Events in Film & TV
- 1936-07-07 RCA shows 1st real TV program (dancing, film on locomotives, Bonwit Teller fashion show and monologue from Tobacco Road & comedy)
- 1946-05-09 1st hour long entertainment TV show, "NBC's Hour Glass" premieres
- 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
Television Debut
1948-09-21 Milton Berle becomes the permanent host on NBC's TV show "Texaco Star Theater"
- 1948-11-29 Puppet TV show"Kukla, Fran, & Ollie" starring Fran Allison debuts on NBC
- 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 Dick Tracy TV show sparks uproar concerning violence
Television Premiere
1952-09-19 "Adventures of Superman" TV series starring George Reeves premieres in syndication in the US
- 1953-06-09 Milton Berle's TV show "Texaco Star Theater" last airs on NBC-TV
Television Premiere
1954-10-27 Walt Disney's 1st TV show, "Disneyland", premieres on ABC
- 1955-01-19 "The Millionaire" TV program premieres on CBS
- 1956-04-10 Philips broadcasts 1st Dutch color TV programs
Television Premiere
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)
- 1957-09-15 US TV series "Bachelor Father" with John Forsythe premieres
Television Premiere
1957-09-21 "Perry Mason" TV series based on the character by author Erle Stanley Gardner, starring Raymond Burr premieres on CBS-TV
- 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
1960-02-11 Jack Paar walks off his TV show
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
Television Premiere
1961-10-10 Variety TV show "The Bob Newhart Show" premieres on NBC in the US
Film & TV History
1962-01-15 Coco the Clown [Nicolai Poliakoff] is the subject of the BBC TV programme "This is Your Life"
- 1962-08-23 1st Europe-US live TV program (via Telstar)
Television Debut
1962-09-23 ABC's 1st color TV series - The Jetsons by Hanna-Barbera first broadcast
- 1963-08-09 Britains rock TV show "Ready Steady Go", premieres
Television Premiere
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
Television Premiere
1964-09-18 TV series "The Addams Family", starring John Astin, Carolyn Jones, Jackie Coogan, and Ted Cassidy premieres on ABC
- 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 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"
- 1968-09-24 "That's Life" premieres - A Broadway musical type TV show
Music History
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
TV Show Appearance
1969-06-14 John Lennon and Yoko Ono appear on David Frost's British TV Show
- 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
Music History
1976-02-01 Sonny & Cher resume TV show, despite real-life divorce
- 1977-09-23 Cheryl Ladd replaces Farrah Fawcett on TV show "Charlie's Angels"
Television Debut
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
Television Premiere
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
Television Premiere
1978-09-12 Situation comedy "Taxi" premieres on ABC television starring Judd Hirsch, Jeff Conaway, Danny DeVito, Tony Danza, Marilu Henner, and Andy Kaufman
Film & TV History
1978-10-14 1st TV movie from a TV series-"Rescue from Gilligan's Island"
Television Premiere
1979-08-25 TV series "Hart to Hart" starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers premieres in the US on ABC
- 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
- 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 "The Equalizer" TV spy/crime drama debuts in the US on CBS (starring Edward Woodward)
- 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"
- 1986-05-22 American singer and actress Cher calls David Letterman an a**hole on his "Late Night" TV program (NBC)
- 1986-09-26 Bobby (Patrick Duffy) returns to TV show "Dallas", his death is attributed to his wife Pam's bad dream (erases all of last season)
Music History
1987-07-15 Boy George barred from British TV show, he may be a bad influence
Television Debut
1987-09-22 US TV series "Full House" starring Bob Saget and John Stamos debuts
- 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
Television Debut
1989-04-05 NBC's "Late Night With David Letterman" becomes 1st network TV show broadcast in Dolby Stereo
- 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
Television Finale
1990-04-13 Final episode of Pat Sajak's late night TV show on CBS
- 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
Television Premiere
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
Television Debut
1993-04-21 Action TV series "Walker, Texas Ranger" starring Chuck Norris debuts on CBS
Television Debut
1993-09-27 British crime series "Cracker" created by Jimmy McGovern starring Robbie Coltrane debuts on ITV in the UK
Film & TV History
1993-12-16 Shannen Doherty (Brenda) is fired from TV series Beverly Hills 90210
Television Premiere
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
Television Debut
1995-09-04 Cult TV series "Xena: Warrior Princess" starring Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor debuts in the US
Film & TV History
1997-02-23 NBC TV shows "Schindler's List" completely uncensored, 65M watch
Television Premiere
1997-09-08 TV series "Ally McBeal" starring Calista Flockhart, created by David E. Kelley premieres on Fox in the US
Television Finale
1997-12-25 Jerry Seinfeld announces the final season of his TV show "Seinfeld" will air the following year
- 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
Television Premiere
2000-10-03 TV series "Dark Angel" created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee and starring Jessica Alba premieres in the US
Television Premiere
2002-03-05 American reality TV program The Osbournes" featuring family of Ozzy Osbourne premieres on MTV
Television Premiere
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
Television Premiere
2002-10-20 Motoring TV series "Top Gear premieres on the BBC, starring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and Jason Dawe (replaced after the first season by James May)
Television Debut
2003-05-20 Reality TV series "America's Next Top Model", created by Tyra Banks, debuts on UPN
- 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
Television Debut
2010-07-25 British TV series "Sherlock" debuts starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss
Television Premiere
2010-10-31 Post-apocalyptic zombie TV series "The Walking Dead" premieres, starring Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal and Lauren Cohan on AMC
Television Premiere
2011-10-02 TV spy drama "Homeland" starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis premieres on Showtime
Television Premiere
2012-04-22 TV political comedy "Veep" created by Armando Iannucci, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Anna Chlumsky premieres on HBO
Television Premiere
2014-04-15 US TV series "Fargo" created by Noah Hawley, starring Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, and Martin Freeman premieres on FX
Roger the Ripped Kangaroo
2015-11-18 "Kangaroo Dundee" wildlife TV series premieres featuring Brolga and Roger the ripped Kangaroo on BBC Two
Television Premiere
2016-05-22 TV series "Preacher", developed by Evan Goldberg, Sam Catlin, and Seth Rogen, premieres on AMC
Television Premiere
2016-11-04 British TV series "The Crown" premieres with Claire Foy playing Queen Elizabeth II and Matt Smith as Prince Philip
Television Premiere
2016-11-18 Motoring TV series "The Grand Tour" premieres on Amazon Prime Video, starring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May
Film & TV History
2018-05-31 Matt LeBlanc announces he is leaving TV show "Top Gear"
- 2018-07-21 Re-boot of TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" announced with creator Joss Whedon as executive producer
- 2018-07-22 TV show "Supergirl" announces casting of first live-action transgender superhero, by transgender actor Nicole Maines as Nia Nal
Film & TV History
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
TV Show Appearance
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"
Television Debut
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)
Film & TV History
2019-10-16 Netflix reveals its most popular original movie was Sandra Bullock's "Bird Box" and TV series "Stranger Things" for the year
Film & TV History
2019-11-12 Space western TV series set in the Star Wars franchise "The Mandalorian" by Jon Favreau is released on Disney+
- 2019-12-14 Bel Air mansion featured in TV series "The Beverly Hillbillies" sells for $150 million, becoming California's most expensive property
Television Debut
2021-01-15 TV series "WandaVision" starring Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany as Vision debuts on Disney+
Golden Globes
2022-01-10 79th Golden Globes: Best film "The Power of the Dog" (drama), "West Side Story" (comedy/musical), Best TV series "Succession", Best Director Jane Campion (Motion Picture)
Television Premiere
2022-09-01 TV Series "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" premieres on Amazon Prime Video
Film & TV History
2022-12-08 Trevor Noah hosts his final episode of late-night talk and satirical news television program "The Daily Show"