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The 1980 TV show Tom Hanks wasn’t in that he was sure would ruin his career: “We are toast”
Tom Hanks feared his first recurring television role, *Bosom Buddies*, would end his chances of becoming an actor after it was scheduled against *Magnum, P.I.* The rival show’s success overwhelmed the sitcom, which was cancelled after two seasons, but Hanks later suggested the cancellation may have helped open the way to his film career.
Hanks and Peter Scolari’s comedy premiered on ABC in 1980, following *Mork & Mindy*. CBS then placed *Magnum, P.I.* opposite it, and the police drama averaged 21 million viewers a week in its first season; *Mork & Mindy* had been drawing more than 10 million per episode. *Bosom Buddies* was moved between time slots before its cancellation in 1982, while *Magnum, P.I.* ran for eight seasons.
In short
- Hanks thought *Magnum, P.I.* would doom *Bosom Buddies*.
- The sitcom was cancelled after two seasons.
- Hanks later landed a role in *Splash*.
Explained simply
In the early 1980s, US television networks competed for viewers by scheduling programmes at the same time. Bosom Buddies was a comedy about two men, played by Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari, who disguise themselves as women to live in a women-only hotel.
Its rival, Magnum, P.I., was a crime drama starring Tom Selleck. It drew a much larger audience, and Bosom Buddies was moved between time slots before being cancelled after two seasons. The contrast matters because the show was Hanks’s first regular television role, though he later went on to build a film career.