Pop Culture Flashback: Fonzie Jumps the Shark (Sept. 20)

The phrase “Jumping the Shark” didn’t come about until 1985 but it was referring to a “Happy Days” episode from 1977 where Fonzie actually jumped over a shark.

September 20, 2026

The phrase “Jumping the Shark” didn’t come about until 1985, but it was referring to a Happy Days episode from 1977 where Fonzie actually jumped over a shark. (No sharks were harmed in the making of this jump.)

1977 – Jumping the Shark Becomes a Thing

Fonzie waterskiing with a leather jacket — Henry Winkler waterskiing as Fonzie *(ABC via TVDB)*

The phrase, “jumping the shark” was inspired by the fifth season premiere episode of the TV series Happy Days which aired on this day in 1977. The episode featured the leather clad Fonzie performing a water-skiing stunt jumping over a confined shark.

The phrase was coined in 1985 by Sean Connolly who was describing when our favorite TV shows go downhill in terms of storytelling. Fred Fox Jr., who wrote that Happy Days episode, was quoted in a Los Angeles Times in 2010 asking “Was the [shark jump] episode deserving of its fate? No, it wasn’t. All successful shows eventually start to decline, but this was not Happy Days’ time.”

He may right. The series continued to air for seven more seasons after that stunt. Incidentally, a similar phrase, “Nuke the Fridge” was coined after the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull when Jones survived an atomic bomb detonation by slipping inside a lead-lined refrigerator.

OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY:

1984 – America Had a New Favorite Show – Until the Star Ruined It

The cast of The Cosby Show posing for a picture — Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Keshia Knight-Pulliam, Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad, Lisa Bonet and Tempestt Bledsoe from *The Cosby Show. (NBC via TVDB)*

Back in the early ‘80s, the family TV sitcom was pretty much dead. However, comedian and actor Bill Cosby fought against that sentiment creating The Cosby Show. NBC aired the first episode on this day. Focusing on the affluent Huxtable family, Cosby showed America a different type of African American family than our country was used to.

Cosby played Cliff Huxtable, an obstetrician. His lawyer wife, Clair was played by Phylicia Rashad. They were the proud parents of five kids: Sondra (Sabrina Le Beauf), Denise (Lisa Bonet), Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner), Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe) and Rudy (Keshia-Knight Pulliam).

The show stayed on the top of the ratings for eight years. TV Guide called it “TV’s biggest hit”. It won six Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes and 11 People’s Choice Awards. It was a good show, and Cosby could do now wrong. Unfortunately, years later, stories of Cosby’s mistreatment of women came to light. He was arrested and reruns of the sitcom were dropped from syndication. Because of his actions, one of America’s favorite TV shows maybe tarnished forever.