1986–87 United States network television schedule

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:USTV The 1986–87 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers primetime hours from September 1986 through August 1987. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1985–86 season.

Although Fox debuted as a fourth network effort in October 1986, the network waited until April 1987 to commence offering prime time programming, effectively deferring its first Fall programming season until September 1987.

PBS is not included, as member television stations have local flexibility over most of their schedule and broadcast times for network shows vary.

Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.<ref name="BM2">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. Template:ISBN.</ref>

Schedule

• New series are highlighted in bold.
• All times are U.S. Eastern Time and Pacific Time (except for some live sports or events). Subtract one hour for Central, Mountain, Alaska and Hawaii–Aleutian times.

Sunday

Network		7:00 p.m.	7:30 p.m.	8:00 p.m.	8:30 p.m.	9:00 p.m.	9:30 p.m.	10:00 p.m.	10:30 p.m.
ABC		The Disney Sunday Movie				The ABC Sunday Night Movie
CBS	Fall	Template:Highlight		Murder, She Wrote Template:Small		Template:Highlight
	Winter					Designing Women	Nothing is Easy	Hard Copy
	Spring					Template:Highlight
	Summer
Fox	April	21 Jump Street		Married... with Children	The Tracey Ullman Show	Mr. President	Duet	Template:Small
	Summer				Duet Template:Small
NBC	Fall	Our House		Easy Street	Valerie	Template:Highlight
	Winter
	Spring			Rags to Riches
	Summer	The A-Team Template:Small		Our House
	Mid-summer	Our House		Rags to Riches
	Late summer			Family Ties Template:Small	Family Ties Template:Small

Note:

• The "opening night" of the Fox network on April 5, 1987 featured the premieres of Married... with Children and The Tracey Ullman Show at 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. respectively, both shows being repeated twice. 21 Jump Street debuted on April 12 with two episodes airing back-to-back. Duet aired its first two episodes on April 19. Down and Out in Beverly Hills premiered on April 26, but was put on hiatus and eventually aired during the summer. Its slot was taken over by Mr. President, which premiered on May 3. Fox Night at the Movies aired on an irregular basis at 8 p.m. during the summer.
• Family Ties consisted of assorted repeats of previous seasons, with current reruns airing on the show's regular 8:30 p.m. Thursday night slot.

Monday

Network		8:00 p.m.	8:30 p.m.	9:00 p.m.	9:30 p.m.	10:00 p.m.	10:30 p.m.
ABC	Fall	MacGyver		Template:Highlight
	Winter			The ABC Monday Night Movie
	Spring	Monday Night Baseball
	Summer
CBS	Fall	Kate & Allie Template:Small	My Sister Sam Template:Small	Newhart Template:Small	Designing Women	Cagney & Lacey
	Winter				The Cavanaughs
	Spring				Designing Women
	Summer					Template:SmallTemplate:Efn
NBC	Fall	ALF Template:Small	Amazing Stories	Template:Highlight
	Winter
	Spring		Valerie
	Summer

Tuesday

Network		8:00 p.m.	8:30 p.m.	9:00 p.m.	9:30 p.m.	10:00 p.m.	10:30 p.m.
ABC	Fall	Who's the Boss? Template:Small	Growing Pains Template:Small	Moonlighting Template:Small		Jack and Mike
	Winter
	Spring					Max Headroom
	Summer					Spenser: For Hire Template:Small
CBS	Fall	The Wizard		CBS Tuesday Night Movie
	Winter	Spies
	Spring	West 57th
	Summer	The Wizard
	Mid-summer	Simon & Simon Template:Small		Houston Knights Template:Small		Night HeatTemplate:Efn
NBC	Fall	Matlock Template:Small		Crime Story		1986
	Mid-fall			Hill Street Blues
	Winter					Remington Steele
	Spring			Gimme a Break!	Easy Street	Hill Street Blues
	Mid-spring				The Tortellis
	Summer			NBC Tuesday Night at the Movies

Note:

• Jack and Mike premiered with a 90-minute pilot on September 16 at 9 p.m.

Wednesday

Network		8:00 p.m.	8:30 p.m.	9:00 p.m.	9:30 p.m.	10:00 p.m.	10:30 p.m.
ABC	Fall	Perfect Strangers	Head of the Class Template:Small	Dynasty Template:Small		Hotel
	Winter
	Spring		Harry
	Mid-spring		Head of the Class Template:Small			Mariah
	Summer			MacGyver Template:Small		Hotel
CBS	Fall	Together We Stand	Better Days	Magnum, P.I.		The Equalizer
	Late fall	The New Mike Hammer
	Spring					Houston Knights
	Mid-summer					The Equalizer
NBC	Fall	Highway to Heaven Template:Small		Gimme a Break!	You Again?	St. Elsewhere
	Winter				The Tortellis
	Spring			Night Court Template:Small		The Bronx Zoo
	Mid-spring				Easy Street
	Summer			The Facts of Life Template:Small	Night Court Template:Small	St. Elsewhere
	Mid-summer			Night Court Template:Small	Template:SmallTemplate:Efn
	Late summer			The Bronx Zoo

Note:

• On CBS, Roxie and Take Five premiered on April 1, 1987 at 8 and 8:30 p.m. respectively, but were both cancelled after only two episodes.

Thursday

Network		8:00 p.m.	8:30 p.m.	9:00 p.m.	9:30 p.m.	10:00 p.m.	10:30 p.m.
ABC	Fall	Our World		The Colbys		20/20
	Winter
	Spring			Jack and Mike
	Summer			Heart of the City Template:Small
	Mid-summer	Starman Template:Small		Our World
	Late summer	Sledge Hammer! Template:Small	The Charmings Template:Small
CBS	Fall	Simon & Simon		Knots Landing Template:Small		Kay O'Brien
	Mid-fall	The Twilight Zone	Simon & Simon		Designing Women	Knots Landing Template:Small
	Winter	Shell Game		Simon & Simon
	Mid-winter	The Wizard
	Spring
	Summer	Scarecrow and Mrs. King Template:Small
	Mid-summer			CBS Thursday Night Movie
NBC	Fall	The Cosby Show Template:Small	Family Ties Template:Small	Cheers Template:Small	Night Court Template:Small	Hill Street Blues
	Mid-fall					L.A. Law Template:Small
	Winter
	Spring				Nothing in Common
	Summer				The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
	Late summer				Night Court Template:Small

Note:

• Crime Story premiered with a two-hour pilot on September 18 at 9 p.m.

Friday

Network		8:00 p.m.	8:30 p.m.	9:00 p.m.	9:30 p.m.	10:00 p.m.	10:30 p.m.
ABC	Fall	Webster	Mr. Belvedere	Sidekicks	Sledge Hammer!	Starman
	Late fall			Dads	Gung Ho
	Winter			Gung Ho	Dads
	Mid-winter			The ABC Friday Night Movie
	Late winter	The Charmings	Webster
	Spring
	Summer	Sledge Hammer!	Mr. Belvedere
	Mid-summer	Webster
	Late summer			Max Headroom Template:Small		Starman Template:Small
CBS	Fall	Scarecrow and Mrs. King		Dallas Template:Small		Falcon Crest Template:Small
	Winter
	Spring	Nothing Is EasyTemplate:Efn	The Popcorn Kid
	Summer	CBS Summer Playhouse				Hard Copy
	Mid-summer					AdderlyTemplate:Efn
NBC	Fall	The A-Team		Miami Vice Template:Small		L.A. Law Template:Small
	Mid-fall					Crime Story
	Winter	Stingray
	Spring	Roomies	Amazing Stories			Stingray
	Summer	Stingray				Crime Story
	Late summer	Rags to Riches Template:Small

Saturday

Network		8:00 p.m.	8:30 p.m.	9:00 p.m.	9:30 p.m.	10:00 p.m.	10:30 p.m.
ABC	Fall	Life with Lucy	The Ellen Burstyn Show	Heart of the City		Spenser: For Hire
	Late fall	Sidekicks	Sledge Hammer!
	Winter			Ohara
	Spring	Starman
	Summer	Webster Template:Small	Sidekicks Template:Small	Gung Ho Template:Small	Dads Template:Small	Starman Template:Small
	Mid-summer		The ABC Saturday Night Movie
	Late summer	Animal Crack-Ups	The Ellen Burstyn Show	The ABC Saturday Night Movie
CBS	Fall	Downtown		The New Mike HammerTemplate:Efn		The Twilight Zone
	Mid-fall	The Wizard
	Late fall	Downtown
	Winter	Outlaws		The CBS Saturday Night Movie
	Spring	The CBS Saturday Night Movie				West 57th
Fox	July	Down and Out in Beverly Hills	The New Adventures of Beans Baxter	Werewolf	Karen's Song	Template:Small
	August	Werewolf		Down and Out in Beverly Hills
NBC	Fall	The Facts of Life	227 Template:Small	The Golden Girls Template:Small	Amen Template:Small	Hunter Template:Small
	Winter
	Spring		Sweet Surrender		Me & Mrs. C
	Summer	227 Template:Small	Me & Mrs. C		Amen Template:Small
	Mid-summer	The Facts of Life Template:Small	227 Template:Small

Notes:

• The Fox network added its Saturday night line-up on July 11, 1987 with the two-hour premiere of Werewolf. The New Adventures of Beans Baxter and Karen's Song premiered on July 18 (the former with an hour-long episode), and Down and Out in Beverly Hills joined the line-up on July 25.
• Animal Crack-Ups was a "summer preview" of the Saturday morning series.

By network

ABC

Template:Col-begin Template:Col-3 Returning Series

• 20/20
• The ABC Friday Night Movie
• The ABC Monday Night Movie
• The ABC Saturday Night Movie
• The ABC Sunday Night Movie
• The Colbys
• The Disney Sunday Movie
• Dynasty
• Growing Pains
• Hotel
• MacGyver
• Mr. Belvedere
• Monday Night Baseball
• Monday Night Football
• Moonlighting
• Perfect Strangers
• Spenser: For Hire
• Webster
• Who's the Boss?

Template:Col-3 New Series

• The ABC Saturday Night Movie
• Animal Crack-Ups * +
• The Charmings *
• Dads *
• The Ellen Burstyn Show
• Gung Ho *
• Harry *
• Head of the Class
• Heart of the City
• Jack and Mike
• Life with Lucy
• Mariah
• Max Headroom *
• Ohara *
• Our World
• Sidekicks
• Sledge Hammer!
• Starman

Template:Col-3 Not returning from 1985–86:

• The ABC Thursday Night Movie
• Benson
• Diff'rent Strokes
• The Fall Guy
• Hardcastle and McCormick
• Hollywood Beat
• The Insiders
• Lady Blue
• Life's Most Embarrassing Moments
• Lime Street
• The Love Boat
• Our Family Honor
• The Redd Foxx Show
• Ripley's Believe It or Not!
• Shadow Chasers

+ Animal Crack-Ups had a short run in prime time before moving to Saturday mornings in the fall of 1987.

CBS

Template:Col-begin Template:Col-3 Returning Series

• 60 Minutes
• Cagney & Lacey
• CBS Sunday Movie
• Dallas
• The Equalizer
• Falcon Crest
• Kate & Allie
• Knots Landing
• Magnum, P.I.
• The New Mike Hammer +
• Murder, She Wrote
• Newhart
• Scarecrow and Mrs. King
• Simon & Simon
• The Twilight Zone
• West 57th *

Template:Col-3 New Series

• Better Days
• The Cavanaughs *
• CBS Summer Playhouse *
• Designing Women
• Downtown
• Hard Copy *
• Houston Knights *
• Kay O'Brien
• My Sister Sam
• Outlaws *
• The Popcorn Kid *
• Roxie *
• Shell Game *
• Spies *
• Take Five *
• Together We Stand/Nothing Is Easy
• The Wizard

Template:Col-3 Not returning from 1985–86:

• Airwolf
• Bridges to Cross
• Charlie & Co.
• Crazy Like a Fox
• Fast Times
• Foley Square
• George Burns Comedy Week
• Hometown
• Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills
• Mary
• Melba
• Morningstar/Eveningstar
• Stir Crazy
• Tough Cookies
• Trapper John, M.D.

+ This was a revival of the 1984–1985 series following star Stacy Keach's release from prison on drug charges.

Fox

New Series

• 21 Jump Street
• Down and Out in Beverly Hills
• Duet
• Fox Night at the Movies
• Karen's Song
• Married... with Children
• Mr. President
• The New Adventures of Beans Baxter
• The Tracey Ullman Show
• Werewolf

NBC

Template:Col-begin Template:Col-3 Returning Series

• 1986
• 227
• The A-Team
• Amazing Stories
• Cheers
• The Cosby Show
• The Facts of Life
• Family Ties
• Gimme a Break!
• The Golden Girls
• Highway to Heaven
• Hill Street Blues
• Hunter
• Me & Mrs. C *
• Miami Vice
• NBC Sunday Night Movie
• NBC Monday Night at the Movies
• Night Court
• Remington Steele *
• St. Elsewhere
• Stingray *
• Valerie
• You Again?

Template:Col-3 New Series

• ALF
• Amen
• The Bronx Zoo *
• Crime Story
• The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd *
• Easy Street
• L.A. Law
• Matlock
• Nothing in Common *
• Our House
• Rags to Riches *
• Roomies *
• Sweet Surrender *
• The Tortellis *

Template:Col-3 Not returning from 1985–86:

• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Moved to USA Network)
• All Is Forgiven
• Blacke's Magic
• Fathers and Sons
• Hell Town
• Knight Rider
• The Last Precinct
• Misfits of Science
• Punky Brewster ^
• Riptide
• Silver Spoons ^
• TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes

Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason. An ^ indicates a show that continued in first-run syndication after the network cancelled it.

See also

• 1986–87 United States network television schedule (daytime)
• 1986–87 United States network television schedule (late night)