The following is the1978–79 network television schedule for the three major English language commercialbroadcast networks in the United States. The schedule coversprimetime hours from September 1978 through August 1979. The schedule is followed by alist per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the1977–78 season. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such asMonday Night Football.

New fall series are highlighted inbold. Series ending their original runs are initalics.

Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined byNielsen Media Research.^[1]

  Lime indicates the number-one watched program for the season.

  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 shows repeats or encore programming.
•   Blue-gray indicates news programming.
•   Light green indicates sporting events.
•   Red indicates series beingburned off and other irregularly scheduled programs, including specials and movies.

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

Notes: OnCBS, the premiere (and only) episode ofCo-Ed Fever aired on February 4 from 10:30 to 11:00 p.m., after which the show was cancelled.Moses the Lawgiver was a rerun of the 1975miniseries.Mr. Dugan was supposed to premiere March 11, 1979 betweenAll in the Family andAlice but due to black Congressmembers' criticism of it after a preview for them, the show was never broadcast. OnNBC, theCentennial miniseries aired as part ofThe Big Event; the show itself reached #28 at the end of the season, with 20.3 rating.

Notes: TheWheels segment ofNBC Novels for Television was a rerun of the 1978miniseries.Laugh-In consisted of reruns of the 1977 television series.

Notes: Mork & Mindy had a one-hour premiere on September 14, 1978.

Comedy Theatre, an anthology series of unsoldtelevision pilots forsituation comedies last seen in the summer of 1976, returned for its second and last season.

TheNBC Novels for Television segmentThe Innocent and the Damned was a rerun of the 1977television miniseriesAspen.

Coasttocoast was supposed to air Thursdays 10:00-11:00PM, but NBC's new boss,Fred Silverman, canceled the show.

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

• Castleman, H. & Podrazik, W. (1982).Watching TV: Four Decades of American Television. New York: McGraw-Hill. 314 pp.
• McNeil, Alex.Total Television. Fourth edition. New York: Penguin Books.ISBN 0-14-024916-8.
• Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1985).The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (3rd ed.). New York: Ballantine.ISBN 0-345-31864-1.

• United States primetime network television schedules
• 1978 in American television
• 1979 in American television

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