1980–81 United States network television schedule
This was the television schedule for the three United States commercial television networks, for the fall season beginning in September 1980. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.
New series are highlighted in bold.
Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.[1]
- Yellow indicates the programs in the top 10 for the season.
- Cyan indicates the programs in the top 20 for the season.
- Magenta indicates the programs in the top 30 for the season.
PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, was in operation but the schedule was set by each local station.
Note: An actors' strike hindered the ability to start airing shows in a timely manner. The shows in the schedule were the first to air new episodes in their respective time periods as they bowed in between late August and December 31, 1980. Some of the new shows intended for a fall launch did not debut until 1982 or 1983, if at all.
Sunday
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Those Amazing Animals (Sep.) | Local and paid political programming | The ABC Sunday Night Movie (24/19.4) | |||||
| Follow-up | Charlie's Angels | ||||||||
| CBS | 60 Minutes (3/27.0) | Archie Bunker's Place (13/21.4) | One Day at a Time (11/22.0) | Alice (7/22.9) | The Jeffersons (6/23.5) | Trapper John, M.D. (17/20.7) | |||
| NBC | Disney's Wonderful World | CHiPs (24/19.4) | The Big Event | ||||||
Note: On ABC, local and paid political programming aired in the 8-9 p.m. hour from September till November.
Monday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | That's Incredible! (28/19.0) | ABC NFL Monday Night Football (20/20.6) | ||||
| Winter | Dynasty | Foul Play | |||||
| Summer | Specials | Monday Night Baseball | |||||
| CBS | Fall | Flo | Ladies' Man (Oct.) | M*A*S*H (4/25.7) | House Calls (8/22.4) | Lou Grant (27/19.1) | |
| Spring | Private Benjamin | ||||||
| Summer | The Tim Conway Show | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | Little House on the Prairie (10/22.1) | NBC Monday Night at the Movies (29/18.8) | ||||
| Summer | Flamingo Road | The Last Convertible | |||||
Note: Private Benjamin premiered April 6, 1981 at 8:00-8:30 pm on CBS.
Tuesday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Happy Days (15/20.8) | Laverne & Shirley (20/20.6) | Three's Company (8/22.4) | Too Close for Comfort (Nov.) (15/20.8) | Hart to Hart (23/19.9) | |
| Summer | It's a Living | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Local and paid political programming | The CBS Tuesday Night Movies | ||||
| Follow-up | The White Shadow | ||||||
| Winter | That's My Line | ||||||
| Spring | Palmerstown, U.S.A. | ||||||
| Summer | Walter Cronkite's Universe | Flo | |||||
| NBC | Fall | NBC Tuesday Night at the Movies | The Steve Allen Comedy Hour (Oct.) | ||||
| Follow-up | Lobo | B. J. and the Bear | |||||
| Winter | Flamingo Road | ||||||
| Spring | Nero Wolfe | ||||||
Note: On CBS, local and paid political programming aired in the 8-9 p.m. hour between September and November. On NBC, NBC Tuesday Night at the Movies aired 8-10 p.m. from September till November.
Wednesday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | |||||||
| Fall | Eight is Enough | Taxi | Soap | Vega$ | |||
| Spring | The Greatest American Hero (Mar.) | Aloha Paradise (Feb.) | |||||
| CBS | Enos (Nov.) | The CBS Wednesday Night Movies | |||||
| NBC | Fall | Real People (12/21.5) | Movie of the Week | ||||
| Follow-up | Diff'rent Strokes (17/20.7) | The Facts of Life (26/19.3) | Quincy, M.E. | ||||
Note: The Greatest American Hero Debuts on March 18, 1981 at 8:00pm on ABC
Note: NBC's Movie of the Week aired 9-11 p.m. between September and November.
Note: The Facts of Life Season 2 begins Friday, October 10, 1980 at 8:30 on NBC.
Thursday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Mork & Mindy | Bosom Buddies (Nov.) | Barney Miller | It's a Living (Oct.) | 20/20 | |
| Winter | Taxi | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | The Waltons (30/18.6) | CBS Thursday Movie Special | ||||
| Follow-up | Magnum, P.I. (Dec.) (14/21.0) | Knots Landing (22/20.5) | |||||
| Spring | Checking In | Park Place | |||||
| Follow-up | The Waltons | ||||||
| NBC | Games People Play | NBC Thursday Night at the Movies | |||||
Note: CBS Thursday Movie Special aired 9-11 p.m. from September till the end of November. Magnum, P.I. had a 2-hour premiere on December 11, 1980.
Friday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Benson | I'm a Big Girl Now (Oct.) | The ABC Friday Night Movie | ||||
| CBS | The Incredible Hulk | The Dukes of Hazzard (2/27.3) | Dallas (1/34.5) | ||||
| NBC | Fall | NBC Friday Night at the Movies | NBC Magazine with David Brinkley (Sep.) | ||||
| Follow-up | Marie (Dec.) | Number 96 (Dec.) | |||||
| Winter | Nero Wolfe | ||||||
| Follow-up | Harper Valley PTA | Sanford | |||||
Note: NBC Friday Night at the Movies aired 8-10 p.m. through October and November.
Saturday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | When The Whistle Blows (Apr.) / Breaking Away (Nov.) | The Love Boat (5/24.3) | Fantasy Island (17/20.7) | ||||
| CBS | Fall | WKRP in Cincinnati | The Tim Conway Show | The CBS Saturday Night Movies | |||
| Follow-up | Freebie and the Bean (Dec.) | Secrets of Midland Heights (Dec.) | |||||
| Summer | Enos | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters (Nov.) | NBC Saturday Night at the Movies | ||||
| Winter | Walking Tall | Hill Street Blues | |||||
Note: The CBS Saturday Night Movies aired 9-11 p.m. through the end of November.
References
- ↑ Highest-rated series is based on the annual top-rated programs list compiled by Nielsen Media Research and reported in: Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.