The 1985–86 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers primetime hours from September 1985 through August 1986. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1984–85 season.

PBS is not included; member stations have local flexibility over most of their schedules and broadcast times for network shows may vary.

Each of the 30 highest-rated shows released in May 1986 is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research. Most of the ratings come from AmericanRadioHistory.com's PDF archive. This was the first television season wherein the Nielsen people meter technology was used for the nationwide audience measurement system, largely replacing the diaries system in place from the 1950-1951 television season.

Legend

Schedule

  • 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" |Ripley's Believe It or Not!

| colspan="2" |MacGyver

| colspan="4" rowspan="2" style="background:#FA8072;" |The ABC Sunday Night Movie

|-

! Winter

| colspan="4" style="background:#FA8072;" |The Disney Sunday Movie

|-

! rowspan="2" |CBS

! Fall

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

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

| colspan="2" |Crazy Like a Fox

| colspan="2" |Trapper John, M.D.

|-

! Winter

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

|-

! rowspan="4" |NBC

! Fall

|Punky Brewster

|Silver Spoons

| rowspan="2" |Amazing Stories

| rowspan="2" |Alfred Hitchcock Presents

| colspan="4" rowspan="2" style="background:#FA8072;" |

|-

! Spring

| rowspan="3" |Silver Spoons

| Fathers and Sons

|-

! Late spring

| rowspan="2" |Punky Brewster

| colspan="6" style="background:#C0C0C0;" |

|-

! August

| colspan="2" style="background:#FA8072;" |Dalton's Code of Vengeance

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

|}

=== 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="4" |ABC

! Fall

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

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

|-

! Winter

| colspan="4" rowspan="2" style="background:#FA8072;" |ABC Monday Night Movie

|-

! June

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

|-

! Mid-summer

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

|-

! colspan="2" |CBS

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

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

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

| colspan="2" |Cagney & Lacey

|-

! rowspan="4" |NBC

! Fall

| colspan="2" |TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes

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

|-

! Winter

| style="background:#00FFFF;" |You Again?

| style="background:#FF66FF;" |Valerie

|-

! Spring

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

| style="background:#00FFFF;" |You Again?

|-

! Late spring

|Amazing Stories

|}

=== 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="6"|ABC

! Fall

| style="background:#FFFF00;" rowspan="6"|Who's the Boss?

| style="background:#00FFFF;" rowspan="2"|Growing Pains

| style="background:#FF66FF;" rowspan="6" colspan="2"|Moonlighting

| colspan="2"|Our Family Honor

|-

! Mid-fall

| rowspan="5" colspan="2"|Spenser: For Hire

|-

! Spring

| Perfect Strangers

|-

! Mid-spring

| style="background:#00FFFF;" |Growing Pains

|-

! Summer

| Perfect Strangers

|-

! Mid-summer

| style="background:#00FFFF;" |Growing Pains

|-

! rowspan="8"|CBS

! Fall

| colspan="2"|Hometown

| rowspan="3" colspan="4" style="background:#FA8072;"|CBS Tuesday Night Movie

|-

! Mid-fall

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

|-

! Late fall

| colspan="2"|Stir Crazy

|-

! Mid-winter

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

| colspan="2"|Trapper John, M.D.

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

|-

! Late winter

| colspan="2"|Trapper John, M.D.

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

|-

! Spring

| rowspan="2" colspan="2"|Morningstar/Eveningstar

| Mary

| Foley Square

| rowspan="3" colspan="2"|The Equalizer

|-

! Mid-spring

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

|-

! Summer

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

| style="background:#C0C0C0;" colspan="2" |Magnum, P.I.

|-

! rowspan="5"|NBC

! Fall

| style="background:#FF66FF;" rowspan="4" colspan="2"|The A-Team

| colspan="2" rowspan="2"|Riptide

| colspan="2" rowspan="2"|Remington Steele

|-

! Winter

|-

! Spring

| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |Hunter

| colspan="2"|Stingray

|-

! Summer

| style="background:#6699CC;" rowspan="2" colspan="2"|1986

|-

! Late summer

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

|}

Notes:

  • The premiere episode of Melba and a new episode of Charlie & Co. aired at 8 and 8:30 p.m. respectively on January 28, 1986 (the day of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster), but both shows were put on hiatus immediately afterwards. The former was burned off during the summer and the latter resumed airing in a different slot during the spring.
  • Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer consisted on repeats of the 1983–84 series.
  • 1986 aired as a "preview" series in advance of the 1986–87 season.

=== 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="4"|ABC

! Fall

| colspan="2"|The Insiders

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

| style="background:#FF66FF;" rowspan="4" colspan="2"|Hotel

|-

! Winter

| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |MacGyver

|-

! Summer

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

|-

! Mid-summer

| style="background:#C0C0C0;"| Perfect Strangers

| style="background:#C0C0C0;"| Mr. Sunshine

| colspan="2" |MacGyver

|-

! rowspan="7"|CBS

! Fall

| colspan="2"|Stir Crazy

| rowspan="3"|Charlie & Co.

| rowspan="3"|George Burns Comedy Week

| rowspan="4" colspan="2"|The Equalizer

|-

! Mid-fall

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

|-

! Late fall

| rowspan="2"|Mary

| rowspan="2"|Foley Square

|-

! Winter

| colspan="2"|Crazy Like a Fox

|-

! Spring

| Fast Times

| Tough Cookies

| colspan="4" rowspan="2" style="background:#FA8072;"|CBS Wednesday Night Movie

|-

! Mid-spring

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

|-

! Summer

| Foley Square

| Charlie & Co.

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

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

|-

! rowspan="3"|NBC

! Fall

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

| colspan="2"|Hell Town

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

|-

! Winter

| colspan="2" |Blacke's Magic

|-

! Summer

| style="background:#C0C0C0;"| Gimme a Break!

| style="background:#C0C0C0;"| You Again?

|}

=== 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="4"|ABC

! Fall

| colspan="2"|The Fall Guy

| colspan="2"|Lady Blue

| rowspan="4" colspan="2" style="background:#6699CC;"|20/20

|-

! Mid-fall

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

|-

! Late fall

| colspan="2"|Shadow Chasers

| colspan="2" rowspan="2"|The Colbys

|-

! Winter

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

|-

! rowspan="6"|CBS

! Fall

| colspan="2" rowspan="2"|Magnum, P.I.

| style="background:#FF66FF;" colspan="2" rowspan="2"|Simon & Simon

| colspan="2" rowspan="4" style="background:#00FFFF;"|Knots Landing

|-

! Winter

|-

! Spring

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

| colspan="2"|Bridges to Cross

|-

! Summer

| style="background:#C0C0C0;" colspan="2" rowspan="2" |Crazy Like a Fox

| style="background:#C0C0C0;" colspan="2"|Trapper John, M.D.

|-

! Mid-summer

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

|-

! Late summer

| colspan="2" style="background:#FA8072;"|Price is Right Special

| style="background:#C0C0C0;" colspan="2"|Crazy Like a Fox

| colspan="2" style="background:#FA8072;"| Trapper John, M.D.

|-

! rowspan="5"|NBC

! Fall

| style="background:lime;" rowspan="5" |The Cosby Show

| style="background:#FFFF00;" rowspan="5" |Family Ties

| style="background:#FFFF00;" rowspan="5" |Cheers

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

| rowspan="5" colspan="2"|Hill Street Blues

|-

! Late winter

|All Is Forgiven

|-

! Spring

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

|-

! Summer

| style="background:#FA8072;"|All Is Forgiven

|-

! Mid-summer

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

|}

=== 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="7"|ABC

! Fall

| rowspan="7"|Webster

| rowspan="7"|Mr. Belvedere

| rowspan="3"|Diff'rent Strokes

| rowspan="2"|Benson

| colspan="2"|Spenser: For Hire

|-

! Mid-fall

| colspan="2"|Our Family Honor

|-

! Winter

| He's the Mayor

| rowspan="2" colspan="2"|The Fall Guy

|-

! Spring

| Mr. Sunshine

| Joe Bash

|-

! Mid-spring

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

|-

! Summer

| Mr. Sunshine

| style="background:#C0C0C0;"|

| style="background:#C0C0C0;" colspan="2" |The Love Boat

|-

! Late summer

| style="background:#C0C0C0;" colspan="4"|

|-

! rowspan="4"|CBS

! Fall

| colspan="2" rowspan="2"|The Twilight Zone

| style="background:#FFFF00;" colspan="2" rowspan="3"|Dallas

| style="background:#FF66FF;" colspan="2" rowspan="3"|Falcon Crest

|-

! Winter

|-

! Spring

| Charlie & Co.

| Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills

|-

! Summer

| colspan="2"|The Twilight Zone

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

|-

! rowspan="7"|NBC

! Fall

| colspan="2"|Knight Rider

| colspan="2"|Misfits of Science

| style="background:#FFFF00;" rowspan="5" colspan="2"|Miami Vice

|-

! Winter

| colspan="2"|Misfits of Science

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

|-

! Late winter

| rowspan="2" colspan="2"|Riptide

|-

! Spring

| rowspan="2" colspan="2"|The Last Precinct

|-

! Mid-spring

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

|-

! Summer

| style="background:#FFFF00;" colspan="2" rowspan="2"|Miami Vice

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

|-

! Late summer

| style="background:#C0C0C0;" colspan="2"|The A-Team

| colspan="2"|Riptide

|}

Note:

  • Diff'rent Strokes aired a one-hour season premiere on September 27 at 9:00pm.

=== 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.

|-

! rowspan="6"|ABC

! Fall

| colspan="2"|Hollywood Beat

| colspan="2"|Lime Street

| rowspan="5" colspan="2"|The Love Boat

|-

! Mid-fall

| colspan="2"|The Fall Guy

| colspan="2"|Lady Blue

|-

! Winter

| rowspan="2"|The Redd Foxx Show

| rowspan="4"|Benson

| colspan="2"|Fortune Dane

|-

! Spring

| style="background:#C0C0C0;" rowspan="2" colspan="2"|The Love Boat

|-

! Mid-spring

|Mr. Sunshine

|-

! Summer

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

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

|-

! rowspan="5"|CBS

! Fall

| colspan="2"|Airwolf

| rowspan="2" colspan="4" style="background:#FA8072;"|CBS Saturday Night Movie

|-

! Spring

| rowspan="2" colspan="2"|Crazy Like a Fox

|-

! Mid-spring

| colspan="2"|Airwolf

| colspan="2"|Magnum, P.I.

|-

! Summer

| colspan="6" style="background:#C0C0C0;"|

|-

! August

| style="background:#FA8072;"|Melba

| colspan="5" style="background:#FA8072;"|CBS Saturday Night Movie

|-

! rowspan="5" |NBC

! Fall

| rowspan="3" |Gimme a Break!

| rowspan="3" style="background:#FF66FF;" |The Facts of Life

| rowspan="5" style="background:#FFFF00;" |The Golden Girls

| style="background:#00FFFF;" |227

| colspan="2" | Hunter

|-

! Spring

|All Is Forgiven

| colspan="2" rowspan="3"|Remington Steele

|-

! Mid-spring

| style="background:#00FFFF;" |227

|-

! Summer

| style="background:#FF66FF;" rowspan="3"|The Facts of Life

| style="background:#00FFFF;" rowspan="3"|227

| Me & Mrs. C

|-

! Late summer

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

|}

Notes:

  • Due to the death of Samantha Smith and her father in a plane crash, ABC ceased production on Lime Street and was forced to move Lady Blue into its slot.
  • The Love Boat had a number of 2-hour episodes throughout the season, airing from 9 to 11 p.m. Assorted repeats from previous seasons aired on the 9 p.m. slot during the spring.

By network

ABC

Returning series

  • 20/20
  • The ABC Friday Night Movie
  • ABC Monday Night Movie
  • The ABC Sunday Night Movie
  • The ABC Thursday Night Movie
  • Benson
  • Diff'rent Strokes (moved from NBC)
  • Dynasty
  • The Fall Guy
  • Hardcastle and McCormick
  • Hotel
  • Life's Most Embarrassing Moments
  • The Love Boat
  • Mr. Belvedere
  • Monday Night Baseball
  • Monday Night Football
  • Moonlighting
  • Ripley's Believe It or Not!
  • Webster
  • Who's the Boss?

New series

  • The Colbys *
  • The Disney Sunday Movie *
  • Fortune Dane *
  • Growing Pains
  • He's the Mayor *
  • Hollywood Beat
  • The Insiders
  • Joe Bash *
  • Lady Blue
  • Lime Street
  • MacGyver
  • Mr. Sunshine *
  • Our Family Honor
  • Perfect Strangers *
  • The Redd Foxx Show *
  • Shadow Chasers *
  • Spenser: For Hire

Not returning from 1984–85:

  • Call to Glory
  • Eye to Eye
  • Finder of Lost Loves
  • Foul-Ups, Bleeps & Blunders
  • Glitter
  • Hawaiian Heat
  • Jessie
  • MacGruder and Loud
  • Matt Houston
  • Me and Mom
  • Off the Rack
  • Paper Dolls
  • People Do the Craziest Things
  • Rock 'n' Roll Summer Action
  • Street Hawk
  • T. J. Hooker @
  • Three's a Crowd
  • Wildside

CBS

Returning series

  • 60 Minutes
  • Airwolf
  • Cagney & Lacey
  • CBS Sunday Movie
  • Crazy Like a Fox
  • Dallas
  • Falcon Crest
  • Kate & Allie
  • Knots Landing
  • Magnum, P.I.
  • Murder, She Wrote
  • Newhart
  • Scarecrow and Mrs. King
  • Simon & Simon
  • Trapper John, M.D.
  • West 57th

New series

  • Bridges to Cross *
  • Charlie & Co.
  • The Equalizer
  • Fast Times *
  • Foley Square *
  • George Burns Comedy Week
  • Hometown
  • Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills *
  • Mary *
  • Melba *
  • Morningstar/Eveningstar *
  • Stir Crazy
  • Tough Cookies *
  • The Twilight Zone

Not returning from 1984–85:

  • AfterMASH
  • Alice
  • Charles in Charge (Moved to Syndication)
  • Cover Up
  • Detective in the House
  • Double Dare
  • Dreams
  • The Dukes of Hazzard
  • E/R
  • I Had Three Wives
  • The Jeffersons
  • The Lucie Arnaz Show
  • Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer +
  • Otherworld

NBC

Returning series

  • The A-Team
  • Cheers
  • The Cosby Show
  • The Facts of Life
  • Family Ties
  • Gimme a Break!
  • Highway to Heaven
  • Hill Street Blues
  • Hunter
  • Knight Rider
  • Miami Vice
  • NBC Sunday Night Movie
  • NBC Monday Night at the Movies
  • Night Court
  • Punky Brewster
  • Remington Steele
  • Riptide
  • St. Elsewhere
  • Silver Spoons
  • TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes

New series

  • 1986 *
  • 227
  • Alfred Hitchcock Presents
  • All Is Forgiven *
  • Amazing Stories
  • Blacke's Magic *
  • Dalton's Code of Vengeance *
  • Fathers and Sons *
  • The Golden Girls
  • Hell Town
  • The Last Precinct *
  • Me & Mrs. C *
  • Misfits of Science
  • Stingray *
  • Valerie *
  • You Again? *

Not returning from 1984–85:

  • Berrenger's
  • The Best Times
  • Code Name: Foxfire
  • Diff'rent Strokes (moved to ABC)
  • Double Trouble
  • Half Nelson
  • Hot Pursuit
  • It's Your Move
  • Motown Revue
  • OceanQuest
  • Our Time
  • Partners in Crime
  • Sara
  • Spencer/Under One Roof
  • V

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

^ Diff'rent Strokes switched networks for the 1985–1986 season.

+ Mike Hammer abruptly ended production after series star Stacy Keach was sentenced to six months in prison for cocaine possession. Production resumed during the 1986–1987 season.

@ T. J. Hooker continued production for CBS' late night schedule for the 1985–1986 season.

See also

  • 1985–86 United States network television schedule (daytime)
  • 1985–86 United States network television schedule (late night)

Notes

References