TGIF Head Honcho Reminds Us It Never Actually Meant ‘Thank God It’s Friday,’ But It's His Cartoon Mice Comments That Blew My Mind

TV programming blocks aren’t what they once were where network television is concerned, at least outside of NBC’s One Chicago Wednesday lineup and CBS’ FBI trio of dramas, but ABC’s TGIF run was successful enough to make or break a sitcom like Family Matters, and all during one of the weakest nights for TV ratings. Years after the programming block faded away, its creative spearheader has shared a few reminders with longtime fans, such as what the famed acronym actually stands for.

The Story Behind TGIF's Name

Former ABC creative Jim Janicek reunited with some TGIF elites for the podcast Pod Meets World, as co-hosted by Boy Meets World's Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle and Rider Strong, with whom he recalled being in his early 20s and working for the network in the mid-1980s, a few years before sitcom history would be made. And when some new execs entered the picture in 1987, attempts were made to put special focus on emerging sitcoms like Full House, Perfect Strangers, Just the 10 of Us and more.

At the time, Janicek had the bright idea to utilize the shows' showrunners and stars for promos to run between episodes, with the idea being that after each sitcom aired, its characters were hopping on the couch to watch their network neighbors along with everyone watching from home. And so when the idea came up to go bigger with Friday night's shows, Janicek said he worked on a few other ideas before striking gold, noting:

And wouldn't you know it, in came future Disney boss Bob Iger and fellow exec Stu Brower, who more formally pitched the idea for TGIF as the hook for ABC's pre-weekend comedies. But their idea wasn't to go with the standard "Thank God It's Friday," which wouldn't be very organic to the TV approach. As Janicek put it:

Now why would Chili's or Outback Steakhouse have a problem with the name TGIF? Oh wait, he means that other restaurant....Ruby Tuesdays. [Hold for laughter and applause.]

Now while I've personally always had it lurking in my brain somewhere that TGIF stood for "Thank Goodness It's Funny" as opposed to the other phrase populating coffee mugs and airbrushed T-shirts, I'd completely forgotten about the animations that introduced the block in the early days. Which brings us to...

TGIF's Animated Mice Opening

Before the full TGIF idea was introduced and explored, Jim Janicek and others worked on the initial interstitial animations that didn't last too long alongside the live-action promos. And looking back, it's perhaps not too surprising, considering the animated mice skewed a bit young for the all-aged audiences that ABC was trying to bring in.

But the point was still to create something catchy, and the team employed a well-known advertising animation company to help out. As Janicek put it:

Considering how lucrative the idea of nostalgia is at this point, I'm kind of shocked that there aren't 3 different kinds of Funko Pop figureines for Friday the Mouse, and that he doesn't have a rap album or a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade float or a Disneyland ride.

Friday nights on the 2025 TV schedule are pretty much ruled by CBS dramas, as it's gone for recent years, from the now-canceled Blue Bloods to S.W.A.T., Fire Country, and NCIS: Sydney. But maybe one day ABC sitcoms will one day group together for more Friday night mouse-capades.