This Day In TV History

2020

Nov

1980: THE NATION DISCOVERS WHO SHOT J.R. By TV WW

This day in 1980 marked the resolution of one of television's most famous cliffhangers: Who Shot J.R.?

2020

Nov

1983: ABC PRESENTS 'THE DAY AFTER' By TV WW

On this day in 1983, ABC presented The Day After, a miniseries depicting the aftermath of a fictional nuclear war...

2020

Nov

1995: 'THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY' AIRS ON ABC By TV WW

On this day in 1995, ABC debuted the first installment of the three-part documentary series, The Beatles Anthology...

2020

Nov

1951: CBS INTRODUCES TV'S FIRST NEWSMAGAZINE 'SEE IT NOW' By David Bianculli

Television's all-time most important and impressive newsmagazine, See It Now, was also its first. It began Nov. 18, 1951 in an almost hidden timeslot — 3:30 on a Sunday afternoon — with reporter Edward R. Murrow and Director Don Hewitt broadcasting live from a cramped CBS News studio...

2020

Nov

1968: NBC CUTS AWAY FROM JETS-RAIDERS NAILBITER FOR 'HEIDI' By TV WW

On this day in 1968, AFL rivals the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders were locked in a back-and-forth battle for dominance when, with just over a minute to play, NBC cut away from the game to broadcast the previously-scheduled film, Heidi, in the Eastern time zone...

2020

Nov

1966: SONDHEIM’S TV MUSICAL ‘EVENING PRIMROSE’ DEBUTS By Linda Donovan

This day in 1966 marked the debut of Evening Primrose, the only original musical written by Stephen Sondheim for television...

2020

Nov

1989: THE COMEDY CHANNEL GOES LIVE By TV WW

On this day in 1989, Time Warner introduced cable's first all-comedy channel, simply called The Comedy Channel...

2020

Nov

1988: CBS DEBUTS 'MURPHY BROWN' By TV WW

On this day in 1998, CBS introduced Murphy Brown...

2020

Nov

1969: VEEP SPIRO AGNEW BLASTS THE TV NEWS MEDIA By TV WW

On this day in 1969, Vice President Spiro Agnew stood before an audience at the Midwestern Regional Republican Conference in Des Moines, Iowa and spoke out against "the tiny, enclosed fraternity of privileged men elected by no one" whom he felt showed an unfair bias against President Richard Nixon — specifically, the television news media...