The 2001–02 network television schedule for the six major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States covers the primetime hours from September 2001 through August 2002. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series canceled after the 2000–01 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 2002 is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.[1]
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.
All sporting events air live in all time zones in U.S. Eastern time, with local and/or late-night programming (including Fox affiliates during the 10 p.m. ET/PT hour) by affiliates after game completion.
From February 8 to 24, 2002, all of NBC's primetime programming was preempted in favor of coverage of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Impact of the September 11 attacks
During the week of September 11, 2001, the major television networks aired continuous news coverage of the September 11 attacks. The news coverage preempted the networks' primetime schedules between September 11 and September 15, with regular programming resuming on September 16. As a result of the preemptions, the programs that were set to begin airing new seasons in mid-September had their premieres delayed until late September and early October. The Amazing Race was the first program to premiere in the 2001–02 season; the show's first season premiered on September 5, but had its second episode postponed from September 12 to September 19 due to the aforementioned news coverage. As a result of the scheduling oddities that were necessitated by the news coverage, the 2001–02 season was the second of four instances where the start of the season was delayed due to issues outside of the control of the major television networks; the other instances were the 1988–89 season (due to the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike) and the 2020–21 season (due to a suspension of television productions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic). The next major disruption to the primetime television schedules of the major television networks would not occur until the 2007–08 season, which was affected by the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, The fourth major disruption to the primetime television schedules of the major television networks was the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, and the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.
The 53rd Primetime Emmy Awards, which were planned for September 16, were initially postponed to October 7, but news coverage of the United States invasion of Afghanistan prompted the awards to be postponed for a second time; the awards would be eventually held on November 4.
Legend
- Light blue indicates local programming.
- Gray indicates encore programming.
- Blue-gray indicates news programming.
- Light green indicates sporting events.
- Red indicates series being burned off and other irregularly scheduled programs, including specials and movies.
- highlight Yellow highlights indicates the top-10 most watched programs of the season.
- highlight Cyan highlights indicates numbers 11-20 most watched programs of the season.
- highlight Magenta highlights indicates numbers 21-30 most watched programs of the season.
- highlight Highlights indicates that it falls in multiple of the above categories.
Sunday
NOTE: Fox aired 2 episodes of The Chamber in mid-January 2002. During the fall, Futurama and King of the Hill were preempted by overruns of NFL games. On The WB, Lost in the USA was supposed to air at 7–8, but it was cancelled due to 9/11 problems.
Monday
Note: On ABC, The Runner was supposed to start when ESPN Monday Night Football concludes, but it was cancelled due to production problems.
Tuesday
Note: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Roswell moved to UPN from The WB this season.
Wednesday
NOTE: When ABC announced their 2001 Fall Schedule, originally the plan was for The Job to air after The Drew Carey Show starting in mid-September and NYPD Blue would air in the 10pm ET timeslot after 20/20 Downtown returned to Friday nights in late December.[2] However, after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, ABC decided to not air The Job until 2002 because the show was set in New York City. In October, when the sitcom Bob Patterson was not doing well in the ratings on Tuesday nights, they moved the show to the Wednesday 9:30pm ET timeslot and put NYPD Blue in the Tuesday 9pm ET timeslot.
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 | Whose Line Is It Anyway? | Whose Line Is It Anyway? (R) | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire | Primetime | ||
| Summer | ABC Big Picture Show | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Survivor (6/11.8) | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2/14.5) | The Agency | |||
| Winter | Various programming | ||||||
| Late winter | Survivor (6/11.8) | ||||||
| Spring | The Price is Right Salutes | ||||||
| Summer | Big Brother | ||||||
| Fox | Fall | Special programming | Local programming | ||||
| Mid-fall | Family Guy | The Tick | Temptation Island | ||||
| Winter | Family Guy (R) | ||||||
| Late winter | King of the Hill (R) | Futurama (R) | |||||
| Spring | Fox Thursday Night Movie | ||||||
| Summer | Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction | The Pulse | |||||
| NBC | Fall | Friends (1/15.0) | Inside Schwartz (16/9.8) (Tied with Judging Amy) | Will & Grace (9/11.0) (Tied with Leap of Faith) | Just Shoot Me! (18/9.3) | ER (3/14.2) | |
| Mid-fall | Various programming | ||||||
| Late fall | Inside Schwartz (16/9.8) (Tied with Judging Amy) | ||||||
| Winter | Will & Grace (R) | ||||||
| Late winter | Leap of Faith (9/11.0) (Tied with Will & Grace) | ||||||
| Spring | Friends (R) | ||||||
| Late spring | Various programming | ||||||
| Summer | Scrubs (R) | ||||||
| Mid-summer | The Rerun Show | ||||||
| Late summer | Various programming | ||||||
| UPN | WWF Thursday Night SmackDown! | Local programming | |||||
| The WB | Fall | Popstars | Charmed | ||||
| Late fall | Popstars | Maybe It's Me (R) | |||||
| Winter | Various programming | ||||||
| Spring | Gilmore Girls (R) | ||||||
| Late spring | The Jamie Kennedy Experiment (R) | ||||||
| Summer | Reba (R) | The Jamie Kennedy Experiment (R) | Off Centre (R) | ||||
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 | The Mole: The Next Betrayal | Thieves | Once and Again | ||||||
| Mid-fall | America's Funniest Home Videos | |||||||||
| Late fall | Various Specials | |||||||||
| Winter | 20/20 | |||||||||
| Spring | Various programming | |||||||||
| Summer | Whose Line Is It Anyway? (R) | |||||||||
| CBS | Fall | The Ellen Show | Various programming | That's Life | 48 Hours | |||||
| Mid-fall | Various programming | The Ellen Show | ||||||||
| Late fall | Special programming | |||||||||
| Winter | JAG (R) | First Monday | ||||||||
| Spring | Various programming | |||||||||
| Late spring | 48 Hours | CBS Friday Night Movie | ||||||||
| Summer | Various programming | |||||||||
| Fox | Fall | Dark Angel | Pasadena | Local programming | ||||||
| Mid-fall | 24 (R) | |||||||||
| Winter | That '70s Show (R) | Various programming | Dark Angel | |||||||
| Spring | Dark Angel (R) | The X-Files (R) | ||||||||
| Summer | Invasion of the Hidden Cameras | |||||||||
| NBC | Fall | Providence (27/7.9) (Tied with Fear Factor and Law & Order: Criminal Intent) | Dateline NBC (25/8.1) (Tied with Baby Bob) | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (12/10.4) | ||||||
| Spring | Dateline Friday (25/8.1) (Tied with Baby Bob) | |||||||||
| Summer | Dateline NBC (25/8.1) (Tied with Baby Bob) | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (R) | ||||||||
| UPN | UPN's Night at the Movies | Local programming | ||||||||
| The WB | Fall | Sabrina the Teenage Witch | Maybe It's Me | Reba | Raising Dad | |||||
| Winter | Raising Dad | Maybe It's Me | ||||||||
| Summer | Sabrina the Teenage Witch (R) | Raising Dad (R) | ||||||||
NOTE: Fox aired The Chamber on January 25, 2002, after two preview airings on past Sunday nights. The show was cancelled after its Friday night airing.
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 | ABC Saturday Night Movie | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Touched by an Angel | Citizen Baines | The District | |||
| Mid-fall | Various programming | ||||||
| Summer | Big Brother | The District (R) | The Agency (R) | ||||
| Fox | COPS | COPS (R) | America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back | Local programming | |||
| NBC | Special programming | NBC Saturday Night Movie | |||||
By network
ABC
CBS
Fox
NBC
UPN
The WB
Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.
Renewals and cancellations
Renewals
ABC
- According to Jim—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Alias—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- The Drew Carey Show—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- George Lopez—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- My Wife and Kids—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- NYPD Blue—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- The Practice—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
CBS
- The Agency—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Baby Bob—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Becker—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- The District—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Everybody Loves Raymond—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- The Guardian—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- JAG—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Judging Amy—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- The King of Queens—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Touched by an Angel—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Yes, Dear—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
Fox
- 24—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Andy Richter Controls the Universe—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- The Bernie Mac Show—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Boston Public—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Futurama—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- King of the Hill—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Malcolm in the Middle—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- The Simpsons—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- That '70s Show—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
NBC
- Crossing Jordan—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Ed—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- ER—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Frasier—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Friends—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Just Shoot Me!—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Law & Order—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Providence—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Scrubs—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Third Watch—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Watching Ellie—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- The West Wing—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Will & Grace—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
UPN
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Girlfriends—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- One on One—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- The Parkers—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Star Trek: Enterprise—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
The WB
- 7th Heaven—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Angel—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Charmed—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Dawson’s Creek—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Gilmore Girls—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Off Centre—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Reba—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Sabrina the Teenage Witch—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
- Smallville—Renewed for the 2002–2003 season.
Cancellations/series endings
ABC
- Bob Patterson—Canceled after one season, due to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
- The Court—Canceled after one season.
- Dharma & Greg—Ended after five seasons.
- The Job—Canceled after two seasons.
- Once and Again—Ended after three seasons.
- Philly—Canceled after one season.
- Spin City—Ended after six seasons.
- Thieves—Canceled after one season.
- Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central)—Canceled after one season.
- What About Joan?—Canceled after two seasons, due to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
CBS
- Citizen Baines—Canceled after one season.
- Danny—Canceled after one season.
- The Education of Max Bickford—Canceled after one season.
- The Ellen Show—Canceled after one season.
- Family Law—Ended after three seasons.
- First Monday—Canceled after one season.
- That's Life—Canceled after two seasons.
- Wolf Lake—Canceled by CBS after 5 episodes. The final 4 episodes aired from April 10, 2002 until May 1, 2002 on UPN.
Fox
- Ally McBeal—Ended after five seasons.
- The American Embassy—Canceled after one season.
- Dark Angel—Canceled after two seasons.
- Family Guy—Returned for the 2004-2005 season.
- Grounded for Life—Moved to The WB on February 28, 2003.
- Pasadena—Canceled after one season.
- That '80s Show—Canceled after one season.
- The Tick—Canceled after one season.
- Titus—Canceled after three seasons.
- Undeclared—Canceled after one season.
- The X-Files—Returned for the 2015-2016 season.
NBC
- Emeril—Canceled after one season.
- Imagine That—Canceled after one season.
- Inside Schwartz—Canceled after one season.
- Leap of Faith—Canceled after one season.
- Three Sisters—Canceled after two seasons.
- UC: Undercover—Canceled after one season.
- The Weakest Link—Returned for the 2020-2021 season.
UPN
- As If—Canceled after one season.
- The Hughleys—Ended after four seasons.
- The Random Years—Canceled after one season.
- Roswell—Ended after three seasons.
The WB
- Felicity—Ended after four seasons.
- For Your Love—Ended after five seasons.
- Glory Days—Canceled after one season.
- Maybe It's Me—Canceled after one season.
- Men, Women & Dogs—Canceled after one season.
- My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star—Canceled after one season.
- Nikki—Canceled after two seasons.
- Raising Dad—Canceled after one season.
- The Steve Harvey Show—Ended after six seasons.