1988 in American television

Events

February 29 - The soap opera Day by Day premieres on NBC.
October 4 - Following in Cher's footsteps , Actress Shirley MacLaine calls David Letterman an "A**hole", on the air during a taping of Late Night
The song "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" experiences a surge in popularity sparked by television commercials featuring claymation raisin figures. The California Raisins version of the song peaks at No. 84 on Billboard's Hot 100.
Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart is the focus of a sex scandal, and later admits to being with prostitutes and steps down from his television ministry.