''Touched by an Angel'' was moved to Angela Lansbury's well-known TV time slot after success in its second season

Della Reese and Roma Downey played angels sent to Earth to help those dealing with various issues. While watching Touched by an Angel, you'll see plots centered on the beauty of forgiveness, the strength of love and faith, and more. With such positive messaging, you'd think the show was an instant success when it premiered, but it wasn't.

According to a 1996 Los Angeles Times article, the show received many negative reviews and had low ratings in its first season. However, Touched by an Angel's fans refused to let it fail. They rallied behind Reese, Downey, and the series, turning it around in its second season. This led the network to promote it to a slot famously held by Angela Lansbury, 8 p.m. on Sundays.

"It's a perfect night for the show," Roma Downey said. "The hour earlier will definitely work to our advantage. The fans will respond because more kids are up at that hour and more people are home on Sundays, as a general rule. More people will be able to watch."

Viewers were watching and sending fan mail to Downey and Reese. "I think we are helping to fill a void. It is sending a positive message. It's letting people know that they are not alone. If that's not everybody's cup of tea, well, so what?"

Downey attended a Catholic school when she was younger, so she believed in the existence of guardian angels; this made playing one on TV easy. "At some point along the way, that guardian angel turned into a conscience for me. A child needed the image of an invisible winged creature, and the young adolescent was quite happy to know it was just a voice in her head."