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Ratings Archive - October 1990

Cheers takes 3 of the 5 weeks in October, 1990. 60 Minutes took the top spot for the last week in October, while the World Series took the top two spots for the week ending October 21, 1990.

The Simpsons made their Thursday debut on October 11, 1990 and drew over 33 million viewers, beating The Cosby Show in head to head competition. They both draw big numbers throughout the month.


  1. Isn't it interesting how the 1990 "Parenthood" pulled in around 12 mil on a Fri night and was a flop while 2010 "Parenthood" gets 6-7 mil on a Tues night and is considered a success for NBC. My how times change

    Thanks so much for posting these, they are fascinating to look at!

  2. Some things that I notice:

    1. Based on the initial ratings for Law & Order, you wouldn't have thought the show would last 20 years.

    2. NBC seems to have always struggled with finding hit shows on Sundays.

    3. CBS has always struggled on the 8:00 hour on Wednesdays.

  3. Up until the early 2000's TV Movies dominated the Sunday landscape. CBS had the 7pm hour dominated with 60 minutes, so there was not much room for the other networks to get their regular programming to find an audience.

    It has been 20 years since I did watch the original PARENTHOOD series, but from what I can remember, casting was a major issue for me. Ed Beagley Jr. was just not right for the lead role, IMO. But when you consider that the #1 program in 1990 usually drew 30+ million viewers and now it take 15-18 million to be #1, the drop of 12 million to 6 million for PARENTOOD is about right.

  4. hope we see November soon!


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