SYNOPSIS

In the early 1970's, CBS had attempted to compete in the late-night audience sweepstakes with The Merv Griffin Show. When Griffin failed to make a significant dent in the ratings of NBC's highly successful Tonight Show, CBS decided to take a different approach to late-night programming, airing the same thing local stations had been showing for years - movies. The CBS Late Movie at first consisted of theatrical and made-for-television films, mostly reruns of material that had previously been seen in prime time. In the fall of 1976 reruns of Kojak started airing two nights a week and by the end of the 1970's, despite the umbrella title The CBS Late Movie, the bulk of CBS' late-night lineup actually consisted of reruns of former prime-time series (Kojak, Hawaii 5-O, Barnaby Jones, The Jefferson, etc...). There were also first American runs of such British series as The New Avengers and Return of the Saint, and limited runs of original programming (NBA Basketball Playoffs and No Holds Barred). In the fall of 1985, finally acknowledging the obvious, the title was changed to CBS Late Night.