The architects of NBC’s classic 'Must-See' lineup reveal how Friends and ER became legends
Photo: Maya Robinson NBC’s storied “Must-See TV” Thursday lineup has seen various iterations over the decades. While the network’s marketing execs didn’t actually coin the phrase until 1993, sitcom triumphs from the 1980s — The Cosby Show, Cheers, Family Ties — have retroactively become part of the Peacock pantheon.
How early in the development process did you start thinking Friends and ER might be worth scheduling on Thursday? Littlefield: But the feeling was, this is how we become the No. 1 network. That if we don’t get into Tuesday night, then we’re gonna get blocked out. The only comedy competition on Tuesday night was from ABC. And so that’s why we took that risk.
After you saw your competitors’ schedules, did you worry at all about whether you had made the right moves? Any second thoughts over the summer, particularly when ABC decided to replace Roseanne with Home Improvement on Tuesdays opposite Frasier? Littlefield: The other thing that came out of test audiences is, they perceived ER to be an action hour. That’s what they called it. Because of the camera work. I mean, the density to the storytelling, the active use of the camera. It was very, very innovative — and the audience gobbled it up. They were saying, “Well, it’s not really a medical drama. It’s an action hour.” And we just kind of smiled: Okay.
Friends definitely suffered from being lumped in with those other youth comedies. USA Today’s Matt Roush was particularly harsh: “NBC’s Friends and Fox’s sex-crazed Wild Oats pander to Generation X singles. Reality Bites with gingivitis.” So the buzz headed into fall wasn’t great, certainly not compared to how quickly the show exploded with audiences.
The Rollout As much confidence as Littlefield and Beckman had in their new lineup, and whatever the advance word from critics, both shows still had to face the judgement of viewers. While ER would end up spending its entire 15-year run in the 10 p.m. Thursday slot, the show’s very first episode actually aired on Monday, September 19 as a two-hour NBC movie. Four days later, on September 22, Friends finally premiered at 8:30 p.m Thursday, along with the second installment of ER.
Beckman: And we beat Chicago Hope. There were a lot of people who didn’t think we could beat Chicago Hope.Beckman: They both shot in different directions. Chicago Hope took a big dip. And we just blew ‘em out of the water. It was like, Holy shit.Beckman: The gap between the two shows was scary. And scary good for us. I remember looking at that number … Making Friends and Influencing Ratings After ER crushed Hope in their second week opposite each other, CBS execs threw in the towel.
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