The Colbys - Ratings and Criticism

Ratings and Criticism

Although much hyped in 1985, garnering high ratings for its premiere episode, and also the winner of a 1986 People's Choice Award for New Dramatic TV Program, The Colbys was ultimately a ratings disappointment. The first season finished in 35th place, in part due to competition with NBC's Cheers on Thursday nights (by comparison, Dynasty finished in 7th place the same season). The series was renewed for a second season but fared much worse. Now not only being scheduled opposite NBC's Cheers, but also rival soap Knots Landing on CBS, The Colbys finished a dismal 76th for the year prompting the network to cancel the show.

The series did not fare well among critics either, with one of its main criticisms being that it was simply a copy of Dynasty. The L.A. Times described the show as "ridiculous" and stated "It's not a spinoff, it's a clone—as close a replica as ABC and the Dynasty producers could concoct, right down to the credits." The Pittsburgh Press criticized the acting as "terrible" and compared the scripts to Dick and Jane books for children. In their Directory To Primetime TV Shows, television historians Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh stated that the series likely failed because it was "too close a copy" of Dynasty.