Quote:
Originally Posted by MIKEPR
Amazing how some people can't accept the way things are or how they were.
The show could have been canceled after 1 season.
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Well, it should be noted that during this time, CBS needed to build new shows. They lost three veterans (
Maude,
The Bob Newhart Show, and
The Carol Burnett Show) after the previous season because their stars decided to leave them, and their ratings got worse and worse.
All in the Family and
M*A*S*H were aging, and
Alice was seen as the flagship around this time.
According to
page 56 of the June 18, 1979 issue of Broadcasting magazine,
WKRP in Cincinnati during its first season averaged a 19.5 rating and 29 share, and ranked 35th for the 1978-79 season. Two other freshman shows on CBS (both being midseason replacements) ranked higher than
WKRP:
The Dukes of Hazzard (#20, 21.1 rating/35 share), and
Stockard Channing in Just Friends (#25; 20.7 rating/32 share);
Dukes of Hazzard was renewed while
Just Friends (for some unknown reason) was cancelled. You (MIKEPR) would probably have a good point if
WKRP had aired on ABC. CBS was in second place behind ABC during 1978-79, so they can't cancel everything.
The ratings for
WKRP in Cincinnati improved the following season; it wound-up ranking 22nd for the 1979-80 season with a 20.7 rating, and that was its only season in the Top 30. As I stated earlier, if
Archie Bunker's Place never existed,
WKRP in Cincinnati should have aired after
60 Minutes instead and probably gotten itself into the Top-10.