Germany, only had 2 big networks in the 80´s and a third smaller who was different in every region
Dallas - Tuesdays 21:45 ARD, had the biggest ratings of the big 4, started 1981 all seasons, with some breaks when new episodes had to be dubbed; Miami Vice or Magnum got its timeslot (7 episodes weren´t shown)
Dynasty - Wedneydays started at 21:25 ZDF (who didn´t buy Dallas because of moral issues) later at 21:00. All episodes, with some breaks when new episodes had to be dubbed; between the first 2 seasons there was no break. So the newspaper wrote a lot about Alexis even the viewers had to wait 13 weeks. I think the pilot aired on Sunday and the first episode on Wedneyday. Over 40% did watch the pilot. At its heyday it reached more than 15% million viewers.
Falcon Crest - aired afternoons maybe between 5 and 6pm at different local networks of ARD (there were 2 hours at the afternoon where every region had a different programme filled to 90% with US shows like "Remington Steele", "Hart to Hart", "Simon & Simon". So only people in the region of WWF (in the West) got to see all episodes. I had to ask my uncle to record the last 2 seasons because in was in the region of NDR (north west). Newspaper called it "Dallas in the vineyards" before it started. Some wrote it would have beaten "Dallas" in the ratings if it were shown at evening. The critics seemed to like this show more than the 2 D´s. Later durring the mid 90´s SAT1 a private channel aired all episodes again.
It might be interesting to know which seasons of the major soaps were aired consecutively in (West) Germany, and where there were interruptions—as well as what took their place—at least in the case of Dallas and Dynasty; unlike Falcon Crest and Knots Landing, these series aired on their respective channels in a weekly prime-time slot reserved exclusively for foreign series.
Starting on June 30, 1981, Dallas was broadcast on ARD as the final program of the Tuesday evening prime-time lineup. Dallas took over the time slot that had previously been shared by two (crime) series at the same time, resulting in a new episode airing every other week. Prior to Dallas, in 1981, Quincy (which was cancelled after only 13 episodes, yet made a successful comeback on cable television in the 1990s) and The Enigma Files shared this time slot.
During the series' ten-year run in Germany, a few episodes of Dallas were broadcast at a later time due to sporting events. The two-hour season premieres were always split across two weeks—with the exception of the eleventh season premiere, which aired as a double episode at the start of prime time. The only episode not shown on a Tuesday was the series finale; it aired on a Friday at the start of prime time, three days after the penultimate episode.
The Early Years was broadcast by the rival channel ZDF on Sunday evening during the break between seasons 9 and 10.
A broadcast hiatus occurred for the first time between episodes 22 and 23 of the fifth season of Dallas—specifically, from April to September 1983. During this period, the first two seasons of Minder were aired; however, the British series attracted few fans, and ARD did not continue showing it, even in a different time slot. The midseason break was not well received, so from then on, Dallas only took a hiatus after a season had ended.
The next hiatus occurred between the seventh and eighth seasons. While German viewers learned the shooter's identity just three weeks after the attempt on J.R.'s life—preventing any real hype from building—audiences had to wait nine months for the story to continue following the shooting of Bobby. Magnum, P.I., which had previously been launched on Monday evenings in a time slot usually reserved for miniseries, subsequently took over Dallas's time slot.
Seasons 8 and 9 of Dallas aired back-to-back from September 1985 to October 1986; Miami Vice subsequently took over the time slot.
Season 10 is the only season of Dallas that was broadcast in Germany as a standalone run. Although Magnum, P.I. and Miami Vice had achieved good ratings while filling in for Dallas—and it was expected that one of the two series would take over the time slot—ARD decided to launch Flamingo Road in December 1987; however, Flamingo Road—by then seven years old—seemed completely out of style, and ratings steadily declined, though both seasons were aired back-to-back.
Seasons 11 and 12 of Dallas aired back-to-back, concluding in October 1989. This time, the hiatus was longer than ever before, lasting a full year. Initially, Miami Vice—which had previously aired briefly in a late Saturday night slot—took over the time slot, followed by the return of Magnum, P.I. after a four-year break.
Seasons 13 and 14 of Dallas were aired back-to-back, concluding in September 1991. The final two seasons of Miami Vice took over the time slot; after that, the weekly time slot for US series on ARD was discontinued. Incidentally, Magnum, P.I. concluded its run in the late Sunday evening time slot.
ARD broadcast J.R. Returns on a Friday evening in September 1998; however, the network considered War of the Ewings to be of insufficient quality, so the tv movie was not shown until May 2002—and even then, only on small cable channel Super RTL.
RTL—at the time (and still today) the largest cable channel—secured the rights to Dallas TNT and began airing it in January 2013 in a late Tuesday evening slot, with House M.D.—then the most-watched US series on German television—serving as the lead-in. However, despite a strong start, ratings declined rapidly (particularly among the young demos crucial to cable television); consequently, following the conclusion of the first season, Dallas was moved to the smaller sister channel, Super RTL. The second season premiered there in a Monday prime-time slot two weeks after the season 1 finale, yet the series failed to retain even half the audience it had previously attracted on RTL. Super RTL also aired the third season—albeit not until 2017—but in late-night slots with varying start times. At its low point, a single episode of the third season drew just 110,000 viewers—a stark contrast to the more than 18 million viewers the series had once commanded on ARD.
As for Knots Landing, ARD showed no interest, fearing that as a spin-off, it might divert attention from Dallas. Instead, Falcon Crest was acquired for access time where numerous US series were aired. ARD was content with two long-running soaps; otherwise, only short-lived soaps were given a chance—Flamingo Road in prime time, and Paper Dolls and Taurus Rising in access time; the latter two and a rerun of Rich Man, Poor Man (both books) served as stopgaps between two seasons of Falcon Crest.
Rival broadcaster ZDF launched Knots Landng on Saturday afternoons in early 1988, but it faced the same problem as Flamingo Road at the very same time: it seemed out of style. Attempts were made for two full years to establish Knots Landing in its time slot, but the run ended after the fourth episode of the sixth season. Six months later, Knots Landing returned, airing two afternoons a week; however, this time slot also proved unsuccessful, leading ZDF to discontinue broadcasts at the end of 1990. In January, however, the cable channel Sat 1 resumed airing the show—on Wednesday afternoons. Success remained elusive here as well, and the run ended once more after the ninth episode of the eighth season. It was only when Knots Landing began airing daily (from the start) at midday that the ratings were strong, but since Sat 1 had not yet acquired the entire series, two daily runs were required before the finale aired in August 1995 .Back to the Cul-de-Sac was only shown on pay TV.
Dynasty was broadcast on ZDF, a channel that—like ARD—reserved only a single weekly prime-time slot exclusively for foreign series. Dynasty (as Der Denver-Clan) aired primarily on Wednesdays; only the pilot and the first two episodes of the sixth season (as a double episode) were shown on a Sunday.
Dynasty premiered in April 1983, taking over the time slot previously held by (reruns of) The Streets of San Francisco. The first hiatus occurred in July 1984 following the third season; during this period, reruns of "The Persuaders!" were broadcast.
Season 4 started in November 1984, after which Hill Street Blues took over the timeslot. Hill Street Blues was a failure from the start, yet it was given the summer to find an audience. When this failed to happen, the series was moved to the late-night Friday slot, while Hotel—which had been successfully airing in the late-night Sunday slot for a few months—took over the Dynasty time slot.
Season 5 of Dynasty began in December 1985; the gap before season 6 was filled in the summer initially by reruns of The Professionals and, starting in September, by the new German series Rette mich, wer kann (Save me, whoever can), which did not progress beyond its first season of six episodes.
The broadcast of Dynasty continued with its sixth season in December 1986, but ZDF decided against airing the spin-off series The Colbys; that show did not premiere until August 1987, airing on Wednesdays on Sat 1, a cable channel that was still small at the time. On Sat 1, episodes of The Colbys would end at the exact moment the new Dynasty episode began on ZDF. In May, the final two episodes of the sixth season were broadcast on the same evening, interrupted only by the late-night news. ZDF considered the sixth season finale too intense to air in the show's regular time slot. During the summer months, reruns of the first season of Die Schwarzwaldklinik (The Black Forrest Clinic) —the most successful German series of that era—took over Dynasty’s time slot.
Season 7 premiered in October 1987, followed immediately by season 8, which concluded in November 1988. The first season of Jake and the Fatman took over the time slot; once that run ended, reruns of the The Persuaders! were shown.
It took ten months for season 9—announced as the final season—to launch in September 1989; it ended on February 28, 1990. Midnight Caller took over the time slot for about a year, followed by Matlock—whose first two seasons had aired successfully in the access time slot. However, even Matlock could not halt the decline of US series in prime time on the two major channels, leading both ARD and ZDF to abandon their weekly slots for international series.
The cable channel RTL secured the rights to The Reunion and broadcast it shortly before Christmas 1991. Both parts of The Reunion were the channel's two most-watched programs of the week, yet the audience was less than half the size of the viewership for season 9 when it had aired on ZDF.
The CW Dynasty never made it to German television and is only available to watch on Netflix.
