Programming concept in which a number of different TV shows are run in the same time slot under one umbrella title. Universal Television was the most prolific producer of these programs. Not to be confused with that other wheel program. Shows that share their time slots with spin-offs (Once Upon a Time/Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D./Agent Carter) should not be considered as there is no umbrella wheel title.
Wheel Titles:
- Action Pack (somewhat of a blend between this and a PTEN-style "network")
- Cliffhangers (an updating of old-style movie serials)
- Force Five (five different dubbed anime shows centered around giant robots)
- Four in One (unlike many other wheel shows, there was no common connection or overarching theme)
- The ABC Mystery Movie
- The Bold Ones
- The Comic Strip
- The Name of the Game (the Trope Codifier, being the first of the Universal/NBC wheel programs)
- Super Sunday (an Animated Anthology featuring multiple segments, all based upon Hasbro toylines)
- The NBC Mystery Movie
- The NBC Sunday Mystery Movie
- The NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie
- The Sci-Fi Channel Series Collection (more of a rerun slot for shows that only lasted one season)
- The Men (an ABC series that presented three different shows from different companies, one of which was Universal)
- Warner Bros. Presents (the Trope Maker, though about a decade too early)
Wheel shows:
- Amy Prentiss
- Banacek
- BL Stryker
- Columbo (first series, and revival)
- Cool Million
- Faraday and Company
- Gideon Oliver
- Hec Ramsey
- Kojak (revival)
- Lanigan's Rabbi
- Madigan
- McCloud
- McCoy
- McMillan & Wife
- Night Gallery (first season)
- Quincy, M.E. (first season)
- San Francisco International Airport
- Stop Susan Williams
- Tatort
- Tenafly
- The Curse of Dracula
- The Lawyers
- The New Doctors
- The Protectors
- The Psychiatrist
- The Secret Empire
- The Senator
- The Snoop Sisters
References to Wheel Shows:
- Mystery Science Theater 3000: Whenever a man is shown with a flashlight, the bots call out, "It's the NBC Mystery Movie!" The pilot film for San Francisco International Airport, which later became part of the wheel series Four in One, was riffed in season 6 of the show.
- The Simpsons: One episode ends with a parody of the NBC Mystery Movie opening credits, with Nelson as Columbo, Dr. Hibbert as Quincy, M.E., Rich Texan as McCloud, and Mr. Burns and Smithers as McMillan & Wife.
