Must See TV

Must See TV

Title card for NBC's 2002 special,20 Years of Must See TV
Network	NBC
Launched	Original run:1993(1993) Second run:September 28, 2017(2017-09-28)
Closed	Original run:2006(2006) Second run:March 25, 2021(2021-03-25)
Country of origin	United States
Running time	Thursday nights
Original language(s)	American English

Must See TVwas an American advertising slogan that was used byNBCto brand itsprimetime blocksduring the 1990s, and most often applied to the network's Thursday night lineup, which featured some of its most popular sitcoms and drama series of the period, allowing the network to dominate prime time ratings on Thursday nights in the 1980s and 1990s. Ratings for NBC's lineup fell during the mid-to-late 2000s, and today the network ranks behindFox,ABC,andCBSon Thursday nights. In 2015 and again in 2021, the network canceled comedy programming on Thursdays and switched entirely to dramas. However, the branding returned for the 2017–18 television season.

Usage

Inpopular culture,the phrase is most strongly associated with the network's entire Thursday night lineup, including both sitcoms and dramas, which dominated the ratings from the 1980s through the late 1990s.

As originally conceived, "Must See TV" originally applied to sitcoms only (dramas would normally be promoted separately), and for much of the 1990s the phrase was used several nights a week as an attempt atbrand extension.At one point in the fall of 1997, the brand was used five nights a week, with four sitcoms a night from Monday to Thursday, and two on Sunday.NBC itself would later adopt the more common interpretation; the 2002 retrospective,20 Years of Must See TV,focused on NBC's overall dominance on Thursday nights from 1982 onwards, and overlooked extensions such as "Must See TV Tuesday."

History

First years

By 1979,NBChad fallen to third place in theNielsen ratings.Network executiveFred Silverman,who previously ledABCandCBSto the top of the ratings, joined the network a year earlier, however, he could not bring the same ratings success he had as programming whiz at the latter two networks, resulting in a string of new programs that were derided by critics and eventually being canceled after a few showings. The1980-81 television seasonwas the low point for NBC; as the network had only three shows in the Nielsen top 20 (one of them,Diff'rent Strokes,would enter NBC's Thursday night lineup for the1981-82 season). Silverman would leave NBC in the summer of 1981; and was replaced byBrandon Tartikoff.Starting with the 1981-82 season, situation comedies would enter NBC's Thursday programming, such asDiff'rent Strokes,Harper Valley,and newcomersGimme a Break!andLewis & Clark(the latter was canceled after one season).

Success in the 1980s

Branding the quality Thursday night lineup began during the1982-83 season,which NBC promotedFame,Hill Street Blues,Taxi(after being canceled by ABC after its fourth season) and new arrivalCheers,as "America's Best Night of Television on Television". When the season ended,FameandTaxiwere canceled, with the former being later revived infirst-run syndication.However, thoughCheersdisappointed on ratings during its first season (74th out of 77 shows in that year's ratings), it was critically acclaimed, mostly due to its early success at thePrimetime Emmy Awards,and Tartikoff decided to renew the show for a second season, which would premiere during the1983-84 season,which saw none of its nine fall shows being renewed for a second season (one of them, the sitcomWe Got It Made,premiered on Thursdays during most of its first season until January 1984, and later was revived for syndication). NBC decided to move bothFamily TiesandBuffalo Billfrom Wednesdays to Thursdays during the winter of 1984, joiningCheers,Hill Street BluesandGimme a Break!,with newcomerNight Courtjoining the lineup during the summer.

What marked the beginning of NBC's dominance on Thursday nights was during the1984-85 season,when the network premiered a new show to lead that evening:The Cosby Show,receiving critical acclaim, withTV Guidelisting the series as "TV's biggest hit in the 1980s", adding it "almost single-handedly revived thesitcomgenre and NBC's ratings fortunes ".The enormous success ofCosby(which became the third-most watched show of the season in the US) also helped the other shows on its Thursday night lineup increase its ratings dramatically, withFamily Tiesentering the top-ten for the first time; andCheersandNight Courtboth entering the top-twenty; whileHill Street Bluesremained steadily on the top-thirty. WhenCosbydebuted, it marked a major turning point for NBC as well, as the network rose to second place at the end of the season; and reached first place at the end of the1985-86 season,withCosbybeing the number-one show in the United States, which it managed to stay on that position for four more seasons until 1990.

As the decade was progressing, NBC decided to move some of their most successful shows to make room for new freshman hits.Hill Street Blues,which enjoyed success during most of its run on Thursday nights since its debut, was replaced midway through its seventh and final season, by legal dramaL.A. Law,which premiered in 1986 and stayed its entire run at the 10pm slot until its end in 1994, becoming a runaway success for the network. Other hits on NBC Thursday nights includedCosbyspinoffA Different World(premiered in 1987 and replacedFamily Ties,which was moved to Sunday nights that year until its end in 1989), andDear John,Judd Hirsch's starring vehicle afterTaxi(premiered in 1988 and replacedNight Court,which was moved to Wednesday nights that year until its end in 1992). Eventually,Dear John,then on its second season, was moved to Wednesdays (alongsideNight Court) and was replaced by the sitcomGrand,which premiered in 1990, but enjoyed moderate success, and was canceled by NBC at the end of the year after two abbreviated seasons. That same year, a mid-season replacement,Wings(created byCheersproducersDavid Angell,Peter Casey,andDavid Lee) saw its debut, and began to enjoy popularity among viewers on Thursday nights in the following years. As a result of this, NBC ended the 1980s decade as the number-one network on both Thursday nights and overall.

Early 1990s doldrums

However, that dominance during the 1980s, would begin to fade by the start of the1990-91 season,as the growing popularity of ABC Tuesday andFriday nightlineups andFox's decision to move freshman hitThe Simpsonsto Thursdays to compete withCosbypartly contributed to its decline.Cosbyslipped down to fifth place, whileCheersreached number one on the Nielsen ratings for the first time; however, NBC itself, dropped to second place behind a resurgent ABC. The1991-92and1992-93 seasonswere two of NBC's weakest, as the network dropped to third place (behind CBS and ABC) for the first time since 1983. Ratings forThe Cosby ShowandA Different Worlddecreased considerably and both were no longer inside the top-ten; whileWingscontinue to rise in popularity, entering the top-20 for the first time. Meanwhile,Cheersbecame the only NBC show (both in sitcoms and overall) to remain in the top-ten during the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons. As a result of its declining ratings,Cosbyended its run in 1992; whileA Different Worldbid farewell in 1993. That year,Seinfeld,which initially struggled from its debut in 1989 as a summer series, was moved from Wednesdays to Thursdays to joinWingsandCheers,with the latter series ending in May after 11 seasons, with itsseries finalebeing the second-highest-rated series finale of all-time behindthe series finale ofM*A*S*Hand the highest-rated episode of the 1992–93 season in the US.

Must See TV

The "Must See" slogan was created by Dan Holm, an NBC promotional producer, during a networkpromobrainstorming session in June 1993 at NBC's West Coast headquarters inBurbank, California."Must See TV" made its first appearance in NBC promotions in August 1993 and included the day of the week: "Must See TV Thursday". In late summer of 1993, NBC wanted viewers to tune in an hour prior toSeinfeld,and created the "Must See TV" slogan to brand the comedy block. The first "Must See TV" block promo aired during late summer repeats and promotedMad About You,Wings,Seinfeldand the then-recently-endedCheers,which also previewed the fall premiere of its spin-off,Frasier.The advertisement ended with the sentence "Get home early for Must See TV Thursday." The "Must See TV" slogan continued in every NBC Thursday night comedy promo throughout the1993-94 television seasonto promote the 8–10 p.m. comedy block.The next season,FrasierandWingswere moved to Tuesday nights, with NBC expanding the "Must See TV" brand to include the Tuesday night comedy block: "Must See TV Tuesday". Meanwhile, the flagship Thursday block acquired two new hits,Friends- which became television's second biggest comedy behind onlySeinfeld- andER,which became the number one drama on television.SeinfeldandERwould end up battling the following four seasons for the honor of number one show, beforeSeinfeldended its run in 1998.

On November 3, 1994, NBC's Thursday night lineup featured the "Blackout Thursday"programming stunt,in which three of the four sitcoms on that night's "Must See TV" schedule incorporated a story line involving apower outageinNew York City.The stunt started withMad About Youepisode "Pandora's Box", in which Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt) accidentally causes the blackout while trying tosteal cable;it continued with theFriendsepisode "The One with the Blackout",featuring a sub-plot in whichChandler Bing(Matthew Perry) is trapped in anATMvestibule withVictoria's SecretmodelJill Goodacreand ended with theMadman of the Peopleepisode "Birthday in the Big House" (theSeinfeldepisode that followedFriendsand precededMadman,"The Gymnast",did not have a blackout story line though was promoted as part of the event).

As the lineup includes flagship hits such asFriendsandER,NBC dominated once again Thursday nights for the rest of the 1990s decade, with other shows joining and becoming hits for the network, such asWill & Grace,Caroline in the City,Suddenly Susan,Veronica's ClosetandThe Single Guy.The series finale ofSeinfeld,"The Finale",became the fourth-most watched overall series finale in the US afterM*A*S*H,CheersandThe Fugitive,with its ninth and final season reaching the top of the Nielsen ratings, becoming only the third show finishing its runs at the top of the ratings, followingI Love LucyandThe Andy Griffith Show.Consequently,Friendsemerged as NBC's biggest television show after the 1998Seinfeldfinal broadcast.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday nights

Seeing how "Must See TV" dominated prime time on Thursdays, NBC felt that the same marketing power could translate into success for Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday nights.

The expansion began during the 1994-95 season, when NBC added a second night comedy block: "Must See TV Tuesday", withFrasierandWingsmoving to that night and being joined byThe John Larroquette ShowandThe Martin Short Show(which was replaced byNewsRadio). The "Must See TV Tuesday" was created to compete with ABC's powerhouse Tuesday lineup, which includes flagship hits such asHome Improvement,Full HouseandGrace Under Fire.

3rd Rock from the Sunentered "Must See TV Tuesday" during the 1995-96 season, which also saw the debut of NBC's third night of "Must See TV" on Sunday nights, with the premiere ofBrotherly LoveandMinor Adjustments(both shows were later canceled by the network during the season, and were picked up byThe WBandUPN,respectively), and the moves ofMad About YouandHope and Gloriafrom Thursdays to Sundays.

For the1996-97 season,NBC added another "Must See TV" comedy block on Wednesdays, which includedWings(which entered its eighth and final season),Larroquette(which was abruptly cancelled midway its fourth season),NewsRadioand new arrivalMen Behaving Badly,all being followed by the legal dramaLaw & Order.

However, though it received heavy promotion by the network, all three nights did not replicate the enormous success of "Must See TV Thursday", as during the 1996-97 season, the Sunday night two-hour comedy was shortened to one hour, to gave priority toDateline NBC(3rd Rockwas also moved from its original Tuesday night to Sundays), whileMad About YouandCaroline in the Citymoved to Tuesdays. The trend would continue until the1998-99 season,when the Sunday comedy night was officially dropped out, being replaced by two hours ofDateline,followed by theNBC Sunday Night Movie.Frasierreturned to Thursday nights afterSeinfeldended its run, taking its 9:00 PM timeslot (eventually it was moved back to Tuesdays starting with the2000-01 seasonuntil the show ended in 2004).

Decline

From a promo for "Comedy Night Done Right" in October 2007. The image features [From Left]Earl Hickey(ofMy Name Is Earl),Michael Scott(ofThe Office),John Dorian(ofScrubs) andLiz Lemon(of30 Rock).

By the early 2000s,FriendsandERwere still performing strong on Thursday nights, with the former series reaching number one on the Nielsen ratings during itseighth season.However, as the decade was progressing, the "Must See TV" slogan had fallen by the wayside in NBC's promotions; more importantly, NBC had gone from the top-rated network on Thursday nights to second behind CBS, eventually third behind ABC and ultimately a distant fourth behind Fox, but NBC itself didn't develop hit shows to replace long-running staplesFriends,Frasier,Seinfeld,andWill & Grace.

After airing a two-hour comedy block on Thursday for 21 straight seasons, NBC broke with tradition in 2004 by replacing the 9 p.m. hour with the hour-long reality competition programThe Apprentice,although its Thursday night lineup retained its top 20 position.

Thursday programming has also become increasingly stronger on other networks.CBSwas first to break through with its lineup ofSurvivor,CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,and laterWithout a Trace.For the 2010–11 season, CBS moved the highly rated comedyThe Big Bang Theory,which had become the highest-rated sitcom in the United States, to the Thursday 8:00 p.m. slot, andTwo and a Half Mento the 8:30 p.m. slot, which earned very strong ratings.

ABChad success on Thursday nights with its hitrealityseries,Dancing with the Stars,before moving the program to Mondays in 2006 (where it has remained since). In the fall of 2006, sophomore dramaGrey's Anatomywas moved to Thursdays to counterCSI;ABC's lineup ofUgly BettyandGrey's Anatomyhas proved successful in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, and the 2011 transfer ofFox'sAmerican Idol,regarded as the longest reigning #1 program on U.S. television from2004to2011,into the Thursday timeslot adversely affected NBC's ratings for Thursday primetime programming lineup since that television season.

The "Must See TV" slogan reappeared briefly in early 2006 with the addition of two critically acclaimed and ratings-successful comedies,My Name Is EarlandThe Office,in an attempt to re-establish a four-sitcom block after the rise and fall ofThe Apprentice,which was moved to Monday nights.

In November 2006, NBC rebranded the Thursday format with a different slogan, "Comedy Night Done Right", and added another two critically acclaimed shows,Scrubsand30 Rock,to the lineup, forming an entire lineup of comedy series withoutlaugh tracksor themultiple-camera setupcommon with past "Must See TV" comedies.

A promo for "Comedy Night Done Right All Night" in 2011

On January 20, 2011, NBC rebranded the night once again, renaming it "Comedy Night Done Right – All Night", adding a third hour of comedies at 10 p.m. (the network had previously run a three-hour comedy lineup once annually on Thursdays during the late 1990s and early 2000s as a programming stunt). The three-hour comedy block was discontinued in the fall of 2011, when the night reverted to two hours of comedies and one drama and, in 2012, two hours of comedy and thenews magazineRock Center.

Change and record ratings lows

Prior to the2013 fall season,NBC cancelled or ended nine of its eleven comedies, including the long-running30 RockandThe Office,in an effort to broaden its comedy lineup.In May 2013, NBC picked up three family comedies (The Michael J. Fox Show,Sean Saves the WorldandWelcome to the Family) and rebranded its Thursday night lineup as "NBC's New Family of Comedies" for the fall season.

The debut ofThe Michael J. Fox Showwas the lowest-rated Thursday fall comedy series premiere in network history.One week later, the debut ofWelcome to the Familybecame the new record-holder, withSean Saves the Worldranking as the second lowest ever.

On October 10, 2013, NBC tied an all-time low on Thursday nights (tied with May 17, 2012), while finishing in fourth place (or combined with programming on Spanish-language networkUnivision,along withThursday Night FootballonNFL NetworkandMajor League Baseball playoff coverageonTBS,seventh) for the night.On November 21, 2013, NBC averaged a 1.0 in the adults 18–49 age bracket, its lowest ever in-season average for regularly scheduled programming on the night.On the same night,The CWdefeated the NBC comedy block, a first for the network. All three shows were eventually cancelled (Welcome to the Familywas pulled three episodes into its first season, whileThe Michael J. Fox ShowandSean Saves the Worldwere dropped shortly before the2014 Winter Olympics;in the case ofThe Michael J. Fox Show,this was despite NBC giving a 22-episode order for the series prior to its debut) and were replaced by critically acclaimed (though low-rated) Thursday night mainstaysCommunityandParks and Recreationin January 2014, which were joined byHollywood Game Nightin late February.

2014–16: End of comedy programming

In May 2014, NBC announced their schedule for the upcoming fall schedule atupfronts,with only a single hour of Thursday comedy in fall for the first time since 2005. Veteran reality showThe Biggest Loserwould take the 8pm slot, followed by new comediesBad JudgeandA to Zand the final season ofParenthood.They also announced that dramaThe Blacklistwould take the 9pm slot at mid-season the week following the Super Bowl, hinting at the end of NBC's Thursday comedy tradition.

In December 2014, NBC announced their mid-season schedule, with three dramas scheduled on Thursday to compete withABC.This was the first time NBC had not aired comedies on Thursday since 1981, which put the Must See TV label on hiatus for three years. The final episodes ofParks and Recreationseason sevenwere moved to Tuesdays, possibly in an attempt toburn offthe last 13 episodes.

In May 2015, it was announced that NBC's Thursday broke into the Top 50 most watched programming for the first time in five years, withThe Blacklistbeing number 14. It was the night's best showing sinceThe Officewas in the Top 50 in the 2009–10 season. NBC Thursday repeated its success in the next season, withThe Blacklistat 22 and new dramaShades of Blueat 35.

2016–21: Revival and the End of Must See TV

In May 2016, NBC announced the return of Thursday comedy for the 2016–17 season with returning comedySuperstoreand new comedyThe Good Placefor the first time in two years. The network also began to broadcast the second half of theThursday Night Footballseason in a simulcast withNFL Networkin November, effectively breaking those shows' seasons into half-seasons.

In May 2017, NBC announced the return of the Must See TV branding, withWill & GraceandGreat Newsset to air on Thursdays for the 2017–18 season in addition toSuperstoreandThe Good Place.Outside of holiday specials forWill & GraceandSuperstore,again all four shows had their seasons broken up byThursday Night Football.WithFoxmerging the package intotheirsin the2018 season,this will not occur for NBC again for the next five seasons, and only the traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas hiatuses will happen in future seasons. In February 2021, it was announced that NBC's Thursday night comedy block would be replaced by a block of drama shows (specifically theLaw & Orderfranchise), and the Must See TV slogan disappeared for the second time on the network.

NBC Thursday night lineup history

Limeindicates the#1 most-watched programof the season.

Yellowindicates the top-10 most-watched programs of the season.

Cyanindicates the top-20 most watched programs of the season.

Magentaindicates the top-30 most watched programs of the season.

Orangeindicates the top-40 most watched programs of the season.

Silverindicates the top-50 most watched programs of the season.

Year(s) / Season		8:00 PM	8:30 PM	9:00 PM	9:30 PM	10:00 PM	10:30 PM
Pre-Must See TV (1979–1982)
1979–1980	Fall	Buck Rogers in the 25th Century		Quincy M.E.		Kate Loves a Mystery
	Winter					Skag
	Spring					The Rockford Files
1980–1981	Fall	Games People Play		NBC Thursday Night Movie
	Winter	Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
	Spring
1981–1982	Fall	Harper Valley	Lewis & Clark	Diff'rent Strokes	Gimme a Break!	Hill Street Blues
	Winter	Fame
	Spring
"The Best Night of Television on Television" (1982–1993)
1982–1983	Fall	Fame		Cheers	Taxi	Hill Street Blues
	Winter			Gimme a Break!	Cheers
	Spring
1983–1984	Fall	Gimme a Break!	Mama's Family	We Got It Made	Cheers	Hill Street Blues
	Winter		Family Ties	Cheers	Buffalo Bill
	Spring				The Duck Factory
1984–1985	Fall	The Cosby Show	Family Ties	Cheers	Night Court	Hill Street Blues
	Winter
	Spring
1985–1986	Fall	The Cosby Show	Family Ties	Cheers	Night Court	Hill Street Blues
	Winter
	Spring				All Is Forgiven/Night Court
1986–1987	Fall	The Cosby Show	Family Ties	Cheers	Night Court	Hill Street Blues
	Winter					L.A. Law
	Spring				Nothing in Common
1987–1988	Fall	The Cosby Show	A Different World	Cheers	Night Court	L.A. Law
	Winter
	Spring				The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
1988–1989	Fall	The Cosby Show	A Different World	Cheers	Dear John	L.A. Law
	Winter
	Spring
1989–1990	Fall	The Cosby Show	A Different World	Cheers	Dear John	L.A. Law
	Winter				Grand
	Spring				Wings
1990–1991	Fall	The Cosby Show	A Different World	Cheers	Grand	L.A. Law
	Winter				Wings
	Spring				Seinfeld
1991–1992	Fall	The Cosby Show	A Different World	Cheers	Wings	L.A. Law
	Winter
	Spring
1992–1993	Fall	A Different World	Rhythm & Blues	Cheers	Wings	L.A. Law
	Follow-up	Out All Night	A Different World
	Winter	Cheers(R)	Wings		Seinfeld
	Spring					Crime & Punishment/L.A. Law
Must See TV (1993–2006)
1993–1994	Fall	Mad About You	Wings	Seinfeld	Frasier	L.A. Law
	Winter					Homicide: Life on the Street
	Spring					L.A. Law
1994–1995	Fall	Mad About You	Friends	Seinfeld	Madman of the People	ER
	Winter
	Spring		Hope & Gloria		Friends
1995–1996	Fall	Friends	The Single Guy	Seinfeld	Caroline in the City	ER
	Winter
	Spring		Boston Common
1996–1997	Fall	Friends	The Single Guy	Seinfeld	Suddenly Susan	ER
	Winter		Suddenly Susan		The Naked Truth
	Spring				Fired Up
1997–1998	Fall	Friends	Union Square	Seinfeld	Veronica's Closet	ER
	Winter		Just Shoot Me!
	Spring
1998–1999	Fall	Friends	Jesse	Frasier	Veronica's Closet	ER
	Winter
	Spring		Will & Grace
1999–2000	Fall	Friends	Jesse	Frasier	Stark Raving Mad	ER
	Winter
	Spring		Daddio		Battery Park
2000–2001	Fall	Friends	Cursed	Will & Grace	Just Shoot Me!	ER
	Winter
	Spring
2001–2002	Fall	Friends	Inside Schwartz	Will & Grace	Just Shoot Me!	ER
	Winter		Leap of Faith
	Spring		Friends
2002–2003	Fall	Friends	Scrubs	Will & Grace	Good Morning, Miami	ER
	Winter
	Spring
2003–2004	Fall	Friends	ScrubsandGood Morning, Miami	Will & Grace	CouplingandScrubs	ER
	Winter		Will & Grace	The Apprentice
	Spring		Friends	Will & Grace	Scrubs
2004–2005	Fall	Joey	Will & Grace	The Apprentice		ER
	Winter
	Spring
2005–2006	Fall	Joey	Will & Grace	The Apprentice		ER
	Winter	Will & Grace	Four Kings	My Name Is Earl	The Office
	Spring		My Name Is Earl
Comedy Night Done Right (2006–2012)
2006–2007	Fall	My Name Is Earl	The Office	Deal or No Deal		ER
	Winter			Scrubs	30 Rock
	Spring			30 Rock	Andy Barker, P.I.
2007–2008	Fall	My Name Is Earl	30 Rock	The Office	Scrubs	ER
	Winter1		The Office(R)	The Celebrity Apprentice		Lipstick Jungle
	Spring	30 Rock	Scrubs	The Office	30 Rock	ER
2008–2009	Fall	My Name Is Earl	Kath & Kim	The Office	SNL Weekend Update Thursdayand30 Rock	ER
	Winter				30 Rock
	Spring		Parks and Recreation			Southland
2009–2010	Fall	SNL Weekend Update ThursdayandCommunity	Parks and Recreation	The Office	Communityand30 Rock	The Jay Leno Show
	Winter	Community			30 Rock
	Spring					The Marriage Ref
2010–2011	Fall	Community	30 Rock	The Office	Outsourced	The Apprentice
	Winter		Perfect Couples		Parks and Recreation	30 Rock	Outsourced
	Spring		The Paul Reiser Show
			The Office(R)
2011–2012	Fall	Community	Parks and Recreation	The Office	Whitney	Prime Suspect
	Mid-season	30 Rock			Up All Night	The Firm
	Spring					Awake
	Follow-up	Community	30 Rock
	Follow-up				Parks and Recreation
"We Peacock Comedy" Thursdays (2012–2013)
2012–2013	Fall	SNL Primetime: Election Specialand30 Rock	Up All Night	The Office	Parks and Recreation	Rock Center with Brian Williams
	Spring	Community	Parks and RecreationandThe Office(R)		1600 Penn/Go On/Parks and Recreation	Do No Harm
	Follow-up					Hannibal
NBC's Family of Comedies (2013–2014)
2013–2014	Fall	Parks and Recreation	Welcome to the Family/Parks and Recreation	Sean Saves the World	The Michael J. Fox Show	Parenthood
	Mid-season	Community	Parks and Recreation
	Spring			Hollywood Game Night
Post-Must See TV (2014–2016)
2014–2015	Fall	The Biggest Loser		Bad Judge	A to Z	Parenthood
	Mid-season2	The Slap/Dateline: The Real Blacklist		The Blacklist		Allegiance/The Slap
2015–2016	Fall	Heroes Reborn		The Blacklist		The Player
	Winter	You, Me and the Apocalypse				Shades of Blue
	Spring	Strong				Game of Silence
"Super Good" Thursdays (2016–2017)
2016–2017	Fall	Superstore	The Good Place	Chicago Med		The Blacklist
	Winter		Powerless			The Blacklist: Redemption
	Spring					The Blacklist
Must See TV (second era, 2017–2021)
2017–2018	Fall	Superstore	The Good Place	Will & Grace	Great News	Chicago Fire
	Late Winter		A.P. Bio		Champions
2018–2019	Fall	Superstore	The Good Place	Will & Grace	I Feel Bad	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
	Winter	The Titan Games		Brooklyn Nine-Nine	The Good Place
	Spring	Superstore	A.P. Bio		Abby's
2019–2020	Fall	Superstore	Perfect Harmony	The Good Place	Sunnyside	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
	Late fall				Will & Grace
	Winter		Brooklyn Nine-Nine	Will & Grace	Indebted
2020–2021	Fall	Superstore	Connecting	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit		Dateline NBC
	Mid-Fall		Superstore
	Winter	Mr. Mayor
	Spring	Manifest				Law & Order: Organized Crime
Post-Must See TV (2021–present)
2021–2022	Fall	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit		Law & Order: Special Victims Unit		Law & Order: Organized Crime
	Mid-Fall	The Blacklist
	Winter	Law & Order
2022–2023	Fall	Law & Order		Law & Order: Special Victims Unit		Law & Order: Organized Crime
	Spring	The Blacklist				Magnum P.I.(R)
2023–2024	Fall	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit(R)		Transplant		Dateline NBC
	Mid-Fall	Law & Order(R)
	Winter	Law & Order		Law & Order: Special Victims Unit		Law & Order: Organized Crime

^1Because of the2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike,shows that would regularly air were replaced with reruns and unscripted programming. A few episodes ofDeal or No Dealoccupied the 8:00 p.m. time slot on Thursdays during the strike.

^2During the second half of the 2014–15 season,The Slapinitially occupied the 8:00 p.m. time slot; it was moved to the 10:00 p.m. time slot midway through its run afterAllegiancewas canceled.

Other series and specials

Several series aired on Thursdays to take advantage of the huge audience. These series include:

• Night Court(summer 1984)
• Our House(September 11, 1986)
• Crime Story(September 18, 1986)
• The Tortellis(January 22, 1987)
• Roomies(March 19, 1987)
• The Bronx Zoo(March 19, 1987)
• The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd(summer 1987)
• Beverly Hills Buntz(November 5, 1987; December 24, 1987)
• Mama's Boy(November 26, 1987)
• Day by Day(March 3, 1988)
• My Two Dads(April 7, 1988)
• Dream Street(April 13, 1989)
• Tattingers(April 20, 1989)
• Baby Boom(July 13, 1989)
• FM(August 17, 1989, September 14, 1989, summer 1990)
• Sister Kate(September 21, 1989)
• Hardball(September 21, 1989)
• Mancuso, F.B.I.(October 19, 1989)
• Ann Jillian(November 30, 1989)
• Down Home(April 12, 1990; February 28, 1991)
• Seinfeld(summer 1990)
• Quantum Leap(summer 1990; June 27, 1991)
• Blossom(July 5, 1990; January 3, 1991)
• Ferris Bueller(August 23, 1990)
• Parenthood(September 6, 1990; repeat of pilot episode)
• Law & Order(September 13, 1990; October 4, 1990; October 11, 1990; June 2, 1994; spring 1997)
• American Dreamer(September 20, 1990)
• Sisters(summer 1991)
• The Adventures of Mark and Brian
• Dear John(September 19, 1991)
• Reasonable Doubts(September 26, 1991)
• The Torkelsons(January 9, 1992)
• Home Fires(June 25, 1992)
• Dateline NBC(October 8, 1992; July 29, 1993; March 31, 1994; June 16, 1994; June 30 – July 14, 1994; July 28 – August 11, 1994; August 25 – September 1, 1994; September 1, 2005)
• Mad About You(summer 1993, August 5, 1999)
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air(November 5, 1992)
• South Beach(August 12, 1993)
• First Person with Maria Shriver(August 26, 1993; July 21, 1994)
• seaQuest DSV(December 30, 1993)
• Sweet Justice(September 15, 1994)
• Prince Street(March 6, 1997)
• NewsRadio(August 3, 1995, June 1997)
• Men Behaving Badly(summer 1997: June 12, 1997)
• Suddenly Susan(summer 1998)
• 3rd Rock from the Sun(summer 1996, July 9, 1998, summer 1999, summer 2000)
• Working(August 20, 1998)
• Frasier(August 27, 1998, September 3, 1998)
• Just Shoot Me!(August 5, 1999, summer 2000)
• Will & Grace(c. spring-summer 2000)
• Las Vegas(July 8, 2004)
• Medical Investigation(September 9, 2004)
• Medium(January 6, 2005)

Specials that the network has aired on Thursdays to take advantage of the audience on that night:

• Michael Nesmith in Television Parts(March 7, 1985)
• Bigshots in America(June 20, 1985)
• Phil Donahue Examines the Human Animal(August 14, 1986)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: 24th Anniversary(September 25, 1986)
• Splitting Image: The 1987 Movie Awards(March 26, 1987)
• The Art of Being Nick(August 27, 1987)
• Act II(September 3, 1987)
• NBC Investigates Bob Hope(September 17, 1987)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: 25th Anniversary(October 1, 1987)
• Late Night with David Letterman: 6th Anniversary Show(February 4, 1988)
• Heart and Soul(July 21, 1988)
• Channel 99(August 4, 1988)
• Stand by for HNN: The Hope News Network(September 8, 1988)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: 26th Anniversary(October 6, 1988)
• Late Night with David Letterman: 7th Anniversary Show(February 2, 1989)
• Jackee(May 11, 1989)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: 27th Anniversary(October 26, 1989)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson:28th Anniversary(September 27, 1990)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: 29th Anniversary(October 3, 1991)
• Bob Hope's Star-Studded Comedy Special of the New Season(September 1991)
• The Funny Women of Television(October 24, 1991)
• Late Night with David Letterman: 10th Anniversary Show(February 6, 1992)
• The Comedy Store's 20th Anniversary(September 24, 1992)
• ASpinal TapReunion(December 31, 1992)
• Hillary: America'sFirst Lady(June 10, 1993)
• TheMichael JordanSpecial(August 5, 1993)
• The Seinfeld Story(November 25, 2004)

Summer programming

Series airing on Thursday night during and after the run of "Must See TV" during the summer months have includedSpy TV,Come to Papa,Last Comic Standing,Hit Me, Baby, One More Time,The Law Firm,WindfallandLove Bites.

Ratings

• Highest Rated Episode in the 1990s: 84.0 million viewers (Cheers:Series Finale– "One for the Road";May 1993; 9:22 p.m.-11:00 p.m. ET)
• Highest Rated Episode in the 2000s: 52.5 million viewers (Friends:Series Finale– "The Last One";May 6, 2004; 9:00 p.m.-10:06 p.m. ET)
• Highest Rated Episode of the line-up (Drama): 48.0 million viewers (ER:"Hell and High Water"; November 1995; 9:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. ET)
• Highest Rated Episode of the line-up (Overall) and Peak viewership: 93.5 million viewers (Cheers:Series Finale;May 1993; 9:22 p.m.-11:00 p.m. ET)

Note:Friends's peak viewership in its 2004 series finale reached 80 million viewers as tallied by theNielsen ratings(final 5 minutes).

See also

• Thank God It's Thursday,a primetime Thursday branding on ABC in 2014
• TGIF,a primetime Friday branding on ABC from 1989 to 2005

External links

• NBC.com
• Timeslot Source
• “Must See TV”: The Rise and Fall of NBC’s Thursday Night Schedule
• NBC reveals fall TV schedule: Thursday comedy shakeup
• "Must See TV" creator exits
• How Must See TV Lost Its Way
• A 7 episode British television series of the same name, documenting programmes that 'must be seen'.