The 1993–94 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers the primetime hours from September 1993 through August 1994. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1992–93 season.
PBS is not included; member stations have local flexibility over most of their schedules and broadcasts times for network shows may vary.
Each of the 30 highest-rated shows released in May 1994 is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.[1]
This is the first season in which Fox commenced television broadcasts on every night of the week from the beginning of the season onward.
New series are highlighted in bold.
Repeat airings or same-day rebroadcasts are indicated by (R).
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.
Note: From February 12 to 27, 1994, all of CBS' primetime programming was preempted in favor of coverage of the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.
Legend
- Yellow indicates the programs in the top 10 for the season.
- Cyan indicates the programs in the top 20 for the season.
- Magenta indicates the programs in the top 30 for the season.
Other Legend
- Light blue indicates local programming.
- Gray indicates encore programming.
- Blue-gray indicates news programming.
- Light green indicates sporting events.
- Light Purple indicates movies.
- Red indicates series being burned off and other scheduled programs, including specials.
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 | America's Funniest Home Videos | The New America's Funniest People | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | The ABC Sunday Night Movie (30/12.6) (Tied with Family Matters) | |||||
| CBS | 60 Minutes (1/20.9) | Murder, She Wrote (11/16.0) | CBS Sunday Movie (10/16.2) | ||||||
| Fox | Fall | Townsend Television | Martin | Living Single | Married... with Children | Daddy Dearest | Local programming | ||
| Late fall | Married... with Children (R) | ||||||||
| Winter | Code 3 (R) | The George Carlin Show | |||||||
| Spring | Special programming | ||||||||
| Summer | The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. | ||||||||
| Mid-summer | The Simpsons (R) | ||||||||
| NBC | Fall | I Witness Video | seaQuest DSV | NBC Sunday Night Movie | |||||
| Spring | NBA on NBC | ||||||||
| Summer | Special programming | ||||||||
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 | Day One | ABC's Monday Night Football (8/16.5) | ||||
| Winter | The ABC Monday Night Movie | ||||||
| Summer | Coach (R) | Various programming | |||||
| CBS | Fall | Evening Shade (27/13.2) (Tied with Phenom and Rescue 911) | Dave's World (21/13.7) (Tied with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) | Murphy Brown (9/16.3) | Love & War (13/14.5) | Northern Exposure (14/14.4) | |
| Spring | Dave's World (21/13.7) (Tied with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) | 704 Hauser | Hearts Afire | ||||
| Mid-spring | Evening Shade (27/13.2) (Tied with Phenom and Rescue 911) | Various programming | |||||
| Late spring | Dave's World (R) | The Nanny (R) | Love & War (R) | ||||
| Summer | The Nanny (R) | Dave's World (R) | |||||
| Fox | Fox Night at the Movies | Local programming | |||||
| NBC | Fall | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (21/13.7) (Tied with Dave's World) | Blossom | The NBC Monday Movie (23/13.6) | |||
| Winter | Someone Like Me | ||||||
| Spring | Blossom | ||||||
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 | Full House (16/14.2) | Phenom (27/13.2) (Tied with Evening Shade and Rescue 911) | Roseanne (4/19.1) | Coach (6/17.4) | NYPD Blue (18/13.9) (Tied with Wings) | |
| Summer | Sister, Sister | ||||||
| Mid-summer | These Friends of Mine | She TV | |||||
| CBS | Rescue 911 (27/13.2) (Tied with Phenom and Evening Shade) | CBS Tuesday Movie (25/13.3) (Tied with Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) | |||||
| Fox | Fall | Roc | Bakersfield P.D. | America's Most Wanted | Local programming | ||
| Winter | Monty | Roc | Front Page | ||||
| Spring | South Central | ||||||
| Mid-spring | Tales from the Crypt (R) | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | Saved by the Bell: The College Years | Getting By | The John Larroquette Show | The Second Half | Dateline NBC | |
| Winter | The Good Life | Café Americain | |||||
| Late winter | The Good Life | The Second Half | The John Larroquette Show (R) | The John Larroquette Show | |||
| Spring | Special programming | ||||||
| Summer | TV Nation | The John Larroquette Show (R) | Wings (R) | ||||
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 | Thea | Joe's Life | Home Improvement (2/20.4) | Grace Under Fire (5/17.7) | Moon Over Miami | |
| Late fall | George | Special programming | |||||
| Winter | Birdland | ||||||
| Mid-winter | The Critic | ||||||
| Late winter | Home Improvement (R) | Thunder Alley (12/15.9) | These Friends of Mine | Turning Point (20/13.8) | |||
| Spring | Dinosaurs | The Critic | Grace Under Fire (R) | ||||
| Summer | Thunder Alley (R) | Phenom (R) | |||||
| CBS | Fall | MLB on CBS | |||||
| Mid-fall | Hearts Afire | The Nanny | Special programming | 48 Hours | |||
| Winter | The Nanny | Hearts Afire | In the Heat of the Night | ||||
| Late winter | Tom | ||||||
| Spring | Good Advice | America Tonight | |||||
| Summer | Muddling Through (R) | ||||||
| Fox | Fall | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Melrose Place | Local programming | |||
| Summer | Models Inc. | ||||||
| NBC | Unsolved Mysteries | Now with Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric | Law & Order | ||||
Note: After airing only a single episode of South of Sunset on October 27, CBS cancelled the show and broadcast no further 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 | Missing Persons | Matlock | Primetime Live (17/14.0) | |||
| Winter | The Byrds of Paradise | ||||||
| Summer | Matlock (R) | ||||||
| Mid-summer | Matlock (R) | The Commish | |||||
| CBS | Fall | In the Heat of the Night | Eye to Eye with Connie Chung | Angel Falls | |||
| Mid-fall | Various programming | ||||||
| Late fall | Second Chances | ||||||
| Winter | How'd They Do That? | ||||||
| Spring | Christy | Traps | |||||
| Mid-spring | Special programming | Eye to Eye with Connie Chung | |||||
| Late spring | How'd They Do That? | Eye to Eye with Connie Chung | Picket Fences (R) | ||||
| Summer | In the Heat of the Night (R) | ||||||
| Mid-summer | One West Waikiki | Hotel Malibu | |||||
| Fox | Fall | The Simpsons | The Sinbad Show | In Living Color | Herman's Head | Local programming | |
| Spring | The Simpsons (R) | Various programming | |||||
| Late spring | The Sinbad Show (R) | Herman's Head (R) | |||||
| Summer | Bakersfield P.D. | ||||||
| Mid-summer | Martin (R) | Living Single (R) | |||||
| NBC | Fall | Mad About You | Wings (18/13.9) (Tied with NYPD Blue) | Seinfeld (3/19.4) | Frasier (7/16.8) | L.A. Law | |
| Winter | Homicide: Life on the Street (24/13.5) | ||||||
| Mid-winter | L.A. Law | ||||||
| Spring | Law & Order (R) | ||||||
| Summer | Dateline NBC | ||||||
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 | Family Matters (30/12.6) (Tied with The ABC Sunday Night Movie) | Boy Meets World | Step by Step | Hangin' with Mr. Cooper | 20/20 (15/14.3) | |
| Spring | Sister, Sister | ||||||
| Mid-spring | Hangin' with Mr. Cooper | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | It Had to Be You | Family Album | Various programming | |||
| Mid-fall | Diagnosis: Murder | Bob | Family Album | Picket Fences | |||
| Late fall | Special programming | ||||||
| Winter | Burke's Law | ||||||
| Fox | Fall | The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. | The X-Files | Local programming | |||
| Summer | Encounters: The Hidden Truth | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | Against the Grain | NBC Friday Night Mystery | ||||
| Mid-fall | Special programming | ||||||
| Winter | Viper | ||||||
| Spring | Special programming | ||||||
| Summer | I Witness Video | ||||||
Note: On CBS, Good Advice was to have returned on this night at 9 p.m., followed by Bob at 9:30 p.m. Late changes resulted in Bob beginning at 9 p.m., Family Album moving to 9:30 p.m. in mid-October, It Had to Be You being canceled at the same time, and Good Advice not returning till the following May. Additionally, Diagnosis: Murder premiered in late October to fill the 8–9 p.m. hour.
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 | The ABC Saturday Night Movie | The Commish | ||||
| Mid-fall | George | Where I Live | The Paula Poundstone Show | ||||
| Follow Up | Various programming | ||||||
| Late fall | The ABC Saturday Night Movie | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | MLB on CBS | |||||
| Mid-fall | Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (25/13.3) (Tied with The CBS Tuesday Movie) | Harts of the West | Walker, Texas Ranger | ||||
| Winter | The Road Home | ||||||
| Spring | Various programming | ||||||
| Late spring | Harts of the West | ||||||
| Summer | Muddling Through | Hearts Afire | |||||
| Fox | Fall | COPS | COPS (R) | Front Page | Local programming | ||
| Winter | America's Most Wanted | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | The Mommies | Café Americain | Empty Nest | Nurses | Sisters | |
| Winter | Getting By | ||||||
| Late winter | Blossom | The Mommies | Winnetka Road | ||||
| Spring | Sisters | ||||||
| Late spring | The Mommies (R) | Getting By | |||||
| Summer | NBC Saturday Night Movie | ||||||
| Mid-summer | The Mommies (R) | Empty Nest (R) | NBC Saturday Night Movie | ||||
Note: NBC was scheduled to show its portion of Baseball Night in America in August and September 1994, but those games were cancelled by the Major League Baseball players' strike.
By network
ABC
CBS
Fox
NBC
Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.