Barbara Walters was officially named the first woman to ever co-anchor NBC’s “The Today Show” in 1974… CBS sitcom “Maude,” starring Bea Arthur, concluded its six season run in 1978. A seventh season was planned for Maude Findlay to move to Washington, D.C. to pursue a career in politics, but Arthur decided to call it quits…Also in 1978, NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” featured the first appearance by The Blues Brothers (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) and comedian Steve Martin performed his famous King Tut routine…”Hill Street Blues” spin-off “Beverly Hills Buntz,” starring Dennis Franz, ended in 1988. It aired for only nine episodes…Robert Conrad starred alongside his real-life two sons, Christian Conrad and Shane Conrad, in the debut of short-lived CBS drama “Jesse Hawkes” in 1989. It was spun-off from “High Mountain Rangers,“ which also featured the trio and lasted for only one half-season…Also in 1989, Madonna scored her seventh No. 1 single in the U.S. with “Like a Prayer,” which spent three weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The music video that accompanied the hit, which featured images of stigmata, burning crosses and the kissing of a black saint, was condemned by family and religious groups and had caused the Pepsi company to cancel their sponsorship deal with her (but she was allowed to keep the deal’s fee)…In 1991, Johnny Carson announced he would be retiring from NBC’s “The Tonight Show.” His final telecast was on May 22, 1992…In 2002, actor Robert Blake was charged with murder in the shooting death of his wife. He was later acquitted.
Celebrity Birthdays: actress Estelle Harris (mother of George Costanza on “Seinfeld”) is 92; three-time Oscar winner Jack Nicholson is 83; “Hairspray” director John Waters is 74; singer Peter Frampton is 70; comedian and actor Ryan Stiles (“Whose Line Is It Anyway?”) is 61; producer and entrepreneur Byron Allen is 59; actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan (“The Walking Dead”) is 54; former “The View” co-host Sherri Shepherd is 53.
-Did You Know?
Robert Blake, then billed by his birth name, Mickey Gubitosi, was featured as a child in the “Our Gang” series of theatrical shorts from 1939 to 1944. At that time, producer Hal Roach sold the series to MGM…“Beverly Hills Buntz” was considered a “designated hitter” on NBC, which was a show that will be broadcast monthly and then, ratings permitting, be ready to move into a weekly slot if required. The other designated hitter on the network that season was comedy “Mama’s Boy,” with Bruce Weitz (“Hill Street Blues”) and Nancy Walker (“Rhoda,” “McMillan and Wife”). Neither sitcom made it to a second season.
RATINGS BOX
Live+7 Day Ratings – Week of April 6, 2020 – Click here
National Ratings in Syndication – Top 10: Week of April 6
Households
1. “Family Feud” (CBS Television Distribution – CTD): 7.4 rating
2. “Jeopardy” (CTD): 7.1
3. “Wheel of Fortune” (CTD): 6.8
4. “Judge Judy” (CTD): 6.3
5. “The Big Bang Theory” (Warner Bros.): 3.3
6. “Entertainment Tonight” (CTD) and “Inside Edition” (CTD): 3.0 each
8. “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (Disney-ABC) and “Last Man Standing” (Disney-ABC): 2.3 each
10. “Dr. Phil” (CTD) and “Hot Bench” (CTD): 2.1 each
Live+Same Day Data:
Monday 4/13/20: Click here
Tuesday 4/14/20: Click here
Wednesday 4/15/20: Click here
Thursday 4/16/20: Click here
Source: Nielsen
NEW PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENTS
Apple TV+ Revives The Fraggles in “Fraggle Rock: Rock On!”
The NFL Draft in Our Current State of the World: How Many Viewers Will It Draw?
Production Panic: Can the Major SVOD Serivces Keep Up with Ravenous Audience Demand? = For more, click here
TV – Past and Present – Click here
“Expedition with Steve Backshall” will return with new episodes on PBS on Wednesday, May 6 at 10 p.m. ET as adventurer, explorer and naturalist Steve Backshall prepares to drop down into the darkness of a giant pit that’s 400 feet deep. This is the first stage of a Mayan obstacle course built thousands of years ago. Backshall, along with his expedition crew, must wriggle through tight passages constructed by the Maya and climb down steep pits. After five hours of grueling physical “tests,” they feel worthy of their prize when they reach the end and see a giant mural of a jaguar and a unique sculpture jutting out of a rock.
AMC has delayed the second season premiere of “NOS4A2” that was supposed to arrive on June 1. It will now launch on Sunday, June 21. The cable net’s upcoming “Creepshow,“ which is already streaming on the AMC-owned Shudder streaming service, is being extended for a six-week run on the network. AMC originally planned to run it for three weeks, and it will launch on Monday, May 4.
The “Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time” Tournament, which aired on ABC in January, will have an encore in syndication for two weeks beginning on Monday, May 4. The game show is from CBS Television Distribution.
Series premieres: “Absurd Planet” and “Win the Wilderness” on Netflix…“Ghost Nation” opens a new season on Travel Channel…Season finales: “Little Fires Everywhere” on Hulu; “It’s Personal with Amy Hoggart” on truTV; “True Terror with Robert Englund” on Travel…The CW offers special “People Presents Harry & Meaghan: A Royal Rebellion“…For the listing of available programs for Wednesday, April 22, click here