The following is the 1976–77 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1976 through August 1977. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1975–76 season. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.
New fall series are highlighted in bold.
Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.[1]
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.
PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, was in operation, but the schedule was set by each local station.
The Muppet Show (syndicated in the U.S.) premiered this season.
Note: On ABC, the 1977 summer miniseriesRich Man, Poor Man consisted of reruns of the 1976 miniseries. On CBS, The Family Holvak consisted of reruns of the 1975 NBC series before being replaced by a four-week run of The Jack Benny Show (with Phyllis in the 8:30 slot), featuring episodes from its 1963-64 season.
NOTE: On NBC, Comedy Time was a summer anthology series composed of unsold television pilots that aired on Wednesdays in July and on Thursdays on July 21 and 28, August 25, and September 1.
Notes: NBC originally planned to air Snip (a sitcom starring David Brenner) on Thursdays at 9:30 with The Practice preceding it at 9:00. On August 28, NBC announced a "massive reshuffling" of its schedule and pulled Snip,[2] which never aired.
Comedy Time was a summer anthology series composed of unsold television pilots that aired on NBC on Wednesdays in July and on Thursdays on July 21 and 28, August 25, and September 1.
Note: A special program, Campaign '76, aired on CBS from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. from September to early November in preparation for the 1976 presidential election.
Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.
References
^Highest-rated series is based on the annual top-rated programs list compiled by Nielsen Media Research and reported in: Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN978-0-345-49773-4.