Unless the shows were shot with video cameras and transfered to film, they probably were shot in widescreen, although widescreen, technically, is anything greater than 1.33:1. An aspect ratio of 1.66:1 would still give you big bars on the sides of a widescreen TV which is usually 1.78:1.
An, in any case, video can be turned into widescreen by a process in which the top and bottom portions of the frame are masked in post-production.