Mid-season replacement explained
In American network television scheduling, a mid-season replacement is a television show that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between December and May. Mid-season replacements usually take place after a show that was in the fall schedule was canceled or put on hiatus, outside factors such as an actor's family emergency or personal illness led to a delay in the program's debut, a program was deliberately scheduled for mid-season (for example, shows NBC airs on Sunday nights after the NFL season ends, as it only takes up the first half of the television season), or a program had a shortened season for some other reason which resulted in a time slot that needed filling. A few shows in American television history have been perennial mid-season replacements. For example, American Idol aired from January to May each year from its second season onward, to great ratings success. CBS put reruns of the first season of Land of the Lost (1974) on its Saturday morning schedule in June 1985 (running to the end of December) and June 1987 (running until the new season began in September).[1]
An older and related concept is the summer replacement, which debuts between May and August, when a network's fall schedule is on hiatus. Summer replacements tend to be lower-profile shows with either low budgets or minimal prospects for renewal.
Notable mid-season replacement shows
| Series | Original network | Original air date | Series replaced |
|---|
| Fox | May 5, 2014 | The Following |
| 3rd Rock from the Sun | NBC | January 9, 1996 | NewsRadio |
| The American Embassy | FOX | March 11, 2002 | Ally McBeal |
| A.P. Bio | NBC | February 1, 2018 | The Good Place |
| Airwolf | CBS | January 22, 1984 | Hour #1 of The CBS Saturday Night Movies |
| Alcatraz | Fox | January 16, 2012 | Terra Nova |
| Alex, Inc. | ABC | March 28, 2018 | Speechless |
| Allegiance | NBC | February 5, 2015 | Parenthood |
| All in the Family | CBS | January 12, 1971 | To Rome with Love |
| American Dad! | Fox | February 6, 2005 | The Sketch Show |
| Andy Richter Controls the Universe | Fox | March 19, 2002 | That '70s Show |
| Are You There, Chelsea? | NBC | January 11, 2012 | Free Agents |
| Awake | NBC | March 1, 2012 | The Firm |
| B.A.D. Cats | ABC | January 4, 1980 | Fantasy Island |
| Barnaby Jones | CBS | January 28, 1973 | Mannix |
| Barney Miller | ABC | January 23, 1975 | The Odd Couple |
| Batman | ABC | January 12, 1966 | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet |
| Baretta | ABC | January 17, 1975 | Kung Fu |
| The Bionic Woman | ABC | January 14, 1976 | When Things Were Rotten |
| The Black Donnellys | NBC | February 26, 2007 | Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip |
| Blind Justice | ABC | March 8, 2005 | NYPD Blue |
| Blossom | NBC | January 3, 1991 | Ferris Bueller |
| Bob's Burgers | Fox | January 9, 2011 | The Cleveland Show |
| Body of Proof | ABC | March 29, 2011 | Detroit 1-8-7 |
| Boston Common | NBC | March 21, 1996 | The Single Guy |
| The Book of Daniel | NBC | January 6, 2006 | Inconceivable |
| Breaking In | Fox | April 6, 2011 | American Idol |
| Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 6 relaunch on NBC | NBC | January 10, 2019 | I Feel Bad |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | The WB | March 10, 1997 | Savannah |
| CHAOS | CBS | April 1, 2011 | The Defenders |
| The Cape | NBC | January 9, 2011 | The Event |
| Castle[2] | ABC | March 9, 2009 | True Beauty |
| The Catch | ABC | March 24, 2016 | How to Get Away with Murder |
| Champions | NBC | March 8, 2018 | Great News |
| The Chicago Code | | February 7, 2011 | Lie to Me |
| City of Angels | CBS | January 16, 2000 | Cosby |
| Coach | ABC | February 28, 1989 | The Wonder Years |
| Conviction | NBC | March 3, 2006 | The Book of Daniel |
| CBS | February 16, 2011 | Blue Bloods |
| Cuts | UPN | February 14, 2005 | Second Time Around |
| D.C. | The WB | April 2, 2000 | Felicity |
| Daddio | NBC | March 23, 2000 | Jesse |
| Daktari | CBS | January 11, 1966 | Rawhide |
| Dallas | CBS | April 2, 1978 | The Carol Burnett Show |
| Dawson's Creek | The WB | January 20, 1998 | Syndicated programming |
| Deception | NBC | January 7, 2013 | Revolution |
| Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman | CBS | January 1, 1993 | Brooklyn Bridge |
| Dollhouse | Fox | February 13, 2009 | Don't Forget the Lyrics! |
| Do No Harm | NBC | January 31, 2013 | Rock Center with Brian Williams |
| Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 | ABC | April 11, 2012 | Happy Endings |
| Dynasty | ABC | January 12, 1981 | Monday Night Football |
| Eight Is Enough | ABC | March 15, 1977 | Rich Man, Poor Man: Book II |
| Ellen | ABC | March 29, 1994 | Grace Under Fire |
| Emergency! | NBC | January 15, 1972 | The Good Life |
| Empire | Fox | January 7, 2015 | Red Band Society |
| Falcon Crest | CBS | December 4, 1981 | The Incredible Hulk |
| Fam | CBS | January 10, 2019 | Murphy Brown |
| Family Guy | Fox | January 31, 1999 | The X-Files |
| Fangbone! | Disney XD | July 5, 2016 | Counterfeit Cat |
| Fashion Star | NBC | March 13, 2012 | Parenthood |
| The Firm | NBC | January 8, 2012 | Prime Suspect |
| The Following | Fox | January 21, 2013 | The Mob Doctor |
| For the People | CBS | January 31, 1965 | My Living Doll |
| For Life | ABC | February 11, 2020 | Emergence |
| For Your Love | NBC | March 17, 1998 | NewsRadio |
| Fresh Off the Boat | ABC | February 4, 2015 | Selfie |
| Friends with Benefits | NBC | August 5, 2011 | |
| Futurama | FOX | March 28, 1999 | That '70s Show |
| GCB | ABC | March 4, 2012 | Pan Am |
| Getting By | ABC | March 5, 1993 | Dinosaurs |
| George Lopez[3] | ABC | March 27, 2002 | According to Jim |
| Good Advice | CBS | April 2, 1993 | Bob |
| Grapevine (2000 revival) | CBS | February 28, 2000 | Ladies Man |
| Great News | NBC | April 25, 2017 | Trial & Error |
| Grey's Anatomy | ABC | March 27, 2005 | Boston Legal |
| Grounded for Life | Fox | January 10, 2001 | Normal, Ohio |
| Happy Days | ABC | January 15, 1974 | Temperatures Rising |
| Hannibal | NBC | April 4, 2013 | Do No Harm |
| Happy Endings | ABC | April 13, 2011 | Mr. Sunshine |
| Harry's Law | NBC | January 17, 2011 | Chase |
| High Incident | ABC | March 4, 1996 | Monday Night Football |
| Hill Street Blues | NBC | January 15, 1981 | NBC Saturday Night at the Movies |
| NBC | January 31, 1993 | Seinfeld |
| Human Target | Fox | January 17, 2010 | So You Think You Can Dance |
| Imaginary Mary | ABC | March 29, 2017 | The Real O'Neals |
| The Incredible Hulk | CBS | March 10, 1978 | The CBS Friday Night Movies |
| In Case of Emergency | ABC | January 3, 2007 | |
| It Takes a Thief | ABC | January 9, 1968 | |
| In the Heat of the Night | NBC | March 6, 1988 | J.J. Starbuck |
| The Jeffersons | CBS | January 18, 1975 | Friends and Lovers |
| JAG Season 2 relaunch on CBS | CBS | January 17, 1997 | Mr. & Mrs. Smith |
| Just Shoot Me! | NBC | March 4, 1997 | Men Behaving Badly |
| Kate & Allie | CBS | March 19, 1984 | AfterMASH |
| Kate Brasher | CBS | February 24, 2001 | Walker, Texas Ranger |
| King of the Hill | Fox | January 12, 1997 | Ned and Stacey |
| Knots Landing | CBS | December 27, 1979 | Hawaii Five-O |
| LA to Vegas | Fox | January 2, 2018 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine |
| LateLine | NBC | March 17, 1998 | Just Shoot Me! |
| Laverne & Shirley | ABC | January 27, 1976 | Welcome Back, Kotter |
| NBC | March 3, 2005 | Medical Investigation |
| Living Biblically | CBS | February 26, 2018 | 9JKL |
| Mad Love | CBS | February 14, 2011 | Rules of Engagement |
| Malcolm in the Middle | Fox | January 9, 2000 | Futurama |
| Making History | Fox | March 5, 2017 | Son of Zorn |
| Man from Interpol | NBC | January 30, 1960 | It Could Be You |
| Married... with Children | Fox | April 5, 1987 | Syndicated programming |
| Medium | NBC | January 3, 2005 | LAX |
| The Mick | Fox | January 1, 2017 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine |
| The Millionaire | CBS | January 19, 1955 | Strike It Rich |
| Moesha | UPN | January 23, 1996 | Deadly Games |
| Miss Guided | ABC | March 18, 2008 | |
| Moonlighting | ABC | March 3, 1985 | |
| Mr. Belvedere | ABC | March 15, 1985 | Webster |
| Mr. Sunshine | ABC | February 9, 2011 | Cougar Town |
| My Wife and Kids | ABC | March 28, 2001 | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? |
| Nanny and the Professor | ABC | January 21, 1970 | The Flying Nun |
| Napoleon Dynamite | Fox | January 15, 2012 | Allen Gregory |
| Nash Bridges | CBS | March 29, 1996 | American Gothic |
| The Nick Cannon Show | Nickelodeon | January 12, 2002 | The Brothers Garcia |
| Night Court | NBC | January 4, 1984 | Family Ties |
| The Norm Show | ABC | March 24, 1999 | The Secret Lives of Men |
| Notes from the Underbelly | ABC | April 12, 2007 | George Lopez |
| Numb3rs | CBS | January 23, 2005 | Dr. Vegas |
| NYC 22 | CBS | April 15, 2012 | |
| The Odd Couple | CBS | February 19, 2015 | Two and a Half Men |
| Parenthood | NBC | March 2, 2010 | The Jay Leno Show |
| Parks and Recreation[4] | NBC | April 9, 2009 | Kath & Kim |
| Perfect Couples | NBC | December 20, 2010 | |
| Perfect Strangers | ABC | March 25, 1986 | Growing Pains |
| The PJs | FOX | January 10, 1999 | Costello |
| Quantum Leap | NBC | March 26, 1989 | |
| Raines | NBC | March 15, 2007 | ER |
| Ready for Love | NBC | April 9, 2013 | Smash |
| The Real O'Neals | ABC | March 2, 2016 | The Muppets |
| Red Widow | ABC | March 3, 2013 | 666 Park Avenue |
| Rob | CBS | January 12, 2012 | Rules of Engagement |
| Roseanne (revival) | ABC | March 27, 2018 | Fresh Off the Boat |
| Rules of Engagement | CBS | February 5, 2007 | The New Adventures of Old Christine |
| Sanford and Son | NBC | January 14, 1972 | The D.A. |
| Schoolhouse Rock! | ABC | January 15, 1973 | commercials |
| Scrubs Season 8 relaunch on ABC | ABC | January 6, 2009 | According to Jim |
| Social Studies | UPN | March 18, 1997 | Homeboys in Outer Space |
| Some of My Best Friends | CBS | February 28, 2001 | Welcome to New York |
| SpongeBob SquarePants | Nickelodeon | May 1, 1999 | First hour of Nick-at-Nite |
| Superior Donuts | CBS | February 2, 2017 | The Odd Couple |
| Fox | January 13, 2008 | K-Ville |
| That '80s Show | Fox | January 23, 2002 | Malcolm in the Middle |
| The Bob Cummings Show | NBC | January 2, 1955 | The Hunter |
| The Bridge[5] | CTV | March 5, 2010 | |
| The Carrie Diaries | The CW | January 14, 2013 | 90210 |
| The Deep End | ABC | January 21, 2010 | FlashForward |
| The Enemy Within | NBC | February 25, 2019 | Manifest |
| The Finder | Fox | January 12, 2012 | Bones |
| The Knights of Prosperity | ABC | January 3, 2007 | |
| The Lone Gunmen | Fox | March 4, 2001 | FreakyLinks |
| The New Adventures of Old Christine | CBS | March 13, 2006 | Courting Alex |
| The Oblongs | The WB | April 1, 2001 | For Your Love |
| The Office | NBC | March 24, 2005 | Committed |
| The Others | NBC | February 5, 2000 | Freaks and Geeks |
| The Practice | ABC | March 4, 1997 | NYPD Blue |
| The Return of Jezebel James | Fox | March 14, 2008 | |
| The River | ABC | February 7, 2012 | Wife Swap |
| Three Sisters | NBC | January 9, 2001 | DAG |
| Thunder Alley | ABC | March 9, 1994 | The Critic |
| Titus | Fox | March 20, 2000 | Time of Your Life |
| Scandal | ABC | April 5, 2012 | Private Practice |
| Schooled | ABC | January 9, 2019 | American Housewife |
| Show Me the Money | ABC | November 15, 2006 | |
| The Simpsons | Fox | December 17, 1989 | Totally Hidden Video |
| Sister, Sister | ABC | April 1, 1994 | |
| The Six Million Dollar Man | ABC | January 18, 1974 | Room 222 |
| Smash | NBC | February 6, 2012 | Rock Center with Brian Williams |
| So Weird | Disney | January 18, 1999 | |
| Southland | NBC | April 9, 2009 | ER |
| Space Cases | Nickelodeon | March 2, 1996 | All That |
| Splitting Up Together | ABC | March 27, 2018 | The Mayor |
| Stacked | Fox | April 13, 2005 | Quintuplets |
| Station Zero | MTV | March 8, 1999 | |
| Twenty-One (2000 revival) | NBC | January 9, 2000 | Third Watch |
| Twin Peaks | ABC | April 8, 1990 | The Young Riders |
| The Outsiders | Fox | March 25, 1990 | Booker |
| The Unit | CBS | March 7, 2006 | Love Monkey |
| The Unusuals | ABC | April 8, 2009 | Life on Mars |
| The Village | NBC | March 19, 2019 | New Amsterdam |
| The Wonder Years | ABC | January 31, 1988 | Growing Pains |
| Three | The WB | February 2, 1998 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer |
| Three's Company | ABC | March 15, 1977 | The Tony Randall Show |
| Traffic Light | Fox | February 8, 2011 | Raising Hope, Running Wilde |
| Trial & Error | NBC | March 14, 2017 | This Is Us |
| Unhappily Ever After | The WB | January 11, 1995 | Syndicated programming |
| Walker, Texas Ranger | CBS | April 21, 1993 | The Hat Squad |
| Wanda at Large | Fox | March 26, 2003 | Cedric the Entertainer Presents |
| Watching Ellie | NBC | February 26, 2002 | Three Sisters |
| What About Brian | ABC | April 16, 2006 | Miracle Workers |
| Work It | ABC | January 3, 2012 | Man Up |
| Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane | The WB | January 17, 1999 | Unhappily Ever After |
| Zero Hour | ABC | February 14, 2013 | Last Resort | |
Notes and References
- Alex McNeil. Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present. 4th Edition. New York: Penguin, 1996, 462.
- Web site: Diamond . Ilana . Midseason Replacements 2009 - News . TV.com . 2008-12-11 . 2012-01-05.
- Web site: Diamond . Ilana . Midseason Replacements - News . TV.com . 2007-01-01 . 2012-01-05.
- Parks and Recreation was a mid-season replacement in its first, third, and seventh seasons. It was introduced as a mid-season replacement in the third season, to accommodate Amy Poehler's pregnancy, which was not written into the show. It was used as a mid-season replacement in its season finale to meet contractual obligations.
- Web site: Paul William Tenny . CBS 2010 upfronts: Mid-season replacements . Mediapundit.net . 2010-05-14 . 2012-01-05.
