ABC's TGIF creator reminds fans it doesn't stand for 'Thank God It's Friday'

Thank god this got sorted.

The marketing guru behind ABC's long-running TGIF programming block, Jim Janicek, dropped by the latest episode of the Pod Meets World podcast to reminisce on where the idea came from and what that acronym really stands for.

"We were talking about things like the 'Friday Fun Club,'" Janicek explained when asked if they considered alternatives to the iconic name, which stands for "Thank Goodness It's Funny." "There's a whole list somewhere I probably could dig up, but I remember that one. You know, 'It's Friday Night.' Lots of little short-isms."

The podcast is hosted by Boy Meets World alums Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, and Rider Strong. Their hit ’90s sitcom was one of many included in the various TGIF lineups over the years. The block, which mainly featured family-friendly sitcoms and led into ABC's news program 20/20, dominated the ratings in the 18–49 demographic for most of the ’90s.

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Janicek said TGIF was on the network's list of ideas, but they were worried about the restaurant chain of the same name giving them problems. Janicek says he distinctly remembers the moment he learned that TGIF was the idea they were going with, though.

"We did our first animation, which kinda was more childlike, with a little mouse called Friday the Mouse. We were animating that with a guy by the name of Bob Kurtz, who runs a company," he said. "I don't know if he's still around, but [Kurtz and Friends Animation] did the original commercials for Shell and for [Sinclair]."

"I was with him. We were animating the open. And then [ABC executives] Stu Brower and Bob Iger called and said, 'We've landed on TGIF. We wanna call it TGIF.' So that's where we got the name, and we started animating those letters into the open and went from there," Janicek said "We were literally standing by in a [post-production] house about to execute on that idea because time was ticking. So that's where the name came from. Bob, I believe, came up with 'Thank Goodness It's Funny,' to avoid any conflict with any restaurant."

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The popular programming block has been used many times off and on over the years since its initial beginnings in 1989. The first run lasted from 1989-2000, and was revived for a short-lived second run in 2003. Its third and most recent incarnation launched in 2018 consisted of a mix of sitcoms and game shows and ended its run in 2019.

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