The following is the 1976–77 network television schedule for the three major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1976 through August 1977. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1975–76 season. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football.

New fall series are highlighted in bold.

Each of the 30 highest-rated shows is listed with its rank and rating as determined by Nielsen Media Research.^[1]

  Yellow indicates the programs in the top 10 for the season.

  Cyan indicates the programs in the top 20 for the season.

  Magenta indicates the programs in the top 30 for the season.

PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, was in operation, but the schedule was set by each local station.

The Muppet Show (syndicated in the U.S.) premiered this season.

Note: The Brady Bunch Hour previously aired on a sporadic basis starting in November 1976, before becoming a weekly series in February 1977.

Note: On ABC, the 1977 summer miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man consisted of reruns of the 1976 miniseries. On CBS, The Family Holvak consisted of reruns of the 1975 NBC series before being replaced by a four-week run of The Jack Benny Show (with Phyllis in the 8:30 slot), featuring episodes from its 1963-64 season.

Note: NBC originally planned to air Snip (a sitcom starring David Brenner) on Thursdays at 9:30 with The Practice preceding it at 9. On Aug. 28, NBC announced a "massive reshuffling" of its schedule and pulled Snip,^[2] which never aired.

Note: A special program, Campaign '76, aired on CBS from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. from September to early November in preparation for the 1976 presidential election.