# 1986 in American television

The year 1986 in television involved some significant events. This is a list of notable events in the United States.

## Events

| Date | Event |
| January 1 | ABC affiliate KOMU-TV in Columbia, Missouri, owned by the University of Missouri, swaps affiliations with NBC affiliate KCBJ-TV, reversing a swap that took place in 1982. KCBJ-TV subsequently changes its call letters to KMIZ to reflect the change. |
| January 6 | A Vicks Formula 44 cough medicine advertisement premieres, featuring Peter Bergman from All My Children, in which he told the viewing audience "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV". This phrase, first used during the early 1970s by actor Robert Young of the series Marcus Welby, M.D. fame, was subsequently parodied by many popular culture references. |
| January 6 | A revival of Card Sharks premieres on CBS. In order to make room for the show (which aired at 10:30 AM), CBS moves Press Your Luck to the 4:00 PM timeslot. |
| January 17 | Dana Plato makes her final appearance as Kimberly Drummond on ABC's Diff'rent Strokes. |
| January 18 | On NBC's Saturday Night Live, The Replacements perform "Bastards of Young" and "Kiss Me On the Bus", both from the Tim album. The entire band was drunk during both their performances. As one reviewer succinctly observed, the band could quite often be "mouthing profanities into the camera, stumbling into each other, falling down, dropping their instruments, and generally behaving like the apathetic drunks they were." After this incident, they were banned permanently from SNL, although lead singer Paul Westerberg would return as a solo musical guest during the 19th season. |
| January 25 | HBO begins scrambling its signal. |
| January 26 | NBC's pregame coverage for Super Bowl XX includes what became known as "the silent minute"; a 60-second countdown over a black screen (a concept devised by then-NBC Sports executive Michael Weisman). Also featured was an interview by NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw of United States President Ronald Reagan at the White House (this would not become a regular Super Bowl pregame feature until Super Bowl XLIII, when Today show host Matt Lauer interviewed U.S. President Barack Obama). |
| January 28 | NASA's Space Shuttle Challenger spacecraft disintegrates. CNN is the only news service to broadcast the disaster nationally. |
| January 28 | The premiere episode of Melba, a vehicle for singer/actress Melba Moore, ranks as one of the lowest-rated programs of the week. CBS immediately pulled the show from its schedule. The remaining episodes were later aired during the summer. |
| February 9 | Helen Martin joins the cast of the NBC comedy 227, after appearing on every episode in the 1985–86 season. Martin replaces Kia Goodwin (who was dismissed from the cast after the first season), who portrayed Rose's (Alaina Reed) daughter, Tiffany, before written off the show initially during 1988. |
| February 11 | Culture Club's main singer Boy George appears on an episode of the NBC drama The A-Team. |
| February 14 | Frank Zappa appears on an episode of the NBC drama Miami Vice. Zappa plays a crime boss named "Mr. Frankie" in the episode "Payback". |
| February 17 | Rod Roddy becomes the permanent announcer of the CBS daytime game series The Price Is Right, replacing Johnny Olson, who had died the previous October. |
| February 22 | In honor of the 20th anniversary of the first episode of the television series The Monkees, MTV broadcasts "Pleasant Valley Sunday", a 22-hour marathon of Monkees episodes. |
| March 1 | Bay Area TV station KEMO-TV changes its call sign to KOFY-TV. |
| March 3 | The made-for-TV movie Diary of a Perfect Murder airs on NBC. This pilot episode serves as the basis for Matlock, which premieres September 23. |
| March 6-12 | A female contestant named Barbara Lowe appears on the game show Jeopardy! winning 5 games with approximately $50,000 in cash winnings. She was later found ineligible after it was revealed that Barbara appeared on about seven different game shows (most notably Bullseye, which was already off the air by the time of Jeopardy! current syndicated run) under four different aliases with as many Social Security numbers. Her winnings were originally withheld until Barbara sued the show's distributors Merv Griffin Enterprises and King World Productions. She ended up receiving her winnings, and was subsequently banned from the 1986 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions and any future tournaments on the show. |
| March 7 | WNEW-TV, TV station in New York changes its call sign to WNYW, in anticipation of its switch to Fox on October. |
| March 7 | Dallas/Fort Worth independent television station KRLD-TV changes its calls to KDAF in anticipation of its switch to Fox in October. |
| March 9 | On the NBC soap opera Search for Tomorrow, the entire town of Henderson is washed away in a flood. Main character Joanne Tourneur's motel is the only structure in town left standing. |
| March 9 | Punky Brewster broadcasts a "very special episode" concerning Punky's reaction to the real life Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster. This would be the final episode of Punky Brewster to be broadcast on NBC. Its final two seasons would be produced for the first-run syndication market. |
| March 15 | On the Saturday Night Live sketch "Mr. Monopoly", cast member Damon Wayans plays a minor police officer character role as a gay stereotype, which would later result in his firing. In the season finale however, executive producer Lorne Michaels invited Wayans back to perform stand up on the show, even though he had been fired by Michaels from the show two months prior. |
| March 20 | After four seasons, NBC cancels Remington Steele. This announcement results in Pierce Brosnan being named the newest portrayer of James Bond. As a result of the media frenzy concerning Brosnan's appointment, as well as the corresponding increase of Steele's ratings, NBC reverses its decision and announces Steele will return midway through the 1986–87 season. This results in Bond movie producers withdrawing their offer to Brosnan, though he would take on the role of Bond in 1995. |
| March 24 | MTV beings their annual Spring break coverage. |
| April 3 | Merv Griffin sells his company, Merv Griffin Enterprises, to The Coca-Cola Company for $250,000,000. |
| April 3 | ABC affiliate KDEB-TV in Springfield, Missouri disaffiliates from the network and becomes an independent station as a result of an agreement between ABC and Telepictures, owners of independent station KSPR. KDEB-TV will eventually become a charter affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company a few months later. |
| April 5 | The sitcom Too Close for Comfort is revamped under the new title, The Ted Knight Show. Production for the series is however, halted following star Ted Knight's death from colon cancer on August 26, 1986. Ten of the remaining episodes that were produced would eventually air from September 27, 1986 to February 7, 1987. Rebroadcasts of the single season of The Ted Knight Show would ultimately air under the Too Close for Comfort title. |
| April 7 | The second annual WrestleMania event is broadcast on pay-per-view. It's the only WrestleMania that is not held on the traditional Sunday until the two-night WrestleMania 36 in April 2020. It's also to date, the only WrestleMania to take place at three separate venues: the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York; the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois; and the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. |
| April 13 | NBC broadcasts Return to Mayberry, which reunites sixteen original cast members from The Andy Griffith Show. Return to Mayberry would become the highest-rated television film of 1986. |
| April 19 | The series finale of Benson is broadcast on ABC. In the finale, the term-limited Governor Gatling runs for re-election as an independent candidate with Benson securing the party nomination, setting the stage for the two to go head-to-head in the general election. Benson and Gatling—who had strained relations due to the race—make peace with each other and watch the tight election returns together on television. As the broadcaster begins to announce that a winner is at last being projected, the episode ends on a freeze frame of Benson and Gatling, leaving the series with an unresolved cliffhanger. |
| April 20 | Like the previous films, a separate extended edition for Superman III was produced and aired on ABC. The opening credits were in outer space, featuring the main Superman theme with slight differences. This is followed by a number of scenes, including additional dialogue but not added into any of the official VHS, DVD or Blu-ray cuts of the film. The "Deluxe Edition" of Superman III, released in 2006 on par with the DVD release of Superman Returns, included these scenes in its extra features section as "deleted scenes". |
| April 21 | Geraldo Rivera hosts a live two-hour syndicated special The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault, infamously coming up empty-handed. |
| April 27 | A man calling himself Captain Midnight jams HBO's signal to protest its monthly fee of $12.95. |
| May 4-5 | NBC broadcasts the two-part miniseries The Deliberate Stranger, starring Mark Harmon as real life serial killer Ted Bundy. During the second part's broadcast, a few NBC affiliates (including WPXI channel 11 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and KPRC channel 2 Houston, Texas) were interrupted by a frozen scene and a static sound until placing their own technical difficulties tel-op graphics for less than 30 seconds before returning to its fixed program. |
| May 10 | Tommy Lee of the rock group Mötley Crüe marries actress Heather Locklear. |
| May 12 | NBC unveils its new six-feathered Peacock logo during its 60th anniversary special. It is still used by the network today. |
| May 16 | Bobby Ewing is revealed to be alive and showering in his ex-wife Pam's bathroom in the season finale of the CBS drama Dallas; in the September 26 season premiere, it was shown that the entire 1985–86 season was a dream of hers the night after they agreed to remarry. |
| May 16–24 | The Stanley Cup Finals between the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens is broadcast in the United States on ESPN. This is the first of three consecutive seasons that ESPN would televise the Stanley Cup Finals before being succeeded by SportsChannel America in 1989. |
| May 22 | Cher calls David Letterman an "asshole" during a taping of NBC's Late Night with David Letterman. |
| May 26–June 8 | The NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets is broadcast on CBS. This is notably, the first time the "NBA Finals" branding is officially used, as the "NBA World Championship Series" branding, which had been in use since the beginning of the National Basketball Association, is dropped. |
| May 31 | ABC airs the Indianapolis 500 live for the first time. |
| June 1 | CBS affiliate WCHS-TV in Charleston, West Virginia swaps affiliations with ABC affiliate WOWK-TV, reversing a swap that took place in 1962. |
| June 9 | General Electric completes its acquisition of RCA, owner of NBC at that time, this made Denver's KCNC-TV an NBC owned and operated station. |
| June 18 | St. Louis' CBS affiliate KMOX-TV was changed to KMOV-TV after being bought out by Viacom. |
| June 29 | CBS affiliate WOWT and NBC affiliate KMTV-TV, both in Omaha, Nebraska, agree to swap affiliations, thus reversing a swap that took place in 1956. |
| July 4 | CBS' Washington affiliate WDVM-TV changes its call letters to WUSA-TV. In return, the NBC affiliate in Minneapolis/St. Paul changes its call letters to KARE-TV. |
| July 5 | The opening ceremonies for the first annual Goodwill Games, an international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner in response to the Olympic boycotts of the period, is broadcast on TBS. |
| July 15 | The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, emanating from the Astrodome in Houston, Texas is broadcast on ABC. The American League would defeat the National League by the score of 3–2. This would also turn out to be the final baseball game to be managed by Dick Howser of the American League team and Kansas City Royals. Broadcasters noticed that Howser was messing up signals when he changed pitchers, and Howser later admitted he that felt sick before the game. Shortly thereafter, Howser was diagnosed with a brain tumor and underwent surgery. On June 17, 1987, Dick Howser died at the age of 51. |
| July 18 | A tornado is broadcast live by NBC affiliate KARE in Minneapolis when the station's helicopter pilot makes a chance encounter. |
| September 1 | For one week, CBS Evening News anchorman Dan Rather attempts to initiate the use of the word "Courage" as a slogan. The attempt is a failure, and is noticed by other members of the press. |
| September 1 | Disney Channel, at the time a premium cable network, begins broadcasting a 24-hour-a-day schedule. |
| September 8 | Oprah Winfrey's Chicago-based talk show goes national. |
| September 8 | Al Michaels makes his debut as the new play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football. Michaels succeeds Frank Gifford, who was transferred to a color commentating role. Michaels would remain as the play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football until the end of the 2005 season, when ABC terminated their broadcasting relationship with the National Football League. |
| September 8 | The second season of the Leave It to Beaver sequel series, Still the Beaver airs on TBS. Originally broadcast on The Disney Channel, the series, now titled The New Leave It to Beaver, will air on TBS for three seasons, finally concluding in 1989. |
| September 13 | The film-review program Siskel & Ebert makes its debut in syndication. Although the two critics have been working as a pair since 1975, this will be their longest running program and will run in various incarnations until 2010. |
| September 17 | ABC becomes the second American network to discontinue use of chime intonations at the beginning of telecasts, switching to satellite feed activation. |
| September 20 | The pilot episode for what would become Lucille Ball's final television series, Life with Lucy, airs on ABC. Only 8 out of the 13 episodes produced were aired before ABC cancelled the series. Unlike Ball's previous sitcoms, Life with Lucy was a failure in the ratings and poorly received by critics and viewers alike, ranking among the worst sitcoms in broadcasting history. |
| September 27 | On the NBC comedy The Facts of Life, Charlotte Rae quits the role of Mrs. Garrett (who marries her old friend Bruce Gaines, played by Robert Mandan), and is replaced by Cloris Leachman, who played Beverly Ann Stickle, Mrs. Garrett's sister. |
| September 27 | Mama's Family begins its third season now in first-run syndication after spending its first two seasons on NBC. |
| September 27 | Sheryl Lee Ralph joins the cast of the sitcom It's a Living as Ginger St. James. Ralph replaces Ann Jillian, who portrayed Cassie Cranston and departed after three seasons (the first two on ABC and the third in first-run syndication). Ralph would remain on It's a Living until its conclusion in 1989. |
| September 28 | CBS returns the 4:00 p.m. timeslot to its affiliates following the cancellation of Press Your Luck a month earlier. |
| September 28 | ABC airs the broadcast network television premiere of Raiders of the Lost Ark. |
| October 4 | While walking to his New York City home, CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather is accosted and beaten on the sidewalk by two men, who pummeled and kicked him while repeating the question "Kenneth, what is the frequency?" |
| October 6 | The game show Double Dare premieres on Nickelodeon. Almost overnight, the show would make Nickelodeon (which by this time was struggling and only had a couple of hits, such as You Can't Do That on Television) the most watched cable channel. It would go on to be the channel's longest running game show (and the longest running series overall by episode count). |
| October 9 | The Fox Broadcasting Company (then abbreviated as FBC; now Fox) launches as the United States' fourth commercial broadcast television network, the first such attempt since 1967. Its very first program is The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers. |
| October 11 | Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson, and Kevin Nealon officially join the cast of Saturday Night Live. The season opener features Madonna, who hosted of the previous season's opener, reading a "statement" from NBC about Season 11's mediocre writing and bad cast choices. According to the "statement", the entire 1985–86 season was "... all a dream. A horrible, horrible dream." |
| October 12 | Fox signs its first affiliate outside of its charter group, when WTUV in Utica, New York signs-on. |
| October 25 | NBC's broadcast of Game 6 of the World Series, in which the New York Mets came from behind to defeat the Boston Red Sox in ten innings, causes the first cancellation of Saturday Night Live in its eleven-year history up until that point. That night's episode, which was hosted by Rosanna Arquette with musical guest Ric Ocasek, actually filmed starting at 1:30 AM EST. Instead, it aired two weeks later on November 8 with an introduction by Mets pitcher Ron Darling, who playfully apologized for the cancellation. |
| October 31 | As a Halloween special, WPIX in New York City airs the uncut Invasion of the Body Snatchers, followed by an uncut episode of The Twilight Zone. |
| November 9 | A night for programs that could be described as anything but eventful. On ABC, a special celebrating the 15th birthday of Walt Disney World airs followed by the network television premiere of Splash. On NBC, Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star is shown for the first time. While on CBS, part 1 of the miniseries Monte Carlo airs. |
| November 19–23 | On CBS, Murder, She Wrote's Jessica Fletcher crosses over to Magnum, P.I. in a plot that sees her coming to Hawaii to investigate an attempt to murder Robin Masters' guests. She then tries to clear Thomas Magnum when he's accused of killing the hitman. |
| November 30 | The Disney Channel signs off for the last time. From 7 a.m. on December 1, 1986, the channel broadcasts 24 hours a day. |
| December 16 | Singer Darlene Love performs "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" for the first time on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman. Love would go on to sing the song annually from 1994–2014 on David Letterman's succeeding program, CBS' Late Show with David Letterman on the episode before Christmas. The only exception would be 2007, when Love was unable to perform due a Writers' Strike. So a repeat of her 2006 performance was shown instead. |
| December 20 | NBC's Saturday Night Live features a sketch where William Shatner, sick of Star Trek fans asking him inane questions, tells them to "Get a life!" |
| December 25 | Liberace makes what turns out to be his last public appearance on a prerecorded interview with Oprah Winfrey. |

## Programs
### Debuting this year

| Date | Title | Network |
| January 5 | Blacke's Magic | NBC |
| January 6 | Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak | ABC |
| January 10 | He's the Mayor | ABC |
| January 18 | The Redd Foxx Show | ABC |
| January 22 | Planet Earth | PBS |
| January 26 | The Last Precinct | NBC |
| January 28 | Melba | CBS |
| February 15 | Fortune Dane | ABC |
| February 16 | Sidekicks | ABC |
| February 24 | You Again? | NBC |
| March 1 | Valerie | NBC |
| March 3 | Matlock | NBC |
| March 5 | Fast Times | CBS |
| March 5 | Tough Cookies | CBS |
| March 20 | All Is Forgiven | NBC |
| March 25 | Morningstar/Eveningstar | CBS |
| March 25 | Perfect Strangers | ABC |
| March 28 | Mr. Sunshine | ABC |
| April 6 | Fathers and Sons | NBC |
| April 24 | Bridges to Cross | CBS |
| April 25 | Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills | CBS |
| May 28 | The Canned Film Festival | Syndication |
| June 21 | Me & Mrs. C | NBC |
| June 30 | The Mysterious Cities of Gold | Nickelodeon |
| July 28 | A Current Affair | Syndication |
| September 6 | WWF Superstars of Wrestling | Syndication |
| September 6 | The Flintstone Kids | ABC |
| September 8 | Ghostbusters | Syndication |
| September 8 | Nightlife | Syndication |
| September 8 | The Oprah Winfrey Show | Syndication |
| September 8 | SilverHawks | Syndication |
| September 8 | Superior Court | Syndication |
| September 9 | The Wizard | CBS |
| September 10 | It's Garry Shandling's Show | Showtime |
| September 11 | Our House | NBC |
| September 13 | Easy Street | NBC |
| September 13 | Kissyfur | NBC |
| September 13 | The Real Ghostbusters | ABC |
| September 13 | Pound Puppies | ABC |
| September 13 | Pee-wee's Playhouse | CBS |
| September 13 | Teen Wolf | CBS |
| September 13 | Wildfire | CBS |
| September 13 | At the Movies | Syndication |
| September 14 | The New Adventures of Jonny Quest | Syndication |
| September 15 | Rambo: The Force of Freedom | Syndication |
| September 15 | Zoobilee Zoo | Syndication |
| September 16 | Jack and Mike | ABC |
| September 17 | Head of the Class | ABC |
| September 18 | Crime Story | NBC |
| September 18 | L.A. Law | NBC |
| September 19 | Starman | ABC |
| September 20 | The Ellen Burstyn Show | ABC |
| September 20 | Heart of the City | ABC |
| September 20 | Life With Lucy | ABC |
| September 22 | Dennis the Menace | Syndication |
| September 22 | Zoobilee Zoo | Syndication |
| September 22 | Together We Stand | CBS |
| September 22 | ALF | NBC |
| September 23 | Sledge Hammer! | ABC |
| September 25 | Our World | ABC |
| September 26 | Kay O'Brien | CBS |
| September 27 | The New Mike Hammer | CBS |
| September 27 | Amen | NBC |
| September 28 | WWF Wrestling Challenge | Syndication |
| September 29 | Designing Women | CBS |
| October 1 | Better Days | CBS |
| October 6 | My Sister Sam | CBS |
| October 6 | Double Dare | Nickelodeon |
| October 9 | The Late Show | Fox |
| December 1 | The Cavanaughs | CBS |
| December 5 | Dads | ABC |
| December 5 | Gung Ho | ABC |
| December 28 | Outlaws | CBS |

### Resuming this year

| Title | Final Aired | Previous Network | New title | Returning Network | Date of return |
| Card Sharks | 1981 | NBC | Same | CBS | January 6 |
| Too Close for Comfort | 1985 | Syndication | The Ted Knight Show | Same | April 21 |
| 9 to 5 | 1983 | ABC | Same | Syndication | September 13 |
| Hollywood Squares | 1984 | NBC | Same | Syndication | September 15 |
| Mama's Family | 1984 | NBC | Same | Syndication | September 26 |

### Ending this year

| Date | Title | Debut |
| January 3 | Body Language | 1984 |
| January 7 | Stir Crazy | 1985 |
| January 16 | Shadow Chasers | 1985 |
| January 25 | Lady Blue | 1985 |
| February 1 | Inspector Gadget (returned in 2015) | 1983 |
| February 6 | Ripley's Believe It or Not! (returned in 2000) | 1982 |
| February 21 | Misfits of Science | 1985 |
| March 5 | Planet Earth | 1986 |
| March 7 | Diff'rent Strokes | 1978 |
| April 4 | Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak | 1986 |
| April 8 | Foley Square | 1985 |
| April 8 | Mary | 1985 |
| April 19 | Benson | 1979 |
| April 19 | The Redd Foxx Show | 1986 |
| April 23 | Fast Times | 1986 |
| April 27 | Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors | 1985 |
| May 2 | The Fall Guy | 1981 |
| May 3 | Crazy Like a Fox | 1984 |
| May 5 | Hardcastle and McCormick | 1983 |
| May 7 | Blacke's Magic | 1986 |
| May 16 | Charlie & Co. | 1985 |
| May 23 | The Joker's Wild (returned in 1990) | 1972 |
| May 23 | The All-New Let's Make a Deal (returned in 1991) | 1963 |
| May 23 | Tic Tac Dough (returned in 1990) | 1956 |
| May 24 | The Love Boat | 1977 |
| May 24 | Mr. Sunshine | 1986 |
| May 28 | T. J. Hooker | 1982 |
| June 6 | The Merv Griffin Show | 1972 |
| June 7 | Star Wars: Droids | 1985 |
| August 8 | Knight Rider | 1982 |
| August 9 | The Paper Chase | 1978 |
| August 22 | Riptide | 1984 |
| August 24 | Code of Vengeance | 1985 |
| September 4 | Trapper John, M.D. | 1979 |
| September 5 | Price Is Right (nighttime) (returned in 1994) | 1972 |
| September 26 | Press Your Luck (returned in 2019) | 1983 |
| October 22 | Better Days | 1986 |
| November 15 | Life with Lucy | 1986 |
| November 20 | Kay O'Brien | 1986 |
| December 5 | Ghostbusters | 1986 |
| December 5 | SilverHawks | 1986 |
| December 6 | It's Punky Brewster | 1985 |
| December 13 | Ewoks | 1985 |
| December 13 | Wildfire | 1986 |
| December 26 | The Canned Film Festival | 1986 |
| December 26 | Rambo: The Force of Freedom | 1986 |
| December 26 | Search for Tomorrow | 1951 |

### Changing networks

| Show | Moved from | Moved to |
| National Geographic Explorer | Nickelodeon | TBS |
| The New Leave It to Beaver | Disney Channel | TBS |
| The Wonderful World of Disney | CBS | ABC |
| The Care Bears | Syndication | ABC |
| Pink Panther and Sons | NBC | ABC |
| Card Sharks | NBC | CBS |
| Hollywood Squares | NBC | Syndication |
| Mama's Family | NBC | Syndication |
| Silver Spoons | NBC | Syndication |
| 9 to 5 | ABC | Syndication |

### Made-for-TV movies and miniseries

| Title | Channel | Premiere date |
| The Last Frontier (miniseries) | CBS | November 3 |
| North and South: Book II (miniseries) | ABC | May 4 |

## Networks and services
### Launches

| Network | Type | Launch date |
| Festival | Cable television | April 1 |
| C-SPAN2 | Cable television | June 2 |
| QVC | Cable television | November 24 |

### Conversions and rebrandings

| Old network name | New network name | Type | Conversion Date | Notes | Source |
| National Christian Network | Liberty Broadcasting Network | Cable television | Unknown | | |
| Satellite Program Network | Tempo Television | Cable television | March | | |

### Closures

There are no closures for cable and satellite television channels in this year.

## Television stations
### Station launches

| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
| January 1 | Quincy, Illinois | WTJR | !6 | CTN | |
| January 8 | Columbus, Ohio | W17AI | 17 | Independent | |
| January 10 | Mansfield, Ohio | WMFD-TV | 68 | Independent | |
| January 27 | Houston, Texas | KTHT | 67 | Independent | |
| January 30 | Pensacola, Florida/Mobile, Alabama | WHBR | 33 | CTN | |
| January 31 | Birmingham, Alabama | WCAJ | 68 | Independent | |
| February 7 | Hot Springs, Arkansas | KRZB-TV | 26 | Independent | |
| February 15 | Syracuse, New York | WKAF | 68 | Independent | |
| February 19 | Urbana, Illinois | WCCU | 27 | Independent | Satellite of WRSP-TV/Springfield |
| March 6 | Rockford, Illinois | W68BR | 68 | | |
| March 7 | Olean/Buffalo, New York | W20AB | 20 | ACTS/TempoTV | |
| March 10 | Roanoke/Lynchburg, Virginia | WVFT | 27 | Independent | |
| March 17 | Lufkin, Texas | KHTM-LP | 13 | Independent | |
| March 23 | Lynchburg, Virginia | WJPR | 21 | Independent | |
| March 24 | Honolulu, Hawaii | KBFD | 32 | Asian independent | |
| March 24 | Odessa/Midland, Texas | KOCV-TV | 36 | PBS | |
| March 30 | Jefferson City/Columbia, Missouri | KNLJ | 25 | Religious independent | |
| April 2 | Louisville, Kentucky | WBNA | 21 | Independent | |
| April 7 | West Monroe/Monroe, Louisiana (El Dorado, Arkansas) | KMCT-TV | 39 | Religious independent | |
| April 6 | Omaha, Nebraska | KPTM | 42 | Independent | |
| April 13 | Stockton, California Sacramento/Modesto, California) | KSCH-TV | 58 | Independent | |
| April 16 | Rawlins, Wyoming | KRWY | 9 | ABC | |
| April 19 | Florence, Alabama | WTRT | 26 | Independent | |
| April 24 | Lakeland/Tampa, Florida | WTMV | 32 | Independent | |
| April 25 | San Francisco, California | K30BI | 30 | The Box | |
| April 27 | Mayaguez, Puerto Rico | WUHM-TV | 22 | Independent | Satellite of WAPA-TV/San Juan |
| April 29 | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | W35BT | 35 | Cornerstone Television | |
| June 1 | Joplin, Missouri | KOZJ | 26 | PBS | Satellite of KOZK/Springfield |
| June 2 | Ottumwa, Iowa (Kirksville, Missouri) | KOIA-TV | 15 | Independent | |
| June 8 | Madison, Wisconsin | WMSN-TV | 47 | Independent | |
| June 14 | Hartford, Connecticut | W13BF | 13 | Netspan | |
| June 16 | Odessa/Midland, Texas | KPEJ-TV | 24 | Independent | |
| June 17 | Beaumont, Texas | KITU-TV | 34 | TBN | |
| June 17 | Little Rock, Arkansas | KJTM-TV | 38 | Independent | |
| June 25 | Nashville, Tennessee | W61AR | 61 | Independent (primary) America One (secondary) | |
| July 1 | Charleston, Illinois | WEIU-TV | 51 | Independent | |
| July 9 | Wilmington, Delaware (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) | WTGI-TV | 61 | Independent (primary) ABC (secondary) | Clearednetwork programs not cleared by WPVI-TV until 1988. |
| July 22 | Gadsden/Anniston, Alabama (Birmingham/Tuscaloosa, Alabama) | WTJP-TV | 60 | TBN | |
| August 12 | Nashville, Tennessee | W24AE | 24 | HSN | |
| August 15 | Aguadilla, Puerto Rico | WELU | 32 | Religious independent | |
| August 20 | Iron Mountain/Marquette, Michigan | WDHS | 8 | TBN | |
| August 23 | Honolulu, Hawaii | KWHE | 14 | Independent | |
| August 28 | Naranjito, Puerto Rico | WECN | 64 | Religious independent | |
| August 29 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | K07TX | 7 | Independent | |
| September 1 | Monterey/Santa Cruz, California | KSMS | 67 | SIN | |
| September 2 | Erie, Pennsylvania | WETG | 66 | Independent | |
| September 12 | Indianapolis, Indiana | W31AL | 31 | EWTN | |
| September 14 | Portland, Maine | WPXT | 51 | Independent | |
| September 15 | New London/Hartford, Connecticut | WTWS | 26 | Independent | |
| September 19 | Pembina, North Dakota (Emerson/Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) | KNRR | 12 | Independent | Satellite of KVRR/Fargo |
| September 21 | Great Falls, Montana | KTGF | 16 | NBC | |
| September 25 | Garland/Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas | KIAB-TV | 23 | SIN (primary) CTN/HSN (secondary) | |
| September 25 | Detroit, Michigan | W26AB | 26 | America One (primary) FamilyNet (secondary) | |
| September 28 | La Crosse, Wisconsin | WQOW | 18 | ABC | |
| October 7 | St. Joseph, Missouri | KTAJ-TV | 16 | TBN | |
| October 8 | Reno, Nevada | KREN-TV | 27 | SIN | |
| October 12 | Utica, New York | WTUV | 33 | Fox | |
| October 13 | Johnstown/Altoona, Pennsylvania | WWCP-TV | 8 | Independent | |
| October 16 | Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina | WUNP-TV | 36 | PBS | Part of University of North Carolina Public Television |
| October 21 | Clarksville, Indiana (Louisville, Kentucky) | W05BA | 5 | TBN | |
| October 25 | Bend, Oregon | K48BL | 48 | America One | |
| November 2 | Visalia/Fresno, California | KNXT | 49 | Religious independent | |
| November 14 | Portsmouth, Ohio | K21BK | 21 | Independent | |
| November 15 | San Jose, California (San Francisco/Oakland, California) | KLXV-TV | 65 | TBN | |
| November 25 | Vallejo, California (San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, California) | KPST-TV | 66 | Asian independent | |
| December 1 | Salt Lake City, Utah | KUEN | 9 | Educational independent | |
| December 5 | Fort Wayne, Indiana | WFWA | 39 | PBS | |
| December 6 | Norwell/Boston, Massachusetts | WRYT | 46 | Independent | |
| December 12 | La Salle/Chicago, Illinois | WWTO-TV | 35 | TBN | |
| Unknown date | Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands | WTTM-TV | 27 | Independent | |

### Network affiliation changes

| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Old affiliation | New affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
| January 1 | Columbia, Missouri | KMIZ | 17 | NBC | ABC | |
| January 1 | Columbia, Missouri | KOMU-TV | 8 | ABC | NBC | |
| June 1 | CharlestonHuntington, West Virginia | WCHS-TV | 8 | CBS | ABC | |
| June 1 | Huntington/Charleston, West Virginia | WOWK-TV | 13 | ABC | CBS | |
| June 29 | Omaha, Nebraska | KMTV | 3 | NBC | CBS | |
| June 29 | Omaha, Nebraska | WOWT-TV | 6 | CBS | NBC | |
| October 9 | Albany, New York | WXXA-TV | 23 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Albuquerque, New Mexico | KGSW | 14 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Amarillo, Texas | KCIT | 14 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Anchorage, Alaska | KTBY | 4 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Anderson, South Carolina (Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina and Asheville, North Carolina) | WAXA-TV | 40 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Appleton/Green Bay, Wisconsin | WXGZ-TV | 32 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Atlanta, Georgia | WATL | 36 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Augusta, Georgia | W67BE | 67 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Austin, Texas | KBVO | 42 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Baltimore, Maryland | WBFF | 45 | Independent (primary) ABC/CBS (secondary) | Fox | Previously cleared programs not cleared by WMAR-TV (later WBAL-TV) and WJZ-TV |
| October 9 | Bessemer, Alabama (Birmingham/Tuscaloosa/Anniston) | WDBB | 17 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Boise, Idaho | KTRV-TV | 12 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Charlotte, North Carolina | WCCB | 18 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Champaign/Decatur/Springfield, Illinois | WRSP-TV | 55 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Charleston, South Carolina | WTAT-TV | 24 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Chattanooga, Tennessee | WDSI-TV | 61 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Chicago, Illinois | WFLD | 32 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Colorado Springs, Colorado | KXRM-TV | 21 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Columbus, Ohio | WTTE | 28 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas | KDAF | 33 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Danville/Lexington, Kentucky | WDKY-TV | 56 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Dayton, Ohio | WRGT-TV | 45 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Des Moines, Iowa | KDSM-TV | 17 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Detroit, Michigan | WKBD-TV | 50 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | El Paso, Texas | KCIK-TV | 14 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Eugene, Oregon | K25AS | 25 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Fargo, North Dakota | KVRR | 15 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Flint/Saginaw, Michigan | WSMH | 66 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Fort Myers, Florida | WFTX-TV | 36 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Gadsden, Alabama (Birmingham/Tuscaloosa/Anniston) | WNAL | 44 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo/Battle Creek, Michigan | WXMI | 17 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina | WNRW-TV | 45 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Harrisburg/Lebanon, Pennsylvania | WPMT | 43 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Hartford, Connecticut | WTIC-TV | 61 | Independent (primary) CBS/ABC (secondary) | Fox | Previously cleared ABC or CBS programming not carried by WTNH or WFSB-TV, respectively. |
| October 9 | Hazleton/Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania | WOLF-TV | 56 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Honolulu, Hawaii | KHNL | 13 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Huntington/Charleston, West Virginia (Ashland, Kentucky/Portsmouth, Ohio) | WVAH-TV | 23 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Indianapolis, Indiana | WXIN (recalled from WPDS-TV) | 59 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Inglis/Yankeetown, Florida (Gainesville/Ocala) | W49AI | 49 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Jacksonville, Florida | WAWS | 30 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Kansas City, Missouri | KSHB-TV | 41 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Kerrville/San Antonio, Texas | KRRT | 35 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Lafayette, Louisiana | KADN | 15 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Lake Charles, Louisiana | KVHP | 29 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Las Vegas, Nevada | KVVU-TV | 5 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Los Angeles, California | KTTV | 11 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Louisville, Kentucky | WDRB | 41 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Lubbock, Texas | KJTV-TV | 36 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Lynchburg/Danville, Virginia | WJPR-TV | 21 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Madison, Wisconsin | WMSN-TV | 47 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Miami, Florida | WCIX-TV | 6 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | WCGV-TV | 24 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Montgomery, Alabama | WCOV-TV | 20 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Mobile, Alabama (Pensacola, Florida) | WPMI-TV | 15 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Monterey/Salinas/Santa Cruz, California | KCBA | 35 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Nashville, Tennessee | WCAY-TV | 30 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Newport, Kentucky/Cincinnati, Ohio | WXIX-TV | 19 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | New York City | WNEW-TV | 5 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Norfolk, Virginia (Newport News/Portsmouth/Virginia Beach) | WTVZ | 33 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Oakland/San Francisco, California | KTVU | 2 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | KAUT-TV | 43 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Orlando, Florida | WOFL | 35 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Ottumwa, Iowa/Kirksville, Missouri | KOIA-TV | 15 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Peoria/Bloomington, Illinois | WYZZ-TV | 43 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Pembina, North Dakota (USA) (Emerson/Winnipeg, Manitoba) | KNRR | 12 | Independent | Fox | Satellite of KVRR/Fargo |
| October 9 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | WTXF-TV | 29 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Phoenix, Arizona | KNXV-TV | 15 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | WPGH-TV | 53 | Independent (primary) CBS (secondary) | Fox | |
| October 9 | Pine Bluff/Little Rock, Arkansas | KJTM-TV | 38 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Portland, Maine | WPXT | 51 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Providence, Rhode Island | WNAC-TV | 64 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina | WLFL-TV | 22 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Redding/Chico, California | KRCR-TV | 7 | ABC (exclusive) | Fox | ABC (primary) Fox (secondary) |
| October 9 | Reno, Nevada | KAME-TV | 21 | Independent | Fox | Fox |
| October 9 | Richmond, Virginia | WRLH-TV | 35 | Independent | Fox | Fox |
| October 9 | Rochester, New York | WUHF | 31 | Independent | Fox | Fox |
| October 9 | Sacramento, California | KTXL | 40 | Independent | Fox | Fox |
| October 9 | Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands | WSZE-TV | 10 | NBC (primary) CBS/ABC (secondary) | NBC (primary) CBS/ABC/Fox (secondary) | Satellite of KUAM-TV/Hagtna, Guam |
| October 9 | San Angelo, Texas | KIDY | 6 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Salt Lake City, Utah | KSTU | 13 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Savannah, Georgia | WTGS | 28 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Casper, Wyoming | KFNB | 20 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania | WOLF-TV | 38 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Shaker Heights/Cleveland, Ohio | WOIO | 19 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Shreveport, Louisiana | KMSS-TV | 33 | Independent (primary) CBS (secondary) | Fox | |
| October 9 | Spokane, Washington | KAYU-TV | 28 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Springfield, Missouri | KDEB-TV | 27 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | St. Louis, Missouri | KDNL | 30 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Syracuse, New York | WSYT-TV | 68 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Tacoma/Seattle, Washington | KCPQ | 13 | Independent (primary) CBS (secondary) | Fox | |
| October 9 | Tampa, Florida | WTOG | 44 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Thief River Falls, Minnesota (Grand Forks, North Dakota) | KBRR | 10 | Independent | Fox | Satellite of KVRR/Fargo |
| October 9 | Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico (San Diego, California, United States) | XETV-TV | 6 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Toledo, Ohio | WUPW | 36 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Tulsa, Oklahoma | KOKI-TV | 23 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Tucson, Arizona | KMSB | 11 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Waco, Texas | KWKT-TV | 44 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Washington, D.C. | WTTG | 5 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Watertown, New York | WJCK | 50 | ABC (exclusive) | ABC (primary) Fox (secondary) | |
| October 9 | Wichita, Kansas | KSAS-TV | 24 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 9 | Wichita Falls, Texas | KJTL | 18 | Independent | Fox | |
| October 13 | Altoona/Johnstown, Pennsylvania | WWPC-TV | 23 | ABC | Independent | |

## Births

| Date | Name | Notability |
| January 1 | Anna Brewster | English actress (Versailles) |
| January 4 | Charlyne Yi | Actress (House, Steven Universe, We Bare Bears, Summer Camp Island) |
| January 5 | Jesse Draper | Actress (The Naked Brothers Band) |
| January 6 | Shane Sweet | Actor (The Journey of Allen Strange, Married... with Children) |
| January 8 | Jaclyn Linetsky | Canadian voice actress (Mega Babies, What's with Andy?, Caillou) (d. 2003) |
| January 15 | Jessy Schram | Actress (Last Resort, Falling Skies, Nashville) and singer |
| January 15 | Molly Orr | Actress (Drake & Josh) |
| January 18 | Devin Kelley | Actress (The Chicago Code, Resurrection, Frequency) |
| January 18 | Becca Tobin | Actress (Glee) and singer |
| January 21 | Julianna Strickland | YouTube personality and actress |
| January 22 | Daniel Wayne Smith | Actor (d. 2006) |
| January 24 | Mischa Barton | Actress (KaBlam!, Once and Again, The O.C.) |
| January 24 | Raviv Ullman | Actor (Phil of the Future, Rita Rocks) |
| January 29 | Drew Tyler Bell | Actor (The Bold and the Beautiful) |
| January 30 | Ashley Buccille | Voice actress (Lila Sawyer on Hey Arnold!) |
| February 1 | Lauren Conrad | Actress (Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, The Hills) |
| February 2 | Gemma Arterton | English actress |
| February 4 | Danielle Vega | American actress (Barney & Friends) |
| February 5 | Elizabeth Alderfer | American actress |
| February 6 | Alice Greczyn | Actress (Quintuplets, The Lying Game) |
| February 6 | Dane DeHaan | Actor (In Treatment) |
| February 7 | Stephen Colletti | Actor (Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, One Tree Hill) |
| February 8 | Anna Hutchison | New Zealand actress (Power Rangers Jungle Fury) |
| February 12 | Valorie Curry | Actress |
| February 14 | Tiffany Thornton | Actress (Sonny with a Chance, So Random!) and singer |
| February 15 | Amber Riley | Actress (Glee) |
| February 19 | Ophelia Lovibond | English actress (Holby City, Titanic: Blood and Steel, Elementary) |
| February 22 | Miko Hughes | Actor (Full House, Life with Louie) |
| February 24 | Bryce Papenbrook | Voice actor (Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Sword Art Online, Attack on Titan) |
| February 25 | Justin Berfield | Actor (Unhappily Ever After, Malcolm in the Middle, Kim Possible) |
| February 25 | Jameela Jamil | Actress |
| February 26 | Teresa Palmer | Australian actress |
| February 28 | Kingsley Ben-Adir | British actor |
| March 2 | Sonja Kinski | Actress |
| March 4 | Margo Harshman | Actress (Even Stevens, Run of the House) |
| March 5 | Dominique McElligott | Actress |
| March 9 | Brittany Snow | Actress (American Dreams, Harry's Law) |
| March 10 | Vadim Schneider | French-Canadian actor (d. 2003) |
| March 14 | Jamie Bell | English actor (Turn: Washington's Spies) |
| March 16 | Alexandra Daddario | Actress (All My Children, White Collar, Parenthood) |
| March 17 | Olesya Rulin | Russian-born actress (High School Musical) |
| March 19 | Michael Drayer | American actor |
| March 20 | Ruby Rose | Australian actress (Orange is the New Black, Batwoman) |
| March 21 | Scott Eastwood | Actor and son of Clint Eastwood |
| March 22 | Matt Bush | Actor (Glory Daze, The Goldbergs) |
| March 23 | Steven Strait | Actor |
| March 23 | Ben Rappaport | Actor |
| March 26 | Jessica Hart | Australian model |
| March 28 | Lady Gaga | Singer, songwriter, and actress (American Horror Story) |
| March 28 | Meagan Smith | Actress (Gwen Tennyson in Ben 10) |
| March 30 | Tessa Ferrer | Actress (Grey's Anatomy) |
| March 30 | Simon Baker | Actor |
| April 2 | Drew Van Acker | Actor (Tower Prep, Pretty Little Liars) |
| April 2 | Lee DeWyze | Singer (American Idol) |
| April 2 | Christopher Walberg | Voice actor (Stinky Peterson on Hey Arnold!) |
| April 3 | Amanda Bynes | Actress (All That, The Amanda Show, Rugrats, What I Like About You) |
| April 3 | Jerry Messing | Actor |
| April 5 | Charlotte Flair | Pro Wrestler (WWE) |
| April 6 | Kay Adams | Sportscaster |
| April 7 | Jason Ralph | Actor |
| April 9 | Leighton Meester | Actress (Gossip Girl, Single Parents) and singer |
| April 9 | Jordan Masterson | Actor (Greek, Last Man Standing) |
| April 12 | Matt McGorry | Actor (Orange is the New Black, How to Get Away with Murder) |
| April 15 | Ester Dean | Actress |
| April 16 | Sufe Bradshaw | Actress (Veep) |
| April 22 | Amber Heard | Actress (Hidden Palms) |
| April 25 | John DeLuca | Actor (General Hospital) |
| April 25 | Daniel Sharman | English actor (Teen Wolf, The Originals) |
| April 27 | Jenna Coleman | English actress (Emmerdale, Doctor Who, Victoria) |
| April 28 | Jenna Ushkowitz | Actress (Glee) and singer |
| April 29 | Zoran Korach | Actor (Sam & Cat) |
| April 29 | Crystal Hefner | Host |
| April 30 | Dianna Agron | Actress (Glee), singer, and dancer |
| April 30 | Beau Wirick | Actor |
| May 1 | Abby Huntsman | TV host |
| May 2 | Emily Hart | Actress (Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Sabrina: The Animated Series) |
| May 2 | Thomas McDonell | Actor (The 100) |
| May 3 | Poppy Delevingne | English model |
| May 6 | Sasheer Zamata | Actress and comedian (Saturday Night Live) |
| May 8 | Laura Spencer | Actress (The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, The Big Bang Theory) |
| May 9 | Grace Gummer | Actress (Gigantic, American Horror Story, Extant) and daughter of Meryl Streep and Don Gummer |
| May 12 | Emily VanCamp | Actress (Everwood, Brothers & Sisters, Revenge) |
| May 13 | Lena Dunham | Actress (Girls) |
| May 16 | Drew Roy | Actor (Hannah Montana, Falling Skies) |
| May 16 | Jacob Zachar | Actor (Greek) |
| May 16 | Megan Fox | Actress (Ocean Ave., Hope & Faith, New Girl) and model |
| May 17 | Amy Gumenick | Swedish-born American actress (Arrow, Turn: Washington's Spies) |
| May 17 | Tahj Mowry | Actor (Full House, Smart Guy, Baby Daddy, Kim Possible) |
| May 17 | Erin Richards | Welsh actress (Gotham) |
| May 20 | Louisa Krause | Actress |
| May 20 | Kyle Harris | Actor |
| May 21 | Da'Vine Joy Randolph | Actress |
| May 22 | Molly Ephraim | Actress (Last Man Standing) |
| May 24 | Mark Ballas | Dancer and choreographer (Dancing with the Stars) |
| May 28 | Seth Rollins | Pro wrestler |
| May 30 | Will Peltz | Actor |
| June 3 | Josh Segarra | Actor (Sirens, Arrow) |
| June 4 | Oona Chaplin | Spanish actress (The Hour, Game of Thrones) |
| June 5 | Amanda Crew | Canadian actress (Silicon Valley) |
| June 6 | Leslie Carter | Singer (died 2012) |
| June 6 | Justin Allgaier | Race car driver |
| June 6 | Cameron Britton | Actor |
| June 10 | Joey Zimmerman | Actor (Earth 2, Halloweentown) |
| June 11 | Shia LaBeouf | Actor (Even Stevens) |
| June 13 | Kat Dennings | Actress (Raising Dad, 2 Broke Girls) |
| June 13 | Mary-Kate Olsen | Actresses (Full House, Two of a Kind, So Little Time) |
| June 13 | Ashley Olsen | Actresses (Full House, Two of a Kind, So Little Time) |
| June 17 | Marie Avgeropoulos | Actress (The 100) |
| June 18 | Richard Madden | English actor (Game of Thrones) |
| June 18 | Meaghan Rath | Canadian actress (15/Love, The Assistants, Being Human) |
| June 19 | Erin Mackey | Actress (The Parent Trap) |
| June 20 | Dreama Walker | Actress (Gossip Girl, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) |
| June 24 | Kaitlin Cullum | Actress (Grace Under Fire) |
| June 24 | Solange Knowles | Singer, actress |
| June 27 | Drake Bell | Actor (The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, Ultimate Spider-Man, Ben 10) |
| June 27 | Alex Plank | Actor |
| June 28 | Shadia Simmons | Canadian actress |
| June 28 | Maya Stojan | Actress |
| June 28 | Matteo Lane | Comedian |
| June 28 | Kellie Pickler | Singer |
| July 1 | Casey Reinhardt | Actress (Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County) |
| July 2 | Lindsay Lohan | Actress (4-time host of Saturday Night Live, Lindsay, Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club) and daughter of Michael Lohan and Dina Lohan |
| July 6 | Leon Frierson | Actor (All That) |
| July 8 | Jake McDorman | Actor (Quintuplets, Greek, Limitless) |
| July 9 | Kiely Williams | Actress (The Cheetah Girls), singer |
| July 10 | Wyatt Russell | Actor |
| July 15 | Mishael Morgan | Actress (The Young and the Restless) |
| July 16 | Laura Carmichael | English actress (Downton Abbey) |
| July 16 | Taryn Southern | Actress (Sorority Forever), singer and YouTube personality |
| July 17 | Brando Eaton | Actor (Dexter, Zoey 101, The Secret Life of the American Teenager) |
| July 17 | Kaitlin Vilasuso | Actress |
| July 18 | Travis Milne | Canadian actor (Rookie Blue) |
| July 20 | Osric Chau | Canadian actor (Supernatural) |
| July 21 | Diane Guerrero | Actress (Orange Is the New Black, Jane the Virgin, Superior Donuts, Doom Patrol) |
| July 21 | Betty Gilpin | Actress |
| July 24 | Megan Park | Actress (The Secret Life of the American Teenager, The Neighbors) |
| July 26 | Monica Raymund | Actress (Lie to Me, The Good Wife, Chicago Fire) |
| July 28 | Alexandra Chando | Actress (As the World Turns, The Lying Game) |
| July 28 | Nolan Gerard Funk | Actor (Glee, Awkward) |
| July 29 | Brandon Gilberstadt | Actor (100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd) |
| July 30 | Danielle Keaton | Actress |
| August 3 | Andrew McFarlane | Actor (My Wife and Kids) |
| August 8 | Peyton List | Actress (As the World Turns, The Tomorrow People) |
| August 13 | Ashley Spillers | Actress (Vice Principals, Rugrats) |
| August 16 | Casey LaBow | Actress |
| August 16 | Sarah Pavan | Canadian volleyball player |
| August 16 | Shawn Pyfrom | Actor (Stanley, Desperate Housewives) |
| August 17 | Bryton James | Actor (Family Matters, The Young and the Restless, Young Justice) |
| August 21 | Kiami Davael | Actress |
| August 21 | Brooks Wheelan | Actor and comedian (Saturday Night Live) |
| August 27 | Mario | Actor |
| August 27 | Jack Kesy | Actor |
| August 28 | Armie Hammer | Actor |
| August 29 | Lea Michele | Actress (Glee, Scream Queens) |
| August 29 | Nicole Byer | Actress |
| August 31 | Ryan Kelley | Actor (Teen Wolf) |
| August 31 | Spencer Klein | Actor (Mad About You, Hey Arnold!) |
| August 31 | Brent Morin | Actor |
| September 1 | Camille Mana | Actress (One on One) |
| September 5 | Davida Williams | Actress (Lizzie McGuire, Degrassi: The Next Generation, As the World Turns) |
| September 8 | Leah LaBelle | American singer (American Idol) (d. 2018) |
| September 10 | Sarah Levy | Actress |
| September 12 | Alfie Allen | English actor (Game of Thrones) |
| September 12 | Emmy Rossum | Actress (Shameless) and singer-songwriter |
| September 12 | Molly Tarlov | Actress (Awkward) |
| September 14 | A. J. Trauth | Actor (Even Stevens, Kim Possible) |
| September 15 | Heidi Montag | Actress (Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, The Hills) |
| September 15 | Jenna Marbles | American former YouTuber |
| September 15 | George Watsky | American rapper |
| September 16 | Ian Harding | Actor (Pretty Little Liars) |
| September 16 | Kyla Pratt | Actress (One on One, Let's Stay Together, Recovery Road, The Proud Family) |
| September 18 | Danielle Jonas | Actress (Married to Jonas) and television personality |
| September 19 | Mandy Musgrave | Actress (Days of Our Lives, South of Nowhere) |
| September 19 | Peter Vack | Actor |
| September 20 | Aldis Hodge | Actor (A.T.O.M., Leverage, Turn: Washington's Spies, Underground) |
| September 23 | Kaylee DeFer | Actress (The War at Home, Gossip Girl) |
| September 24 | Eloise Mumford | Actress (The River) |
| September 24 | Alex Paxton-Beesley | Actress |
| September 26 | Ashley Leggat | Canadian actress |
| September 26 | Sean Doolittle | American professional baseball pitcher |
| September 28 | Hannah Leder | Actress |
| September 29 | Lisa Foiles | Actress (All That) |
| September 29 | Lo Bosworth | Actress (Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, The Hills) |
| September 30 | Ki Hong Lee | South Korean actor (The Nine Lives of Chloe King, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) |
| October 1 | Jurnee Smollett | Actress (On Our Own, Friday Night Lights, The Defenders, True Blood, Underground) |
| October 2 | Camilla Belle | Actress |
| October 7 | Amber Stevens West | Actress (Greek, The Carmichael Show, Ghosted, Happy Together) |
| October 7 | Holland Roden | Actress (Teen Wolf) |
| October 10 | Lucy Griffiths | English actress (Robin Hood, True Blood, Preacher) |
| October 18 | Renee Bargh | Australian entertainment reporter |
| October 12 | Tyler Blackburn | Actor (Pretty Little Liars, Ravenswood) |
| October 12 | Marcus T. Paulk | Actor (Moesha, The Proud Family) and rapper |
| October 13 | Raquel Lee | Actress (The Amanda Show, The Proud Family) |
| October 13 | Julia McIlvaine | Voice actress (June on KaBlam!) |
| October 17 | Kristine Leahy | American television host |
| October 22 | Kyle Gallner | Actor |
| October 23 | Briana Evigan | Actress and daughter of Greg Evigan |
| October 23 | Emilia Clarke | English actress (Game of Thrones) |
| October 23 | Jessica Stroup | Actress (90210) |
| October 24 | Drake | Canadian actor (Degrassi: The Next Generation) and rapper |
| October 25 | Annabelle Dexter-Jones | Actress |
| October 27 | Inbar Lavi | Israeli actress (Prison Break, Underemployed, Gang Related, Imposters) |
| October 27 | Christine Evangelista | Actress |
| October 28 | May Calamawy | Egyptian-Palestinian actress (Ramy, Moon Knight) |
| October 29 | Italia Ricci | Canadian actress (Unnatural History) |
| November 1 | Penn Badgley | Actor (The Young and the Restless, The Mountain, The Bedford Diaries, Gossip Girl) |
| November 3 | Antonia Thomas | Actress |
| November 4 | Alexz Johnson | Actress (So Weird) |
| November 6 | Katie Leclerc | Actress (Switched at Birth) |
| November 10 | Josh Peck | Actor (The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, Grandfathered, Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones?, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) |
| November 11 | Rafael de la Fuente | Venezuelan actor (Every Witch Way, Empire, Dynasty) |
| November 11 | Jon Batiste | Singer |
| November 14 | Cory Michael Smith | Actor (Gotham) |
| November 16 | Winston Duke | Actor |
| November 17 | Mitchah Williams | Actor (Lizzie McGuire) |
| November 18 | Joseph Ashton | Actor (L.A. Doctors, Hey Arnold!, Rocket Power) |
| November 18 | Georgia King | Actress |
| November 20 | Ashley Fink | Actress (Glee) |
| November 21 | Jordan Warkol | Voice actor (Hey Arnold!, Rocket Power) |
| November 21 | Sam Palladio | British actor (Nashville) |
| November 21 | Colleen Ballinger | Comedian and actress |
| November 24 | Maya Kazan | Actress |
| November 25 | Katie Cassidy | Actress (Harper's Island, Melrose Place, Arrow), singer and daughter of David Cassidy |
| November 25 | Cole Escola | Actor |
| November 28 | Johnny Simmons | Actor |
| December 1 | Scott Evans | American host |
| December 5 | Erin McGathy | American actress |
| December 7 | Chris Chalk | American actor |
| December 8 | Jo Firestone | American actress |
| December 10 | Elaine Welteroth | American television host |
| December 11 | Alex House | Canadian actor (Degrassi: The Next Generation, Total Drama) |
| December 11 | Condola Rashād | Actress (Steel Magnolias) |
| December 13 | Sunita Mani | Actress |
| December 17 | Emma Bell | Actress (Dallas) |
| December 17 | Vanessa Zima | Actress |
| December 20 | Conner O'Malley | Actor |
| December 23 | Noël Wells | Actress (Saturday Night Live, Master of None), voice actress (Wander Over Yonder, Craig of the Creek) and singer |
| December 26 | Kit Harington | English actor (Game of Thrones) |
| December 30 | Caity Lotz | Actress (Death Valley, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow) |

## Deaths

| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| January 4 | Phil Lynott | 36 | Irish musician (Thin Lizzy) |
| January 14 | Donna Reed | 64 | Actress (The Donna Reed Show, Dallas) |
| January 24 | Gordon MacRae | 64 | Actor and singer |
| January 29 | Leif Erickson | 74 | Actor (The High Chaparral) |
| March 30 | James Cagney | 86 | Actor and dancer |
| May 28 | Don MacLaughlin | 79 | Actor (Chris Hughes on As the World Turns) |
| June 14 | Marlin Perkins | 81 | Zoologist, host of (Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom) |
| July 15 | Florence Halop | 63 | Actress (Florence on Night Court) |
| August 26 | Ted Knight | 62 | Actor (Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show) |
| September 12 | Frank Nelson | 75 | Actor |
| September 27 | Cliff Burton | 24 | Musician/songwriter (Metallica) |
| October 25 | Forrest Tucker | 67 | Actor (F Troop) |
| November 2 | Paul Frees | 66 | Voice actor (Boris Badenov on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, 1st voice for the Pillsbury Doughboy) |
| November 11 | Roger C. Carmel | 54 | Actor (The Transformers, Adventures of the Gummi Bears) |
| November 18 | Gia Carangi | 26 | American model |
| November 22 | Scatman Crothers | 76 | Actor (Harlem Globetrotters, Hong Kong Phooey, The Transformers) |
| December 2 | Desi Arnaz | 69 | Actor and musician (Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy) |