# Successful weekend series... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-weekend-series/615583 "2012-03-12T20:12:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-weekend-series/615583/1 "2012-03-12T20:12:10Z")
Besides _Perry Mason_, _MTM_, and _The Golden Girls_ on Saturdays, and _Trapper John, M.D._, _Murder, She Wrote_, and _Hardcastle and McCormick_ on Sundays, what other series do you know of that have been successful on weekends? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-weekend-series/615583/2 "2012-03-12T20:20:23Z")
In addition to _Mary Tyler Moore_, I’d add the other shows CBS ran on Saturday evenings in the 1970s – _The Bob Newhart Show_, and _The Carol Burnett Show_. _60 Minutes_. _The Simpsons_. ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-weekend-series/615583/3 "2012-03-12T20:41:53Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > In addition to _Mary Tyler Moore_, I’d add the other shows CBS ran on Saturday evenings in the 1970s – _The Bob Newhart Show_, and _The Carol Burnett Show_. > _60 Minutes_. > _The Simpsons_. Good catches! Forgot about them. ---
**Author:** ![drillrod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@drillrod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drillrod)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-weekend-series/615583/4 "2012-03-14T00:33:20Z")
Many of the cable network series are broadcast on Sundays: The Sopranos, Dexter, Game of Thrones, True Blood, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-weekend-series/615583/5 "2012-03-14T00:35:35Z")
Cops and America’s Most Wanted does (did) pretty good on Saturday nights. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-weekend-series/615583/6 "2012-03-14T01:37:14Z")
> [@bmasters1](#): > > Besides _Perry Mason_, _MTM_, and _The Golden Girls_ on Saturdays, and _Trapper John, M.D._, _Murder, She Wrote_, and _Hardcastle and McCormick_ on Sundays, what other series do you know of that have been successful on weekends? Some of the most successful shows of all time were on Sunday, like “The Wonderful World of Disney” “The FBI,” and “60 Minutes” “NBC Mystery Movies” Saturday used to get popular shows like “Gunsmoke” “The Love Boat” “Fantasy Island” “All in the Family” , “Mary Tyler Moore Show” etc. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-weekend-series/615583/7 "2012-03-14T01:58:23Z")
_Saturday Night Live._ In 1975 NBC was showing reruns of _Tonight_. No one thought the time slot was worth anything, so the network decided to give Lorne Michaels a chance with what he pitched as an extremely cheap-to-produce way of finding and developing new talent. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-weekend-series/615583/8 "2012-03-14T03:37:41Z")
Fantasy Island and The Love Boat did well on Saturday Nights. Dukes of Hazzard was on that night as well. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-weekend-series/615583/9 "2012-03-14T04:24:46Z")
> [@drillrod](#): > > Many of the cable network series are broadcast on Sundays: The Sopranos, Dexter, Game of Thrones, True Blood, etc. You left out **Mad-Men** (just 11 more days people :)). ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-weekend-series/615583/10 "2012-03-14T05:23:50Z")
As someone mentioned, _The Simpsons_. The show premiered in its Sunday 8pm time slot but once it was a mega-hit (which was pretty much immediately) the then still new FOX Network moved it to Thursdays at 8pm to directly compete with NBC’s _The Cosby Show_. When Cosby ended its run they moved it back to Sundays where it has remained. Having \*The Simpsons \*on Sunday nights has sort of kept it Fox’s ‘animation show’ night ever since. Even before the current Seth McFarland block of shows, starting with _King of The Hill_ in '97 then _Futurama_ in '99 most all of Fox’s successful animated shows (as well as some of their unsuccessful ones) have been been anchored to Sunday night’s _The Simpsons_ (a big reason _Futurama_ ultimately failed for them was it was on at 7:30 Sunday and was constantly preempted by football). ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-weekend-series/615583/11 "2012-03-14T14:13:57Z")
Alias is one of the only shows I’ve watched that aired on the weekend(Sunday). It wasn’t hugely popular, but did last 5 seasons. It may have switched days, eventually, though. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/successful-weekend-series/615583/12 "2012-03-14T14:32:04Z")
Desperate Housewives. There will be a big hole in my Sunday nights soon…:(… Brothers and Sisters? that used to be on Sunday nights, but was it successful?