BREAKTHROUGH HIT: A television series, usually in prime time, that achieves huge popularity. Its success typically has wide-ranging impact on the medium, inspiring imitators and sparking new interest in the genre. See also: All in the Family, Happy Days, Charlie's Angels, Dallas.
Network programmers hardly need a TV encyclopedia to recognize that another show has joined that select category. NBC's The Cosby Show, starring Bill Cosby as an obstetrician coping with the small trials of family life, was the highest-rated network series to debut last fall, and its following has grown to blockbuster proportions. The sitcom now lands regularly in the...
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