Broadcast Networks Are Mining Nostalgia to Revitalize Fall TV

Many networks have made the old new again, tapping into nostalgia for the olden days when there were just a handful of networks.

Network TV has always been built on tried and true formulas. A host behind a late night desk; cops catching bad guys; comedians anchoring sitcoms with their names worked into the title — but there seems to be something even more unabashedly nostalgic about broadcast schedules this fall.

If you only take a brief glance at the TV Guide listings (well, the online TV listings anyway), you could be mistaken for thinking it was a misprint showing the primetime line-up from decades ago. A Reba McEntire comedy? Back on the dial. “Night Court”? “Matlock“? All new, just like they were in the late 1980s. “Grey’s Anatomy”? Yep, still going strong like it’s still 2005 — even if there are hardly any doctors still around that a fan from those early seasons might actually recognize.

Though streaming has only deepened the divide, there has always been a pretty clear delineation between what made a “broadcast” show and what made a “cable” (and now “streaming”) show. Niche comedies like “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” or gritty serialized dramas like “Sons of Anarchy”? Those are the epitome of what makes cable TV cable TV, the kinds of shows that often dominate at awards season. But still, the usual ideas that people conjure about “watching TV” in general? That’s typically where the broadcast traditions come in.

Tried and true police procedural formats and franchises, comedies you can turn on in the background like comfort food, and reality TV staples that have been rolling along for the better part of two decades now. As TV ratings continue a slow decline that has been slouching toward Bethlehem for decades, many networks have made the old new again, tapping into nostalgia for the olden days when there were just a handful of networks and shows pulled in tens of millions of viewers by the regular.

Just look at the 2024-2025 fall schedule:

CBS is arguably the leader of the pack when it comes to nostalgia bait, with a rebooted Matlock (hooked to a surprisingly clever twist!) starring acting royalty Kathy Bates. There’s also a comedy line-up led by new sitcom “Poppa’s House,” which unites father-son sitcom staples Damon Wayans (“My Wife and Kids”) and Damon Wayans, Jr. (“New Girl,” “Happy Endings”). There’s also long-running hit “The Neighborhood,” starring comedy icon Cedric the Entertainer, back now for its seventh season.

Then there’s the procedural block, with the “NCIS” franchise locking down a full night of primetime with flagship series “NCIS” and new, early-1990s-set prequel “NCIS: Origins” — not to mention international spinoff “NCIS: Sydney” set for a winter run to keep the franchise expansion going. On the reality side, “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race” remain stalwarts of the CBS calendar, more than 20 years after they first debuted.

There’s even a fresh entry from what has become one of the most enduring comedy franchises of the past decade, with “Young Sheldon” and “The Big Bang Theory” spinoff “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage” off to solid success in its first season.

On NBC, sitcom staples George Lopez and Reba McEntire both have new comedies on NBC’s fall schedule, with McEntire actually reuniting with her old “Reba” co-star Melissa Peterman for the bar-set sitcom “Happy’s Place.” Lopez is in the second season of his latest sitcom “Lopez vs. Lopez,” sharing the screen with his real life daughter Mayan. Then, of course, there’s the hit “Night Court” reboot now in its second season, co-starring comedy legend John Larroquette, reprising his role from the beloved original series’ 1980s-1990s run.

Law & Order, the procedural franchise that charts its course all the way back to its original 1990 premiere, continues to lock down the network’s Thursday night block with “Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” — while spinoff “Law & Order: Organized Crime” is jumping to streaming on Peacock for its new season, but still going strong.

Last season, a short-lived (but good!) modern revival of the beloved science fiction series “Quantum Leap” was axed after two seasons, proving that not all nostalgia plays pay dividends. But science fiction is almost always a riskier prospect, even when mining known IP.

As for ABC, “Grey’s Anatomy” is still chugging along in its 21st season, along with American Idol, which dates all the way back to its 2002 debut (originally premiering on Fox) and is still cranking out new pop stars by the year. The network has also found a fresh hit by perfectly mashing up two proven genres with “Doctor Odyssey,” basically tossing “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Love Boat” in a blender (with former “Dawson’s Creek” heartthrob Joshua Jackson and “Miami Vice” and “Nash Bridges” legend Don Johnson leading the cast).

Network TV knows its place, and its leaning harder than ever into the genres, tropes and stars that came to define an older era of TV — and with so many options across streaming and cable — there’s something to be said for turning on the TV and finding something comfortably familiar there. The 2024 season is a return to and continuation of what has kept broadcast TV afloat for decades, and with several of these shows finding ratings wins (“Matlock” was one of CBS’s biggest premieres in half-a-decade, while Reba’s “Happy’s Place” scored 10+ million viewers across broadcast and streaming), it represents a new way forward.

And the new way forward, at least for now, seems to be through the nostalgia of the past.