# 2001 in American television

In American television in 2001, notable events included television series debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel initiations, closures and re-brandings, as well as information about controversies and disputes.

## Events
### January

| Date | Event |
| 1 | After being acquired by MTV Networks, The Box, a request video music channel shuts down, replaced by MTV2 on terrestrial stations. |
| 1 | In Hartford, Connecticut, UPN affiliate WTXX (now CW affiliate WCCT-TV) and WB affiliate WBNE (now MyNetworkTV affiliate WCTX) swap affiliations due to WTXX's impending purchase by Tribune Broadcasting, owners of Fox affiliate WTIC-TV (which at the time operated WTXX under a LMA) and a minority owner of The WB. WBNE, meanwhile, changes its call letters to the current WCTX and adopts new branding as "The X". |
| 4 | HBO's children's programs are transferred to its multiplex channel HBO Family. |
| 7 | Extreme Championship Wrestling's final nationally and globally televised event, Guilty as Charged airs on pay-per-view. It would see The Sandman defeating Steve Corino and Justin Credible for the world title, only for Rhino to defeat The Sandman to win the title. Rob Van Dam initially challenged Rhino for the title, but was attacked by Jerry Lynn. Despite interference and with help from Joel Gertner, he won the main event. |
| 9 | KXVA in Abilene, Texas, signs-on the air under Program Test Authority. The new station (which will not be licensed for another 13 months) takes the market's Fox affiliation from sister station KIDZ-LP, which in turn becomes a full-time UPN affiliate. |
| 28 | CBS broadcasts Super Bowl XXXV, their first since Super Bowl XXVI at the end of the 1991 season. Greg Gumbel, becomes the first African-American sportscaster to do network televised play-by-play on a major professional sports championship. The Baltimore Ravens would beat the New York Giants 34–7. |

### February

| Date | Event |
| 5 | Kelly Ripa joins Live! as a permanent co-host with Regis Philbin. |
| 18 | Fox broadcasts its inaugural NASCAR telecast, the Daytona 500. In the final lap, Dale Earnhardt is killed after getting into a head-on collision. |

### March

| Date | Event |
| 6 | TEENick first airs as a Sunday night block on Nickelodeon. |
| 18 | World Championship Wrestling produces their final pay-per-view, Greed. |
| 26 | On TNT, WCW Monday Nitro broadcasts its final show from Panama City Beach, Florida, with a simulcast with the WWF's (now WWE's) Monday Night RAW television series (then airing on TNN), officially ending a six-year ratings struggle in professional wrestling known as the Monday Night War. Live professional wrestling events wouldn't be broadcast on TNT again until the launch of AEW Dynamite in 2019. |

### April

| Date | Event |
| 1 | WrestleMania X-Seven from the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas, is broadcast on pay-per-view. The event would receive acclaim from critics and fans. |
| 2 | CBS affiliate WWJ-TV started airing newscasts, produced by UPN affiliate WKBD-TV. This experiment was proven to be a disaster, and it was ceased in November 2002. |
| 10 | Kevin Olmstead wins a $2.18 million jackpot on the ABC game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, making him the biggest winner in American game show history. |

### May

| Date | Event |
| 17 | NBC airs the hour-long season seven finale of Friends titled "The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding". |
| 17 | On The WB, Shannen Doherty makes her final appearance as Prue Halliwell on Charmed. |
| 18 | The 28th Daytime Emmy Awards are presented on NBC. |
| 22 | On The WB, Buffy the Vampire Slayer airs its 100th episode. It also served as The WB series finale after UPN announced that the series and Roswell will move to the network for the fall 2001 season. |
| 23 | On UPN, Star Trek: Voyager airs its series finale with a two-part episode "Endgame". |

### June

| Date | Event |
| 12 | TNT is refocused as a drama-based cable channel with a new slogan, We Know Drama. |
| 18 | Luke and Laura, widely regarded as the soap opera pairing that helped generate the term "supercouple", sign divorce papers on ABC's soap opera General Hospital, dissolving their fictional two-decade union. |
| 19 | The inaugural BET Awards is broadcast. |

### July

| Date | Event |
| 21 | Nickelodeon's hit TV series Rugrats celebrates its 10th anniversary with a one-hour special, All Growed Up (which will eventually lead to a spin-off series), and a documentary, Still Babies After All These Years, narrated by Amanda Bynes. |
| 31 | Fox Television Stations finalizes purchase of Chris-Craft Industries and its subsidiary BHC Communications. Soon afterwards, ABC affiliate KTVX in Salt Lake City and NBC affiliate KMOL-TV in San Antonio was traded to Clear Channel in exchange for Fox station WFTC in Minneapolis/St. Paul, then-UPN station KPTV in Portland was traded to Meredith Corporation in exchange for Fox station WOFL in Orlando and UPN station KBHK-TV in San Francisco was traded to Viacom in exchange for the two Viacom-owned UPN stations KTXH in Houston and WDCA in Washington, D.C. |

### August

| Date | Event |
| 10 | Samurai Jack premieres on Cartoon Network. |
| 31 | Mister Rogers' Neighborhood airs its final episode on PBS Kids. Fred Rogers would die two years later of stomach cancer at the age of 74. |

### September

| Date | Event |
| 2 | Adult Swim, an adult-oriented programming block, debuts on its Turner sister cable channel Cartoon Network. |
| 3 | Thuy Trang, the actress best known for her role as the yellow ranger, Trini Kwan from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers unexpectedly dies at the age of 27 in a car accident in San Francisco. |
| 5 | CBS's travel-based reality-competition, The Amazing Race, which would later become one of the most successful franchises in television, premieres its first episode. |
| 7 | Ed Toutant wins $1,860,000 on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He had previously appeared on the episode aired January 31, 2001, when the jackpot was $1,860,000, where he was ruled to have answered his $16,000 question incorrectly, but when it was discovered that there was a mistake in that question, Toutant was invited back and wins the jackpot. |
| 8 | Fox broadcasts the final episode of Murder in Small Town X, in which New York City firefighter Ángel Juarbe, Jr. wins. Juarbe is killed three days later during the collapse of the World Trade Center. |
| 11 | Viewers around the world witness a terrorist attack on the United States, and the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York City live on television. Additionally, the broadcast towers of WABC-TV and WNBC, the respective flagship stations of ABC and NBC, are destroyed by the attacks, but those signals could be viewed cable and satellite. The broadcast tower of WCBS-TV is destroyed in the attacks, but its full-power backup transmitter at the Empire State Building is not. Most American over-the-air broadcasters (except for Fox, UPN, PBS and The WB) and cable networks suspend regular programming for four days, and numerous major daily talk shows are not exhibited for several weeks until their hosts feel comfortable resuming programming. |
| 11 | Although they were first seen during 1952 and used by some television news programs ever since, continually scrolling news headlines along the bottom of the screen become commonplace after the Fox News Channel uses it to allow viewers to keep track of the latest developments during the attacks. |
| 13 | UPN resumes normal programming with a live episode of SmackDown. The show was originally scheduled to be taped on September 11, but the taping was postponed by two days due to the attacks. |
| 16 | Dick Schaap makes his final appearance as host of ESPN's The Sports Reporters. The show is expanded to an hour to cover the sports perspective from the September 11th attacks. Schaap soon undergoes hip replacement surgery and later dies from complications. In fact, he delayed the surgery in order to be on that show. |
| 17 | All of the Big Three television networks resume their normal daytime programming schedules after four days of extensive news coverage of the attacks. |
| 20 | On CBS, Dr. Will Kirby is declared the winner of Big Brother 2, which was delayed by the attacks. Runner-up Nicole Nilson-Schafrich wins $50,000. |
| 21 | All four major US networks – ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC – broadcast America: A Tribute to Heroes, a two-hour telethon to raise money for the families of those killed by the attacks. |
| 24 | The start of the 2001–2002 autumn season in the US is delayed as a result of the attacks, with some series such as NBC's The West Wing substituting special episodes dealing with the event in lieu of their originally scheduled season premieres. Some series, such as CBS's military-themed series JAG and NBC's New York-based Third Watch, have to be reformatted in consideration of the attacks. |
| 26 | UPN airs the two-hour series premiere of Star Trek: Enterprise. Enterprise is UPN's replacement for Star Trek: Voyager (as well as the last iteration of the Star Trek franchise). |
| 29 | Fox affiliate WVSX (now WVNS-TV) in Lewisburg, West Virginia, changes its affiliation to CBS, giving the Beckley-Bluefield-Oak Hill market its first full-time CBS affiliate. Fox does not return to the Bluefield area until 2006, when the combination of a dispute involving WVAH-TV in Charleston and the end of the Foxnet cable service prompts WVNS-TV to establish a Fox-affiliated DT2 subchannel. |

### October

| Date | Event |
| 2 | The two-hour season 6 premiere of Buffy the Vampire Slayer first aired on UPN (attracting 7.7 million viewers) (making it the first episode of Buffy to not air on The WB after the season 5 finale). The 3rd season premiere of Roswell (also from The WB) first aired on UPN a week later on October 9. |
| 3 | In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, several planned series and events are canceled; most notably, NBC drops a mini-series planned for spring 2002 which would have united the cast of Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, dealing with a terrorist attack on New York City. |
| 4 | Rose McGowan makes her first appearance as Paige Matthews, the long-lost younger half-sister of Piper and Phoebe Halliwell, on The WB's Charmed. |
| 15 | In Wheel of Fortune, a compilation week of five taped sixth-episodes (which would later be called America's Game as of Season 26 in 2008) were shown for the first time. A new bonus round premiered a week later, in which a contestant can win as much as $100,000. This was not won until the December 19 episode by Douglas Ross. |
| 20 | Concert For New York: A Tribute To Heroes is broadcast by VH1, with performances by Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Billy Joel and others. It raises funds for the families of those killed by the attacks. |
| 24 | The Walt Disney Company completes its purchase of Fox Family for $2.9 billion. |
| 24 | Wolf Lake aired its final episode on CBS due to weak ratings. Four more episodes were burned and aired on UPN. This would mark Mary Elizabeth Winstead's final appearance as a regular cast member on a television series, until BrainDead, nearly 15 years later. |
| 25 | Sony Pictures Entertainment merged the television units of Columbia TriStar Television and Columbia TriStar Television Distribution into one unified division, Columbia TriStar Domestic Television, partly because of Japanese ownership, all of Sony's television employees lost various amount of jobs in favor of Sony's new broadcasting/cable/syndication unit. Columbia TriStar Domestic Television would produce the Columbia TriStar programs for the 2001-2002 TV season. |

### November

| Date | Event |
| 4 | The 53rd Primetime Emmy Awards are presented on CBS. The original date was postponed 2 months ago when the September 11 attacks occurred. |
| 4 | Game 7 of the World Series is broadcast on Fox. The Arizona Diamondbacks win their first title, defeating the three-time champion New York Yankees which marked the end of their dynasty. The game ended with a base hit walk-off by Luis Gonzalez against closer Mariano Rivera as he notoriously blew the save. This series was claimed as one of the greatest of all time. |
| 15 | The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is broadcast on television for the first time. The 2001 edition of the show is broadcast on ABC with 12.4 million viewers tuning in. |

### December

| Date | Event |
| 13 | On CBS, lawyers and best friends team, Rob Frisbee and Brennan Swain, won the inaugural season of The Amazing Race and the US$1,000,000 grand prize. |
| 31 | New Year's Eve Live airs its first edition on CNN. |

## Programs
### Debuts

| Date | Show | Channel |
| January 1 | Great Hotels | Travel Channel |
| January 3 | Top 20 Countdown | CMT |
| January 6 | How It's Made | Discovery Science |
| January 7 | The Division | Lifetime |
| January 7 | Lifestyle Magazine | TBN |
| January 7 | Totally Hoops | Disney Channel |
| January 9 | The Mole | ABC |
| January 9 | Three Sisters | NBC |
| January 10 | Grounded for Life | Fox |
| January 10 | Temptation Island | Fox |
| January 12 | Lizzie McGuire | Disney Channel |
| January 12 | Popstars | The WB |
| January 12 | Gary & Mike | UPN |
| January 13 | Bob the Builder | Nickelodeon |
| January 13 | House of Mouse | ABC |
| January 14 | Taina | Nickelodeon |
| January 15 | 100 Centre Street | A&E |
| January 22 | The Book of Pooh | Playhouse Disney |
| January 27 | The Zeta Project | Kids' WB |
| January 30 | On the Team | Noggin |
| February 3 | Lloyd in Space | ABC |
| February 3 | Power Rangers Time Force | Fox Kids |
| February 3 | XFL | NBC/UPN |
| February 4 | Kathy's So-Called Reality | MTV |
| February 24 | Kate Brasher | CBS |
| February 27 | The Andy Dick Show | MTV |
| February 28 | Some of My Best Friends | CBS |
| March 1 | Big Apple | CBS |
| March 4 | The Lone Gunmen | Fox |
| March 5 | BET.com Countdown | BET |
| March 6 | The Fighting Fitzgeralds | NBC |
| March 11 | Doc | PAX TV |
| March 12 | The Chris Isaak Show | Showtime |
| March 14 | The Job | ABC |
| March 19 | First Years | NBC |
| March 26 | Texas Justice | Syndication |
| March 27 | What About Joan? | ABC |
| March 28 | My Wife and Kids | ABC |
| March 28 | Boot Camp | Fox |
| March 30 | The Fairly OddParents | Nickelodeon |
| March 30 | Invader Zim | Nickelodeon |
| April 1 | The Oblongs | The WB |
| April 1 | Undergrads | MTV |
| April 4 | That's My Bush! | Comedy Central |
| April 6 | Jerkbeast Show | SCAN-TV |
| April 10 | Robotica | TLC |
| April 11 | The Quarters | TVG Network |
| April 11 | Special Unit 2 | UPN |
| April 16 | The Weakest Link | NBC |
| April 17 | All Souls | UPN |
| April 17 | Chains of Love | UPN |
| April 21 | Weekend Now | The Weather Channel |
| April 22 | Nero Wolfe | A&E |
| May 5 | The Cost of Freedom | Fox News Channel |
| May 5 | Dismissed | MTV |
| June 1 | Unwrapped | Food Network |
| June 2 | Braceface | Fox Family |
| June 2 | So Little Time | Fox Family |
| June 3 | Six Feet Under | HBO |
| June 3 | Baby Looney Tunes | Kids' WB |
| June 5 | Kristin | NBC |
| June 8 | Time Squad | Cartoon Network |
| June 10 | Tiny Planets | Noggin |
| June 11 | Fear Factor | NBC |
| June 12 | Witchblade | TNT |
| June 13 | The Beast | ABC |
| June 18 | Spyder Games | MTV |
| June 19 | Go Fish | NBC |
| June 20 | Primetime Glick | Comedy Central |
| June 20 | You Don't Know Jack | ABC |
| June 21 | WWE Tough Enough | MTV |
| June 21 | Spy TV | NBC |
| June 25 | State of Grace | Fox Family |
| June 26 | Animal Precinct | Animal Planet |
| June 30 | The Ripping Friends | Fox Kids |
| July 10 | Cinema Insomnia | KXTV |
| July 12 | Night Visions | Fox |
| July 18 | Access Granted | BET |
| July 24 | Murder in Small Town X | Fox |
| July 24 | The Downer Channel | NBC |
| July 23 | The Best Damn Sports Show Period | ESPN |
| July 29 | Leap Years | Showtime |
| August 1 | Hard Knocks | HBO |
| August 1 | MythQuest | PBS |
| August 1 | Out There TV | America One |
| August 3 | Manhunt | UPN |
| August 4 | All About Us | NBC |
| August 4 | America's Test Kitchen | PBS |
| August 5 | Insomniac with Dave Attell | Comedy Central |
| August 8 | The Wayne Brady Show | ABC |
| August 9 | Going to California | Showtime |
| August 10 | Samurai Jack | Cartoon Network |
| August 11 | Cubix: Robots for Everyone | Kids' WB |
| August 14 | Dead Last | The WB |
| August 19 | Let's Bowl | Comedy Central |
| August 20 | Oswald | Nick Jr. |
| August 24 | Grim & Evil | Cartoon Network |
| August 27 | Shipmates | Syndication |
| August 31 | The Nightmare Room | Kids' WB |
| September 1 | The Legend of Tarzan | UPN |
| September 2 | Anne of Green Gables: The Animated Series | PBS Kids |
| September 3 | One on One | UPN |
| September 3 | Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat | PBS Kids |
| September 4 | Lost | NBC |
| September 5 | The Amazing Race | CBS |
| September 8 | Moolah Beach | Fox Kids |
| September 9 | Ponderosa | PAX TV |
| September 9 | Ed McMahon's Next Big Star | PAX TV |
| September 9 | Band of Brothers | HBO |
| September 10 | The Ananda Lewis Show | Syndication |
| September 10 | Iyanla | Syndication |
| September 10 | The Other Half | Syndication |
| September 10 | The URL With Phred Show | Noggin |
| September 12 | American Morning | CNN |
| September 15 | Alienators: Evolution Continues | Fox Kids |
| September 15 | The Proud Family | Disney Channel |
| September 15 | Stanley | Playhouse Disney |
| September 17 | ElimiDate | Syndication |
| September 17 | Rendez-View | Syndication |
| September 17 | Talk or Walk | Syndication |
| September 19 | Wolf Lake | CBS |
| September 22 | What's with Andy? | Fox Family |
| September 23 | The Education of Max Bickford | CBS |
| September 23 | The Mind of the Married Man | HBO |
| September 24 | Crossing Jordan | NBC |
| September 24 | The Ellen Show | CBS |
| September 25 | The Guardian | CBS |
| September 25 | Philly | ABC |
| September 25 | Undeclared | Fox |
| September 25 | Emeril | NBC |
| September 25 | Love Cruise | Fox |
| September 26 | Star Trek: Enterprise | UPN |
| September 27 | The Agency | CBS |
| September 27 | Inside Schwartz | NBC |
| September 28 | Thieves | ABC |
| September 28 | Pasadena | Fox |
| September 29 | The Mummy: The Animated Series | Kids' WB |
| September 29 | Citizen Baines | CBS |
| September 30 | Alias | ABC |
| September 30 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | NBC |
| September 30 | UC: Undercover | NBC |
| September 30 | War Stories with Oliver North | Fox News Channel |
| October 1 | The 5th Wheel | Syndication |
| October 1 | Tales from the Neverending Story | HBO |
| October 2 | Scrubs | NBC |
| October 2 | Bob Patterson | ABC |
| October 3 | According to Jim | ABC |
| October 5 | Maybe It's Me | The WB |
| October 5 | Raising Dad | The WB |
| October 5 | Reba | The WB |
| October 6 | Mutant X | Syndication |
| October 6 | Sk8 | NBC |
| October 14 | Degrassi: The Next Generation | Nickelodeon |
| October 14 | Men, Women & Dogs | The WB |
| October 14 | Off Centre | The WB |
| October 16 | Smallville | The WB |
| October 20 | Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action! | ABC |
| October 22 | Pardon the Interruption | ESPN |
| October 22 | Unscripted with Chris Connelly | ESPN |
| October 25 | Truth or Scare | Discovery Kids |
| November 3 | Totally Spies! | ABC Family |
| November 5 | NewsNight with Aaron Brown | CNN |
| November 6 | 24 | Fox |
| November 7 | Beat the Geeks | Comedy Central |
| November 8 | The Tick | Fox |
| November 14 | The Bernie Mac Show | Fox |
| November 17 | Justice League | Cartoon Network |
| November 17 | 30 Minute Meals | Food Network |
| November 17 | Sara's Secrets | Food Network |
| November 19 | The Popeye Show | Cartoon Network |
| November 25 | Action League Now! | Nickelodeon |
| December 2 | Project Greenlight | HBO |
| December 16 | Iron Chef USA | UPN |
| December 31 | CNN New Year's Eve Live | CNN |

### Returning this year

| Show | Last aired | Previous network | New network | Returning |
| Space Ghost Coast to Coast | 1999 | Cartoon Network | Cartoon Network/Adult Swim | May 7/September 2 |
| Unsolved Mysteries | 1999 | CBS | Lifetime | July 11 |
| Home Movies | 1999 | UPN | Adult Swim | September 2 |
| Aqua Teen Hunger Force | 2000 | Cartoon Network | Adult Swim | September 2 |
| The Brak Show | 2000 | Cartoon Network | Adult Swim | September 2 |
| Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law | 2000 | Cartoon Network | Adult Swim | September 2 |
| Sealab 2021 | 2000 | Cartoon Network | Adult Swim | September 2 |
| Card Sharks | 1989 | CBS | Syndication | September 17 |
| Dexter's Laboratory | 1999 | Cartoon Network | Cartoon Network | November 16 |

### Ending this year

| Date | Show | Network | Debut | Status |
| January 6 | Croc Files | Discovery Kids on NBC | 1999 | Cancelled |
| January 6 | One World | NBC | 1998 | Cancelled |
| January 13 | Buzz Lightyear of Star Command | ABC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| January 14 | The Jamie Foxx Show | The WB | 1996 | Cancelled |
| January 17 | Welcome to New York | CBS | 2000 | Cancelled |
| January 18 | Later | NBC | 1988 | Cancelled |
| January 26 | Level 9 | UPN | 2000 | Cancelled |
| February 6 | Beggars and Choosers | Showtime | 1999 | Cancelled |
| February 18 | Grosse Pointe | The WB | 2000 | Cancelled |
| February 18 | Hype | The WB | 2000 | Cancelled |
| February 24 | Corduroy | PBS Kids | 2000 | Cancelled |
| March 1 | Madeline | Disney Channel | 1993 | Cancelled |
| March 4 | La Femme Nikita | USA Network | 1997 | Cancelled |
| March 5 | Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot | Fox Kids | 1999 | Cancelled |
| March 5 | Cleopatra 2525 | Syndication | 2000 | Cancelled |
| March 7 | Bette | CBS | 2000 | Cancelled |
| March 11 | The Bob Clampett Show | Cartoon Network | 2000 | Cancelled |
| March 11 | Strip Mall | Comedy Central | 2000 | Cancelled |
| March 21 | WCW Thunder | TBS | 1998 | Cancelled |
| March 23 | Generation O! | Kids' WB | 2000 | Cancelled |
| March 23 | Oh Yeah! Cartoons | Nickelodeon | 1998 | Cancelled |
| March 24 | Cover Me | USA | 2000 | Cancelled |
| March 25 | In a Heartbeat | Disney Channel | 2000 | Cancelled |
| March 26 | WCW Monday Nitro | TNT | 1995 | Cancelled |
| March 30 | Hollywood Showdown | GSN | 2000 | Cancelled |
| March 31 | Spider-Man Unlimited | Fox Kids | 1999 | Cancelled |
| March 31 | WCW Worldwide | Syndication | 1975 | Ended |
| April 1 | Kathy's So-Called Reality | MTV | 2001 | Cancelled |
| April 6 | The Norm Show | ABC | 1999 | Cancelled |
| April 6 | Teletubbies | PBS Kids | 1998 | Cancelled |
| April 9 | Gideon's Crossing | ABC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| April 11 | Some of My Best Friends | CBS | 2001 | Cancelled |
| April 13 | Gary & Mike | UPN | 2001 | Cancelled |
| April 14 | Kate Brasher | CBS | 2001 | Cancelled |
| April 15 | Totally Hoops | Disney Channel | 2001 | Cancelled |
| April 15 | Jack & Jill | The WB | 1999 | Cancelled |
| April 22 | The Lot | AMC | 1999 | Cancelled |
| May 4 | Nash Bridges | CBS | 1996 | Cancelled |
| May 11 | Diagnosis: Murder | CBS | 1993 | Cancelled |
| May 14 | Baywatch | Syndication | 1989 | Cancelled |
| May 14 | Moesha | UPN | 1996 | Cancelled |
| May 15 | The Fighting Fitzgeralds | NBC | 2001 | Cancelled |
| May 16 | Two Guys and a Girl | ABC | 1998 | Cancelled |
| May 17 | All That (returned in 2002) | Nickelodeon | 1994 | Cancelled |
| May 19 | Cousin Skeeter | Nickelodeon | 1998 | Cancelled |
| May 19 | The Howard Stern Radio Show | Syndication | 1998 | Cancelled |
| May 19 | Walker, Texas Ranger | CBS | 1993 | Ended |
| May 22 | 3rd Rock from the Sun | NBC | 1996 | Ended |
| May 23 | Boot Camp | Fox | 2001 | Cancelled |
| May 23 | That's My Bush! | Comedy Central | 2001 | Cancelled |
| May 23 | Star Trek: Voyager | UPN | 1995 | Cancelled |
| May 23 | Moral Court | Syndication | 2000 | Cancelled |
| May 27 | Mike, Lu & Og | Cartoon Network | 1999 | Cancelled |
| May 29 | DAG | NBC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| June 1 | Seven Days | UPN | 1998 | Cancelled |
| June 1 | The Lone Gunmen | Fox | 2001 | Cancelled |
| June 6 | 18 Wheels of Justice | TNN | 2000 | Cancelled |
| June 7 | Zoboomafoo | PBS | 1999 | Cancelled |
| June 18 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Syndication | 1995 | Cancelled |
| June 22 | FreakyLinks | Fox | 2000 | Cancelled |
| June 22 | History IQ | The History Channel | 2000 | Cancelled |
| June 22 | The Famous Jett Jackson | Disney Channel | 1998 | Cancelled |
| June 27 | Ladies Man | CBS | 1999 | Cancelled |
| June 30 | Men in Black: The Series | Kids' WB | 1997 | Cancelled |
| June 30 | MasterChef USA | PBS | 2000 | Cancelled |
| July 10 | The Geena Davis Show | ABC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| July 17 | The Big Garage | TLC | 1997 | Cancelled |
| July 25 | The Beast | ABC | 2001 | Cancelled |
| August 12 | Undergrads | MTV | 2001 | Cancelled |
| August 18 | WWF LiveWire | TNN | 1996 | Cancelled |
| August 19 | WWF Superstars of Wrestling | USA Network | 1986 | Cancelled |
| August 28 | Cursed | NBC | 2000 | Cancelled |
| August 31 | The Big Help | Nickelodeon | 1994 | Cancelled |
| August 31 | Mister Rogers' Neighborhood | PBS | 1968 | Ended |
| August 31 | The Queen Latifah Show (returned in 2013) | Syndication | 1999 | Cancelled |
| September 1 | Murder in Small Town X | Fox | 2001 | Cancelled |
| September 7 | Real TV | Syndication | 1996 | Cancelled |
| September 7 | Judge Mills Lane | Syndication | 1998 | Cancelled |
| September 9 | Phred on Your Head Show | Noggin | 1999 | Cancelled |
| September 20 | Spyder Games | MTV | 2001 | Cancelled |
| September 25 | Dead Last | The WB | 2001 | Cancelled |
| September 28 | So Weird | Disney Channel | 1999 | Cancelled |
| October 1 | Internet Tonight | ZDTV/TechTV | 1998 | Cancelled |
| October 7 | Monster Rancher | Syndication | 1999 | Cancelled |
| October 9 | What About Joan? | ABC | 2001 | Cancelled |
| October 15 | Bug Juice (returned in 2018) | Disney Channel | 1998 | Cancelled |
| October 19 | Inquizition | GSN | 1998 | Cancelled |
| November 1 | Bob Patterson | ABC | 2001 | Cancelled |
| November 3 | Citizen Baines | CBS | 2001 | Cancelled |
| November 5 | Recess | ABC | 1997 | Cancelled |
| November 10 | All About Us | NBC | 2001 | Cancelled |
| November 17 | MythQuest | PBS | 2001 | Cancelled |
| November 22 | Maisy | Noggin | 1999 | Cancelled |
| November 30 | ReBoot | YTV | 1994 | Cancelled |
| December 7 | Johnny Bravo (returned in 2004) | Cartoon Network | 1997 | Cancelled |
| December 10 | Angela Anaconda | Fox Family | 1999 | Cancelled |
| December 15 | City Guys | NBC | 1997 | Cancelled |
| December 18 | Batman Beyond | Kids' WB | 1999 | Cancelled |
| December 28 | 2 Minute Drill | ESPN | 2000 | Cancelled |
| December 28 | Timothy Goes to School | PBS Kids | 2000 | Cancelled |
| December 30 | Men, Women & Dogs | The WB | 2001 | Cancelled |

### Entering syndication this year

| Show | Seasons | In Production |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | 5 | Yes |
| City Guys | 4 | No |
| Everybody Loves Raymond | 5 | Yes |
| Just Shoot Me! | 5 | Yes |
| King of the Hill | 5 | Yes |
| The Practice | 5 | Yes |
| The Steve Harvey Show | 5 | Yes |
| Two Guys and a Girl | 4 | No |

### Changes of network affiliation

| Show | Moved from | Moved to |
| American High | Fox | PBS |
| The Outer Limits | Showtime | Sci-Fi Channel |
| Candid Camera | CBS | PAX TV |
| Unsolved Mysteries | CBS | Lifetime |
| Card Sharks | CBS | Syndication |
| The Weekenders | ABC | UPN |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | The WB | UPN |
| Roswell | The WB | UPN |
| Jay Jay the Jet Plane | TLC | PBS Kids |
| National Geographic Explorer | CNBC | MSNBC |
| Home Movies | UPN | Adult Swim |
| The Brak Show | Cartoon Network | Adult Swim |
| Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law | Cartoon Network | Adult Swim |
| Aqua Teen Hunger Force | Cartoon Network | Adult Swim |
| Sealab 2021 | Cartoon Network | Adult Swim |
| Space Ghost Coast to Coast | Cartoon Network | Adult Swim |

### Notable TV movies

| Premiere date | Title | Channel |
| March 24 | Wit | HBO |
| April 28 | 61* | HBO |
| April 29 | On Golden Pond | CBS |
| May 19 | Conspiracy | HBO |
| July 21 | All Growed Up | Nickelodeon |
| July 30 | The Retrievers | Animal Planet |
| September 14 | The Poof Point | Disney Channel |
| October 12 | Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge | Disney Channel |
| November 3 | The Flintstones: On the Rocks | Cartoon Network |
| November 18 | The Facts of Life Reunion | ABC |
| December 2 | The Lost Battalion | A&E |
| December 7 | 12 Tiny Christmas Tales | Cartoon Network |
| December 7 | 'Twas the Night | Disney Channel |
| December 11 | A Rugrats Kwanzaa | Nickelodeon |

## Networks and services
### Launches

| Network | Type | Launch date |
| Telefe Internacional | Cable television | Unknown |
| WE: Women's Entertainment | Cable and satellite | January 1 |
| National Geographic Channel | Cable and satellite | January 7 |
| C-SPAN 3 | Cable television | January 22 |
| Showtime Family Zone | Cable television | March |
| Showtime Next | Cable television | March |
| Showtime Women | Cable television | March |
| 5StarMax | Cable television | May 17 |
| OuterMax | Cable television | May 17 |
| WMax | Cable television | May 17 |
| @Max | Cable television | May 17 |
| CNBC World | Cable and satellite | July 1 |
| Lifetime Real Women | Cable and satellite | August 20 |
| HDNet | Cable and satellite | September 6 |
| New Tang Dynasty Television | Cable television | December 3 |

### Conversions and rebrandings

| Old network name | New network name | Type | Conversion Date | Notes |
| BET Movies: Starz! | Black Starz! | Cable television | Unknown | |
| Discovery Kids Channel | Discovery Kids | Cable television | Unknown | |
| The Movie Channel 2 | TMC Xtra | Cable television | March 5 | |
| Showtime 3 | Showcase | Cable television | July 1 | |
| Odyssey Network | Hallmark Channel | Cable and satellite | August 6 | Having acquired the Jim Henson Company's interest in the Odyssey cable network the previous year, Crown Media Holdings rebrands Odyssey as the Hallmark Channel, after Crown Media's corporate parent Hallmark Cards. The Hallmark Channel branding continues to this day. |
| MTV S | MTV en Espanol | Cable television | October 1 | |
| GEMS Television | Mun2 | Cable and satellite | November 1 | Telemundo relaunches GEMS Television as Mun2, featuring English and Spanish language programming intended for a young Latino audience. |
| Fox Family | ABC Family | Cable and satellite | November 10 | Fox Family is renamed ABC Family, as News Corporation sells the channel to The Walt Disney Company. |

### Closures

| Network | Type | Closure date | Notes | Source |
| The Box | Cable and satellite | January 1 | | |

## Television stations
### Station launches

| Date | Station | City of license / Market | Channel | Affiliation |
| January 1 | KUTH | Logan, UT | 12 | Univision |
| January 2 | KBBJ | Havre–Great Falls, MT | 9 | NBC |
| January 2 | KDTP | Phoenix, AZ | 11 | Daystar |
| January 3 | KBAO | Lewistown, MT | 13 | NBC |
| January 5 | KXGR | Green Valley, AZ | 46 | Pax TV |
| January 6 | KSCC | Hutchinson–Wichita, KS | 36 | UPN |
| January 9 | KXVA | Abilene, TX | 15 | Fox |
| January 12 | KPHZ | Holbrook–Phoenix, AZ | 39 | America's Collectibles Network |
| January 17 | WWSI | Mount Laurel, NJ–Philadelphia, PA | 62 | Telemundo |
| January 20 | KPWB-TV | Ames–Des Moines, IA | 23 | The WB/UPN |
| January 26 | KWBM | Harrison, AR–Springfield, MO | 31 | The WB |
| February 9 | KUPT | Lubbock, TX | 22 | UPN |
| February 21 | KCWY | Casper, WY | 13 | Pax TV |
| March 23 | KBKI | Walla Walla, WA | 9 | Independent |
| March 30 | KBEO | Jackson, WY | 11 | America One |
| March 31 | KTMW | Salt Lake City, UT | 20 | Religious independent |
| April | KPTF-TV | Farwell, TX | 18 | God's Learning Channel |
| April 1 | KPMR | Santa Barbara, CA | 38 | Telemundo |
| May | KKAP | Little Rock, AR | 36 | Daystar |
| May 14 | KUPB | Midland–Odessa, TX | 18 | Univision |
| June 18 | WKDH | Houston–Tupelo–Columbus, MS | 45 | ABC |
| June 20 | KBGF | Douglas, AZ | 3 | Independent |
| June 26 | KPID-LP | Pocatello–Idaho Falls, ID | 34 | UPN |
| July 9 | KAZA | Avalon–Los Angeles, CA | 54 | Azteca America |
| September 2 | WBPG-TV | Mobile, AL | 55 | The WB |
| October 15 | KBLN | Grants Pass, OR | 30 | 3ABN |
| October 17 | K22GA | Charlotte Amalie, USVI | 22 | Daystar |
| October 19 | WSKY-TV | Manteo, NC–Norfolk–Newport News, VA | 4 | Independent |
| November 19 | K07XG | Garapan, Saipan, MP | 7 | ABC |
| December 3 | KBPD | La Grande, OR | 16 | Univision |
| Unknown | WBIF | Marianna–Panama City, FL | 51 | Pax TV |
| Unknown | WBIH | Montgomery, AL | 29 | — |
| Unknown | KPXK | Odessa–Midland, TX | 30 | Pax TV |
| Unknown | WACW-LP | Raleigh, NC | — | America One |
| Unknown | WTPX-TV | Wausau–Rhinelander, WI | 46 | Pax TV |
* 1 2 Satellite of KTVH in Helena.
* ↑ Semi-satellite of KTVW in Phoenix.
* ↑ Translator of KTGM in Tamuning, Guam.
* ↑ Now licensed to Holbrook, Arizona.

### Network affiliation changes

| Date | Station | City of license / Market | Channel | Old affiliation | New affiliation |
| January 1 | WVBG-LP | Albany, NY | 25 | UPN | Resort Sports Network |
| January 1 | WCCT-TV | Hartford, CT | 20 | UPN | The WB |
| January 1 | WCTX | Hartford, CT | 59 | The WB | UPN |
| January 9 | KIDZ-LP | Abilene, TX | 54 | Fox / UPN | UPN / Pax TV |
| January 22 | K11TW | North Platte, NE | 11 | UPN | Fox |
| March 21 | WNKY | Bowling Green, KY | 40 | Fox (as WKNT) | NBC |
| September 29 | WVNS-TV | Lewisburg–Beckley–Oak Hill, WV | 59 | Fox | CBS |
| October 20 | WAWA-LP | Syracuse, NY | 14 | Independent | UPN |
| Unknown | W07CL | Fort Wayne, IN | 7 | Network One | AIN/UATV |

## Births

| Date | Name | Notability |
| January 3 | Ellis Ann Jackson | Actress (Talia in the Kitchen) |
| January 14 | Jayce Mroz | Actor (I Am Frankie) |
| January 18 | Claire Engler | Actress (A.N.T. Farm) |
| January 19 | Tyler Merna | Voice actor (Prince James on Sofia the First) |
| January 21 | Jackson Brundage | Actor (One Tree Hill, See Dad Run, Harvey Beaks) |
| February 5 | Connor Gibbs | Actor (Ghost Whisperer) |
| February 15 | Haley Tju | Actress (Monsters vs. Aliens, Bella and the Bulldogs, The Loud House, Big Hero 6: The Series, Where's Waldo?, Amphibia) |
| February 16 | Katherine Forrester | Canadian voice actress (Katie on PAW Patrol) |
| February 19 | David Mazouz | Actor (Touch, Gotham) |
| February 21 | Isabella Acres | Actress (Better Off Ted) |
| February 21 | Amarr M. Wooten | Actor (Knight Squad) |
| February 23 | Tommi Rose | Actress (I Am Frankie) |
| March 6 | Milo Manheim | Actor |
| March 26 | Ciara Riley Wilson | Actress |
| March 30 | Uriel Baldesco | Filipino actress (I Am Frankie) |
| April 5 | Robbie Tucker | Actor (The Young and the Restless, See Dad Run) |
| April 8 | Kyla Rae Kowalewski | Voice actress (Anais on The Amazing World of Gumball) |
| April 20 | Ian Alexander | Actor (The OA) |
| April 21 | Maria Quezada | Actress (Talia in the Kitchen) |
| June 8 | Owen Mason | Canadian voice actor (Ryder on PAW Patrol (2013–15)) |
| June 9 | Xolo Mariduena | Actor (Parenthood, Cobra Kai) |
| June 13 | DeVore Ledridge | Actress (Bizaardvark) |
| June 27 | Curtis Harris | Actor (The Haunted Hathaways) |
| July 8 | Riele Downs | Canadian actress (Henry Danger, The Adventures of Kid Danger) |
| July 10 | Isabela Moner | Actress (Dora and Friends: Into the City!, 100 Things to Do Before High School) |
| July 12 | Niles Fitch | Actor (This Is Us) |
| July 31 | Sean Kyer | Canadian actor (Odd Squad) |
| August 8 | Bebe Wood | Actress (The New Normal, The Real O'Neals, Love, Victor) |
| August 13 | Alyssa Jirrels | Actress (Mech-X4) |
| August 14 | Ava Raine | Pro wrestler and daughter of Dwayne Johnson |
| August 16 | Cole Jensen | Actor (Crash & Bernstein) |
| August 21 | Dallas Liu | Actor (Legendary Dudas, PEN15) |
| August 30 | Sean Ryan Fox | Actor (Henry Danger, The Adventures of Kid Danger) |
| September 4 | Tenzing Norgay Trainor | Actor (Liv and Maddie) |
| September 18 | Luke Mullen | Actor (Andi Mack) |
| October 5 | Dalila Bela | Canadian actress (Odd Squad, Ready Jet Go!, Anne) |
| October 12 | Raymond Ochoa | Actor |
| October 13 | Caleb McLaughlin | Actor (Stranger Things) |
| October 14 | Rowan Blanchard | Actress (Girl Meets World, The Goldbergs) |
| October 17 | Jake Beale | Actor |
| October 27 | Teilor Grubbs | Actress (Hawaii Five-0) |
| October 30 | Jaheem King Toombs | Actor (100 Things to Do Before High School) |
| November 5 | Alex Hook | Canadian actress (I Am Frankie) |
| November 7 | Sawyer Barth | Actor (The Kids Are Alright) |
| November 14 | Chloe Lang | Actress (Stephanie on LazyTown (2013–14)) |
| November 15 | Sadie Stanley | Actress (Kim Possible) |
| November 23 | Parker Queenan | Actor (Are You Afraid of the Dark?) |
| December 5 | Diego Velazquez | Actor (The Thundermans, Zoe Valentine) |
| December 8 | Kamran Lucas | Actor (Mech-X4) |
| December 8 | Tylen Jacob Williams | Actor (Instant Mom) |
| December 14 | Joshua Rush | Actor (Clarence, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, The Lion Guard, Andi Mack, Where's Waldo?) |
| December 28 | Madison De La Garza | Actress (Desperate Housewives) and sister of Demi Lovato |
| December 28 | Maitreyi Ramakrishnan | Actress (Never Have I Ever) |
| December 31 | Alex Thorne | Canadian voice actor (PAW Patrol, PJ Masks) |

## Deaths

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| January 1 | Ray Walston | 86 | American actor (My Favorite Martian) |
| January 6 | Scott Marlowe | 68 | American film, stage and television actor |
| January 8 | Don Brodie | 96 | American actor |
| January 18 | Al Waxman | 65 | Canadian actor and director (Lt. Samuels on Cagney & Lacey) |
| January 21 | Sandy Baron | 64 | American actor and comedian |
| January 22 | Roy Brown | 68 | Clown and puppeteer |
| January 24 | Dick Whittinghill | 87 | American actor |
| January 25 | Sam Singer | 88 | American animator and producer |
| January 28 | Sally Mansfield | 77 | American actress |
| February 7 | Dale Evans | 88 | Singer, actress (The Roy Rogers Show) and wife of Roy Rogers |
| February 18 | Dale Earnhardt | 49 | Race car driver |
| February 20 | Bob Weiskopf | 86 | Writer (I Love Lucy) |
| February 27 | Stan Margulies | 80 | Producer (Roots, The Thorn Birds) |
| March 8 | Edward Winter | 63 | Actor (Colonel Flagg on M*A*S*H) |
| March 12 | Morton Downey Jr. | 68 | Host of (The Morton Downey Jr. Show) |
| March 15 | Ann Sothern | 92 | Actress (Private Secretary, My Mother the Car) |
| March 16 | Norma MacMillan | 79 | Voice actor (Casper the Friendly Ghost, Gumby) |
| March 22 | William Hanna | 90 | Co-founder (with Joseph Barbera) of famous Hanna-Barbera animation studio |
| April 15 | Joey Ramone | 49 | Singer-songwriter (Ramones) |
| May 12 | Perry Como | 88 | Singer, TV host (Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall) |
| May 19 | Pat Falken Smith | 75 | Soap opera writer (Days of Our Lives) |
| May 22 | Whitman Mayo | 70 | Actor (Grady Wilson on Sanford and Son) |
| May 23 | Harry Townes | 86 | Actor (The Fugitive) |
| May 31 | Arlene Francis | 93 | Actress and game show panelist (What's My Line?) |
| June 2 | Imogene Coca | 92 | Actress and comedian (Your Show of Shows) |
| June 21 | Carroll O'Connor | 76 | Actor (Archie Bunker on All in the Family and Chief Bill Gillespie on In the Heat of the Night) |
| August 3 | Christopher Hewett | 80 | Actor (Mr. Belvedere) |
| August 4 | Lorenzo Music | 64 | Writer and actor; co-creator of The Bob Newhart Show; voice actor (Carlton the doorman on Rhoda, Garfield the cat) |
| August 25 | Aaliyah | 22 | Singer and actress |
| September 2 | Troy Donahue | 65 | Actor (Hawaiian Eye, Surfside 6) |
| September 3 | Thuy Trang | 27 | Actress (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) |
| September 11 | David Angell | 55 | Writer (Cheers, Frasier) |
| September 11 | Barbara Olson | 45 | Commentator who worked for CNN and Fox News |
| October 15 | Ralph Levy | 80 | Director (The Jack Benny Program, Petticoat Junction) |
| October 17 | Jay Livingston | 86 | Songwriter (themes to Bonanza and Mister Ed) |
| November 29 | George Harrison | 58 | Singer-songwriter (The Beatles) |
| November 29 | John Mitchum | 82 | Actor |
| December 1 | Johnny Stearns | 85 | Actor and producer (Mary Kay and Johnny, Tonight Starring Steve Allen) |
| December 13 | Chuck Schuldiner | 34 | Singer, songwriter, guitarist (guest on Headbangers Ball) |
| December 20 | Foster Brooks | 89 | Actor |
| December 22 | Lance Loud | 50 | Member of the family documented in (An American Family) |