1966: 'The Dating Game' Goes Primetime
On this day in 1966, thanks to the sudden cancellation of The Tammy Grimes Show — a four-week-old sitcom starring Tammy Grimes and future Bewitched star Dick Sargent (and the first cancellation of the 1966-1967 television season) — ABC was forced to plug a hole in its primetime schedule with a show from its daytime lineup. The show it chose to fill the void was the audience participation show, The Dating Game, never expecting the "temporary" fix to turn into a three-year primetime commitment.
Created by Chuck Barris and hosted by Jim Lange, The Dating Game featured a contestant asking three unseen members of the opposite sex a series of questions. At the end of the round, the questioner choose one of the three to accompany her (or him) on a show-sponsored night on the town or trip. Introduced in 1965, the daytime version ran on ABC until 1973, and then moved into syndication.