TV Series - On This Day
Events in Film & TV
- 1936-07-07 RCA broadcasts the first real TV program, a variety show with dancing, a film on locomotives, a Bonwit Teller fashion show, and a monologue from Tobacco Road
- 1946-05-09 1st hour long entertainment TV show, "NBC's Hour Glass" premieres
- 1947-10-13 Children's puppet TV program "Junior Jamboree", later renamed "Kukla, Fran & Ollie" premieres locally on WBKB in Chicago, Illinois
- 1947-11-06 NBC's "Meet the Press" debuts - US's longest running TV show
- 1948-01-13 1st country music TV show, "Midwestern Hayride", premieres on WLW-T in Cincinnati, Ohio
- 1948-11-29 Puppet TV show "Kukla, Fran, & Ollie" starring Fran Allison debuts on NBC's WNBQ in Chicago, Illinois
- 1949-07-07 "Dragnet" premieres on NBC radio; also a TV series in 1951 & 1967
- 1949-12-28 20th Century Fox announces it will produce TV programs
- 1950-08-27 1st transmission of a TV programme from continental Europe shown on BBC
- 1950-09-11 An episode from the TV series "Dick Tracy" sparks an uproar over violent content
Adventures of Superman
1952-09-19 "Adventures of Superman" TV series starring George Reeves premieres in syndication in the US
- 1955-01-19 "The Millionaire" TV program premieres on CBS
- 1955-10-03 "The Mickey Mouse Club" television series premieres
- 1956-04-10 Philips broadcasts 1st Dutch color TV programs
Hancock's Half Hour
1956-07-07 "Hancock's Half Hour" premieres as a TV show starring Tony Hancock and Sid James, written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson
- 1957-01-04 "Blondie" situation comedy premieres on NBC TV (later on CBS)
- 1957-02-27 Premiere of only prime-time network TV show beginning with an "X": "Xavier Cugat Show" on NBC (until X-Files)
- 1958-02-11 BBC pioneering series "Your Life in Their Hands" first broadcast presented by Dr. Charles Fletcher, 1st major TV series to deal with medicine
- 1959-10-15 TV series "The Untouchables" starring Robert Stack premieres in the US
Film & TV History
1960-02-26 Vera Miles stars in"Mirror Image" episode of CBS anthology series "The Twilight Zone"
- 1960-10-07 TV series "Route 66" premieres on CBS
- 1961-09-23 1st movie to become a TV series, "How to Marry a Millionaire" premieres
- 1962-08-23 1st Europe-US live TV program (via Telstar)
Television Premiere
1963-01-01 "Astro Boy", the first popular animated Japanese television series, based on the manga series by Osamu Tezuka, premieres on Fuji TV in Japan
- 1963-08-09 Britains rock TV show "Ready Steady Go", premieres
"Top of the Pops"
1964-01-01 "Top of the Pops", British pop music television program premieres; acts performing include Dusty Springfield; The Rolling Stones; Dave Clark Five: The Hollies; Swinging Blue; and The Beatles
- 1965-01-28 "The Who" make their 1st appearance on British television programme "Ready Steady Go!"
- 1965-09-15 US TV series "Lost in Space" premieres
- 1966-01-08 British rock bands The Who and The Kinks perform on the last "Shindig" TV show on ABC
- 1966-12-23 Britain's rock TV show "Ready Steady Go" last program
- 1967-06-25 First global satellite television program: "Our World" broadcast features 19 acts representing 19 nations including The Beatles singing "All You Need Is Love"
- 1968-02-19 Children's educational TV program "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" debuts on NET (now PBS)
- 1968-09-24 "That's Life" premieres - A Broadway musical type TV show
Film & TV History
1968-11-12 Al Pacino stars in "Deadly Circle of Violence", an episode of the ABC television series NYPD
Missing Stones Film
1968-12-12 Rolling Stones film TV show "Rock and Roll Circus"- guest performers include The Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono; the program never airs aired
Suzuki on Science
1971-01-10 Canadian scientist and environmentalist David Suzuki begins his broadcasting career as host of CBC TV program "Suzuki on Science" [1]
- 1972-02-14 John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-host the syndicated TV show "The Mike Douglas Show" for an entire week, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1972-09-14 "The Waltons" TV program premieres on CBS starring Richard Thomas, Ralph Waite, Michael Learned, and Will Geer
- 1972-09-16 1st TV series about mixed marriage, "Bridget Loves Bernie" premieres
- 1973-11-17 Teri Garr plays new nurse, Lt Suzanne Marquetten, on "The Sniper" episode of TV series M*A*S*H
- 1975-01-24 "Hot l Baltimore" situation comedy premieres on ABC TV
"The Sonny & Cher Show"
1976-02-01 Sonny & Cher resume TV variety show, despite real-life divorce; now titled "The Sonny & Cher Show"
- 1977-09-23 Cheryl Ladd replaces Farrah Fawcett on TV show "Charlie's Angels"
"All Creatures Great and Small"
1978-01-08 TV series "All Creatures Great and Small" debuts on BBC TV, based on the books by James Herriot, starring Robert hardy and Christopher Timothy
Television Finale
1978-03-29 Variety TV show "The Carol Burnett Show" last airs on CBS in the US, having won 25 Emmy Awards
Dallas
1978-04-02 TV show "Dallas" starring Larry Hagman and Barbara Bel Geddes premieres on CBS as a 5 week mini-series; ratings success leads to a 13 year run
Film & TV History
1978-10-14 1st TV movie from a TV series - "Rescue from Gilligan's Island" continues the story of shipwreck sitcom from1964–67; 6 of the 7 original castaways reprise their roles
- 1980-03-21 On season finale cliffhanger of TV show "Dallas", villain J.R. Ewing is shot by unknown assailant
- 1980-11-21 TV show "Dallas" episode "Who Done It" reveals 'Who Shot J.R.?', gets a then record 53.3 rating (over 83 million viewers, 76% of television watchers) in the US
- 1981-04-20 Final performance of TV show "Soap" airs
- 1982-01-07 TV series "Fame", based on the film of the same name, starring Debbie Allen and an ensemble cast premieres on NBC TV
The A-Team
1983-01-23 TV series "The A-Team" with George Peppard and Mr T premieres on NBC
- 1984-01-17 Supreme Court rules (5-4) that private use of home VCRs to tape TV programs for later viewing does not violate federal copyright laws
- 1985-09-18 TV spy/crime drama "The Equalizer" starring Edward Woodward debuts in the US on CBS
- 1986-04-09 TV show "Dallas" announces it will revive killed Bobby Ewing character
- 1986-05-16 Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) comes back from the dead on TV show "Dallas"
- 1986-09-26 Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) returns to TV show "Dallas", his death is attributed to his wife Pam's bad dream (erases all of previous season)
- 1988-09-16 Jury awards Valerie Harper $1.6 M in dispute over TV series
- 1988-10-19 US Senate passes bill curbing ads during children's TV shows
1st TV Show in Dolby Stereo
1989-04-05 NBC's "Late Night With David Letterman" becomes 1st network TV show broadcast in Dolby Stereo
- 1989-04-30 Chicago newspaper movie critics Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert film their 500th movie-review television show
- 1989-05-19 Sue Ellen's (Linda Gray) last appearance on TV show "Dallas"
TV Show Appearance
1990-04-12 Anime TV series "Moomin", based on Moomin children's books by Tove Jansson 1st appears on Tokyo TV
- 1990-04-15 Sketch comedy TV series "In Living Color" premieres on FOX-TV
- 1991-05-03 356th & final episode of CBS second longest running series TV show "Dallas", (2nd only to "Gunsmoke")
- 1991-11-12 US TV series "Full House" 100th episode, the twins are born
- 1991-11-29 TV show "Roc" has a gay wedding episode - Can't Help Loving that Man
- 1992-07-01 Fox broadcasting adds Wednesday night TV programming
The Big Breakfast
1992-09-28 UK morning TV show "The Big Breakfast" presented by Chris Evans, Gaby Roslin and Paula Yates, produced by Bob Geldof premieres
- 1992-09-30 Mariel Hemmingway appears nude on TV show Civil Wars
Due South Premieres
1994-04-26 TV series "Due South" about Canadian Mounties starring Paul Gross premieres in Canada
- 1994-06-20 Howard Stern begins 30-minute (Radio) TV show on E! cable network
Film & TV History
1997-02-23 NBC TV shows "Schindler's List" completely uncensored, and without commercial interruptions; 65M watch [1]
- 1998-09-14 British TV show "The Royle Family" written and starring Caroline Adherne and Craig Cash, also starring Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston premieres on BBC Two
- 2000-05-31 US reality competition TV show "Survivor" hosted by Jeff Probst premieres
"Lizzie McGuire" Premieres
2001-01-12 Disney Channel TV series "Lizzie McGuire" premieres starring Hilary Duff
The Suze Orman Show
2002-03-09 Financial advice TV show "The Suze Orman Show" starring Suze Orman premieres on CNBC
- 2002-03-12 US crime series "The Shield" starring Michael Chiklis premieres on FX
Barefoot Contessa
2002-11-30 Ina Garten's cooking TV show "Barefoot Contessa" premieres on the Food Network
America's Next Top Model
2003-05-20 Reality TV series "America's Next Top Model", created by Tyra Banks, debuts on UPN
The Simple Life
2003-12-02 US reality TV show "The Simple Life" with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie premieres on Fox-TV
- 2004-10-03 TV series "Desperate Housewives" starring Teri Hatcher and an ensemble cast premieres in the US on ABC
- 2005-05-19 TV political comedy "The Thick of It" created by Armando Iannucci, starring Peter Capaldi and Chris Langham premieres on BBC 4
The Walking Dead
2010-10-31 Post-apocalyptic zombie TV series "The Walking Dead" premieres, starring Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal and Lauren Cohan on AMC
Premiere of Veep
2012-04-22 TV political comedy "Veep" created by Armando Iannucci, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Anna Chlumsky premieres on HBO
The Americans
2013-01-30 TV spy drama "The Americans" created by Joe Weisberg, starring Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys premieres on FX
Preacher
2016-05-22 TV series "Preacher", developed by Evan Goldberg, Sam Catlin, and Seth Rogen, premieres on AMC
Young Sheldon
2017-09-25 Premiere of TV sitcom "Young Sheldon", prequel to "The Big Bang Theory", starring Iain Armitage and narrated by Jim Parsons
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reboot
2018-07-21 Re-boot of TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" announced with creator Joss Whedon as executive producer (didn't happen)
- 2018-07-22 TV show "Supergirl" announces casting of first live-action transgender superhero, by transgender actor Nicole Maines as Nia Nal
Baron Cohen Prompts Political Resignation
2018-07-25 Georgian representative James Spencer resigns after being fooled into saying racial slurs on Sacha Baron Cohen's "Who is America" TV series
- 2018-10-01 "Bluey" the animated Australian children's television series premieres on ABC Kids
BTS Appearance Cancelled
2018-11-09 Korean pop band BTS appearance on Japanese TV show cancelled after member Jimin wore shirt with atomic bomb image
- 2019-02-22 Actor Jussie Smollett suspended from US TV show "Empire" after revealed that actor made false claims about racist and homophobic attack
Music History
2019-04-13 BTS is the first K-pop band to perform on US TV show "Saturday Night Live"
Game of Thrones: The Long Night
2019-04-28 TV series "Game of Thrones: The Long Night" episode debuts with the longest battle ever screened (nearly 80 mins), surpassing "Lord of the Rings" Battle of Helm's Deep (44 mins)
- 2019-12-14 Bel Air mansion featured in TV series "The Beverly Hillbillies" sells for $150 million, becoming California's most expensive property
"WandaVision"
2021-01-15 TV series "WandaVision" starring Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany as Vision debuts on Disney+
- 2022-06-17 "Running Up That Hill" single by Kate Bush goes to #1 on the UK chart; originally released in 1985, the song was featured in sci-fi television show "Stranger Things", its record 44 year climb to the top also makes Bush (63) the oldest female artist to score a No.1
- 2022-06-23 TV series "The Bear" created by Christopher Storer, starring Jeremy Allen White, premieres on Hulu
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
2022-09-01 TV Series "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" premieres on Amazon Prime Video
Trevor Noah's Final Show
2022-12-08 Trevor Noah hosts his final episode of late-night talk and satirical news television program "The Daily Show"
- 2024-02-11 Super Bowl LVIII is the most-watched TV program in US history, averaging 123.4 million viewers across television and streaming platforms [1]
Curb Your Enthusiasm
2024-04-07 Larry David's comedy TV show "Curb Your Enthusiasm" ends after 12 seasons
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