The cast of Taxi had mixed reactions when the series moved to NBC

In 1983, Taxi and Cheers had joined the ranks of NBC’s "Best Night of Television on Television." But both shows soon began to lose steam, making it one of the unhappiest happy hours in TV history.

After many weeks of disappointing ratings, Taxi was moved to Saturday nights on NBC, after spending its first four seasons on ABC Tuesday nights. This shift was troubling for some stars of the Taxi cast.

During Taxi's run on ABC, the show earned critical acclaim and won multiple Emmy Awards during its early seasons. However, ABC canceled Taxi after its fourth season, despite its success with critics and award shows.

According to a 1983 interview with the Asbury Park Press, the change came with challenges, especially for star Judd Hirsch, who played the role of Alex Reiger.

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"The cast doesn’t like it, not because NBC is unfair, but because we don’t know what to expect," Hirsch said. "The show is going before a very unknown public. I can only say it’s gotta be better, because if it isn’t, we’re history."

Danny DeVito, who played Louie De Palma, had his own theory about the change and was a little more upbeat about the potential success of the series in the new time slot at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday nights.

"I feel good about the move to Saturday night," DeVito said. "You ever try to pick up anything before 10:30? There’s nothing out there, man. I think we’re gonna do ok. All they’ve had to look at is The Love Boat. Now they’ve got something good. Let’s start a whole new trend. Quality people don’t go out until 10 or 10:30. That’s my motto."

Taxi had drawn its biggest audience in major Eastern cities but failed to connect as strongly in other parts of the country. The ratings picture was similar for Cheers, but NBC remained determined to stand by both series.

"They were behind us all the way," DeVito said. "They still are. We’re still a great show. We’re really tight, working good. It’s tough to put your finger on why people outside of the big cities are not turning us on."