In 1995, Viacom and Chris-Craft Industries' United Television launched United Paramount Network (UPN) with Star Trek: Voyager as its flagship series, fulfilling Barry Diller's plan for a Paramount network when he ran Paramount in the mid-1970s. In 1999, Viacom bought out United Television's interests, and handed responsibility for the start-up network to the newly acquired CBS unit, which Viacom bought in 1999 – an ironic confluence of events as Paramount had once invested in CBS, and Viacom had once been the syndication arm of CBS as well. During this period the studio acquired some 30 television stations to support the UPN network as well acquiring and merging in the assets of Republic Pictures, Spelling Television and Viacom Television, almost doubling the size of the studio's television library.
Lasting eleven years before being merged with The WB network to become The CW in 2006, UPN would feature many of the shows it originally produced for other networks, and would take numerous gambles on series such as Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise that would have otherwise either gone direct-to-cable or become first-run syndication to independent stations across the country (as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: The Next Generation were).
1990s The original incarnation of Viacom purchased Paramount in 1993, with the deal closing in March 1994; Viacom then merged its own group of five CBS- and NBC-affiliated stations to the PSG fold. Shortly afterward Viacom entered into a joint venture with Chris-Craft Industries, which owned several television stations as part of its United Television subsidiary, to launch the United Paramount Network (UPN). Five of PSG's original six stations, along with several acquisitions such as WSBK-TV in Boston, became charter affiliates of the network when UPN launched in January 1995. PSG sold off two of its original six stations as well; KRRT and WTXF were sold to other companies, with the latter becoming a Fox-owned station. To make up for the loss of its Philadelphia-owned station, PSG bought Philadelphia independent station WGBS-TV and renamed it to WPSG-TV, and moved the UPN affiliation there. The company eventually divested itself of the CBS and NBC stations it held and purchased more UPN affiliates as the 1990s continued.
1995
This was the first season to feature the UPN and The WB, as both launched in January 1995. Both networks would ultimately shutdown and form The CW in September 2006. In January 1995, BHC Communications affiliated all of its stations, except the Salt Lake City and San Antonio outlets, with the newly launched UPN, which it fully owned and financed but ran with Paramount/Viacom, the network's producer. In December 1996, Paramount exercised its option to buy half of the network by paying half of the losses ($160 million). Included in the deal was to continue selling UPN Star Trek: Voyager instead of placing it in syndication.
When WWOR, channel 9 in New York City became a UPN affiliate in 1995, the WWOR EMI Service also covered up the network's shows, due to Paramount (although the network's sole owner-turned-half owner Chris-Craft owned the station) using syndication exclusivity to keep UPN's shows off the national WWOR feed—in contrast, rival superstation WGN carried programming from The WB on its national feed until nationwide terrestrial coverage was deemed sufficient to discontinue its carriage over the national WGN feed in October 1999. As a result of the syndication exclusivity claims by UPN, if New York City viewers of WWOR saw Star Trek: Voyager, cable viewers throughout the rest of the country saw Hazel reruns in the same timeslot. Star Trek: Voyager originally aired from January 1995 to May 2001, lasting for 172 episodes over seven seasons. As Star Trek: The Next Generation ended, Paramount Pictures wanted to continue to have a second Star Trek television series to accompany Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The studio also planned to start a new television network, and wanted the new series to help it succeed. This was reminiscent of Paramount's earlier plans to launch its own network by showcasing Star Trek: Phase II in 1977. Platypus Man aired from January 23 to July 10, 1995, during the network's first season.Carter, Bill (October 6, 1994). A New Network Hopes To Lure Fox Viewers. New York Times Starring comedian Richard Jeni, the television series was based on an hour-long HBO special of Jeni's filmed in 1992. The series lasted one season, with a total of thirteen episodes. Pig Sty premiered on January 23 and was cancelled after just 13 episodes on May 15, 1995. Pig Sty ran on Monday nights, after Star Trek: Voyager and Platypus Man. Legend ran from April 18, 1995, until August 22, 1995, with one final re-airing of the pilot on July 3, 1996. Twelve episodes were aired, including the 2-hour pilot episode. Despite critical praise, the show was canceled along with almost every other program aired on the UPN lineup. Marker premiered on January 17 and ended on May 16, 1995. The Watcher premiered on January 17, 1995 and ended on June 7, 1995, during the network's inaugural season. The series aired Tuesday night at 9:00p.m. Eastern time. The Watcher was one of five series that aired on UPN during its first year, joining other drama series Star Trek: Voyager and Marker and the sitcoms Pig Sty and Platypus Man. Like the latter three series, it was canceled following its one and only season.
1996
This is the first fall season for The WB and UPN. The schedules of either network would not be constant until fall 1999, when the WB decided to air shows from Sunday through Friday and UPN would air Monday through Friday. In the House aired on NBC from April 1995 to May 1996 after which it was canceled due to low ratings. UPN quickly picked up In the House where it aired for an additional two seasons. UPN canceled the series for a final time in May 1998. Nowhere Man aired every Monday night from August 28, 1995, to May 20, 1996, starring Bruce Greenwood. Despite critical acclaim, including TV Guides label of "This season's coolest hit," the show was cancelled after one season. Deadly Games appeared from September 5, 1995, to July 17, 1997, as part of its 1995 season. The series was produced by Viacom Productions. Much was made that Leonard Nimoy was executive producer, creative consultant and directed the pilot. Live Shot aired from August 29, 1995, to January 9, 1996. Most notable in the show's run was an early use of an ongoing story arc centering on the murder of a Los Angeles socialite. As the show was canceled with little warning, the story arc was never resolved. Also, sports reporter Lou Waller came out of the closet in the last act of the last episode to air. Consequently, the fallout of this event was never shown. Moesha aired from January 23, 1996, to May 14, 2001. It was originally ordered as a pilot for CBS' 1995–1996 television season but was rejected by the network. It was then picked up by UPN, which aired it as a mid-season replacement. It went on to become the biggest success for the nascent network and one of the greatest hits over the course of the network's entire run. By the sixth season, ratings for Moesha had dropped and UPN opted not to renew or air the series for a seventh season. The series ended on an unresolved cliffhanger with Myles being kidnapped by a rival of Dorian, Moesha considering moving in with Hakeem, and an unknown positive pregnancy test being found in the trash at Moesha's dorm room. Entertainment Weekly put out a rumour that certain plots were to be resolved on The Parkers, but those plans never came through, and the storylines were ultimately never resolved. Minor Adjustments aired on NBC from September 16, 1995, until November 26, 1995, and on UPN from January 23, 1996, until June 4, 1996. The Sentinel aired from March 20, 1996, to May 24, 1999. The Sentinel was canceled after 3 seasons by UPN, with the last episode being a big cliffhanger with Blair's life in the balance. An intense fan campaign convinced UPN to give the series a season of eight episodes to end the series properly. Swift Justice for one season from March 13 to July 17, 1996. Critics noted Swift Justice's emphasis on violence, specifically in the pilot episode's opening sequence, comparing it to the crime drama The Equalizer (1985–1989) and the 1988 film Die Hard. UPN canceled the program after receiving complaints from viewers, advertisers, and critics of its violent scenes. Wolf considered the cancellation a mistake due to the show's good ratings. The series was praised for its visuals and McCaffrey's performance, but criticized as being either too violent or formulaic. Swift Justice was part of UPN's "aggressive new spring schedule" that expanded the network's programming to three nights per week. Picked up as a mid-season replacement, the series was broadcast on Wednesday nights at 9:00 pm EST. Thirteen episodes aired between March and July 1996. Rocky Mountain News' Dusty Saunders cited the series as an example of the network shifting toward action-adventure programming. Mediaweek's Scotty Dupree wrote that Swift Justice and The Sentinel were meant to attract a male audience, saying they were the only shows, aside from JAG, marketed to men on Wednesday nights. Wolf specified the target audiences of males as being aged 18 to 34. Swift Justices pilot episode was shown with a viewer advisory regarding its violence. During the show's broadcast, watchdog organizations and viewers were critical of the representation of violence on television. UPN canceled Swift Justice, Nowhere Man, Minor Adjustments, and The Paranormal Borderline, in favor of black sitcoms. The network decided to remove Swift Justice from its schedule following viewer and advertiser complaints about its violence. During a 2013 interview with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Dick Wolf referred to the decision to end Swift Justice as a "cancellation error", particularly since UPN did not have a drama with comparable ratings at the time. Following the show's cancellation, when Wolf was casting for the television productions Players and Exiled: A Law & Order Movie in the late 1990s, he again hired Ice-T, who has noted that Wolf often collaborated with the same actors.
1997
Malcolm & Eddie premiered August 26, 1996, on UPN, and ran for four seasons, airing its final episode on May 22, 2000. Goode Behavior premiered August 26, 1996, on UPN. The series was cancelled after one season, airing its last episode on May 19, 1997, for a total of 22 episodes. Sparks aired from August 26, 1996, to March 2, 1998. The series stars James Avery, Robin Givens, Terrence Howard, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Kym Whitley and Arif S. Kinchen. The sitcom is set in Compton, California, and is about the everyday lives of a family of lawyers running a family-owned law practice. Homeboys in Outer Space aired from August 27, 1996, to May 13, 1997. The series was panned by critics and was canceled by UPN after one season. The series was later featured on TV Guide'''s List of the 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time. Significant criticism was levied towards the contrived pop culture references and celebrity cameos, and the NAACP criticized the ethnic stereotypes being played for laughs. Social Studies aired from March 18 to April 22, 1997.