This was the United States broadcast television schedule on all six commercial television networks for the fall season beginning in September 1996. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.
Contents
New series highlighted in bold. Shows ending their runs are highlighted in italics.
Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.
Lime indicates the #1 most watched program of 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. Orange indicates the programs in the top 40 for the season. Silver indicates the programs in the top 50 for the season.PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, was in operation, but the schedule was set by each local station.
Monday
Note: On CBS, the debut of Ink was delayed by a month due to production problems, resulting in another new sitcom, Pearl, which aired temporarily in its slot before moving to its own originally designated Wednesday time period in late October.
Tuesday
UPN premiered the short-lived teenage sitcom Social Studies in March as a midseason replacement. The show lasted for six episodes.
Wednesday
Note: On CBS, due to the effect of the debut delay of Ink on Monday, the first month of the new season on this night aired Almost Perfect at 8:30 p.m., followed by CBS Wednesday Movies at 9 p.m. The originally planned fall Wednesday lineup took shape at the end of October with Pearl taking over at 8:30 p.m., Almost Perfect moving to 9 p.m., Public Morals debuting at 9:30 p.m., and EZ Streets debuting at 10 p.m.
Saturday
Note: America's Most Wanted would debut in November at 9:00 on Fox. Married... with Children moved to Sundays at 7-8pm in November, Mondays at 9:30 in January, and Mondays at 9pm in February.