You Can't Do That on Television poster

You Can't Do That on Television (1979)

Comedy · Family

You Can't Do That on Television is a Canadian television program that first aired locally in 1979 before airing internationally in 1981. It featured pre-teen and teenaged actors in a sketch comedy format. Each episode had a theme. The show was notable for launching the careers of many performers, including Alanis Morissette, and writer Bill Prady, who would write and produce shows like The Big Bang Theory, Gilmore Girls and Dharma and Greg. The show was produced by and aired on Ottawa's CTV station CJOH-TV. After production ended in 1990, the show continued in reruns on Nickelodeon through 1994, when it was replaced with the similar All That. The show is synonymous with Nick, and was at that time extremely popular, with the highest ratings overall on the channel. The show is also well known for introducing the network's iconic slime. The program is the subject of the 2004 feature-length documentary, You Can't Do That on Film, directed by David Dillehunt.

IMDb rating
8.1 (2,851 votes)
Seasons
5
Streaming (US)
Paramount+
Language
EN
Type
TV series

Ratings refreshed Jul 3, 2026 · 5 seasons indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 2 (1981)

7.11 avg 13 episodes 6.9 → 7.6 26 min avg

Ep 1: 6.9 · 21 votesEp 2: 6.9 · 19 votesEp 3: 6.8 · 17 votesEp 4: 6.6 · 17 votesEp 5: 6.8 · 17 votesEp 6: 7.3 · 20 votesEp 7: 7.1 · 20 votesEp 8: 6.9 · 20 votesEp 9: 7.0 · 21 votesEp 10: 7.6 · 17 votesEp 11: 7.7 · 18 votesEp 12: 7.2 · 18 votesEp 13: 7.6 · 18 votes
Season 2 episodes — IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Work, Work, Work6.921
2Transportation6.919
3Strike Now6.817
4Dating6.617
5Fitness6.817
6Safety First7.320
7Sexual Equality7.120
8Personal Hygiene6.920
9Smoking7.021
10Crime and Vandalism7.617
11Drugs7.718
12Nutrition7.218
13Peer Pressure7.618

Season 3 (1982)

7.28 avg 13 episodes 7.2 → 7.2 27 min avg

Ep 1: 7.2 · 19 votesEp 2: 8.0 · 15 votesEp 3: 7.3 · 12 votesEp 4: 7.3 · 16 votesEp 5: 6.9 · 16 votesEp 6: 7.9 · 14 votesEp 7: 7.0 · 12 votesEp 8: 6.3 · 18 votesEp 9: 9.2 · 12 votesEp 10: 7.0 · 13 votesEp 11: 6.6 · 20 votesEp 12: 6.8 · 15 votesEp 13: 7.2 · 11 votes
Season 3 episodes — IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Cosmetics7.219
2Addictions8.015
3Popularity7.312
4Fads and Fashion7.316
5Vacations6.916
6Rip-Offs7.914
7Bullying7.012
8Culture Junk6.318
9Television9.212
10Sports7.013
11Heroes6.620
12The Not-So-Fair Show6.815
13Growing Up7.211

Season 4 (1983)

6.94 avg 7 episodes 9.0 → 6.8 30 min avg

Ep 1: 9.0 · 15 votesEp 2: 7.5 · 15 votesEp 3: 6.6 · 13 votesEp 4: 7.1 · 14 votesEp 5: 6.8 · 18 votesEp 10: 4.8 · 7 votesEp 11: 6.8 · 14 votes
Season 4 episodes — IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Media9.015
2Pets7.515
3Medicine6.613
4Rules and Regulations7.114
5Future World6.818
10Classical Music4.87
11Manners6.814

Season 5 (1984)

7.57 avg 3 episodes 6.9 → 7.8 30 min avg

Ep 14: 6.9 · 15 votesEp 21: 8.0 · 6 votesEp 26: 7.8 · 10 votes
Season 5 episodes — IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
14Halloween6.915
21Families8.06
26Wealth7.810

Season 7 (1986)

8.18 avg 4 episodes 8.7 → 8.0 30 min avg

Ep 3: 8.7 · 15 votesEp 7: 8.0 · 11 votesEp 11: 8.0 · 14 votesEp 16: 8.0 · 13 votes
Season 7 episodes — IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
3Know-It-Alls8.715
7Country8.011
11Contests8.014
16Sleep8.013