The scheduling is designed to make sure that new episodes show in May. May is a sweeps month, which is when tv shows' ratings determine the rates they can charge for ads. This is why you always get new episodes in November, February, and May.
Another factor is the shrinking season. For decades, until roughly the late 80's, IIRC, the standard tv season was 26 episodes long; half the year. 26 episodes ensures a pretty straight run of new episdes froma premiere in September to a finale in May if you take into account lost weeks for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It began shrinking as ratings went down in the 90's and actors' salaries skyrocketed. The standard network order nowdays is 22 episodes.
Do the math. You need four new episodes each for the three sweeps months of November, February, and May. That's 12. You need to start the season with 3 or 4 new episodes to get viewers hooked. That's 16. That leaves you six episodes to spread out for the remainder of the year, resulting in a lot of reruns. I love what they did with 24; starting in January to ensure a straight uninterrupted run.
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