# 2000 in American television

In American television in 2000, notable events included television series debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel initiations, closures and rebrandings, as well as information about controversies and disputes.

## Events
### January

| Date | Event |
| 5 | All My Children celebrates its 30th anniversary on ABC. |
| 8 | The series finale of Saved by the Bell: The New Class airs on NBC, ending a consecutive run for the Saved by the Bell franchise that began on July 11, 1987, when NBC broadcast the pilot for Good Morning, Miss Bliss. The franchise would remain dormant until 2020. |
| 15 | David Letterman undergoes quintuple heart bypass surgery in New York-Presbyterian Hospital, following an angiogram that revealed that one of his arteries was constricted seriously. |
| 17 | Robin Givens replaces Mother Love as host of the talk show series Forgive or Forget. |

### February

| Date | Event |
| 8 | Chris-Craft Broadcasting (the 50% owner of UPN) filed a lawsuit against Viacom in the New York Supreme Court to block it's partner's merger with CBS, claiming that a pact signed between the two partners in 1997 had prevented either from owning "any interest, financial or otherwise" in "any competing network," including CBS, for a four-year period through January 2001. The following month, New York Supreme Court ruled against Chris-Craft's move for a permanent injunction to curtail the Viacom-CBS merger and the enforcement of Viacom's ultimatum. |
| 15 | Rick Rockwell marries stranger Darva Conger watched by 22 million viewers on the Fox reality show Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? While he and Darva are honeymooning, it becomes apparent that Rockwell—who is sometimes a comedian—had a restraining order against a former girlfriend, and he was not really a multi-millionaire. As a result, Fox cancels a rerun scheduled the next week, and does not broadcast any new installments. In addition the couple end their relationship soon after the show's taping. |
| 15 | David Legler wins a combined $1,765,000 from the six episodes he appeared on the NBC game show, Twenty One, surpassing Curtis Warren's total of $1,546,988, and becoming, at the time, the largest winner in game show winnings totals. (Warren had set the record 4 days earlier on Fox's Greed, winning $1,000,000 by correctly answering a special Million Dollar Moment question.) |
| 21 | David Letterman resumes hosting Late Show with David Letterman on CBS following his quintuple heart bypass surgery in January. On the show, Letterman (whose father died of heart failure in his 50s) brings all of the doctors that had performed the operation out on stage with him, including Dr. O. Wayne Isom and physician Louis Aronne, who makes frequent appearances on the show. In an unusual show of emotion, Letterman is nearly in tears as he thanks the doctors. The episode will earn an Emmy Award nomination. |
| 18 | Just as FCC's duopoly rules relaxed, Fox Television Stations buy out KDFI from Dallas Media Inventors, creating the first television duopoly to be owned by Fox (the same strategy was used when Fox bought the Chris-Craft company and WPWR-TV the following year). |
| 22 | Paramount Stations Group and ACME Communications sign an agreement to broadcast shared WB and UPN affiliations in markets without competition. This results in UPN affiliates WWHO in Columbus, Ohio, WTVX in West Palm Beach, Florida and WLWC in Providence, Rhode Island taking secondary WB affiliations, and WB affiliates WBUI-TV in Champaign, Illinois, WBXX in Knoxville, Tennessee, and KPLR-TV in St. Louis, Missouri taking secondary UPN affiliations. |

### March

| Date | Event |
| 20 | Viacom acquired Chris-Craft Broadcasting's 50% share of UPN for $5 million, making Chris-Craft's UPN stations (including New York and Los Angeles) the network's de facto owned-and-operated flagship stations. |

### April

| Date | Event |
| 1 | Boomerang, a satuday-morning block from Cartoon Network, is launched as a cable television channel. The channel's visual identity (made by Primal Screen) would become well-known for its bumpers involving vintage Hanna-Barbera toys from the 1960s to 1980s. The bumpers have remained the same for almost fifteen years until the channel relaunched with a new logo in January 2015. |
| 3 | WWHO in Columbus, Ohio and WLWC in Providence, Rhode Island became primary UPN affiliates, and eventually becoming secondary WB affiliates. |
| 12 | The Fox series Get Real airs its 20th and final aired episode (leaving 2 more unaired). Both Annie Hathaway and Jesse Eisenberg subsequently appeared in successful movie roles. |

### May

| Date | Event |
| 1 | The WWF receives the 2nd highest rated episode of Raw is War with a 7.4 rating, where The Rock defeated Shane McMahon. |
| 14 | After four years (since KEVN-TV left the network to join Fox in 1996), NBC returns to the Black Hills area of South Dakota when KNBN signs-on from Rapid City. |
| 17 | 16.8 million American viewers watch the 2-hour final episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 on FOX. |
| 19 | The 27th Daytime Emmy Awards presentation is broadcast by ABC. |
| 24 | The WB broadcasts the third-season finale of Dawson's Creek, entitled "True Love". The episode features the first male gay kiss on American primetime television, which has been called "a milestone in the timeline of gay representation in pop culture". |
| 31 | The first season of CBS's long-running reality competition of Survivor, titled Survivor: Borneo, based on Sweden's game show Expedition Robinson, premieres its first episode. Sonja Christopher was the first contestant to be eliminated. |

### July

| Date | Event |
| 3 | KNTV (channel 11) in San Jose, California drops its ABC affiliation for the Monterey Bay area and begins carrying minimal programming from The WB. (At that time, The WB affiliate for the Bay Area was KBWB channel 20). |
| 5 | The first season of CBS's long-running reality competition of Big Brother, based on the Dutch series of the same name, premieres its first episode. It was the only televised American season to use the traditional format to eliminate contestants via televoting, however, as the season received negative reception. |
| 11 | The Major League Baseball All-Star Game from Atlanta's Turner Field is broadcast on NBC. This ultimately proved to be NBC's final telecast of the "Midsummer Classic" to date. All subsequent Major League Baseball All-Star Games would air on Fox. |
| 14 | After over a year of rotating guest critics, Buena Vista Television announces that Richard Roeper, columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, will become permanent co-host alongside Roger Ebert on the newly renamed program Ebert & Roeper and the Movies (renamed to Ebert & Roeper the following year) as Gene Siskel's (who died from complications following his May 1998 brain surgery in early 1999) successor. |
| 15 | CBS broadcasts its final NASCAR event, the Chevy Silverado 200. Dennis Setzer would win the race. |
| 20 | Will & Grace moves permanently to Thursday nights, ending two years of airing the series on different nights. On July 25, Frasier moves back to Tuesday nights after two years on Thursday nights due to competition from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, confirming the swap NBC had discussed their schedule in May. |
| 28 | Kathie Lee Gifford made her final appearance as co-host on Live!, after 17 years (eleven and a half years for national syndication). Regis Philbin will continue to serve the only host until Kelly Ripa introduced as new co-host the following year. |

### August

| Date | Event |
| 3 | KBEJ Channel 2, (now KCWX) commences programming in Fredericksburg, Texas, taking the Austin market's UPN affiliation from low-powered station KVC 13 and returning full-time UPN service to San Antonio (between KRRT (now KMYS)'s switch to The WB in 1998 and KBEJ's sign-on, NBC affiliate KMOL-TV aired UPN programming on a secondary basis). |
| 23 | In CBS, corporate trainer Richard Hatch was declared the inaugural "Sole Survivor" in Survivor and won the $1,000,000 grand prize; Kelly Wiglesworth was named the runner-up. |

### September

| Date | Event |
| 10 | The 52nd Primetime Emmy Awards presentation is broadcast on ABC. |
| 15 | The 2000 Summer Olympics are televised by NBC. Opening ceremonies are watched by 27 and a half million viewers. |
| 16 | After the completion of Viacom's $37 billion merger with the CBS Corporation, the CBS Kidshow block is replaced with Nick Jr. on CBS, programmed by new corporate sister Nickelodeon. |
| 21 | ABC Sports celebrates the 30th anniversary of Monday Night Football on this night. |
| 26 | NBC declines to renew its broadcast agreement with Major League Baseball. After 50 seasons — 1947–1989 and 1994–2000 — Game 6 of the 2000 American League Championship Series is the last Major League Baseball game that NBC would televise for the next 22 years. The New York Yankees would defeat the Seattle Mariners 9–7 to advance to the World Series (which they would beat the New York Mets in five games). In Houston, due to the coverage of the 2000 Presidential Debate, KPRC-TV elected to carry NBC News' coverage of the debate while KNWS-TV carried NBC's final baseball game. |
| 29 | Eddie McGee wins the first American season of Big Brother and won the $500,000 grand prize. It is the only season at the time the final vote was determined by public viewers instead of a Jury vote. |
| 30 | PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch debuts. The block is programmed for PBS by Canada-based Nelvana, which had programmed the CBS Kidshow until the block was cancelled by CBS on September 16. |

### October

| Date | Event |
| 3 | Jim Lehrer moderates the first 2000 presidential debate between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush at the University of Massachusetts Boston. |
| 5 | CNN's Bernard Shaw moderates the 2000 vice presidential debate with Senator Joe Lieberman and former Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. |
| 11 | The second presidential debate is held at Wake Forest University. |
| 17 | NBC broadcasts Game 6 of the American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners. With Bob Costas and Joe Morgan at the call, the Yankees would defeat the Mariners 9–7, to advance to the World Series against their cross–town rivals, the Mets. As previously mentioned, this proved to be NBC's final Major League Baseball telecast until the 2022 season. |
| 26 | The Game 5 of the World Series airs on Fox. The New York Yankees win their third consecutive title (and first three-peat since the Oakland Athletics from 1972 to 1974) and 26th in franchise history, defeating their crosstown opponent the New York Mets 4–2. |
| 30 | Lancaster, Pennsylvania's college student Brad Rutter made his historical first appearance in the Jeopardy! game show, and he would go on set a record for its largest J! career winnings as of 2005 ($4,788,440), and as of 2020, becoming one of the largest winners in American game show history with winnings accumulating over $5,000,000, including $100,000 he won from Million Dollar Mind Game in 2014. |
| 31 | Charles Barkley makes his debut as an analyst on TBS/TNT's Inside the NBA. |

### November

| Date | Event |
| 4 | The final episode of All That's first-run airs on Nickelodeon. After 13 episodes the show was put on hiatus. To keep the show running, the producers compiled a series called Best of All That. Eventually, Nickelodeon canceled All That, due to crew disputes and a general desire to move on. However, All That still had a strong following and was one of the most popular shows on the network. Nickelodeon planned to revive the show, starting from scratch. |

### December

| Date | Event |
| 14 | Barker's Beauties Janice Pennington and Kathleen Bradley both quit CBS' series The Price Is Right. (On her broadcast run, Pennington has been on the series since its premiere during 1972.) Starting the following day, auditions to find new Barker's Beauties are held for several months. In the end, Claudia Jordan and Heather Kozar are selected as permanent models. |
| 22 | Bianca Montgomery, played by Eden Riegel for the soap opera All My Children, reveals herself as a lesbian to her mother, Erica Kane (played by Susan Lucci). |
| 31 | ABC broadcasts "Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve" at 10 p.m. ET for the first time, followed by local news or programming and then the main "New Year's Rockin' Eve". |

## Programs
### Debuts

| Date | Show | Network |
| January 3 | Your Weather Today | The Weather Channel |
| January 8 | Rainbow Fish | HBO |
| January 8 | Winning Lines | CBS |
| January 9 | Malcolm in the Middle | Fox |
| January 10 | The Ainsley Harriott Show | Syndication |
| January 12 | 18 Wheels of Justice | TNN |
| January 12 | Higher Ground | Fox Family |
| January 13 | EGG, the Arts Show | PBS |
| January 16 | City of Angels | CBS |
| January 17 | I Dare You: The Ultimate Challenge | UPN |
| January 17 | Cleopatra 2525 | Syndication |
| January 22 | Jack of All Trades | Syndication |
| January 24 | Brutally Normal | The WB |
| January 24 | Hollywood Showdown | PAX TV |
| January 24 | Slime Time Live | Nickelodeon |
| February 5 | The Others | NBC |
| February 11 | Miracle Pets | PAX TV |
| February 12 | Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue | Fox Kids |
| February 16 | Diary | MTV |
| February 25 | Max Steel | Kids' WB |
| February 26 | The Weekenders | ABC |
| March 5 | Cover Me | USA Network |
| March 7 | Secret Agent Man | UPN |
| March 9 | God, the Devil and Bob | NBC |
| March 11 | Caitlin's Way | Nickelodeon |
| March 14 | Son of the Beach | FX |
| March 20 | First Outlook | The Weather Channel |
| March 20 | Titus | Fox |
| March 21 | The Beat | UPN |
| March 22 | Then Came You | ABC |
| March 23 | Battery Park | NBC |
| March 23 | Daddio | NBC |
| March 24 | Making the Band | ABC |
| March 27 | Crush | USA Network |
| March 30 | Wonderland | ABC |
| March 31 | Call of the Wild | Animal Planet |
| April 1 | MasterChef USA | PBS |
| April 2 | D.C. | The WB |
| April 3 | Between the Lions | PBS Kids |
| April 3 | The Dooley and Pals Show | Syndication |
| April 4 | Falcone | CBS |
| April 11 | Talk to Me | ABC |
| April 13 | Food 911 | Food Network |
| April 23 | Genesis | PAX TV |
| April 30 | A Walk In Your Shoes | Nick Jr. Channel |
| May 15 | Secrets of the Dead | PBS |
| May 31 | Clerks: The Animated Series | ABC |
| May 31 | Survivor | CBS |
| June 5 | Maggie and the Ferocious Beast | Nickelodeon |
| June 6 | M.Y.O.B. | NBC |
| June 16 | Strip Mall | Comedy Central |
| June 16 | Totally Circus | Disney Channel |
| June 17 | Even Stevens | Disney Channel |
| June 20 | Shooting Gallery | Outdoor Channel |
| June 26 | Spy Groove | MTV |
| June 26 | Resurrection Blvd. | Showtime |
| June 28 | Soul Food | Showtime |
| July 3 | Masters of Illusion | PAX TV |
| July 5 | Big Brother | CBS |
| July 10 | Crossing Over with John Edward | Sci-Fi Channel |
| July 12 | Young Americans | The WB |
| July 17 | Opposite Sex | Fox |
| July 23 | The Brothers García | Nickelodeon |
| July 23 | Strong Medicine | Lifetime |
| July 23 | The War Next Door | USA Network |
| July 24 | Mysterious Ways | PAX TV |
| July 28 | Baby Blues | The WB |
| August 8 | Sammy | NBC |
| August 9 | Live Through This | MTV |
| August 12 | BattleBots | Comedy Central |
| August 14 | Dora the Explorer | Nickelodeon |
| Summer | Oobi | Noggin |
| August 25 | Encounters With the Unexplained | PAX TV |
| August 26 | In a Heartbeat | Disney Channel |
| August 26 | Generation O! | Kids' WB |
| September 4 | Clifford the Big Red Dog | PBS Kids |
| September 4 | Caillou | PBS Kids |
| September 4 | Judge Hatchett | Syndication |
| September 9 | Jackie Chan Adventures | Kids' WB |
| September 9 | Teacher's Pet | ABC |
| September 11 | 106 & Park | BET |
| September 11 | 2 Minute Drill | ESPN |
| September 11 | Dr. Laura | Syndication |
| September 11 | Girlfriends | UPN |
| September 12 | MTV Cribs | MTV |
| September 22 | Grosse Pointe | The WB |
| September 22 | Fear | MTV |
| September 23 | Static Shock | Kids' WB |
| September 23 | Just Deal | NBC |
| September 30 | Corduroy | PBS Kids |
| September 30 | Elliot Moose | PBS Kids |
| September 30 | George Shrinks | PBS Kids |
| September 30 | Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse | PBS Kids |
| September 30 | Seven Little Monsters | PBS Kids |
| September 30 | Timothy Goes to School | PBS Kids |
| October 1 | That's Life | CBS |
| October 1 | Jackass | MTV |
| October 2 | Buzz Lightyear of Star Command | UPN and ABC |
| October 2 | Yes, Dear | CBS |
| October 2 | Deadline | NBC |
| October 2 | Tucker | NBC |
| October 2 | History IQ | The History Channel |
| October 2 | Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda | Syndication |
| October 2 | Moral Court | Syndication |
| October 2 | Street Smarts | Syndication |
| October 3 | Dark Angel | Fox |
| October 4 | Titans | NBC |
| October 5 | Gilmore Girls | The WB |
| October 5 | Pelswick | Nickelodeon |
| October 6 | FreakyLinks | Fox |
| October 6 | Madigan Men | ABC |
| October 6 | The Trouble with Normal | ABC |
| October 6 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | CBS |
| October 6 | The Fugitive | CBS |
| October 7 | The District | CBS |
| October 7 | Noah Knows Best | Nickelodeon |
| October 7 | Maximum Exposure | Syndication |
| October 7 | Queen of Swords | Syndication |
| October 7 | Sheena | Syndication |
| October 8 | Ed | NBC |
| October 8 | Hype | The WB |
| October 9 | Nikki | The WB |
| October 10 | The Geena Davis Show | ABC |
| October 10 | Gideon's Crossing | ABC |
| October 11 | Bette | CBS |
| October 11 | Welcome to New York | CBS |
| October 11 | A Makeover Story | TLC |
| October 13 | Trading Spaces | TLC |
| October 15 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | HBO |
| October 21 | Cheaters | Syndication |
| October 21 | The Fearing Mind | Fox Family |
| October 23 | Scariest Places on Earth | Fox Family |
| October 23 | Boston Public | Fox |
| October 24 | The Michael Richards Show | NBC |
| October 25 | As Told By Ginger | Nickelodeon |
| October 26 | Cursed | NBC |
| October 27 | Freedom | UPN |
| October 27 | Level 9 | UPN |
| November 1 | Normal, Ohio | Fox |
| November 1 | The Street | Fox |
| November 4 | X-Men: Evolution | Kids' WB |
| November 14 | DAG | NBC |
| November 17 | Sheep in the Big City | Cartoon Network |
| December 3 | The Living Century | PBS |
| December 3 | Queer as Folk | Showtime |
| December 6 | TV Funhouse | Comedy Central |
| December 7 | The Jeff Corwin Experience | Animal Planet |
| December 8 | Dot Comedy | ABC |
| December 21 | The Brak Show | Cartoon Network |
| December 21 | Sealab 2021 | Cartoon Network |
| December 30 | Aqua Teen Hunger Force | Cartoon Network |
| December 30 | Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law | Cartoon Network |

### Returning this year

| Show | Last aired | Previous network | New title | New network | Returning |
| Twenty One | 1958 | NBC | Same | NBC | January 9 |
| Ripley's Believe It or Not! | 1986 | ABC | Same | TBS | January 12 |
| Double Dare | 1993 | Nickelodeon, Fox | Double Dare 2000 | Same | January 24 |
| Grapevine | 1992 | CBS | Same | Same | February 28 |
| Supermarket Sweep | 1995 | Lifetime | Same | PAX TV | April 3 |
| Shop 'til You Drop | 1998 | The Family Channel | Same | PAX TV | April 3 |
| Cartoon Cartoon Weekend | 1999 | Cartoon Network | The Cartoon Cartoon Show (Cartoon Cartoons or The Big Pick) | Same | June 9 |
| This Week in Baseball | 1998 | Syndication | Same | Fox | July 12 |
| To Tell the Truth | 1991 | NBC | Same | Syndication | September 18 |
| The Critic | 1995 | Fox | Same | Comedy Central | November |

### Ending this year

| Date | Show | Network | Debut | Status |
| January 1 | Random Acts of Comedy | Fox Family | 1999 | Cancelled |
| January 5 | It's Like, You Know... | ABC | 1999 | Cancelled |
| January 7 | Odd Man Out | ABC | 1999 | Cancelled |
| January 8 | The Brothers Flub | Nickelodeon | 1999 | Cancelled |
| January 8 | Saved by the Bell: The New Class | NBC | 1993 | Ended |
| January 22 | Science Court | ABC | 1997 | Cancelled |
| January 22 | Flying Rhino Junior High | CBS | 1998 | Cancelled |
| January 22 | KaBlam! | Nickelodeon | 1996 | Cancelled |
| January 30 | Ace Ventura: Pet Detective | CBS | 1995 | Cancelled |
| February 4 | Sliders | Sci Fi Channel | 1995 | Cancelled |
| February 12 | Superman: The Animated Series | Kids' WB | 1996 | Cancelled |
| February 12 | The New Batman/Superman Adventures | Kids' WB | 1997 | Cancelled |
| February 13 | Linc's | Showtime | 1998 | Cancelled |
| February 14 | Brutally Normal | The WB | 2000 | Cancelled |
| February 16 | Noddy | PBS Kids | 1998 | Cancelled |
| February 18 | Winning Lines | CBS | 2000 | Cancelled |
| February 22 | Pulp Comics | Comedy Central | 1996 | Cancelled |
| February 22 | Archie's Weird Mysteries | PAX TV | 1999 | Cancelled |
| February 26 | The Avengers: United They Stand | Fox Kids | 1999 | Cancelled |
| February 27 | Animorphs | Nickelodeon | 1998 | Cancelled |
| March 2 | I Am Weasel | Cartoon Network | 1997 | Cancelled |
| March 4 | Oh Baby | Lifetime | 1998 | Cancelled |
| March 7 | Gullah Gullah Island | Nickelodeon | 1994 | Cancelled |
| March 15 | Tenacious D | HBO | 1997 | Cancelled |
| March 25 | Detention | Kids' WB | 1999 | Cancelled |
| March 28 | God, the Devil and Bob (returned in 2011) | NBC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| March 31 | Histeria! | Kids' WB | 1998 | Cancelled |
| April 1 | Crashbox | HBO Family | 1999 | Cancelled |
| April 3 | Hope Island | PAX TV | 1999 | Cancelled |
| April 6 | Wonderland | ABC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| April 9 | Pacific Blue | USA Network | 1996 | Cancelled |
| April 12 | Get Real | Fox | 1999 | Cancelled |
| April 12 | Falcone | CBS | 2000 | Cancelled |
| April 13 | Battery Park | NBC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| April 22 | Godzilla: The Series | Fox Kids | 1998 | Cancelled |
| April 23 | The Journey of Allen Strange | Nickelodeon | 1997 | Cancelled |
| April 23 | The Beat | UPN | 2000 | Cancelled |
| April 25 | D.C. | The WB | 2000 | Cancelled |
| April 25 | Talk to Me | ABC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| April 26 | Then Came You | ABC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| April 28 | Cosby | CBS | 1996 | Cancelled |
| May 1 | George and Martha | HBO Family | 1999 | Cancelled |
| May 3 | Party of Five (returned in 2020) | Fox | 1994 | Ended |
| May 4 | Chicago Hope | CBS | 1994 | Cancelled |
| May 5 | Now and Again | ABC | 1999 | Cancelled |
| May 5 | Boy Meets World (returned in 2014) | ABC | 1993 | Ended |
| May 5 | A Little Curious | HBO | 1998 | Cancelled |
| May 11 | Mobile Suit Gundam Wing | Cartoon Network | 2000 | Cancelled |
| May 12 | G vs E | Sci Fi Channel | 1999 | Cancelled |
| May 13 | The Pretender | NBC | 1996 | Cancelled |
| May 13 | Martial Law | CBS | 1998 | Cancelled |
| May 16 | Sports Night | ABC | 1998 | Cancelled |
| May 17 | Beverly Hills, 90210 (returned in 2008) | Fox | 1990 | Cancelled |
| May 19 | Harsh Realm | FX | 1999 | Cancelled |
| May 19 | Donny & Marie | Syndication | 1998 | Cancelled |
| May 20 | Malibu, CA | Syndication | 1998 | Cancelled |
| May 20 | Pensacola: Wings of Gold | Syndication | 1997 | Cancelled |
| May 22 | Grown Ups | UPN | 1999 | Cancelled |
| May 22 | Malcolm & Eddie | UPN | 1996 | Cancelled |
| May 25 | The Dooley and Pals Show | Syndication | 2000 | Cancelled |
| May 25 | Jesse | NBC | 1998 | Cancelled |
| May 26 | Forgive or Forget | Syndication | 1998 | Cancelled |
| May 26 | Storytime with Thomas | Fox Family | 1999 | Cancelled |
| May 27 | Early Edition | CBS | 1996 | Cancelled |
| May 28 | Twenty-One | PAX | 2000 | Cancelled |
| May 30 | I Dare You: The Ultimate Challenge | UPN | 2000 | Cancelled |
| June 9 | The Dating Game | Syndication | 1965 | Cancelled |
| June 10 | The Others | NBC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| June 11 | Are You Afraid of the Dark? (returned in 2019) | Nickelodeon | 1992 | Cancelled |
| June 11 | Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane | The WB | 1999 | Cancelled |
| June 16 | Higher Ground | Fox Family | 2000 | Cancelled |
| June 21 | Time of Your Life | Fox | 1999 | Cancelled |
| June 23 | Kids Say the Darndest Things (returned in 2019) | CBS | 1998 | Cancelled |
| June 26 | Call of the Wild | Animal Planet | 2000 | Cancelled |
| June 27 | M.Y.O.B. | NBC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| June 27 | Veronica's Closet | NBC | 1997 | Cancelled |
| July 1 | Profiler | NBC | 1996 | Cancelled |
| July 3 | The Magnificent Seven | CBS | 1998 | Cancelled |
| July 7 | The Strip | UPN | 1999 | Cancelled |
| July 8 | Freaks and Geeks | Fox Family | 1999 | Cancelled |
| July 13 | Stark Raving Mad | NBC | 1999 | Cancelled |
| July 15 | Kenan & Kel | Nickelodeon | 1996 | Cancelled |
| July 16 | Mission Hill (returned in 2002) | The WB | 1999 | Cancelled |
| July 18 | Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | HBO | 1995 | Cancelled |
| July 18 | Love & Money | CBS | 1999 | Cancelled |
| July 25 | Dilbert | UPN | 1999 | Cancelled |
| July 28 | Secret Agent Man | UPN | 2000 | Cancelled |
| August 1 | Shasta McNasty | UPN | 1999 | Cancelled |
| August 18 | WCW Saturday Night | TBS | 1971 | Cancelled |
| August 24 | Baby Blues (returned in 2002) | The WB | 2000 | Cancelled |
| August 30 | Young Americans | The WB | 2000 | Cancelled |
| September 1 | Jep! | GSN | 1998 | Cancelled |
| September 2 | The Bugs Bunny Show | ABC | 1960 | Cancelled |
| September 4 | Opposite Sex | Fox | 2000 | Cancelled |
| September 24 | Totally Circus | Disney Channel | 2000 | Cancelled |
| September 24 | The War Next Door | USA Network | 2000 | Cancelled |
| October 2 | Strangers with Candy | Comedy Central | 1999 | Cancelled |
| October 6 | ECW on TNN | The Nashville Network | 1999 | Cancelled |
| October 17 | Major League Baseball on NBC (returned in 2022) | NBC | 1947 | Cancelled |
| October 23 | PB&J Otter | Playhouse Disney | 1998 | Cancelled |
| October 23 | Daddio | NBC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| October 23 | Tucker | NBC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| November 10 | The Trouble with Normal | ABC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| November 10 | Double Dare 2000 (returned in 2018) | Nickelodeon | 1986 | Cancelled |
| November 18 | Pepper Ann | UPN | 1997 | Cancelled |
| November 18 | Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue | Fox Kids | 2000 | Cancelled |
| November 18 | Beast Machines | Fox Kids | 1999 | Cancelled |
| November 24 | The Roseanne Show | Syndication | 1998 | Cancelled |
| November 25 | The Chris Rock Show | HBO | 1997 | Cancelled |
| December 2 | The Fearing Mind | Fox Family | 2000 | Cancelled |
| December 2 | Jack of All Trades | Syndication | 2000 | Cancelled |
| December 8 | Dot Comedy | ABC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| December 13 | Normal, Ohio | Fox | 2000 | Cancelled |
| December 13 | The Street | Fox | 2000 | Cancelled |
| December 15 | Madigan Men | ABC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| December 16 | Hang Time | NBC | 1995 | Cancelled |
| December 16 | Mickey Mouse Works | ABC | 1999 | Cancelled |
| December 17 | Adventures from the Book of Virtues | PBS | 1996 | Cancelled |
| December 18 | Titans | NBC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| December 19 | The Michael Richards Show | NBC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| December 21 | City of Angels | CBS | 2000 | Cancelled |
| December 26 | Suddenly Susan | NBC | 1996 | Cancelled |
| December 31 | ECW Hardcore TV | Syndication | 1993 | Cancelled |

### Entering syndication this year

| Show | Seasons | In Production |
| 7th Heaven | 4 | Yes |
| Cosby | 4 | No |
| Early Edition | 4 | No |
| The Jamie Foxx Show | 5 | Yes |
| Moesha | 5 | Yes |
| Nash Bridges | 5 | Yes |
| The Pretender | 4 | No |
| Sabrina the Teenage Witch | 4 | Yes |
| Spin City | 4 | Yes |
| Suddenly Susan | 4 | No |

### Changes of network affiliation

| Show | Moved from | Moved to |
| Forensic Files | TLC | Court TV |
| Budgie the Little Helicopter | Fox Kids | Fox Family |
| The Hughleys | ABC | UPN |
| Ripley's Believe It or Not! | ABC | TBS |
| Sabrina the Teenage Witch | ABC | The WB |
| The PJs | Fox | The WB |
| This Week in Baseball | Syndication | Fox |
| Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular | Syndication | NBC |
| Twenty One | NBC | Pax TV |
| Supermarket Sweep | Lifetime | Pax TV |
| Shop 'til You Drop | Fox Family | Pax TV |
| WWF Raw Is War | USA Network | TNN |
| WWF LiveWire | USA Network | TNN |
| WWF Superstars | USA Network | TNN |
| WWF Sunday Night Heat | USA Network | MTV |
| To Tell the Truth | NBC | Syndication |
| The Critic | Fox | Comedy Central |

### Miniseries

| Title | Channel | Premiere |
| The 10th Kingdom | NBC | February 27 |
| The Corner | HBO | April 16 |
| Arabian Nights | ABC | April 30 |
| Jesus | CBS | May 14 |

## Networks and services
### Launches

| Network | Type | Launch date | Notes |
| Hispanic Television Network | Cable television | Unknown | |
| VH1 Uno | Cable and satellite | Unknown | |
| BYU TV | Cable and satellite | January 1 | |
| PBS YOU | Cable television | January 15 | |
| Soapnet | Cable and satellite | January 20 | |
| Oxygen | Cable and satellite | February 2 | |
| V-Me | Cable television | March 5 | |
| Boomerang | Cable and satellite | April 1 | Boomerang was originally a programming block on Cartoon Network, which continued until 2004. |
| New Urban Entertainment Television | Cable television | July 17 | |
| Azteca America | Cable television | July 28 | |
| Venevisión Continental | Cable television | August 28 | |
| HBO Latino | Cable television | November 1 | |
| RFD-TV | Cable and satellite | December 1 | |

### Conversions and rebrandings

| Old network name | New network name | Type | Conversion Date |
| SportsChannel Florida | Fox Sports Net Florida | Cable television | March 1 |
| VH1 Classic Rock | VH1 Classic | Cable and satellite | May 8 |
| CBS Telenoticias | Telemundo Internacional | Cable television | September |
| ZDTV | TechTV | Cable and satellite | September 18 |
| The Nashville Network | The National Network | Cable television | September 25 |
| ValueVision | ShopNBC | Cable television | November |

### Closures

| Network name | Type | Closure Date |
| Discovery People | Cable television | Unknown |
| Z Music Television | Cable television | Unknown |
| Boyz Channel | Cable television | August 18 |
| Girlz Channel | Cable television | August 18 |
| Romance Classics | Cable and satellite | December 31 |

## Television stations
### Station launches

| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
| January 3 | Palm Springs, California | KPSE-LP | 38 | UPN | |
| April 23 | Orlando, Florida | WRDQ | 27 | Independent | |
| May 24 | Scranton, Pennsylvania | W26CD | 26 | TBN | |
| May 25 | Stuart/West Palm Beach, Florida | WHDT | 9 | Deutsche Welle | |
| June 17 | Grand Junction, Colorado | KFQX | 4 | Fox | |
| June 19 | Eureka Springs/Fort Smith, Arkansas | KWBS-TV | 34 | Pax TV | |
| June 19 | Syracuse, New York | WAWA-LP | 14 | Independent | |
| August 3 | San Antonio, Texas | KBEJ | 2 | UPN | |
| September 6 | Tacoma/Seattle, Washington | KWDK | 56 | Daystar | |
| October 1 | Duluth, Minnesota | K60EZ | 60 | UPN (primary) AIN (secondary) | |
| October 18 | Wichita Falls, Texas | KUWF-LP | 36 | Univision | |
| November | Grand Forks, North Dakota | KXJC-LP | 35 | CBS | |
| November 24 | Montgomery, Alabama | WRJM-TV | 67 | UPN | |
| December | Flagstaff, Arizona | KTFL | 4 | FamilyNet | |
| December | Los Angeles, California | KXLA | 44 | America One | |
| December 12 | Orlando, Florida | WLCB-TV | 45 | Christian independent | |
| December 20 | Flagstaff, Arizona | KCFG | 9 | America One | |
| Unknown date | Binghamton, New York | W10CO | 10 | UPN | |
| Unknown date | Calipatria, California | KAJB | 54 | Independent | |
| Unknown date | Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands | WVIF | 15 | Pax TV | |
| Unknown date | Farmington, New Mexico | KOBG-TV | 6 | NBC | Satellite of KOB-TV/Albuquerque |
| Unknown date | Fond du Lac, Wisconsin | WMMF-TV | 68 | FamilyNet | |
| Unknown date | Madison, Wisconsin | WISC-DT2 | 3.2 (digital) | The WB | Over-the-air digital relaunch of the cable-only TVW; one of the first digital subchannels to launch in the United States |
| Unknown date | Naples/Fort Myers, Florida | W43AY | 43 | Telemundo | |
| Unknown date | Las Vegas, Nevada | KNVV-LP | 41 | Univision | |
| Unknown date | Sioux Falls, South Dakota | KAUN | 36 | Pax TV | |

## Births

| Date | Name | Notability |
| January 7 | Marcus Scribner | Actor (Black-ish, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) |
| January 8 | Noah Cyrus | Actress (Hannah Montana) and daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus |
| January 20 | Montse Hernandez | Voice actress (Gwen Tennyson on Ben 10) |
| January 26 | Anthony Turpel | Actor (Love, Victor) |
| January 28 | Julia Lester | Actress (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) |
| February 1 | Paris Smith | Actress (Every Witch Way) |
| February 10 | Yara Shahidi | Actress (Black-ish, Grown-ish) |
| February 23 | Christian Martyn | Canadian actor (Anne With An E, Home Alone: The Holiday Heist) |
| February 25 | Angelina Wahler | Voice actress (Fee on Harvey Beaks) |
| February 25 | Tucker Albrizzi | Actor (Big Time Rush, Good Luck Charlie) |
| March 5 | Gabby Barrett | Singer (American Idol) |
| March 6 | Jacob Bertrand | Actor (Bubble Guppies, Marvin Marvin, Kirby Buckets, Cobra Kai) |
| March 21 | Jace Norman | Actor (Henry Danger, The Adventures of Kid Danger, Danger Force) |
| March 27 | Sophie Nélisse | Canadian actress (Yellowjackets) |
| March 30 | Regan Mizrahi | Voice actor (Boots on Dora the Explorer (2008–12)) |
| May 4 | Amara Miller | Actress |
| May 7 | Maxwell Perry Cotton | Actor (Brothers & Sisters) |
| May 18 | Addison Holley | Actress |
| May 30 | Jared S. Gilmore | Actor (Once Upon a Time) |
| May 31 | Gable Steveson | Wrestler |
| June 2 | Lilimar Hernandez | Venezuelan actress (Bella and the Bulldogs, Knight Squad) |
| June 13 | Daniella Perkins | Actress (Legendary Dudas, Knight Squad) |
| June 17 | Odessa A'zion | Actress (Fam, Grand Army) |
| June 22 | Maliq Johnson | Actor (Grand Army) |
| July 8 | Benjamin Stockham | Actor (Sons of Tucson, 1600 Penn, About a Boy) |
| July 19 | Owen Joyner | Actor (100 Things to Do Before High School, Knight Squad) |
| July 25 | Mason Cook | Actor (Speechless) |
| July 25 | Meg Donnelly | Actress (American Housewife) and singer |
| July 27 | Savannah Lee Smith | Actress (Gossip Girl) |
| August 3 | Landry Bender | Actress (Crash & Bernstein, Best Friends Whenever, The Lion Guard, Looking for Alaska) |
| August 3 | Chandler Kinney | Actress (Zombies 2, Pretty Little Liars) |
| August 5 | Augie Isaac | Actor (Mighty Med) |
| August 12 | Savannah May | Actress (Knight Squad) |
| August 19 | Trenton Rogers | Voice actor (Leo on Little Einsteins (2007–09)) |
| August 20 | Fátima Ptacek | Voice actress (Dora the Explorer, Dora and Friends: Into the City!) |
| August 24 | Griffin Gluck | Actor (Private Practice, Red Band Society) |
| August 26 | Brady Reiter | Actress (100 Things to Do Before High School) |
| September 28 | Frankie Jonas | Actor (Jonas) |
| September 28 | Brenna D'Amico | Actress (Descendants: Wicked World) |
| September 12 | Laine Hardy | Singer (American Idol) |
| September 30 | Amina Alzouma | Actress (I Am Frankie) |
| October 10 | Aedin Mincks | Actor (A.N.T. Farm) |
| October 11 | Hayden Byerly | Actor (The Fosters) |
| October 13 | Gail Soltys | Actress (Talia in the Kitchen) |
| October 14 | Mekai Curtis | Actor (Kirby Buckets, Milo Murphy's Law) |
| October 31 | Willow Smith | Actress, singer and daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith |
| November 7 | Dara Reneé | Actress (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) |
| November 8 | Jade Pettyjohn | Actress (School of Rock) |
| November 10 | Mackenzie Foy | Actress |
| November 11 | Kristi Beckett | Actress (I Am Frankie) |
| November 13 | Armani Barrett | Actor (I Am Frankie) |
| November 22 | Ariel Martin | Actress and singer |
| November 22 | Auliʻi Cravalho | Actress and singer |
| December 16 | Lance Lim | Actor (School of Rock) |
| December 21 | Lucas Jade Zumann | Actor (Anne With An E, Sinister 2, 20th Century Women) |
| December 22 | Joshua Bassett | Actor (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) |

## Deaths

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| January 15 | Fran Ryan | 83 | American character actress (Doris Ziffle #2 on Green Acres) |
| January 16 | By Saam | 85 | American sportscaster |
| January 18 | Nancy Coleman | 87 | American film, stage, television and radio actress |
| January 18 | Jester Hairston | 98 | American composer, songwriter, arranger, choral conductor, and actor (Amen) |
| February 10 | Jim Varney | 50 | American actor; creator of the Ernest P. Worrell character (Hey Vern, It's Ernest!) |
| February 12 | Charles M. Schulz | 77 | American cartoonist, creator of Peanuts |
| March 11 | Alex Dreier | 83 | American news reporter |
| March 15 | Durward Kirby | 88 | American television host and announcer |
| March 25 | Helen Martin | 90 | American character actress (Pearl Shay on 227) |
| April 10 | Larry Linville | 60 | American actor (Major Frank Burns on M*A*S*H) |
| April 12 | Christopher Pettiet | 24 | American television and film actor (The Young Riders) |
| May 7 | Douglas Fairbanks Jr. | 90 | American actor and producer (Douglas Fairbanks Presents), son of Douglas Fairbanks |
| May 10 | Craig Stevens | 81 | American film and television actor (Peter Gunn) |
| June 18 | Nancy Marchand | 71 | American actress (Livia Soprano on The Sopranos, Mrs. Pynchon on Lou Grant) |
| July 1 | Walter Matthau | 79 | American actor and comedian |
| July 14 | Meredith MacRae | 56 | American actress and singer (Billie Jo Bradley #3 on Petticoat Junction) |
| July 28 | Jaime Cardriche | 32 | American actor (Malcolm & Eddie) |
| August 12 | Loretta Young | 87 | American actress (The Loretta Young Show) |
| September 14 | Beah Richards | 80 | American stage, screen, and television actress |
| September 26 | Richard Mulligan | 67 | American television and film actor (Burt Campbell on Soap, Dr. Harry Weston on Empty Nest) |
| October 6 | Richard Farnsworth | 80 | American actor and stuntman |
| October 9 | David Dukes | 55 | American actor |
| October 16 | Rick Jason | 77 | American actor (Lt. Gil Hanley on Combat!) |
| October 18 | Julie London | 74 | American singer and actress (Nurse Dixie McCall on Emergency!) |
| October 30 | Steve Allen | 78 | American comedian, composer (original The Tonight Show host) |
| December 2 | Gail Fisher | 65 | American actress (Peggy Fair on Mannix) |
| December 6 | Werner Klemperer | 80 | German-American actor (Colonel Wilhelm Klink on Hogan's Heroes) |
| December 12 | George Montgomery | 84 | American actor, director, producer, writer and stuntman |
| December 23 | Victor Borge | 91 | Danish comedian and pianist |
| December 26 | Jason Robards | 78 | American stage, film and television actor (The Day After) |