The following is the 1998–99 network television schedule for the six major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1998 through August 1999. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1997–98 season. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.
New series 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.Other Legend
PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, is not included; member stations have local flexibility over most of their schedules and broadcast times for network shows may vary. Also not included is Pax TV (now Ion), a venture of Paxson Communications (now Ion Media) that debuted on August 31, 1998; although Pax carried a limited schedule of first-run programs in its early years, its schedule otherwise was composed mainly of syndicated reruns.
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Monday Night Football (#4/14.9) | |||||
| Winter | 20/20 | The ABC Monday Night Movie | |||||
| CBS | Fall | Cosby | The King of Queens | Everybody Loves Raymond (#11/10.6) | The Brian Benben Show | L.A. Doctors | |
| November | Becker (#19/9.7) (Tied with Dateline NBC and the CBS Tuesday Movie) | ||||||
| Summer | 48 Hours | ||||||
| August | The King of Queens | Thanks | |||||
| Fox | Fall | Melrose Place | Ally McBeal (#23/9.6) | Local Programming | |||
| Summer | That '70s Show | That '70s Show (Repeats) | |||||
| NBC | Fall | Suddenly Susan | Conrad Bloom | Caroline in the City | Will & Grace | Dateline NBC (#19/9.7) (Tied with Becker and The CBS Tuesday Movie) | |
| Follow Up | Caroline in the City | Mad About You | Conrad Bloom | ||||
| Winter | Working | ||||||
| Spring | Law & Order (Repeats) | ||||||
| Follow Up | Mad About You | The NBC Monday Movie | |||||
| Summer | Suddenly Susan | Mad About You | Mad About You | Dateline NBC (#19/9.7) (Tied with Becker and The CBS Tuesday Movie) | |||
| Mid-Summer | Veronica's Closet | Law & Order | |||||
| UPN | Fall | Guys Like Us | DiResta | The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer | Malcolm & Eddie | Local Programming | |
| Follow Up | Malcolm & Eddie | Guys Like Us | Malcolm & Eddie | DiResta | |||
| Winter | Dilbert | DiResta | The Sentinel | ||||
| March | Redhanded | ||||||
| April | Home Movies | ||||||
| June | Power Play | ||||||
| Follow Up | Dilbert | Redhanded | Redhanded | ||||
| July | The Sentinel | Seven Days | |||||
| August | Moesha | Malcolm & Eddie | Moesha | Between Brothers | |||
| The WB | Fall | 7th Heaven | Hyperion Bay | ||||
| Follow Up | Various Drama Repeats | ||||||
| Winter | Hyperion Bay | ||||||
| Spring | Rescue 77 | ||||||
| May | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | ||||||
| Summer | Rescue 77 | ||||||
| Mid-Summer | Movie Stars | Katie Joplin | |||||
Note: UPN only broadcast the first two episodes of Power Play. On August 16, 1999, ABC aired the series episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire at 8:30pm EDT. It was the only 30 minute episode to air on a Monday night.
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Home Improvement (#10/11.0) | The Hughleys | Spin City (#25/9.2) (Tied with Walker, Texas Ranger and Dateline NBC) | Sports Night | NYPD Blue (#12/10.5) | |
| Spring | Strange World | ||||||
| Follow Up | NYPD Blue (#12/10.5) | ||||||
| Mid-Summer | Spin City (Repeats) | It's Like, You Know... (Repeats) | Dharma & Greg (Repeats) | ||||
| August | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | JAG (#16/9.8) (Tied with Providence and 20/20) | CBS Tuesday Movie (#19/9.7) (Tied with Dateline NBC and Becker) | ||||
| Summer | 60 Minutes II | 48 Hours | |||||
| Fox | Fall | King of the Hill | Costello | Guinness World Records Primetime | Local Programming | ||
| November | King of the Hill (Repeats) | ||||||
| December | Holding the Baby | ||||||
| Winter | The PJs | ||||||
| Spring | Futurama | The PJs | King of the Hill (Repeats) | ||||
| Summer | Guinness World Records Primetime | Fox Files | |||||
| NBC | Fall | Mad About You | Encore! Encore! | Just Shoot Me! | Working | Dateline NBC (#19/9.7) (Tied with Becker and the CBS Tuesday Movie) | |
| Winter | 3rd Rock from the Sun | NewsRadio | Will & Grace | ||||
| Spring | NewsRadio | 3rd Rock from the Sun | Everything's Relative | ||||
| Summer | 3rd Rock from the Sun | NewsRadio | Will & Grace | ||||
| Mid-Summer | Just Shoot Me! | 3rd Rock from the Sun | |||||
| UPN | Fall | Moesha | Clueless | Mercy Point | Local Programming | ||
| November | America's Greatest Pets | Reunited | |||||
| Winter | Malcolm & Eddie | Between Brothers | |||||
| Spring | Family Rules | ||||||
| Follow Up | Clueless | ||||||
| The WB | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Felicity | |||||
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Dharma & Greg (#24/9.3) | Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place | The Drew Carey Show (#14/9.9) (Tied with 20/20) | The Secret Lives of Men | 20/20 (#16/9.8) (Tied with Providence and JAG) | |
| Winter | Whose Line Is It Anyway? | ||||||
| Spring | It's Like, You Know... | The Norm Show | |||||
| Summer | Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place | Whose Line Is It Anyway? | |||||
| Mid-Summer | Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place | The Norm Show | |||||
| August | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire | Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place | |||||
| CBS | Fall | The Nanny | Maggie Winters | To Have & to Hold | Chicago Hope | ||
| Winter | 60 Minutes II (#30/9.0) (Tied with ) | ||||||
| Spring | Cosby | Payne | |||||
| Summer | The Nanny | The Nanny | CBS Wednesday Movie | ||||
| Mid-Summer | Cosby | Cosby | |||||
| Fox | Fall | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Party of Five | Local Programming | |||
| Summer | Fox Wednesday Night Movie | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | Dateline NBC | 3rd Rock from the Sun | NewsRadio | Law & Order (#13/10.1) | ||
| Follow Up | Encore! Encore! | ||||||
| Winter | LateLine | ||||||
| Spring | World's Most Amazing Videos | ||||||
| UPN | Seven Days | Local Programming | |||||
| The WB | Dawson's Creek | Charmed | |||||
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Vengeance Unlimited | ABC Thursday Night Movie | ||||
| Follow Up | Various Specials | ||||||
| Winter | Vengeance Unlimited | ||||||
| Follow Up | Cupid | ABC News Specials | |||||
| Spring | America's Funniest Home Videos | The Drew Carey Show (Repeats) | Spin City (Repeats) | ||||
| Summer | ABC Thursday Night Movie | Vanished | |||||
| August | Whose Line Is It Anyway? | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire | Various Specials | Nightline in Primetime | |||
| CBS | Fall | Promised Land | (#30/9.0) (Tied with 60 Minutes II) | 48 Hours | |||
| Winter | (#30/9.0) (Tied with 60 Minutes II) | Turks | |||||
| Spring | Promised Land | ||||||
| Follow Up | (#30/9.0) (Tied with 60 Minutes II) | ||||||
| Mid-Summer | |||||||
| Fox | Fall | World's Wildest Police Videos | Fox Files | Local Programming | |||
| Follow Up | Various Specials | ||||||
| December | Fox Files | ||||||
| February | Various Specials | ||||||
| March | Fox Files | ||||||
| May | Various Specials | ||||||
| Late June | Family Guy (Repeats) | The PJs (Repeats) | |||||
| NBC | Fall | Friends (#2/15.7) | Jesse (#5/13.7) (Tied with Veronica's Closet) | Frasier (#3/15.6) | Veronica's Closet (#5/13.7) (Tied with Jesse) | ER (#1/17.8) | |
| Spring | Will & Grace | ||||||
| Summer | Jesse (Repeats) | Will & Grace (Repeats) | |||||
| UPN | Fall | UPN Thursday Night at the Movies | Local Programming | ||||
| Mid-Summer | Mercy Point | Mercy Point | |||||
| August | Various Specials | ||||||
| The WB | Fall | The Wayans Bros. | The Jamie Foxx Show | The Steve Harvey Show | For Your Love | ||
| Spring | Smart Guy | ||||||
| Follow Up | The Wayans Bros. | ||||||
Note: On Fox, the one-hour drama Brimstone premiered at 8:00 on October 23, 1998.
| Network | 8:00 p.m. | 8:30 p.m. | 9:00 p.m. | 9:30 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | America's Funniest Home Videos | Fantasy Island | Cupid | |||
| Winter | The ABC Saturday Night Movie | Fantasy Island | |||||
| Follow Up | Various programming and The ABC Saturday Night Movie | ||||||
| Spring | America's Funniest Home Videos | The Big Moment | The ABC Saturday Night Movie | ||||
| May | America's Funniest Home Videos | ||||||
| June | America's Funniest Home Videos | The Big Moment | |||||
| July | America's Funniest Home Videos | ||||||
| August | America's Funniest Home Videos | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire | |||||
| CBS | Fall | Early Edition | Martial Law | Walker, Texas Ranger | |||
| Winter | Sons of Thunder | ||||||
| Spring | Walker, Texas Ranger | ||||||
| Fox | COPS | COPS | America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back | Local programming | |||
| NBC | Fall | Wind on Water | The Pretender | Profiler | |||
| Follow Up | The Pretender (Repeats) / Best of SNL Specials / Various Specials | ||||||
| Summer | The Pretender | NBC Saturday Night Movie | |||||
Not returning from 1997–98:
Not returning from 1997–98:
New series
Not returning from 1997–98:
Not returning from 1997–98:
Not returning from 1997–98:
Not returning from 1997–98:
Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.