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By the mid-1960s, NBC was in distress. Most nights were becoming problematic, so near any night could be better served with a movie. With the 90 Bristol Court experiment on Monday, Wednesday night was chosen as the second movie night.
Wednesday nights had been a lackluster night for a while, even as The Virginian remained a solid replacement for losing mega-hit Wagon Train. Counter-programming smash hits like The Beverly Hillbillies and The Dick Van Dyke Show was exactly what a movie could achieve. Espionage and The Eleventh Hour certainly didn't do the trick last season. (It also helped that CBS moved The Beverly Hillbillies back a half hour this season. The move didn't kill the show, but it went from #1 to #12 in no time.)
This season also introduced viewers to made for television movies. NBC ordered three original movies from Universal. Two (See How They Run, The Hanged Man) would air in the fall while the third (The Killers) was deemed to violent for TV and instead went to theaters.
