2003–04 United States network television schedule
The following is the 2003–04 network television schedule for the six major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 2003 through August 2004. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 2002–03 season. 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]
The 2003-2004 season marked the final time that the major networks scheduled substantial original scripted drama series on Saturdays. After years of declining ratings on that particular evening, beginning with the 2004-2005 season the networks ceased scheduling original dramas on Saturdays, choosing instead to fill the schedule with non-fiction programming and reruns.
- 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.
From August 13 to 29, 2004, all of NBC's primetime programming was preempted in favor of coverage of the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Sunday
NOTE: On Fox, The Ortegas was supposed to air at 8:30-9, but it was cancelled.
Monday
Tuesday
NOTE: On The WB, Fearless was supposed to have started in the Fall at 9-10, but it was delayed to midseason, then it was cancelled both due to production difficulties.
Wednesday
NOTE: On Fox, The Bernie Mac Show and Cedric the Entertainer Presents were both supposed to air at 9-10, but at the last minute placed The O.C. instead, and The Bernie Mac Show was placed on Sundays, and Cedric the Entertainer Presents were cancelled. On NBC, original episodes of The Apprentice were supposed to air at 8-9 in 2004, but at the last minute, repeats were at it instead.
Thursday
NOTE: On Fox, The O.C. was supposed to air at 9-10 after Tru Calling, but at the last minute stick with repeats. On NBC, Good Morning, Miami was supposed to have moved to Thursdays 9:30-10 starting January 2004, but at the last minute pulled and replaced with original episodes of The Apprentice.
Friday
Saturday
| Network | 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 | LA Dragnet | ||||
| Winter | America's Funniest Home Videos | ||||||
| Mid-Summer | Whose Line Is It Anyway? | Whose Line Is It Anyway? | |||||
| CBS | Fall | 48 Hours Investigates | Hack | The District | |||
| Winter | Star Search | ||||||
| Spring | CBS Saturday Night Movie | ||||||
| Mid-Summer | The Amazing Race | Big Brother | Various CBS Dramas | ||||
| Fox | COPS | COPS | America's Most Wanted | Local Programming | |||
| NBC | Fall | NBC Saturday Night Movie / Repeats of Various NBC Programs | |||||
| Winter | The Tracy Morgan Show | NBC Saturday Night Movie / Repeats of Various NBC Programs | |||||
By network
ABC
CBS
Fox
|
Returning series
|
New series
|
Canceled/Ended
|
NBC
UPN
|
Returning series
|
New series
|
Canceled/Ended
|
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.