2008–09 United States network television schedule
The following is the 2008–09 network television schedule for the six major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers prime time hours from September 2008 through May 2009. The schedule is followed by a [|list per network] of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 2007–08 season. The schedule omits the Public Broadcasting Service.
New fall series are highlighted in bold.
The official schedule was set by each network before the start of the official fall season. NBC revealed its fall schedule on April 2 followed ABC and the CW on May 13, CBS on May 14, Fox on May 15 and MyNetworkTV on May 22. The CW unveiled its Sunday lineup on May 27.
All times given are in U.S. Eastern Time. Pacific Time is the same. Subtract one hour for Central or Mountain time. The exception is when a program is aired live in all time zones.
Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.
Sunday
Note: On Sundays, The CW programming begins at 6:30 PM.Note: CBS' Sunday Night primetime lineup is often delayed due to NFL on CBS game coverage running longer than scheduled, except in the Pacific and Mountain time zones, where the lineup airs as scheduled.
Note: The 7pm hour on Fox features animated series reruns in the Pacific and Mountain time zones during the NFL season.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Note: The Moment of Truth was originally scheduled to air Thursdays at 8:00 on Fox, but was instead shelved, effectively canceling it.Friday
Saturday
By network
ABC">American Broadcasting Company">ABC
Returning series:- 20/20
- ABC Saturday Movie of the Week
- According to Jim
- America's Funniest Home Videos
- The Bachelor
- The Bachelorette
- Boston Legal
- Brothers & Sisters
- Dancing with the Stars
- Desperate Housewives
- Dirty Sexy Money
- Eli Stone
- '
- Grey's Anatomy
- Here Come the Newlyweds
- I Survived a Japanese Game Show
- Just for Laughs
- Lost
- Primetime
- '
- Private Practice
- Pushing Daisies
- Saturday Night Football
- Samantha Who?
- Scrubs
- Supernanny
- Ugly Betty
- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
- Wife Swap
- Wipeout
- The Wonderful World of Disney
- Better Off Ted
- Castle
- Crash Course
- Cupid
- Dating in the Dark
- Defying Gravity
- The Goode Family
- In the Motherhood
- Life on Mars
- Opportunity Knocks
- Shaq Vs.
- Shark Tank
- Surviving Suburbia
- The Superstars
- True Beauty
- The Unusuals
- Big Shots
- Carpoolers
- Cashmere Mafia
- Cavemen
- Dance Machine
- '
- Duel
- '
- Hopkins
- Men in Trees
- Miss Guided
- Notes from the Underbelly
- October Road
- Oprah's Big Give
- Wanna Bet?
- Women's Murder Club
[CBS]
- 48 Hours Mystery
- 60 Minutes
- The Amazing Race
- The Big Bang Theory
- Big Brother
- Cold Case
- Criminal Minds
- '
- '
- '
- Flashpoint
- Ghost Whisperer
- How I Met Your Mother
- Million Dollar Password
- NCIS
- Numb3rs
- The New Adventures of Old Christine
- Rules of Engagement
- Survivor
- Two and a Half Men
- The Unit
- Without a Trace
- Eleventh Hour
- EliteXC Saturday Night Fights
- The Ex List
- Game Show in My Head
- Gary Unmarried
- Harper's Island
- The Mentalist
- Worst Week
The CW">The CW Television Network">The CW
Returning series:- America's Next Top Model
- Everybody Hates Chris
- The Game
- Gossip Girl
- One Tree Hill
- Reaper
- Smallville
- Supernatural
- 90210
- The CW Sunday Night Movie
- Easy Money
- Hitched or Ditched
- In Harm's Way
- Privileged
- Stylista
- Valentine
- Aliens in America
- Beauty and the Geek
- CW Now
- Farmer Wants a Wife
- Girlfriends
- Life Is Wild
- Online Nation
- Pussycat Dolls Present:
- WWE Friday Night SmackDown
Fox">Fox Broadcasting Company">Fox
- 24
- America's Most Wanted
- American Dad!
- American Idol
- Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
- Bones
- COPS
- Don't Forget the Lyrics
- Family Guy
- Hell's Kitchen
- House
- King of the Hill
- Kitchen Nightmares
- The Moment of Truth
- Prison Break
- The Simpsons
- So You Think You Can Dance
- '
- Til Death
- Dollhouse
- Do Not Disturb
- Fringe
- Hole in the Wall
- Lie to Me
- Mental
- Secret Millionaire
- Sit Down, Shut Up
- Back to You
- Canterbury's Law
- K-Ville
- Nashville
- New Amsterdam
- The Next Great American Band
- The Return of Jezebel James
- Unhitched
[MyNetworkTV]
- Celebrity Exposé
- Jail
- '
- Masters of Illusion
- My Thursday Night Movie
- My Saturday Night Movie
- Street Patrol
- Under One Roof
- Whacked Out Videos
- WWE SmackDown
- Comics Unleashed
- Dead Man Running
- Shaken, Not Stirred
- The Tony Rock Project
- Untitled Eddie Griffin show
- Vice Squad
- World's Funniest Moments
- The Academy
- The Best of In Living Color
- Control Room Presents
- Decision House
- IFL Battleground
- Meet My Folks
- NFL Total Access
- Paradise Hotel 2
[NBC]
- 30 Rock
- America's Got Talent
- The Celebrity Apprentice 2
- The Biggest Loser
- Chuck
- Dateline NBC
- Deal or No Deal
- ER
- Football Night in America
- Heroes
- Law & Order
- '
- Life
- Lipstick Jungle
- Medium
- My Name Is Earl
- The Office
- NBC Sunday Night Football
- America's Toughest Jobs
- The Chopping Block
- Crusoe
- Howie Do It
- Kath & Kim
- Kings
- Knight Rider
- The Listener
- Momma's Boys
- Merlin
- My Own Worst Enemy
- Parks and Recreation
- The Philanthropist
- Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday
- Southland
- Superstars of Dance
Renewals and Cancellations
Full-season pickups
ABC- Private Practice – On October 22, 2008, it was picked up for a full-season order.
- Samantha Who? – On October 31, 2008, it received a full-season order, adding seven episodes.
- Gary Unmarried – On November 14, 2008, it was picked up for a full 22-episode season.
- The Mentalist – On October 15, 2008, it was picked up for a full-season order.
- 90210 – On September 22, 2008, it was picked up for a full-season order.
- Fringe – On October 1, 2008, it was picked up for a full-season order.
- ' – On October 17, 2008, it was picked up for a full-season order, despite its declining ratings this season.
- Til Death – Despite lower ratings, Fox ordered a fourth season of the show.
- WWE SmackDown – The only program to carry over in the network's conversion to a programming service
- Chuck – On August 28, 2008, it was picked up for a full-season order, one month before the new season even premiered.
- Knight Rider – On October 21, 2008, it was picked up for a full-season order, then on December 3, 2008, NBC cut the order down to 17.
- Kath & Kim – On October 31, 2008, was given a full-season order.
- Life – On November 7, 2008, NBC picked up Life for a full season.
- Howie Do It'' – Twelve additional episodes were ordered by NBC.
Cancellations/Series endings
- According to Jim – Cast member Larry Joe Campbell announced in December 2008 that the sets had been bulldozed.
- Boston Legal – On May 13, 2008, ABC announced that in the fall of 2008, Boston Legal would air its fifth and final season of 13 episodes. It last aired in December 2008.
- Cupid – Canceled on May 18, 2009.
- Defying Gravity – Canceled during the summer after five low rated episodes.
- Dirty Sexy Money – On November 20, 2008, ABC decided not to order further episodes for this current season resulting in the show being "effectively cancelled".
- Eli Stone – On November 20, 2008, ABC decided not to order further episodes for this current season resulting in the show being "effectively cancelled".
- The Goode Family – Canceled on August 8, 2009.
- Homeland Security USA – Due to declining ratings, ABC has decided to pull the remaining episodes of the season.
- In the Motherhood – Due to poor ratings, ABC did not show the remaining episodes of this series.
- Life on Mars – Canceled on March 3, 2009. The series aired its last episode on April 1, 2009.
- Opportunity Knocks – On October 16, 2008, the show was placed on hiatus after three episodes to make room for the Dancing with the Stars recap show. ABC planned on airing the six remaining episodes as part of their summer schedule, but this never materialized.
- Pushing Daisies – On November 20, 2008, ABC decided not to order further episodes for this current season resulting in the show being "effectively cancelled".
- Samantha Who? – Canceled on May 18, 2009 after two seasons, but this show will not return for a third season.
- Surviving Suburbia – Canceled on August 8, 2009.
- The Unusuals – Canceled on May 17, 2009.
- Eleventh Hour – Canceled on May 19, 2009.
- Elite XC Saturday Night Fights – On October 20, Elite XC shut down operations, thus cancelling the show.
- The Ex List – This was the first new drama of the season to be cancelled. The series was replaced with repeats of CBS dramas and new episodes of The Price Is Right Primetime.
- Game Show in My Head – Due to declining ratings, CBS decided not to air any more episodes.
- Harper's Island – It was moved to Saturdays, and CBS made it a mini-series.
- Million Dollar Password – canceled due to declining ratings.
- The Unit – Canceled on May 19, 2009.
- Worst Week – Canceled on May 20, 2009.
- Without a Trace – Canceled on May 19, 2009 after seven seasons.
- ' – Canceled on May 21, 2009.
- 4Real – Canceled on May 21, 2009.
- The CW Sunday Night Movie - Canceled on May 21, 2009.
- Easy Money – MRC decided to cancel the series on November 16, 2008.
- Everybody Hates Chris – Cast member Chris Rock is planning to cancel the series after four seasons.
- The Game – Cancelled on May 20, 2009. Moved to BET in January 2011.
- In Harm's Way – The CW decided to get rid of the MRC Sunday night, thus effectively canceling the show on November 23, 2008.
- Jericho – On May 21, 2009, CW announced that they would not be airing repeats anymore.
- Privileged – Canceled on May 19, 2009, when CW officially announced that Privileged won't come back for a second season.
- Reaper – Canceled on May 20, 2009 after two seasons.
- Stylista – Canceled on May 21, 2009.
- Valentine – Canceled on November 23, 2008.
- Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? – Fox has announced that the show will not be returning for another season in the fall.
- Do Not Disturb – On September 25, 2008, the show was canceled after three episodes. It became the first cancellation of the season.
- Don't Forget the Lyrics! – Fox has announced that the show would not be returning for another season in the fall.
- Hole in the Wall – Due to poor ratings, Fox has canceled the show. It later moved to Cartoon Network.
- Prison Break – On January 13, 2009, Fox entertainment President Kevin Reilly announced that "this will be the last year" of Prison Break.
- Sit Down, Shut Up – Officially canceled May 18, 2009.
The entire schedule of programs for MyNetworkTV except for WWE Smackdown! did not pass on to the 2009/10 season due to the network's conversion to a programming service.
- Celebrity Exposé
- Comics Unleashed
- Jail
- '
- Masters of Illusion
- My Saturday Night Movie
- Street Patrol
- The Tony Rock Project
- The Twilight Zone
- Under One Roof
- Vice Squad
- Whacked Out Videos
- World's Funniest Moments