Laurie Hill - Broadcast and Reception

Broadcast and Reception

Laurie Hill aired Wednesdays at 9:30/8:30c, effectively causing a bookending of shows from creators Marlens and Black for that evening's comedy lineup. The Wonder Years, which Marlens and Black also created/produced, kicked off the Wednesday night schedule. Set to air in the coveted time slot after sophomore hit series Home Improvement (which had moved into the Wednesday 9/8c slot just prior to that season's start), and given its creative lineage, Laurie Hill was expected to be successful. However, when Marlens and Black appeared on a press tour for the series in the summer of 1992, the first questions asked by those who had screened the pilot concerned whether or not they were serious about airing the program. This reception eventually lead to reviews that cited the series as being uninspired, sorely lacking and not living up to the innovative Wonder Years.

Originally slated to have a mid-September preview telecast in the Tuesday 9:30/8:30 slot (after Roseanne), Laurie Hill was denied a special preview in the eleventh hour, and had its proper debut moved up to September 30th, in its regular time slot. It also became the last of ABC's new fall series to premiere. The pilot episode ranked a respectable 38th place in the Nielsens when it finally aired, but was deemed a large audience loss from Home Improvement, the #4 program that week. Rather unusually, ABC did not air Laurie Hill the following Wednesday, further indicating the network's loss of faith in the show. The series returned for three more consecutive airings, all of which saw increasingly lower ratings. ABC canceled Laurie Hill upon the fourth episode's airing on October 28, 1992, leaving five remaining episodes unaired.