The 1984–85 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers primetime hours from September 1984 through August 1985. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1983–84 season.

Halfway through the season, NBC began airing some of its prime-time programming in MTS stereo sound. The network had aired The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and some specials in this format since the summer of 1984.

PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, was in operation but the schedule was set by each local station.

Each of the 30 highest-rated shows released in May 1985 is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.

Legend

Schedule

  • The fall schedule runs from September to November 1984, the winter schedule runs from December 1984 to February 1985, the spring schedule runs from March to May 1985 and the summer schedule runs from June to August 1985.
  • New series are highlighted in bold.
  • Repeat airings or same-day rebroadcasts are indicated by .
  • All times are U.S. Eastern and Pacific Time (except for some live sports or events). Subtract one hour for Central, Mountain, Alaska and Hawaii–Aleutian times.

=== Sunday ===<!-- Any show that is added to the schedule needs to have aired in a particular slot consecutively for a minimum of three weeks in the case of fresh episodes and four weeks in the case of encore repeats. Thank you. -->

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;margin-right:0;text-align:center"

|-

! colspan="2" style="width:13%;"|Network

! style="width:10%;"|7:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:10%;"|7:30&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:10%;"|8:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:10%;"|8:30&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:10%;"|9:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:10%;"|9:30&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:10%;"|10:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:10%;"|10:30&nbsp;p.m.

|-

! rowspan="2"|ABC

! Fall

| colspan="2" rowspan="2" | Ripley's Believe It or Not!

| colspan="2" | Hardcastle and McCormick

| style="background:#FA8072;" colspan="4"|

|-

! Late fall

| style="background:#FA8072;" colspan="6" | / Specials / Miniseries

|-

! rowspan="2" | CBS

! Fall

| style="background:#6699CC;" rowspan="2" colspan="2"|

| style="background:#FFFF00;" colspan="2" rowspan="2"|Murder, She Wrote

| The Jeffersons

| Alice

| style="background:#FF66FF;" colspan="2" rowspan="2"|Trapper John, M.D.

|-

! Winter

| style="background:#FFFF00;" colspan="2"|Crazy Like a Fox

|-

! rowspan="4" |NBC

! Fall

| Silver Spoons

| Punky Brewster

|rowspan="2" colspan="2"|Knight Rider

|rowspan="4" style="background:#FA8072;" colspan="4"|NBC Sunday Night at the Movies

|-

! Winter

|rowspan="3"| Punky Brewster

| Silver Spoons

|-

! Summer

|colspan="3" style="background:#C0C0C0"|

|-

! Late summer

|style="background:#C0C0C0"|

|colspan="2" |OceanQuest

|}

=== Monday ===<!-- Any show that is added to the schedule needs to have aired in a particular slot consecutively for a minimum of three weeks in the case of fresh episodes and four weeks in the case of encore repeats. Thank you. -->

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;margin-right:0;text-align:center"

|-

! colspan="2" style="width:13%;"|Network

! style="width:15%;"|8:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|8:30&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|9:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|9:30&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:12.5%;"|10:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:12.5%;"|10:30&nbsp;p.m.

|-

! rowspan="5"|ABC

! Fall

| colspan="2"|Call to Glory

| style="background:lightgreen;" colspan="4" rowspan="2"|

|-

! Late fall

| colspan="2" rowspan="2"|Hardcastle and McCormick

|-

! Winter

| style="background:#FA8072;" colspan="4"|The ABC Monday Night Movie

|-

! Summer

| style="background:lightgreen;" colspan="6"|Monday Night Baseball

|-

! Late summer

| colspan="2" style="background:#C0C0C0" |Hardcastle and McCormick

| style="background:#FA8072;" colspan="4" |The ABC Monday Night Movie

|-

! colspan="2"|CBS

| style="background:#FF66FF;" colspan="2"|Scarecrow and Mrs. King

| style="background:#00FFFF;"|Kate & Allie

| style="background:#00FFFF;"|Newhart

| style="background:#FF66FF;" colspan="2"|Cagney & Lacey

|-

! colspan="2"|NBC

| style="background:#FF66FF;" colspan="2"|TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes

| style="background:#FA8072;" colspan="4"|

|}

Note:

  • On ABC, Street Hawk was supposed to air 8:00-9:00&nbsp;p.m., but production problems delayed the series' premiere.

=== Tuesday ===<!-- Any show that is added to the schedule needs to have aired in a particular slot consecutively for a minimum of three weeks in the case of fresh episodes and four weeks in the case of encore repeats. Thank you. -->

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;margin-right:0;text-align:center"

|-

! colspan="2" style="width:13%;"|Network

! style="width:15%;"|8:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|8:30&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|9:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|9:30&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:12.5%;"|10:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:12.5%;"|10:30&nbsp;p.m.

|-

! rowspan="7"|ABC

! Fall

| Foul-Ups, Bleeps & Blunders

| Three's a Crowd

| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |Paper Dolls

| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |Jessie

|-

! Mid-fall

| rowspan="5"|Three's a Crowd

| rowspan="4"|Who's the Boss?

|-

! Late fall

| colspan="2"|Glitter

| colspan="2"|Paper Dolls

|-

! Winter

| colspan="2" rowspan="2"|MacGruder and Loud

| colspan="2"|Call to Glory

|-

! Late winter

| colspan="2" |Moonlighting

|-

! Spring

| Foul-Ups, Bleeps & Blunders

|Who's the Boss?

| Hail to the Chief

| colspan="2" rowspan="2"|MacGruder and Loud

|-

! Summer

| style="background:#C0C0C0"|Who's the Boss?

| style="background:#C0C0C0"|Three's a Crowd

| colspan="2" style="background:#C0C0C0"|Moonlighting

|-

! rowspan="8"|CBS

! Fall

| AfterMASH

| E/R

| style="background:#FA8072;" colspan="4" rowspan="7"| The CBS Tuesday Night Movie

|-

! Mid-fall

| style="background:#FA8072;" colspan="2" |

|-

! Winter

| The Jeffersons

| Alice

|-

! Spring

| The Lucie Arnaz Show

| The Jeffersons

|-

! Mid-spring

| style="background:#FA8072;" colspan="2" |

|-

! Summer

| style="background:#FA8072;" | The Lucie Arnaz Show

| style="background:#FA8072;" | The Jeffersons

|-

! Mid-summer

| style="background:#C0C0C0;"| The Jeffersons

| style="background:#C0C0C0;"|Alice

|-

! Late summer

| style="background:#FA8072;" colspan="4"| The CBS Tuesday Night Movie

| colspan="2" style="background:#6699CC;"|West 57th

|-

! colspan="2"|NBC

| style="background:#FFFF00;" colspan="2"|The A-Team

| style="background:#00FFFF;" colspan="2"|Riptide

| style="background:#FF66FF;" colspan="2"|Remington Steele

|}

=== Wednesday ===<!-- Any show that is added to the schedule needs to have aired in a particular slot consecutively for a minimum of three weeks in the case of fresh episodes and four weeks in the case of encore repeats. Thank you. -->

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;margin-right:0;text-align:center"

|-

! colspan="2" style="width:13%;"|Network

! style="width:15%;"|8:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|8:30&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|9:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|9:30&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:12.5%;"|10:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:12.5%;"|10:30&nbsp;p.m.

|-

! rowspan="2"|ABC

! Fall

| style="background:#FF66FF;" colspan="2" |The Fall Guy

| style="background:lime;" colspan="2" rowspan="2"|Dynasty

| style="background:#00FFFF;" colspan="2" rowspan="2"|Hotel

|-

! Summer

| colspan="2"|Rock 'n' Roll Summer Action

|-

! rowspan="5"|CBS

! Fall

| rowspan="2"|Charles in Charge

| Dreams

| colspan="4" rowspan="5" style="background:#FA8072;"|The CBS Wednesday Night Movie

|-

! Mid-fall

| E/R

|-

! Spring

| colspan="2"|Double Dare

|-

! Summer

|style="background:#C0C0C0"|Charles in Charge

|style="background:#C0C0C0"|E/R

|-

! Mid-summer

| colspan="2"|I Had Three Wives

|-

! rowspan="3"|NBC

! Fall

| style="background:#00FFFF;" colspan="2" rowspan="3"|Highway to Heaven

| rowspan="3" |The Facts of Life

| It's Your Move

| colspan="2" rowspan="3"|St. Elsewhere

|-

! Mid-winter

| Sara

|-

! Summer

| style="background:#C0C0C0;"|Double Trouble

|}

=== Thursday ===<!-- Any show that is added to the schedule needs to have aired in a particular slot consecutively for a minimum of three weeks in the case of fresh episodes and four weeks in the case of encore repeats. Thank you. -->

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;margin-right:0;text-align:center"

|-

! colspan="2" style="width:13%;"|Network

! style="width:15%;"|8:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|8:30&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|9:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|9:30&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:12.5%;"|10:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:12.5%;"|10:30&nbsp;p.m.

|-

! rowspan="5"|ABC

! Fall

| People Do the Craziest Things

| Who's the Boss?

| colspan="2" |Glitter

| colspan="2" rowspan="5" style="background:#6699CC;"|20/20

|-

! Mid-fall

| colspan="4" style="background:#FA8072;"|The ABC Thursday Night Movie

|-

! Spring

| colspan="2"|Wildside

| colspan="2"|Eye to Eye

|-

! Mid-spring

| colspan="2" | Street Hawk

| colspan="2" style="background:#C0C0C0;"|

|-

! Summer

| colspan="4" style="background:#FA8072;"|The ABC Thursday Night Movie

|-

! colspan="2"|CBS

| colspan="2" style="background:#00FFFF;"|Magnum, P.I.

| colspan="2" style="background:#FFFF00;"|Simon & Simon

| colspan="2" style="background:#FFFF00;"|Knots Landing

|-

! colspan="2" | NBC

| style="background:#FFFF00;"| The Cosby Show

| style="background:#FFFF00;"| Family Ties

| style="background:#00FFFF;"| Cheers

| style="background:#00FFFF;"| Night Court

| colspan="2" style="background:#FF66FF;"| Hill Street Blues

|}

=== Friday ===<!-- Any show that is added to the schedule needs to have aired in a particular slot consecutively for a minimum of three weeks in the case of fresh episodes and four weeks in the case of encore repeats. Thank you. -->

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;margin-right:0;text-align:center"

|-

! colspan="2" style="width:13%;"|Network

! style="width:15%;"|8:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|8:30&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|9:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|9:30&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:12.5%;"|10:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:12.5%;"|10:30&nbsp;p.m.

|-

! rowspan="6"|ABC

! Fall

| rowspan="2"|Benson

| style="background:#FF66FF;" rowspan="2"|Webster

| colspan="2"|Hawaiian Heat

| colspan="2" rowspan="3"|Matt Houston

|-

! Winter

| colspan="2"|Street Hawk

|-

! Late winter

| style="background:#FF66FF;" rowspan="4"|Webster

| rowspan="2"|Mr. Belvedere

| rowspan="4"|Benson

| rowspan="2"|Off the Rack

|-

! Spring

| colspan="2" |Me and Mom

|-

! Summer

| The Comedy Factory

| People Do the Craziest Things

| colspan="2" |Matt Houston

|-

! Mid-summer

|style="background:#C0C0C0" |Mr. Belvedere

|style="background:#C0C0C0" |Off the Rack

| colspan="2" style="background:#C0C0C0;"|

|-

! rowspan="4"|CBS

! Fall

| colspan="2"|The Dukes of Hazzard

| style="background:#FFFF00;" colspan="2" rowspan="4"|Dallas

| style="background:#FFFF00;" colspan="2" rowspan="4"|Falcon Crest

|-

! Spring

| colspan="2"|Detective in the House

|-

! May

| colspan="2" rowspan="2" style="background:#C0C0C0;"|The Dukes of Hazzard

|-

! Summer

|-

! rowspan="8"|NBC

! Fall

| colspan="2" rowspan="3" |V

| colspan="2"|Hunter

| colspan="2"|Miami Vice

|-

! Late fall

| colspan="2"|Miami Vice

| colspan="2"|Hot Pursuit

|-

! Winter

| colspan="2"|Hunter

| colspan="2" rowspan="6" |Miami Vice

|-

! Mid-winter

| colspan="2"|Code Name: Foxfire

| colspan="2"|V

|-

! Spring

| colspan="2"|The Best Times

| colspan="2"|Half Nelson

|-

! Summer

| Television Parts

| style="background:#C0C0C0;" | Under One Roof

| style="background:#C0C0C0;" colspan="2"|V

|-

! Mid-summer

| colspan="4" style="background:#FA8072" |NBC Friday Night at the Movies

|-

! Late summer

| style="background:#C0C0C0;" colspan="2"|Knight Rider

| colspan="2"| Motown Revue

|}

=== Saturday ===<!-- Any show that is added to the schedule needs to have aired in a particular slot consecutively for a minimum of three weeks in the case of fresh episodes and four weeks in the case of encore repeats. Thank you. -->

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;margin-right:0;text-align:center"

|-

! colspan="2" style="width:13%;"|Network

! style="width:15%;"|8:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|8:30&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|9:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:15%;"|9:30&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:12.5%;"|10:00&nbsp;p.m.

! style="width:12.5%;"|10:30&nbsp;p.m.

|-

! colspan="2"|ABC

| colspan="2"|T. J. Hooker

| colspan="2"|The Love Boat

| colspan="2"|Finder of Lost Loves

|-

! rowspan="5"|CBS

! Fall

| colspan="2"|Airwolf

| colspan="2"|Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer

| colspan="2" rowspan="3"|Cover Up

|-

! Winter

| colspan="2"|Otherworld

| colspan="2" rowspan="3"|Airwolf

|-

! Spring

| Charles in Charge

| style="background:#C0C0C0;"|E/R

|-

! Mid-spring

| colspan="2"|Cover Up

| colspan="2" style="background:#C0C0C0"|Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer

|-

! Mid-summer

| colspan="2" style="background:#C0C0C0" |Airwolf

| colspan="4" style="background:#FA8072" |CBS Saturday Movie

|-

! rowspan="7"|NBC

! Fall

| rowspan="5"|Diff'rent Strokes

| Gimme a Break!

| colspan="2"|Partners in Crime

| colspan="2"|Hot Pursuit

|-

! Mid-fall

| rowspan="3"|Double Trouble

| rowspan="6"|Gimme a Break!

| Spencer

| colspan="2"|Partners in Crime

|-

! Winter

| It's Your Move

| colspan="2"|Berrenger's

|-

! Spring

| Under One Roof

| colspan="2" |Hunter

|-

! Summer

| rowspan="2" style="background:#C0C0C0" |It's Your Move

| rowspan="2" style="background:#C0C0C0;"|Mama's Family

| colspan=2" rowspan="3" style="background:#C0C0C0"|

|-

! Mid-summer

| Our Time

|-

! Late summer

|style="background:#C0C0C0"|Diff'rent Strokes

| Our Time

| style="background:#C0C0C0;"|

|}

Notes:

  • Spencer was put on hiatus upon the departure of two main cast members (including the lead) and retooled as Under One Roof.
  • Mama's Family consisted of reruns of the series' 1983–84 network run.

By network

ABC

Returning Series

  • 20/20
  • The ABC Monday Night Movie
  • ABC NFL Monday Night Football
  • The ABC Sunday Night Movie
  • Benson
  • Dynasty
  • The Fall Guy
  • Foul-Ups, Bleeps & Blunders
  • Hardcastle and McCormick
  • Hotel
  • Life's Most Embarrassing Moments
  • The Love Boat
  • Matt Houston
  • Monday Night Baseball
  • Monday Night Football
  • Ripley's Believe It or Not!
  • T. J. Hooker
  • Webster

New Series

  • The ABC Thursday Night Movie
  • Call to Glory
  • The Comedy Factory *
  • Eye to Eye *
  • Finder of Lost Loves
  • Glitter
  • Hail to the Chief *
  • Hawaiian Heat
  • Jessie
  • MacGruder and Loud *
  • Me and Mom *
  • Mr. Belvedere *
  • Moonlighting *
  • Off the Rack *
  • Paper Dolls
  • People Do the Craziest Things
  • Rock 'n' Roll Summer Action *
  • Street Hawk *
  • Three's a Crowd
  • Who's the Boss?
  • Wildside *

Not returning from 1983–84:

  • 9 to 5
  • The ABC Wednesday Night Movie
  • a.k.a. Pablo
  • Automan
  • Blue Thunder
  • Fantasy Island
  • Happy Days
  • Hart to Hart
  • It's Not Easy
  • Just Our Luck
  • Lottery!
  • Masquerade
  • Oh Madeline
  • Shaping Up
  • That's Incredible!
  • Three's Company
  • Trauma Center
  • Two Marriages

CBS

Returning Series

  • 60 Minutes
  • Airwolf
  • AfterMASH
  • Alice
  • Cagney & Lacey
  • Dallas
  • The Dukes of Hazzard
  • Falcon Crest
  • The Jeffersons
  • Kate & Allie
  • Knots Landing
  • Magnum, P.I.
  • Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
  • Newhart
  • Scarecrow and Mrs. King
  • Simon & Simon
  • Trapper John, M.D.

New Series

  • Charles in Charge
  • Cover Up
  • Crazy Like a Fox *
  • Detective in the House *
  • Double Dare *
  • Dreams
  • E/R
  • I Had Three Wives *
  • The Lucie Arnaz Show *
  • Murder, She Wrote
  • Otherworld *
  • West 57th *

Not returning from 1983–84:

  • The American Parade
  • Cutter to Houston
  • Domestic Life
  • Double Dare
  • Empire
  • Emerald Point N.A.S.
  • The Four Seasons
  • Maggie Briggs
  • Mama Malone
  • The Mississippi
  • One Day at a Time
  • Whiz Kids

NBC

Returning Series

  • The A-Team
  • Cheers
  • Diff'rent Strokes
  • Double Trouble *
  • The Facts of Life
  • Family Ties
  • Gimme a Break!
  • Hill Street Blues
  • Knight Rider
  • NBC Sunday Night Movie
  • NBC Monday Night at the Movies
  • Night Court
  • Remington Steele
  • Riptide
  • St. Elsewhere
  • Silver Spoons
  • TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes

New Series

  • Berrenger's *
  • The Best Times *
  • Code Name: Foxfire *
  • The Cosby Show
  • Highway to Heaven
  • Half Nelson *
  • Hot Pursuit
  • Hunter
  • It's Your Move
  • Miami Vice
  • Motown Revue
  • OceanQuest
  • Our Time
  • Partners in Crime
  • Punky Brewster
  • Sara *
  • Spencer/Under One Roof *
  • Television Parts
  • V: The Series

Not returning from 1983–84:

  • Bay City Blues
  • Boone
  • Buffalo Bill
  • Comedy Zone
  • The Duck Factory
  • First Camera
  • For Love and Honor
  • Jennifer Slept Here
  • Legmen
  • Mama's Family
  • Manimal
  • The Master
  • Mr. Smith
  • The New Show
  • People Are Funny
  • Real People
  • The Rousters
  • Summer Sunday U.S.A.
  • We Got It Made
  • The Yellow Rose

Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.

See also

  • 1984–85 United States network television schedule (daytime)
  • 1984–85 United States network television schedule (late night)

Notes

References