Must See TV

"Must See TV" was an advertising slogan used by the NBC television network to brand its primetime blocks of sitcoms during the 1990s. At one point in fall 1997, the brand was used five nights a week, with four sitcoms a night from Monday to Thursday, and two on Sunday.

However, in popular culture the phrase is most strongly associated with the network's entire Thursday night lineup – including both sitcoms and dramas – which dominated the ratings from the mid-1980s through late 1990s. Over the course of several seasons, it featured such popular shows as Hill Street Blues, The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, L.A. Law, Frasier, Seinfeld, ER, Friends, and Will & Grace.

The "Must See TV" motto was later scaled back to Thursdays, and mostly phased out in the early 2000s as NBC's lineup on Thursday nights lost popularity. But recently, the motto has returned with NBC's current Thursday-night line-up, with the additions of both critically acclaimed and ratings-successful comedies My Name Is Earl and The Office. Due to low ratings, the Friends spin-off, Joey was removed from the Thursday-night schedule in January 2006, along with the once-popular The Apprentice reality show, which was moved to Monday nights.

Some people have said that the reason "Must See TV" has failed in recent years was due to the major disappointment of Joey after the May 2004 departure of Friends. Another reason was due to the Donald Trump reality series The Apprentice, which broke the traditional "Must See TV" line up containing four comedies and one drama when it debuted in winter 2004.

CBS's Thursday-night schedule dominated the ratings with Survivor, CSI, and Without a Trace following the end of Friends, though most of the NBC lineup still finished in the top 20 weekly shows according to Nielsen. ABC had also found large success on Thursday nights with its hit reality series, Dancing with the Stars. Grey's Anatomy was also moved to Thursdays to counter CSI and the lineup of Ugly Betty, and Grey's Anatomy has proved successful in the 18-49-year-old demographic.

Thursday nights are coveted by advertisers due to the large proportion of young, affluent viewers who tune in. Of particular interest, movie advertisers promote their titles to this target demographic on Thursday night, in hopes of influencing what movies they see on the following (Friday) night.