"Must See TV" is an advertising
slogan used by the
NBC television network to brand its
prime time blocks of
sitcoms during the 1990s, and most often applied to its Thursday night lineup. With shows such as
Cheers,
Seinfeld,
ER,
Will & Grace,
Mad About You,
Frasier, and
Friends, NBC dominated the ratings on Thursday nights in prime time. The slogan made its first appearance in NBC promotions in August 1993 and included the day of the week: "Must See TV Thursday." In late summer of 1993, NBC wanted viewers to tune an hour prior to the popular
Seinfeld, and created the "Must See TV" slogan to brand the comedy block. The first "Must See TV" block promo aired during late summer repeats and promoted
Mad About You,
Wings, and
Seinfeld -
Frasier had not yet premiered. It ended with the words "Get home early for Must See TV Thursday." The "Must See TV" slogan continued in every NBC Thursday night comedy promo throughout the 1993 television season to promote the 8 - 10 p.m. comedy block. When
Frasier and
Mad About You moved to Tuesday nights, NBC expanded the second season of the "Must See TV" brand to include the Tuesday night comedy block: "Must See TV Tuesday."
Usage
In popular culture the phrase is most strongly associated with the network's entire Thursday night lineup, including both sitcoms and dramas, which dominated the ratings from the 1980s through late 1990s. Over the course of two decades, NBC's Thursday lineup featured such popular shows as
Friends,
Hill Street Blues,
The Cosby Show,
Family Ties,
Cheers,
A Different World,
News Radio,
Wings,
Night Court,
L.A. Law,
Frasier,
Seinfeld,
ER and
Will & Grace.
However, contrary to popular belief, "Must See TV" originally applied to sitcoms only (dramas would normally be promoted separately), and for much of the 1990s the phrase was used several nights a week as an attempt at
brand extension. At one point in fall 1997, the brand was used five nights a week, with four sitcoms a night from Monday to Thursday, and two on Sunday.
NBC itself would later adopt the more common interpretation; the 2002 retrospective,
20 Years of Must See TV, focused on NBC's overall Thursday-night dominance from 1982 onwards, and overlooked extensions such as "Must See TV Thursday."
Advertising
Thursday nights are coveted by advertisers due to the large proportion of young, affluent viewers who tune in. Of particular interest, movie advertisers promote their titles to this target demographic on Thursday night, in hopes of influencing what movies they see on the following Friday night, the traditional opening night for most films outside of holiday periods.
Decline
[
[From Left" title="|thumb|right|From a promo for "Comedy Night Done Right" in October 2007. The image features
[From Left" /> Earl Hickey (Of
My Name Is Earl),
Michael Scott (Of
The Office),
John Dorian (Of
Scrubs) and
Liz Lemon (Of
30 Rock]]).
By the early 2000s, the "Must See TV" slogan had fallen by the wayside in NBC's promotions; more importantly, NBC had gone from the top-rated network on Thursday nights to second behind CBS, eventually third behind ABC and ultimately fourth behind Fox as well by the end of the decade. Some of the reasons for NBC's failure in recent years on Thursdays was due to the lack of strong shows to replace staples such as
Friends,
Frasier and
Seinfeld. Another reason was due to the
Donald Trump reality series
The Apprentice, which broke the traditional "Must See TV" line up containing four comedies and one drama when it debuted in winter 2004. However, most of the
NBC lineup still finished in the top 20 weekly shows according to
Nielsen Media Research.
Other networks' Thursday programming has also gotten increasingly stronger.
CBS was first to break through with the Thursday-night schedule of
Survivor,
CSI, and later
Without a Trace.
ABC had success on Thursday nights with its hit
reality series,
Dancing with the Stars. In fall 2006,
Grey's Anatomy was moved to Thursdays to counter
CSI; ABC's lineup of
Ugly Betty and
Grey's Anatomy has proved successful in the 18-49-year-old demographic.
The "Must See TV" slogan reappeared briefly in early 2006 with the addition of two critically acclaimed and ratings-successful comedies,
My Name Is Earl and
The Office. This was an attempt to re-establish a four-sitcom block after the rise and fall of
The Apprentice, which was moved to Monday nights.
In November 2006, NBC rebranded the Thursday format with a new different slogan, "Comedy Night Done Right", and added
Scrubs and
30 Rock to the lineup, forming an entire lineup without
laugh tracks or the
multiple-camera setup typical of past Must See TV comedies.
NBC Thursday-night lineup history
Scrubs
| 30 Rock
|
Spring[
]
| Scrubs and 30 Rock
| and Scrubs
|
| rowspan=3 style="background-color:#DDDDDD"|2007-2008 |
Fall[
] |
My Name Is Earl
| 30 Rock
| The Office
| Scrubs
| ER
|
Winter[
]
| My Name Is Earl and The Office repeats or Deal or No Deal
| Celebrity Apprentice
| Lipstick Jungle
|
Spring[
]
| My Name Is Earl
| 30 Rock and Scrubs
| The Office
| Scrubs and 30 Rock
| ER
|
The Jay Leno Show
|
| Spring
| Community
| 30 Rock
| The Marriage Ref
|
