The following is the 1965–66 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1965 through August 1966. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1964–65 season.
During this season, ABC and CBS initiated the broadcast of a predominant portion of their prime-time programming in color, while nearly all of NBC's autumn lineup was presented in color, except for the war drama Convoy and the fantasy sitcom I Dream of Jeannie. The former was terminated after 13 episodes, whereas the latter transitioned to color in the subsequent season. With the majority of prime-time content being produced in color, the scheduling for this season denoted the residual black-and-white programming with a "(B/W)" designation.
New 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.
| Network | 7:00 PM | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea | The F.B.I. | The ABC Sunday Night Movie (occasional black-and-white feature film) | ||||||
| Summer | Preview Tonight | |||||||||
| CBS | Lassie (27/21.8) (Tied with I Dream of Jeannie) | My Favorite Martian | The Ed Sullivan Show (17/23.2) (Tied with Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color) | Perry Mason (B/W; one episode in color) | Candid Camera (B/W) | What's My Line? (B/W) | ||||
| NBC | 6:30 The Bell Telephone Hour / Actuality Specials | Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (17/23.2) (Tied with The Ed Sullivan Show) | Branded | Bonanza (1/31.8) | The Wackiest Ship in the Army | |||||
| Network | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | 12 O'Clock High (B/W) | The Legend of Jesse James (B/W) | A Man Called Shenandoah (B/W) | The Farmer's Daughter (third and fourth episodes in B/W) | Ben Casey (B/W) | |||
| November | Peyton Place (B/W) | ||||||||
| Spring | The Avengers (B/W) | ||||||||
| CBS | Fall | To Tell the Truth (B/W) | I've Got a Secret (B/W) (19/22.4) (Tied with The Lawrence Welk Show) | The Lucy Show (3/27.7) | The Andy Griffith Show (6/26.9) | Hazel | The Steve Lawrence Show (B/W) | ||
| Winter | Art Linkletter's Hollywood Talent Scouts (B/W) | ||||||||
| Summer | Vacation Playhouse | ||||||||
| NBC | Hullabaloo | The John Forsythe Show | Dr. Kildare | The Andy Williams Show / Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall (once a month) | Run for Your Life | ||||
Note: Art Linkletter's Hollywood Talent Scouts replaced The Steve Lawrence Show in December. The Avengers replaced Ben Casey in March. Vacation Playhouse was a summer anthology series made up entirely of unsold television pilots.
| Network | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Combat! (B/W) | McHale's Navy (B/W) | F Troop (B/W) | Peyton Place (B/W) | The Fugitive (B/W) | ||||
| CBS | Fall | Rawhide (B/W) | The Red Skelton Hour (4/27.6) | Petticoat Junction (21/22.3) | CBS News Hour / CBS Reports (B/W; permanently shot in color beginning January 1966) | ||||
| Winter | Daktari (14/23.9) | ||||||||
| Summer | The Hippodrome | ||||||||
| NBC | My Mother the Car | Please Don't Eat the Daisies (first episode in B/W) | Dr. Kildare | NBC Tuesday Night at the Movies | |||||
| Network | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | The Patty Duke Show (B/W) | Gidget | The Big Valley | Amos Burke — Secret Agent
| |||
| Winter | Batman (10/24.7) | Blue Light | The Long Hot Summer (B/W) | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Lost in Space (B/W) | The Beverly Hillbillies (7/25.9) (Tied with Bewitched) | Green Acres (11/24.6) | The Dick Van Dyke Show (B/W) (16/23.6) | The Danny Kaye Show | |||
| Summer | The John Gary Show | ||||||||
| NBC | The Virginian (23/22.0) (Tied with The Wild Wild West and The Jackie Gleason Show) | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre / Chrysler Presents a Bob Hope Special | I Spy | ||||||
* formerly Burke's Law
| Network | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Shindig! (B/W) | The Donna Reed Show (B/W) | O.K. Crackerby! (first episode in B/W) | Bewitched (B/W) (7/25.9) (Tied with The Beverly Hillbillies) | Peyton Place (B/W) | The Long Hot Summer (B/W) | |
| Winter | Batman (5/27.0) | Gidget | The Double Life of Henry Phyfe | The Baron | ||||
| CBS | The Munsters (B/W) | Gilligan's Island (22/22.1) | My Three Sons (15/23.8) | The CBS Thursday Night Movie | ||||
| NBC | Fall | Daniel Boone (26/21.9) | Laredo | Mona McCluskey | The Dean Martin Show | |||
| Spring | Mickie Finn's | |||||||
| Summer | The Dean Martin Summer Show | |||||||
| Network | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | The Flintstones | Tammy | The Addams Family (B/W) | Honey West (B/W) | Peyton Place (B/W) | The Jimmy Dean Show | |
| November | The Farmer's Daughter | |||||||
| Summer | Summer Fun | Court Martial (B/W) | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | The Wild Wild West (B/W) (23/22.0) (Tied with The Jackie Gleason Show and The Virginian) | Hogan's Heroes (first episode in B/W) (9/24.9) | Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (2/27.8) | The Smothers Brothers Show (B/W) | Slattery's People (B/W) | ||
| Winter | The Trials of O'Brien (B/W) | |||||||
| Summer | Wayne & Shuster Take An Affectionate Look At... (B/W) | |||||||
| NBC | Fall | Camp Runamuck | Hank (first episode in B/W) | Convoy (B/W) | Mister Roberts | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (13/24.0) | ||
| Winter | The Sammy Davis Jr. Show | |||||||
| Summer | Sing Along with Mitch (repeats) | |||||||
Note: The Farmer's Daughter took over the 9:30–10 time period on ABC, effective November 5, because many viewers were not home to watch Peyton Place on Fridays. Starting November 1, Peyton Place was seen Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. In the winter of 1966, The Sammy Davis Jr. Show replaced Convoy on its timeslot, which was transmitted live in color. Summer Fun was a summer anthology series made up entirely of unsold television pilots.
| Network | 7:30 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Shindig! (B/W) | The King Family Show | The Lawrence Welk Show (19/22.4) (Tied with I've Got a Secret) | The Hollywood Palace | ABC Scope (B/W) | |||
| Winter | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | The Donna Reed Show (B/W) | |||||||
| CBS | Fall | The Jackie Gleason Show (B/W) (23/22.0) (Tied with The Wild Wild West and The Virginian) | The Trials of O'Brien (B/W) | The Loner (B/W) | Gunsmoke (B/W) (30/21.3) | ||||
| Winter | Secret Agent (B/W) | ||||||||
| Summer | Continental Showcase | The Face is Familiar | |||||||
| NBC | Flipper (29/21.6) | I Dream of Jeannie (B/W)(27/21.8) (Tied with Lassie) | Get Smart (first episode in B/W) (12/24.5) | NBC Saturday Night at the Movies | |||||
Note: Even though ABC Scope was scheduled at 10:30 PM, not one major station (including WABC-TV New York, the network's flagship station) carried it in that time period, preferring to schedule local or syndicated programming in its place. Most affiliates aired it in "fringe time" during the weekend.
Returning Series
New Series
Not returning from 1964–65:
Returning Series
New Series
Not returning from 1964–65:
Returning Series
New Series
Not returning from 1964–65:
Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.