That is, unless those viewers were in Boston.
At the time, the city was facing a school busing crisis, one that began in 1974 with a court order to desegregate its public schools.
But it was far enough from the norm in Boston to put the ABC station’s leadership on edge.
“The people who produce the show have said we aren’t carrying it because the show is controversial.
While it couldn’t be seen on the Boston station, the new sitcom was a hit elsewhere.
And it wasn’t long before Gabe Kotter’s classroom was welcomed onto WCVB’s schedule, too.
“You had this racially diverse cast and yet they didn’t make a big deal out of it,” TV historian and Syracuse professor Robert Thompson said in a Los Angeles Times interview in 2012.