Programming
Most of UPN's programming through the years was produced by Paramount Television or a sister company (Viacom Productions, Big Ticket Entertainment, Spelling Television, or CBS Productions).
The first official UPN network programming was the series Star Trek: Voyager. The first comedy shows to debut were Platypus Man, starring Richard Jeni, and Pig Sty, with both shows airing Monday nights in the 9 PM hour. Both received mixed reviews and neither lasted long. Other early UPN programs included the action show Nowhere Man starring Bruce Greenwood, the action show Marker starring Richard Grieco, The Watcher featuring Sir Mix-a-Lot as an omniscient narrator, the comic western Legend starring Richard Dean Anderson, the science-fiction themed action show, The Sentinel, and Moesha, a sitcom starring Brandy Norwood. Of the network's first few seasons, only Star Trek: Voyager, Moesha, and The Sentinel would last longer than one season.
UPN bought Buffy the Vampire Slayer from 20th Century Fox in 2001 when The WB chose not to renew it when the license fees skyrocketed. Buffy continued on UPN for two more seasons.
UPN also bought the rights to broadcast television shows Clueless (formerly on ABC), The Hughleys (formerly on ABC), and Roswell (formerly on The WB). The former show was produced by Paramount Television, while the latter two were produced by 20th Century Fox Television.
After Voyager's 7-season run came to an end, UPN began broadcasting the newest Star Trek spin-off, Star Trek: Enterprise.
The network also produced some special programs, including the Iron Chef USA program during Christmas 2001. UPN also showed WWE's SmackDown! show, America's Next Top Model, Girlfriends, The Parkers (a spin-off from Moesha), Veronica Mars, and Everybody Hates Chris. In the summer of 2005, UPN aired R U the Girl, in which R&B group TLC searched for a woman to join them on a new song.
In its later years, as part of the network's desire to maintain its own unique identity with its own unique shows, UPN had a policy of "not picking up other networks' scraps", which was a strong argument when fan pressure was generated in 2004 for them to pick up Angel, the spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer which had been dropped from The WB.
UPN aired only one regular network sports event program: the much-hyped XFL in 2001, as part of a package from co-creator Vince McMahon which also included what was then WWF SmackDown! UPN had planned to air a second season of XFL in 2002, but it also demanded a reduction in the airtime of SmackDown! by 30 minutes. McMahon did not agree to the change and the XFL folded just after that.
Like The WB, UPN never aired a national newscast.
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Famous quotes containing the word programming:
“If there is a price to pay for the privilege of spending the early years of child rearing in the driver’s seat, it is our reluctance, our inability, to tolerate being demoted to the backseat. Spurred by our success in programming our children during the preschool years, we may find it difficult to forgo in later states the level of control that once afforded us so much satisfaction.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)