late Show, which debuted on October 9, 1986 with Joan Rivers as host. After a strong start, the show quickly eroded in the ratings and by early 1987 Rivers had quit and the show was being hosted by a succession of guest hosts. After that point, some stations which affiliated with the network in the weeks before the April 1987 primetime launch, such as Milwaukee's WCGV-TV, signed affiliation agreements on the condition that they would not have to carry The Late Show due to the program's ratings weakness.
The network debuted in prime time on April 5, 1987, with the series Married... with Children and The Tracey Ullman Show. It added one new show per week over the next several weeks, with the series 21 Jump Street, Mr. President and Duet completing its Sunday schedule.[8] Beginning on July 11, the network rolled out its inaugural Saturday night schedule with a two-hour movie premiere of Werewolf, and over the next three weeks the series The New Adventures of Beans Baxter, Karen's Song and Down and Out in Beverly Hills were added. Both Karen's Song and Down and Out in Beverly Hills were canceled by the start of the 1987–88 television season, the network's first fall launch, and were replaced by Second Chance and Women in Prison.
The network had already decided to cancel The Late Show, and had a replacement series called The Wilton North Report in development, when the show began a ratings resurgence with its final guest host, comedian Arsenio Hall. Wilton North lasted just a few weeks, however, and the network was unable to reach a deal with Hall to return when it hurriedly revived The Late Show in early 1988. The show went back to guest hosts again, eventually selecting Ross Shafer as its permanent host, and was permanently canceled by October 1988, while Hall signed a deal with Paramount Television to develop his own syndicated late night talk show, The Arsenio Hall Show.
The network added its third night of programming in the 1989 television season. It gradually added nights of programming over the next few years, airing on all seven nights for the first time in the 1993 television season. The 1989 season also featured a midseason replacement series, The Simpsons; ranked at a three-way tie for 29th place in the Nielsen ratings, it became the first Fox series to break the Top 30.
Poll Results
| Option | Votes |
| The Simpsons | 16 |
| Married... with Children | 8 |
| The Tracey Ullman Show | 5 |
| Werewolf | 2 |
| Women in Prison | 2 |
| 21 Jump Street | 1 |
| The Arsenio Hall Show | 1 |
| The Wilton North Report | 0 |
| Second Chance | 0 |
| Down and Out in Beverly Hills | 0 |
| Karen's Song | 0 |
| The New Adventures of Beans Baxter | 0 |
| Duet | 0 |
| Mr. President | 0 |
| The Late Show (Joan Rivers and others) | 0 |
― FMLAO (get bent), Friday, 13 April 2012 17:03 (thirteen years ago)
You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.