This was the United States broadcast television schedule on all six commercial television networks for the fall season beginning in September 2002. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.
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.
PBS is not included; member stations have local flexibility over most of their schedules and broadcast times for network shows may vary.
Sunday
| 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 | The Wonderful World of Disney | Alias | The Practice | |||||
| Winter | L.A. Dragnet | ||||||||
| CBS | Fall | 60 Minutes (#17/9.6) | Becker | Bram & Alice | CBS Sunday Movie | ||||
| Follow-up | Becker | ||||||||
| Spring | My Big Fat Greek Life (#28/8.0) | ||||||||
| Summer | Becker | Charlie Lawrence | |||||||
| Fox | Fall | Futurama | King of the Hill (Repeats) | The Simpsons | King of the Hill | Malcolm in the Middle | Andy Richter Controls the Universe | Local Programming | |
| Winter[2] | King of the Hill | Malcolm in the Middle | |||||||
| Spring | Oliver Beene | The Pitts | |||||||
| Summer | King of the Hill | Oliver Beene | |||||||
| Mid Summer | Banzai | The Bernie Mac Show | |||||||
| Follow Up | Banzai | King of the Hill | |||||||
| NBC | Fall | Dateline Sunday | American Dreams | Law & Order: Criminal Intent (#19/9.4) (Tied with Still Standing) | Boomtown | ||||
| Winter | Kingpin | ||||||||
| Spring | Boomtown | ||||||||
| Summer | Law & Order: Crime & Punishment | ||||||||
| Mid-Summer | The Restaurant | ||||||||
| The WB | Fall | Gilmore Girls: Beginnings | Charmed | Angel | Local Programming | ||||
| Winter | High School Reunion | ||||||||
| Spring | Black Sash | ||||||||
| Follow Up | Charmed (Repeats) | ||||||||
| Summer | Boarding House: North Shore | ||||||||
| Follow Up | Charmed (Repeats) | ||||||||
NOTE: Fox was to have aired Oliver Beene and The Grubbs on Sundays at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., respectively, but instead made last-minute changes by postponing Oliver Beene to the following spring and canceling The Grubbs. In their places, reruns of King of the Hill and Malcolm in the Middle were slotted.
Monday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | The Drew Carey Show | Whose Line Is It Anyway? | NFL Monday Showcase | Monday Night Football (#10/11.4) | ||
| Follow-up | The Practice | ||||||
| December | Monk | ||||||
| Winter | Veritas: The Quest | The Practice | Miracles | ||||
| Spring | NYPD Blue | ||||||
| Follow Up | The Practice | ||||||
| Summer | Monday Night Football | Primetime Live: Special Edition | |||||
| CBS | The King of Queens (#25/8.5) | Yes, Dear (#24/8.6) | Everybody Loves Raymond (#7/11.9) (Tied with Survivor) | Still Standing (#19/9.4) (Tied with Law & Order: Criminal Intent) | CSI: Miami (#11/11.0) (Tied with Will & Grace) | ||
| Fox | Fall | Boston Public | Girls Club | Local Programming | |||
| Follow-up | John Doe | ||||||
| Winter | Joe Millionaire (#3/13.3) | ||||||
| Spring | Married by America | ||||||
| Mid-season | Mr. Personality | ||||||
| Summer | Anything for Love | Stupid Behavior Caught on Tape | Paradise Hotel | ||||
| NBC | Fall | Fear Factor (#30/7.7) | Third Watch | Crossing Jordan | |||
| Summer | For Love or Money | Meet My Folks | |||||
| Follow-up | Who Wants to Marry My Dad? | ||||||
| UPN | The Parkers | One on One | Girlfriends | Half & Half | Local Programming | ||
| The WB | 7th Heaven | Everwood | |||||
Tuesday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | 8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter | According to Jim | Life with Bonnie | Less than Perfect | NYPD Blue (#29/7.8) | |
| Spring | According to Jim | Lost at Home | |||||
| Follow Up | Less than Perfect | ||||||
| Summer | George Lopez | ||||||
| Mid-Summer | Life with Bonnie | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | JAG (#22/8.9) | The Guardian (#27/8.3) | Judging Amy (#18/9.5) | |||
| Mid-Summer | Big Brother | Cupid | |||||
| Fox | Fall | That '70s Show | Grounded for Life | 24 | Local Programming | ||
| Follow Up | That '70s Show | ||||||
| December | Andy Richter Controls the Universe | ||||||
| Winter | American Idol (#5/12.6) | ||||||
| Summer | American Juniors | Keen Eddie | |||||
| Mid-Summer | The O.C. | ||||||
| Late Summer | Performing As... | ||||||
| NBC | Fall | Just Shoot Me! | In-Laws | Frasier (#26/8.4) | Hidden Hills | Dateline NBC | |
| Winter | Fear Factor | A.U.S.A. | Kingpin | ||||
| March | Let's Make a Deal | Dateline NBC | |||||
| Follow Up | Law & Order | Watching Ellie | |||||
| Summer | Dog Eat Dog | Last Comic Standing | |||||
| Mid-Summer | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | ||||||
| UPN | Fall | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Haunted | Local Programming | |||
| November | Star Trek: Enterprise | ||||||
| Winter | Abby | Girlfriends | |||||
| Spring | Platinum | ||||||
| Follow Up | America's Next Top Model | ||||||
| Summer | America's Next Top Model | Girlfriends | The Parkers | ||||
| Mid-Summer | One on One | Abby | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | ||||
| The WB | Gilmore Girls | Smallville | |||||
NOTE: Grounded for Life was also originally scheduled to run on Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. on Fox, but it was pulled after two new episodes in September, and one in early December. The show moved to The WB in the spring in 2003.
Wednesday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | My Wife & Kids | George Lopez | The Bachelor / The Bachelorette (#16/9.9) | MDs | ||
| December | Extreme Makeover | ||||||
| January | The Bachelor / The Bachelorette (#16/9.9) | The Mole | |||||
| Mid-February | I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! | NYPD Blue | |||||
| Spring | The Bachelor / The Bachelorette (#16/9.9) | All American Girl | |||||
| Late April | Extreme Makeover | ||||||
| Summer | The Drew Carey Show | According to Jim | The Dating Experiment | ||||
| Mid-Summer | George Lopez | The Family | |||||
| CBS | Fall | 60 Minutes II | The Amazing Race | Presidio Med | |||
| Winter | Star Search | 60 Minutes II | 48 Hours Investigates | ||||
| Summer | The King of Queens | Becker | |||||
| Mid-Summer | 60 Minutes II | Big Brother | |||||
| Fox | Fall | The Bernie Mac Show | Cedric the Entertainer Presents | Fastlane | Local Programming | ||
| Winter | That '70s Show | American Idol (#6/12.5) | The Bernie Mac Show | Cedric the Entertainer Presents | |||
| Spring | American Idol (#6/12.5) | Wanda at Large | |||||
| Follow Up | American Idol (#6/12.5) | The Bernie Mac Show | |||||
| Summer | American Juniors | Paradise Hotel | |||||
| NBC | Fall | Ed | The West Wing (#21/9.0) | Law & Order (#9/11.7) | |||
| Spring | Dateline NBC | ||||||
| Summer | Fame | Law & Order | |||||
| Mid-Summer | Race to the Altar | The West Wing (#21/9.0) | |||||
| UPN | Star Trek: Enterprise | The Twilight Zone | Local Programming | ||||
| The WB | Fall | Dawson's Creek | Birds of Prey | ||||
| Winter | Angel | ||||||
| Summer | Boarding House: North Shore | The Jamie Kennedy Experiment | The Jamie Kennedy Experiment | ||||
| Mid-Summer | Smallville | Pepsi Smash | |||||
Thursday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | Fall | Monk | Push, Nevada | Primetime Thursday | |||
| December | Dinotopia | NYPD Blue | |||||
| January | ABC Specials, Movies and Repeats | ||||||
| Mid-February | Profiles from the Front Line | Are You Hot?: The Search for America's Sexiest People | |||||
| Spring | Whose Line Is It Anyway? | According to Jim | The Practice | ||||
| Follow Up | The ABC Thursday Night Movie | ||||||
| CBS | Fall | Survivor: Thailand (#7/11.9) (Tied with Everybody Loves Raymond) | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (#1/16.3) | Without a Trace (#15/10.0) | |||
| January | Star Search | ||||||
| Mid-February | Survivor: The Amazon (#7/11.9) (Tied with Everybody Loves Raymond) | ||||||
| Summer | The Amazing Race | ||||||
| Fox | Fall | 30 Seconds to Fame | 30 Seconds to Fame | The Pulse | Local Programming | ||
| December | Fox Thursday Night Movie | ||||||
| January | Joe Millionaire repeats | The Pulse | |||||
| Spring | Boston Public | ||||||
| NBC | Friends (#2/13.9) | Scrubs | Will & Grace (#11/11.0) (Tied with CSI: Miami) | Good Morning Miami (#23/8.7) | ER (#4/13.1) | ||
| UPN | WWE SmackDown | Local Programming | |||||
| The WB | Fall | Family Affair | Do Over | The Jamie Kennedy Experiment | Off Centre | ||
| Follow Up | The Jamie Kennedy Experiment | ||||||
| Winter | High School Reunion | Surreal Life | The Jamie Kennedy Experiment | ||||
| Spring | Sabrina the Teenage Witch | Family Affair | The Jamie Kennedy Experiment | On the Spot | |||
| Summer | The O'Keefes | The Jamie Kennedy Experiment | |||||
| Follow Up | WB Thursday Night Movie | ||||||
NOTE: Movies, baseball games, reruns, and specials comprised most of the programming Thursday nights on FOX. Septuplets was supposed to air at 9-10, but it was cancelled at the last minute.
Friday
Saturday
| Network | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:00 PM | 9:30 PM | 10:00 PM | 10:30 PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC | ABC Saturday Movie of the Week / Various Specials | ||||||
| CBS | Touched by an Angel | The District | The Agency | ||||
| Fox | COPS | COPS | America's Most Wanted | Local Programming | |||
| NBC | Fall | NBC Saturday Night Movie | |||||
| Winter | Law & Order (Repeats) | Law & Order: Criminal Intent (Repeats) | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Repeats) | ||||
| Spring | Hunter | Law & Order (Repeats) | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Repeats) | ||||
| Summer | NBC Saturday Night Movie | ||||||
| Mid-Summer | Just Shoot Me! | Watching Ellie | Various NBC Specials and Repeats | ||||
By network
ABC
CBS
Fox
NBC
UPN
The WB
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ http://www.fox.com/schedule/schedule_2002.htm