Events

• January 25 – Black Entertainment Television
  Black Entertainment Television
  Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
  
   launches in the United States as a block of programming on the Nickelodeon
  Nickelodeon (TV channel)
  Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
  
   TV Network; it wouldn't be until 1983 that BET becomes a full fledged channel.
• February 1 – After 29 years on the air, the soap opera
  Soap opera
  A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
  
   Love of Life
  Love of Life
  Love of Life is an American soap opera which aired on CBS Daytime from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love of Life, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm two and a half years...
  
   airs its last episode on CBS
  CBS
  CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
  
  .
• February 3 and 10 – Bob Hope's Overseas Christmas Tours, a two-part six-hour retrospective of Bob Hope
  Bob Hope
  Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
  
  's more than 30 years of entertaining at military bases and hospitals in the U.S. and abroad, airs on NBC.
• February 14 – Walter Cronkite
  Walter Cronkite
  Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
  
   announces his retirement from the CBS Evening News
  CBS Evening News
  CBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast this program since 1948, and has used the CBS Evening News title since 1963....
  
  , which takes effect in March 1981.
• February 15 – New Zealand's Television One and Television Two go to air under the newly formed Television New Zealand
  Television New Zealand
  Television New Zealand, more commonly referred to, and stylized as TVNZ, is a government-owned corporation television network broadcasting in New Zealand and parts of the Pacific. It operates TV1, TV2, TVNZ7, TVNZ Heartland, TVNZ U and new media services....
  
  .
• March 7 – Colour television is introduced in Portugal.
• March 21 – On the season finale of Dallas
  Dallas (TV series)
  Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
  
  , J.R. Ewing
  J.R. Ewing
  John Ross Ewing, Jr., more commonly known as J. R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman, was a central, nefarious figure on the hit CBS television series Dallas . J. R...
  
   is shot by an unseen assailant leading to the catchphrase "Who Shot JR?".
• April 4 – Violet Carson
  Violet Carson
  Violet Helen Carson OBE was an English actress, best known for playing Ena Sharples, one of the original characters in the British soap opera Coronation Street.-Early life and career:...
  
   makes her last appearance as Ena Sharples
  Ena Sharples
  Ena Sharples is one of the original characters from the British soap opera Coronation Street, and was played by Violet Carson.-Development:...
  
   on Coronation Street
  Coronation Street
  Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
  
  .
• April 7 – The Oldest Living Graduate, a live drama on NBC
  NBC
  The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
  
  , is broadcast; the network hadn't aired a program like it since 1962. The production is aired from Southern Methodist University
  Southern Methodist University
  Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
  
   and stars Henry Fonda
  Henry Fonda
  Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
  
  , George Grizzard
  George Grizzard
  George Cooper Grizzard, Jr. was an American actor of film and stage. He appeared in more than 40 films, dozens of television programs and a number of Broadway plays.-Life and career:...
  
  , and Cloris Leachman
  Cloris Leachman
  Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
  
  .
• May 6 - Ron Howard
  Ron Howard
  Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
  
   and Donny Most leave the cast of Happy Days
  Happy Days
  Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
  
   as regulars, following the episode "Ralph's Family Problem".
• May 24 – The Not Ready For Prime Time Players appear in their final episode on NBC's Saturday Night Live
  Saturday Night Live
  Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
  
  , and many feel it is the end of an era for the venerable series.
• June 1 – The Cable News Network (CNN) begins broadcasting.
• June 20 – Hollywood Squares
  Hollywood Squares
  Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
  
   presents its 3,536th and final network telecast on NBC; it remains the second-longest-running daytime game show in the network's history, behind the original 1958–1973 run of Concentration
  Concentration (game show)
  Concentration was an American TV game show based on the children's memory game of the same name. Matching cards represented prizes that contestants could win...
  
  . High Rollers
  High Rollers
  High Rollers is an American television game show based on the dice game Shut the Box. The show aired on NBC from July 1, 1974 to June 11, 1976 and again from April 24, 1978 to June 20, 1980. Two different syndicated versions were also produced, a weekly series in the 1975–1976 season which ran...
  
   and Chain Reaction
  Chain Reaction (game show)
  Chain Reaction is an American game show created by Bob Stewart, in which players compete to form chains composed of two-word phrases.The show aired three separate runs: Bill Cullen hosted the original series on NBC from January 14 to June 20, 1980...
  
   ended their runs as well. Wheel of Fortune almost got cancelled, but instead remained on the network for the remainder of the decade.
• June 23 – The David Letterman Show
  The David Letterman Show
  The David Letterman Show was a live morning NBC talk show hosted by David Letterman from June 23 to October 24, 1980. The show originally ran for 90 minutes, then 60 minutes from August 4 onward.-Background:...
  
   debuts on NBC. Letterman's humor doesn't go over well with a morning audience, and the show is cancelled in October. Letterman would stay at NBC and go on to host a late night show on the network 2 years later.
• June 30 – The ABC
  American Broadcasting Company
  The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
  
   game show Family Feud
  Family Feud
  Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
  
   moves from airing at 11:30 am/ET to 12:00 noon. It is one of the few network daytime shows to survive at noon, a time slot where many stations preempt network fare for local news broadcasts.
• July – The Screen Actors Guild
  Screen Actors Guild
  The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
  
   and AFTRA launch a 3-month strike against TV and movie studios. The strike greatly delays US networks' fall seasons (some shows don't see their fall debuts until late October or November, if not much later), and prompts a union boycott of the 1980 Emmy Awards
  32nd Primetime Emmy Awards
  The 32nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held Sunday, September 7, 1980 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. The awards show was hosted by Steve Allen and Dick Clark and broadcast on NBC....
  
   in September. The unions ratify a new deal on October 25 to officially end the strike.
• July 18 – Brazil
  Brazil
  Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
  
  's Rede Tupi
  Rede Tupi
  Rede Tupi or TV Tupi was the first television network in South America...
  
   network ends operations.
• August 1 – Ending a failed experiment, the soap opera Another World
  Another World (TV series)
  Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
  
   airs its last regularly scheduled ninety-minute episode. The show returns to sixty minutes on August 4, allowing room for a spin-off, Texas
  Texas (TV series)
  Texas is an American daytime soap opera which aired on NBC from August 4, 1980 until December 31, 1982. Created by John William Corrington, Joyce Hooper Corrington, and Paul Rauch, the show was a spinoff of Another World...
  
  , based around Beverlee Mckinsey's
  Beverlee McKinsey
  Beverlee McKinsey was an American actress.Beverlee McKinsey was born as Beverlee Magruder in McAlester, Oklahoma on August 9, 1935. She was the daughter of Warren and Jewell Magruder of McAlester, Oklahoma....
  
   Another World character, Iris Cory Carrington.
• August 1 – The 24/7 cable movie network Cinemax
  Cinemax
  Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...
  
   launches.
• October 24 – On United Nations Day
  United Nations Day
  In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October, the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, as which "shall be devoted to making known to the peoples of the world the aims and achievements of the United Nations and to gaining their support for" its work.In 1971 the...
  
  , multicultural television debuts in Australia, courtesy of the Special Broadcasting Service
  Special Broadcasting Service
  The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
  
  .
• November 2 - Archie Bunker's Place
  Archie Bunker's Place
  Archie Bunker's Place is an American sitcom originally broadcast on the CBS network, conceived in 1979 as a spin-off and continuation of All in the Family. While not as popular as its predecessor, the show maintained a large enough audience to last for four seasons, until its cancellation in 1983...
  
   begins its season with the episode "Edith's Death," in which Archie Bunker
  Archie Bunker
  Archibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...
  
   grieves over the death of wife Edith
  Edith Bunker
  Edith Bunker is a fictional 1970s sitcom character on All in the Family , played by Jean Stapleton. She was the wife of Archie Bunker , mother of Gloria Stivic, mother-in-law of Michael "Meathead" Stivic, and, after 1975, grandmother of Joey Stivic...
  
   (prompted by Jean Stapleton's departure from the series). Carroll O'Connor's
  Carroll O'Connor
  John Carroll O'Connor best known as Carroll O'Connor, was an American actor, producer and director whose television career spanned four decades...
  
   performance in this episode earns him a Peabody Award
  Peabody Award
  The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
  
  .
• November 15 – Saturday Night Live
  Saturday Night Live
  Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
  
   starts its new season with a new cast and new writers under the reins of new Executive Producer Jean Doumanian
  Jean Doumanian
  Jean Doumanian is an American producer.Doumanian is probably most well known for her short reign as producer of Saturday Night Live between November 1980 and March 1981...
  
  .
• November 18 - Barbara Mandrell & the Mandrell sisters staring Barbara, Louise and Irlene Mandrell aired for the first time. Special guest Dolly Parton appeared on the show. The show was the last successful variety show on network TV. With 40 million viewers. (Saturday nights 8:00pm on NBC)
• November 21 – The mystery of "Who Shot J.R.?" is solved on the soap opera series, Dallas; the revelation that Sue Ellen's sister Kristin (played by Mary Crosby
  Mary Crosby
  Mary Frances Crosby is an American actress. She is most often credited as simply Mary Crosby for her performances.-Early life:...
  
  ) did the deed) draws a record number of viewers.
• November 22 – Eddie Murphy
  Eddie Murphy
  Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
  
   makes his first Saturday Night Live
  Saturday Night Live
  Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
  
   appearance, appearing in a non-speaking role in the sketch, "In Search Of The Negro Republican"
• December 8 – Howard Cosell
  Howard Cosell
  Howard William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...
  
   announces the murder of former Beatle John Lennon
  John Lennon
  John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
  
   in the closing seconds of a Monday Night Football
  Monday Night Football
  Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
  
   game.
• December 9 – The cult single drama The Flipside of Dominick Hide
  The Flipside of Dominick Hide
  The Flipside of Dominick Hide is a British television play first transmitted by the BBC on 9 December 1980 as part of the Play for Today series....
  
   is first broadcast as part of the Play for Today
  Play for Today
  Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
  
   series on BBC1.
• December 30 – After 26 years on the air, 20 of which were on NBC, the network announces that the longest-running prime-time TV series, Disney's Wonderful World, will not be on its fall 1981 schedule. It will, however, be picked up by CBS
  CBS
  CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
  
  .

Debuts

• January 14 – 3-2-1 Contact
  3-2-1 Contact
  3-2-1 Contact is an American science educational television show that aired on PBS from 1980 to 1988, and an adjoining children's magazine. The show, a production of the Children's Television Workshop, teaches scientific principles and their applications. Dr. Edward G...
  
   a show which children learn about science premieres on PBS
  Public Broadcasting Service
  The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
  
   (1980–1992).
• February 5 – Mystery!
  Mystery!
  Mystery! is an episodic television series that debuted in 1980 in the USA. It airs on PBS and is produced by WGBH...
  
   premieres on PBS (1980–present).
• March 3 – That's Incredible!
  That's Incredible!
  That's Incredible! was an American reality television show that aired on the ABC television network from 1980 to 1984.-Synopsis:In the tradition of You Asked For It, Ripley's Believe It or Not! and Real People, the show featured people performing stunts and reenactments of allegedly paranormal events...
  
   (1980–1984).
• March 16 – Galactica 1980
  Galactica 1980
  Galactica 1980 is a science fiction television series, and a spin-off from the 1978–1979 series Battlestar Galactica. It was first broadcast on the ABC network in the United States from January 27 to May 4, 1980.-Development:...
  
   (1980)
• March 24 – Nightline officially debuts on ABC
  American Broadcasting Company
  The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
  
   following the success of the network late-night Iran Crisis updates.
• April 11 – Fridays premieres on ABC
  American Broadcasting Company
  The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
  
   (1980–1982).
• May 5 – America's Top 10
  America's Top 10
  America's Top 10 was a television program of music hits based on Billboard's Hot 100, with the exception of the last season in 1992 which used the Radio and Records chart. It aired in syndication by Gold Key Media from 1980-1982 and by All American Television from 1982-1992. The show was hosted by...
  
   with Casey Kasem
  Casey Kasem
  Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
  
  , the television version of Kasem's long-running radio institution American Top 40
  American Top 40
  American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
  
  , premieres in U.S. syndication this week.
• June 1 – Moneyline, now known as Lou Dobbs Tonight
  Lou Dobbs Tonight
  Lou Dobbs Tonight is an American editorial commentary and discussion program hosted by Lou Dobbs, previously broadcast on CNN and currently on Fox Business Network. The hour-long show aired live on evenings every weekday, and was replayed in the overnight/early morning hours. It covered the major...
  
  , premieres as one of the first shows on the newly launched CNN
  CNN
  Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
  
  .
• June 26 – Situation comedy Nobody's Perfect
  Nobody's Perfect (TV series)
  Nobody's Perfect is a situation comedy television series, broadcast on ABC, about a bumbling police detective; it aired for two months in 1980, for a total of eight episodes. In the UK this program is known as Hart of the Yard...
  
   premieres on ABC
  American Broadcasting Company
  The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
  
  , and lasts for two months.
• August 4 – Texas
  Texas (TV series)
  Texas is an American daytime soap opera which aired on NBC from August 4, 1980 until December 31, 1982. Created by John William Corrington, Joyce Hooper Corrington, and Paul Rauch, the show was a spinoff of Another World...
  
  , the first soap opera to air hour-long episodes from the beginning, debuts in the slot largely vacated by Another World (1980–1982).
• September 13 – Solid Gold premieres in syndication (1980–1988).
• September 28 – Cosmos, a 13-part science-and-space-exploration series hosted by Carl Sagan
  Carl Sagan
  Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
  
  , premieres on PBS.
• October 4 - Thundarr the Barbarian
  Thundarr the Barbarian
  Thundarr the Barbarian is a Saturday morning animated television series, created by Steve Gerber and produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. The series ran 2 seasons, 1980-1981 and 1981-1982...
  
   premieres on ABC (1980-1982).
• October 27 – Blockbusters
  Blockbusters (US game show)
  Blockbusters is an American game show which had two separate runs in the 1980s. Created by Steve Ryan for Mark Goodson Productions, the first series debuted on NBC on October 27, 1980 and aired until April 23, 1982. In the first series, a team of two family members competed against a solo contestant...
  
   premieres on NBC
  NBC
  The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
  
   in the United States (1980–82, 1987)
• October 30 – It's a Living premieres on ABC (1980–1982, 1985–1989).
• November 9 – Home Fires
  Home Fires (TV series)
  Home Fires was a Canadian television drama series, which aired on CBC Television from 1980 to 1983. It was a family saga set in Toronto during World War II, and took its name from the expression "keep the home fires burning"....
  
   premieres on CBC (1980–1982).
• November 11 – Too Close for Comfort
  Too Close for Comfort (TV series)
  Too Close for Comfort is an American television sitcom which ran on the ABC network and later in first-run syndication from November 11, 1980 to September 27, 1986. It was modeled after the British series Keep It in the Family, which debuted nine months before Too Close for Comfort debuted in the U.S...
  
   premieres on ABC (1980–1985).
• November 18 - Barbara Mandrell & the Mandrell sisters (TV series) premieres on NBC (1980-1983).
• November 27 – Bosom Buddies
  Bosom Buddies
  Bosom Buddies is an American sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari created by Robert L. Boyett, Thomas L. Miller and Chris Thompson. It ran from 1980 to 1982 on ABC and in reruns in the summer of 1984 on NBC....
  
   premieres on ABC (1980–1982).
• December 11 – Magnum, P.I.
  Magnum, P.I.
  Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
  
   premieres on CBS
  CBS
  CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
  
   (1980–1988).

Miniseries

Miniseries

A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...

• Beulah Land
  Beulah Land
  Beulah Land is a well-known gospel hymn written by Edgar Page Stites in either 1875 or 1876. The hymn, Stites' most popular, is set to music written by John R. Sweney...
  
  
• The Dream Merchants
  The Dream Merchants
  The Dream Merchants is an American novel written by Harold Robbins and published in 1949. Set in the early 20th century, the book is a "rags-to-riches" story of a penniless young man who goes to Hollywood and builds a great film studio. A former Universal Studios employee, author Harold Robbins...
  
  
• Shogun
• The Last Outlaw
• The Timeless Land
• Water under the Bridge

1940s

• Meet the Press
  Meet the Press
  Meet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...
  
   (1947–present).
• Candid Camera
  Candid Camera
  Candid Camera is a hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as Candid Microphone June 28, 1947...
  
   (1948–present).
• Bozo the Clown
  Bozo the Clown
  Bozo the Clown is a clown character very popular in the United States, peaking in the 1960s as a result of widespread franchising in early television.Originally created by Alan W...
  
   (1949–present).

1950s

• Truth or Consequences
  Truth or Consequences
  Truth or Consequences is an American quiz show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards and later on television by Edwards , Jack Bailey , Bob Barker , Bob Hilton and Larry Anderson . The television show ran on CBS, NBC and also in syndication...
  
   (1950–1988).
• Search for Tomorrow
  Search for Tomorrow
  Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
  
   (1951–1986).
• Hallmark Hall of Fame
  Hallmark Hall of Fame
  Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...
  
   (1951–present).
• American Bandstand
  American Bandstand
  American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
  
   (1952–1989).
• Guiding Light
  Guiding Light
  Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
  
   (1952–2009)
• Hockey Night in Canada
  Hockey Night in Canada
  Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
  
   (1952–present)
• The Today Show (1952–present).
• Disney's Wonderful World (1954–present; 1979–1981 under this title)
• Face the Nation
  Face the Nation
  Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer is an American Sunday-morning political interview show which premiered on the CBS television network on November 7, 1954. It is one of the longest-running news programs in the history of television...
  
   (1954–present).
• The Tonight Show
  The Tonight Show
  The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
  
   (1954–present; 1962–1992 as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
  The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
  The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
  
  )
• Captain Kangaroo
  Captain Kangaroo
  Captain Kangaroo is a children's television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for nearly 30 years, from October 3, 1955 until December 8, 1984, making it the longest-running children's television program of its day...
  
   (1955–1984).
• The Lawrence Welk Show
  The Lawrence Welk Show
  The Lawrence Welk Show is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years , then nationally for another 27 years via the ABC network and first-run syndication .In the years since first-run syndication...
  
   (1955–1982).
• As the World Turns
  As the World Turns
  As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
  
   (1956–2010).
• The Edge of Night
  The Edge of Night
  The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
  
   (1956–1984).

1960s

• ABC's Wide World of Sports (1961–1998)
• It's Academic
  It's Academic
  It's Academic is a televised academic quiz competition for high school students, currently airing on two NBC affiliates in Washington, D.C. and Central Virginia and one CBS affiliate Baltimore, Maryland . The show has been on the air since October 7, 1961, making it the longest...
  
   (1961–present)
• The Mike Douglas Show
  The Mike Douglas Show
  The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired in syndication from 1961 to 1982, distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations.The program featured light banter with...
  
   (1961–1981)
• Professional Bowlers Tour (1962–1997)
• The World Tonight
  The World Tonight (ABS-CBN)
  The World Tonight is an English-language newscast of ABS-CBN. It is anchored by Angelo Castro, Jr. And Tina Monzon-Palma on weekdays, and by Gigi Grande on Saturdays and Ron Cruz on Sundays.-Airing history:...
  
  , Philippines (1962–present)
• Doctor Who
  Doctor Who
  Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
  
  , UK (1963–1989, 1996, 2005–present)
• The Doctors (1963–1982)
• General Hospital (1963–present)
• Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom
  Wild Kingdom
  Wild Kingdom, sometimes known as Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, is an American television show that features wildlife and nature. It was originally produced from 1963 until 1988, and was revived in 2002...
  
   (1963–1988, 2002–present)
• Another World
  Another World (TV series)
  Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
  
   (1964–1999)
• Days of our Lives
  Days of our Lives
  Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
  
   (1965–present)
• 60 Minutes
  60 Minutes
  60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
  
   (1968–present)
• Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
  Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
  Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, also known as Mister Rogers, is an American children's television series that was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series is aimed primarily at preschool ages, 2-5, but has been stated by Public Broadcasting Service as "appropriate for all ages"...
  
   (1968–2001)
• One Life to Live
  One Life to Live
  One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
  
   (1968–present)
• Hee Haw
  Hee Haw
  Hee Haw is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with fictional rural Kornfield Kounty as a backdrop. It aired on CBS-TV from 1969–1971 before a 20-year run in local syndication. The show was inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the major difference being...
  
   (1969–1993)
• Sesame Street
  Sesame Street
  Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
  
   (1969–present)

1970s

• All My Children
  All My Children
  All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
  
   (1970–present).
• Monday Night Football
  Monday Night Football
  Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
  
   (1970–present).
• Masterpiece Theatre (1971–present)
• Soul Train
  Soul Train
  Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...
  
   (1971–2006)
• M*A*S*H (1972–1983).
• The Price Is Right
  The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
  The Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
  
   (1972–present)
• The Waltons
  The Waltons
  The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
  
   (1972–1981).
• Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
  Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
  Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids is an animated series created, produced, and hosted by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including Fat Albert himself. Filmation was the production company for the series. The show premiered in 1972 and ran until 1985...
  
   (1972–1984).
• Match Game
  Match Game
  Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
  
   (1962–1969, 1973–1984, 1990–1991, 1998–1999).
• Schoolhouse Rock!
  Schoolhouse Rock!
  Schoolhouse Rock! is an American interstitial programming series of animated musical educational short films that aired during the Saturday morning children's programming on the U.S. television network ABC. The topics covered included grammar, science, economics, history, mathematics, and civics...
  
   (1973–1986).
• The Tomorrow Show (1973–1982).
• The Young and the Restless
  The Young and the Restless
  The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
  
   (1973–present).
• Derrick
  Derrick (TV series)
  Derrick is a German TV series produced by Telenova Film und Fernsehproduktion in association with ZDF, ORF and SRG between 1974 and 1998 about Detective Chief Inspector Stephan Derrick and his loyal assistant Inspector Harry Klein , who solve murder cases in Munich and surroundings Derrick is a...
  
   (1974–1998).
• Happy Days
  Happy Days
  Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
  
   (1974–1984).
• Little House on the Prairie
  Little House on the Prairie (TV series)
  Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
  
   (1974–1983).
• Dean Martin Celebrity Roast (1974–1984).
• Barney Miller
  Barney Miller
  Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...
  
   (1975–1982).
• Good Morning America
  Good Morning America
  Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
  
   (1975–present).
• Match Game PM (1975–1981).
• One Day at a Time
  One Day at a Time
  One Day at a Time is an American situation comedy on the CBS network that aired from December 16, 1975 until May 28, 1984. It portrays Ann Romano, a divorced mother, played by Bonnie Franklin, her two teenage daughters Julie and Barbara Cooper and Schneider, their building superintendent .The show...
  
   (1975–1984).
• Ryan's Hope
  Ryan's Hope
  Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
  
   (1975–1989).
• Saturday Night Live
  Saturday Night Live
  Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
  
   (1975–present).
• The Jeffersons
  The Jeffersons
  The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
  
   (1975–1985).
• Wheel of Fortune (1975–present).
• Alice
  Alice (TV series)
  Alice is an American sitcom television series that ran from August 31, 1976 to July 2, 1985 on CBS. The series was based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The show stars Linda Lavin in the title role, a widow who moves with her young son to start her life over again, and finds a job...
  
   (1976–1985).
• Charlie's Angels
  Charlie's Angels
  Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
  
   (1976–1981).
• Family Feud
  Family Feud
  Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
  
   (1976–1985, 1988–1995, 1999–present).
• Laverne & Shirley
  Laverne & Shirley
  Laverne & Shirley is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983...
  
   (1976–1983).
• Quincy, M.E.
  Quincy, M.E.
  Quincy, M.E., also called Quincy, is a United States television series from Universal Studios that aired from October 3, 1976, to September 5, 1983, on NBC...
  
   (1976–1983).
• The P.T.L. Club (1976–1987).
• CHiPs
  CHiPs
  CHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol...
  
   (1977–1983).
• Eight is Enough
  Eight Is Enough
  Eight Is Enough is an American television comedy-drama series which ran on ABC from March 15, 1977 until August 29, 1981. The show was modeled after syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote a book with the same name...
  
   (1977–1981).
• Fantasy Island
  Fantasy Island
  Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
  
   (1977–1984).
• In Search of... (1977–1982).
• Lou Grant (1977–1982).
• Soap (1977–1981).
• The Love Boat
  The Love Boat
  The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
  
   (1977–1986).
• This Week in Baseball
  This Week in Baseball
  This Week in Baseball is a weekly television program, originally designed to show highlights of the previous week's Major League Baseball action. TWIB debuted in .-Genesis of the series:...
  
   (1977–1998, 2000–present)
• Three's Company
  Three's Company
  Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....
  
   (1977–1984).
• 20/20 (1978–present).
• Battle of the Planets
  Battle of the Planets
  Battle of the Planets is an American animated television adaptation of the Japanese anime series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman . Of the 105 original Gatchaman episodes, 85 were used in the Battle of the Planets adaptation, produced by Sandy Frank Entertainment...
  
   (1978–1985).
• Dallas (1978–1991).
• Diff'rent Strokes
  Diff'rent Strokes
  Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
  
   (1978–1986).
• Mork & Mindy (1978–1982).
• Taxi
  Taxi (TV series)
  Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher...
  
   (1978–1983).
• WKRP in Cincinnati
  WKRP in Cincinnati
  WKRP in Cincinnati is an American situation comedy that featured the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta...
  
   (1978–1982).
• Archie Bunker's Place
  All in the Family
  All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
  
   (1979–1983).
• Benson
  Benson (TV series)
  Benson is an American television sitcom which aired from September 13, 1979, to April 19, 1986, on ABC. The series was a spin-off from the soap opera parody Soap ; however, Benson discarded the...
  
   (1979–1986).
• Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
  Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (TV series)
  Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is an American science fiction adventure television series produced by Universal Studios. The series ran for two seasons between 1979–1981, and the feature-length pilot episode for the series was released as a theatrical film several months before the series aired....
  
   (1979–1981).
• Knots Landing
  Knots Landing
  Knots Landing is an American primetime television soap opera that aired from December 27, 1979 to May 13, 1993 on CBS. Set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles in California, the show centered on the lives of four married couples living in a cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle...
  
   (1979–1993).
• Real People
  Real People
  Real People is an NBC reality television series that aired from 1979 to 1984, on Wednesday and then Sunday nights. Its initial episodes aired live in the Eastern and Central Time Zones.-Synopsis:...
  
   (1979–1984).
• The Dukes of Hazzard
  The Dukes of Hazzard
  The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
  
   (1979–1985).
• The Facts of Life
  The Facts of Life (TV series)
  The Facts of Life is an American sitcom that originally ran on the NBC television network from August 24, 1979 to May 7, 1988. A spin-off of the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, the series' premise focused on Edna Garrett as she becomes a housemother at the fictional Eastland School, a prestigious...
  
   (1979–1988).
• Trapper John, M.D.
  Trapper John, M.D.
  Trapper John, M.D. is an American television medical drama and spin-off of the film MASH, concerning a lovable surgeon who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, California. The show ran on CBS from September 23, 1979, to September 4, 1986....
  
   (1979–1986).
• Nightline (1979–present)
• SportsCenter
  SportsCenter
  SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
  
   (1979–present)
• This Old House
  This Old House
  This Old House is an American home improvement magazine and television series aired on the American television station Public Broadcasting Service which follows remodeling projects of houses over a number of weeks.-Overview:...
  
   (1979–present).

Ending this year

Births

Deaths