TGIF (ABC)

TGIF was the slogan of an American family-friendly prime time programming block on the ABC network. The slogan comes from the initials of the popular phrase "Thank God It's Friday". However, the stars of the lineup touted the meaning as "Thank Goodness It's Funny."

History

ABC Friday night legacy: 1950s to 1970s

Family-friendly comedies, which featured families with children as major characters, were a staple of ABC programming going back to the network's earlier sitcoms from the 1950s onward, such as The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (premiered 1952), Leave It to Beaver (moved to ABC in 1958 after its first season on CBS), The Donna Reed Show (premiered 1958), The Flintstones (premiered 1960, but was largely an adult-oriented comedy until the birth of Pebbles in 1963), The Brady Bunch (premiered 1969) and The Partridge Family (premiered 1970; this and The Brady Bunch became part of the Friday night lineup at that time). All of these shows are considered television classics today.

Enter Jim Janicek

TGIF was created and executive produced by Jim Janicek. Before TGIF’s success, Jim was a writer and producer for ABC Entertainment in charge of promoting Tuesday and Friday night comedies. Recalling his childhood when his family would gather to watch The Wonderful World of Disney, Jim was inspired to create a family comedy block of television programming. In 1988, Jim began gaining support...
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