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1965–66 United States network television schedule

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  • Morning: 1963–64
  • 1964–65
  • 1965–66
  • 1966–67
  • 1967–68
  • Overnight: 1963–64
  • 1964–65
  • 1965–66
  • 1966–67
  • 1967–68

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.

Schedule

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Sunday

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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

Monday

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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.

Tuesday

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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

Wednesday

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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* (B/W)
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

Thursday

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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

Friday

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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.

Saturday

[edit]
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.

By network

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ABC

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CBS

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NBC

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Note: The * indicates that the program was introduced in midseason.

References

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  1. ^ Highest-rated series is based on the annual top-rated programs list compiled by Nielsen Media Research and reported in: Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.

Additional sources

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  • Castleman, H. & Podrazik, W. (1982). Watching TV: Four Decades of American Television. New York: McGraw-Hill. 314 pp.
  • McNeil, Alex. Total Television. Fourth edition. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-024916-8.
  • Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-31864-1.
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