1994 in American television
| List of years in American television: 1991 1992 1993 – 1994 – 1995 1996 1997 |
| 1994-95 United States network television schedule |
The following is a list of events affecting American television in 1994. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel launches, closures and rebrandings, as well as information about controversies and carriage disputes.
Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 18 | The Peanuts special You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown airs on NBC. |
| January 23 | CBS, which had broadcast National Football League games since 1956, airs its final telecast, with the Dallas Cowboys defeating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, 38–21. CBS had been outbid in December 1993 for rights to the NFC package by a fledgling Fox Network. CBS, however, would regain NFL rights (taking over the AFC package from NBC) in 1998. |
| February 1 | American pay television channel Encore launches seven new themed multiplex channels (Westerns, True Stories, Love Stories, WAM!: America's Kidz Network, Action and Mystery), primarily on TCI cable systems, becoming the first premium service to offer themed premium services. Starz, which carries more recent film fare than its parent channel, is also launched on this date as part of the Encore multiplex and would later become an up-and-coming rival to HBO, Showtime, Cinemax and The Movie Channel. |
| February 4 | The Days of our Lives nighttime special Winter Heat airs on NBC. |
| February 19 | In an opening monologue on Saturday Night Live, guest host Martin Lawrence makes sexually explicit jokes about female genitalia and feminine hygiene, which results in NBC banning him from appearing on the network (for the next year) and SNL (for life). In repeats of the episode, the offending section of the monologue is replaced by a title card read by an off-screen player, saying that although SNL takes a neutral stand on the issues raised by Lawrence, network policy prevents his remarks from being re-broadcast, and that the incident almost cost the entire cast of SNL their jobs. |
| March 31 | Madonna appears on The Late Show with David Letterman and makes headlines for going on a profanity-laden tirade—one of the most censored events in American TV talk-show history, though it results in some of the highest ratings of Letterman's late-night career. (Robin Williams would later describe the segment as a "battle of wits with an unarmed woman.") |
| April 14 | Turner Classic Movies is launched. |
| April 24 | Barney the Dinosaur makes his commercial network television debut in the NBC prime-time special Bedtime with Barney: Imagination Island. However the song "I Love You" wasn't sung in the special due to a lawsuit over the song at the time; this explains why "I Love You" wasn't used in Barney's Favorites Vol. 2, as it uses songs from the special. |
| May 23 | Star Trek: The Next Generation concludes its seven-year run with the series finale, All Good Things... The two-hour finale was aired at 6 p.m. on most affiliates, rather than as part of the prime time lineup. |
| June 1 | The US cable channel, FX is launched. |
| Newsworld International went live outside Canada. | |
| June 10 | The Pay television content descriptors, which describe the varying degrees of suggestive or explicit content in series and movies airing on pay cable channels, are first implemented on HBO and Cinemax. Showtime and The Movie Channel will add the system a month later. |
| June 11 | World Wrestling Federation superstar Hulk Hogan signs a deal with World Championship Wrestling on a live broadcast of WCW Saturday Night. |
| June 17 | With all major networks providing live coverage, former NFL star O.J. Simpson, suspected in the murder of his former wife and her acquaintance, flees from police with his friend Al Cowlings in his white Ford Bronco; the low-speed chase ends with Simpson's surrender to police at his Brentwood mansion. |
| DirecTV, a direct broadcast satellite service, launches in Jackson, Mississippi. | |
| July 4 | The all-talk and information channel, America's Talking is debuted. |
| July 12 | The 1994 Major League Baseball All-Star Game from Pittsburgh is broadcast on NBC. The game is the first production of The Baseball Network, a joint venture between MLB, NBC, and ABC. Hampered by its highly-criticized regional approach to game broadcasts and a players' strike that cancels the 1994 postseason, the venture will be branded a failure even before it dissolves at the end of the 1995 season. |
| August 7 | The Simpsons returned to its Sunday night lineup from the 1989-90 season. |
| August 12 | The soap opera All My Children airs a memorial episode for original cast member Frances Heflin, who died in June. The memorial is in the form of a funeral service for Heflin's character, Mona Kane Tyler. |
| Fox airs its first National Football League broadcast, a pre-season game in San Francisco between the 49ers and Denver Broncos. | |
| August 21 | HBO airs a concert appearance by Barbra Streisand, the entertainer's first public concert in 27 years. |
| September 1 | Independent Film Channel is launched. |
| September 12 | The first television stations involved in the U.S. television network affiliate switches of 1994, change their network affiliation. WDAF-TV in Kansas City ends its 45-year affiliation with NBC and WJW-TV in Cleveland, WJBK in Detroit and WAGA-TV in Atlanta end their longtime affiliations with CBS with all four stations becoming Fox affiliates. WDAF and WJW trade their former affiliations respectively with Fox affiliates KSHB-TV (which became an NBC affiliate) and WOIO (which became a CBS affiliate), while WJBK and WAGA move their respective CBS affiliations to former independent stations WWJ-TV (then WGPR) and WGCL; the Fox affiliates that WJBK and WAGA replace, WKBD and WATL become independents only to become affiliated with UPN and The WB respectively four months later. |
| Original Family Feud host Richard Dawson returns to the show after nine years, replacing his successor, Ray Combs; the show also expands from half-hour to full-hour episodes. | |
| October 31 | The FX spin-off channel fxM: Movies from Fox is launched, airing movies from the Fox library on a round-the-clock basis. |
| December 1 | The Game Show Network, a network devoted to broadcasting classic game shows, is launched in the United States. |
| Home & Garden Television is launched in the United States. | |
| December 8 | CBS affiliate KSAZ-TV (channel 10) in Phoenix drops its CBS affiliation after 40 years to affiliate with Fox, after being purchased by Fox Television Stations Group. The CBS affiliation moves to independent station KPHO (channel 5), while the ABC affiliation moves to former Fox station KNXV (channel 15), leaving the former ABC affiliate KTVK (channel 3) forced to become an independent. WITI in Milwaukee also drops its CBS affiliation after 37 years to become a Fox station, moving the former CBS affiliation to former independent station WDJT (channel 58). |
Debuts
| Date | Show |
|---|---|
| January 2 | Viper on NBC |
| January 6 | Turning Point on ABC |
| January 17 | Leeza on NBC |
| Rolonda in Syndication | |
| January 26 | Babylon 5 on PTEN |
| The Critic on ABC | |
| January 31 | The Cosby Mysteries on NBC |
| February 5 | Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? on Fox |
| March 5 | Duckman on USA Network |
| March 29 | Ellen on ABC |
| April 1 | Sister, Sister on ABC |
| April 15 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast on Cartoon Network |
| June 29 | Models Inc. on Fox |
| July 12 | Allegra's Window on Nickelodeon |
| August 14 | Inside the Actors Studio on Bravo |
| August 25 | My So Called Life on ABC |
| August 26 | M.A.N.T.I.S. on Fox |
| September | The Head on MTV |
| September 3 | VR Troopers in Syndication |
| September 4 | Wild Oats on Fox |
| September 5 | Extra in Syndication |
| Aladdin: The Series in Syndication | |
| September 8 | New York Undercover on Fox |
| September 10 | The Tick on Fox |
| September 11 | The Boys Are Back on CBS |
| Fortune Hunter on Fox | |
| September 12 | Party of Five on Fox |
| The Magic School Bus on PBS | |
| The New Price is Right in Syndication | |
| September 13 | On Our Own on ABC |
| September 14 | All American Girl on ABC |
| September 15 | Due South on CBS |
| September 17 | Beethoven on CBS |
| September 18 | Chicago Hope on CBS |
| September 19 | ER on NBC |
| September 20 | Me and the Boys on ABC |
| September 21 | Daddy's Girls on CBS |
| Touched by an Angel on CBS | |
| September 22 | Friends on NBC |
| September 24 | The 5 Mrs. Buchanans on CBS |
| Free Willy on ABC | |
| ReBoot on Fox | |
| October 1 | Wild C.A.T.s on CBS |
| October 8 | The Secret World of Alex Mack on Nickelodeon |
| October 15 | My Brother and Me on Nickelodeon |
| October 29 | Aaahh!!! Real Monsters on Nickelodeon |
| November 6 | Earth 2 on NBC |
| November 19 | Spider-Man on Fox |
| December 24 | All That on Nickelodeon |
Television films
- Bandit Goes Country, loosely based on Smokey and the Bandit
- Bandit Bandit, loosely based on Smokey and the Bandit
- Beauty and the Bandit, loosely based on Smokey and the Bandit
- Bandit's Silver Angel, loosely based on Smokey and the Bandit
Miniseries
- Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III 1994 television miniseries
- Scarlett, a sequel to Gone with the Wind
Television shows
1940s
- Meet the Press (1947–present).
1950s
- Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951–present)
- Guiding Light (1952–2009)
- The Today Show (1952–present)
- Face the Nation (1954–present)
- The Magical World of Disney (1954–present)
- The Tonight Show (1954–present)
- As the World Turns (1956–2010)
1960s
- General Hospital (1963–present).
- Another World (1964–1999).
- Days of our Lives (1965–present).
- 60 Minutes (1968–present).
- One Life to Live (1968–present).
- Sesame Street (1969–present).
1970s
- All My Children (1970–present).
- Monday Night Football (1970–present).
- Masterpiece Theatre (1971–present).
- Soul Train (1971–2006).
- The Price Is Right (1972–present).
- The Young and the Restless (1973–present).
- Derrick (1974–1998).
- Good Morning America (1975–present).
- Saturday Night Live (1975–present).
- Wheel of Fortune (1975–present).
- 20/20 (1978–present).
- Nightline (1979–present).
- This Old House (1979–present).
- ESPN SportsCenter (1979-present).
1980s
1980-1986
- Lou Dobbs Tonight (1980–2009)
- Entertainment Tonight (1981–present)
- Loving (1983–1995).
- Jeopardy! (1964–1975, 1984–present)
- Murder, She Wrote (1984–1996)
- Sally (1985–2002).
- L.A. Law (1986–1994).
- Matlock (1986–1995)
- The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986–2011).
1987
- The Bold and the Beautiful (1987–present).
- Full House (1987–1995)
- Inspector Morse (1987–2000).
- Super Mario Phatom (1987–present).
- Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994).
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987–1996).
- Unsolved Mysteries (1987–1998, 2001–2002, 2008–present).
1988
- America's Most Wanted (1988–present).
- The American Experience (1988–present).
- Empty Nest (1988–1995).
- Family Feud (1976–1985, 1988–1995, 1999–present).
- Garfield and Friends (1988–1995).
- Murphy Brown (1988–1998).
- Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988–1999).
- Roseanne (1988–1997).
1989
- Baywatch (1989–2001).
- COPS (1989–present).
- Family Matters (1989–1998).
- Seinfeld (1989–1998).
- The Arsenio Hall Show (1989–1994).
- The Simpsons (1989–present).
- Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994).
- Tales from the Crypt (1989–1996).
1990s
1990
- Law & Order (1990–2010).
- America's Funniest Home Videos (1990–present).
- America's Funniest People (1990-1994).
- In Living Color (1990-1994).
- Northern Exposure (1990–1995).
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990–1996)
- Tiny Toon Adventures (1990-1995)
1991
- Dinosaurs (1991–1994).
- Doug (1991–1994, 1996–1999).
- Home Improvement (1991–1999).
- Rugrats (1991–1994, 1997–2004).
- Sisters (1991–1996).
- The Jerry Springer Show (1991–present).
- The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991–1996).
- Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1991-1995).
1992
- Barney & Friends (1992–present).
- California Dreams (1992–1996).
- Dateline NBC (1992–present).
- Hearts Afire (1992-1995).
- Love & War (1992-1995).
- Mad About You (1992–1999).
- Martin (1992–1997).
- The Larry Sanders Show (1992–1998).
- The Real World (1992–present).
1993
- Grand Theft Auto[disambiguation needed] (1993–present).
- Animaniacs (1993-1998).
- Beavis and Butt-head (1993–1997,2011).
- Biker Mice From Mars (1993–1996).
- Frasier (1993–2004).
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993–2009).
- Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1993-1997).
- Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993–1997).
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993–1996).
- NYPD Blue (1993–2005).
- Ricki Lake (1993–2004).
- Rocko's Modern Life (1993–1996,2011-)
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999).
- The Late Show with David Letterman (1993–present).
- The Nanny (1993–1999).
- The X-Files (1993–2002).
- WWF Monday Night RAW (1993–present).
Ending this year
| Date | Show | Debut |
|---|---|---|
| January 9 | Cadillacs and Dinosaurs | 1993 |
| January 23 | The NFL on CBS | 1956 |
| January 30 | CityKids | 1993 |
| February 8 | Saved by the Bell: The College Years | 1993 |
| May 6 | Square One TV | 1987 |
| Dirk Niblick of the Math Brigade | 1988 | |
| The Further Adventures of Zook & Alison | 1992 | |
| May 19 | In Living Color | 1990 |
| L.A. Law | 1986 | |
| May 22 | Rugrats | 1991 |
| May 23 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | 1987 |
| May 27 | The Arsenio Hall Show | 1989 |
| June 18 | Getting By | 1993 |
| June 19 | Doug | 1991 |
| July 26 | Dinosaurs | 1991 |
| August 28 | America's Funniest People | 1990 |
| October 15 | The Mickey Mouse Club | 1989 |
| October 22 | Cro | 1993 |
| December 3 | Sonic the Hedgehog | 1993 |
| December 10 | Garfield and Friends | 1988 |
| December 20 | Romper Room | 1953 |
| TaleSpin | 1990 |
Births
- February 14 – Paul Butcher, actor
- February 23 – Dakota Fanning, actress
- March 1 - Justin Bieber, singer and actor
- March 12 – Tyler Patrick Jones, actor
- April 12 - Saoirse Ronan, actress
- May 4 – Alexander Gould, actor
- July 16 - Mark Indelicato, actor
- October 9 - Jodelle Ferland, actress
- December 3 – Jake T. Austin, actor
- December 17 - Nat Wolff, singer
Deaths
- January 1 – Cesar Romero, actor (The Joker on Batman)
- January 8 – Pat Buttram, actor (Mr. Haney on Green Acres)
- January 22 – Telly Savalas, actor (Theo Kojak on Kojak)
- January 28 – Hal Smith, actor (Otis on The Andy Griffith Show)
- February 11 – William Conrad, actor (Cannon, Jake and the Fatman, The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show)
- February 11 - Sorrell Booke, actor (Boss Hogg on The Dukes of Hazzard).
- February 24 – Dinah Shore, singer and talk show hostess.
- March 4 – John Candy, comedian and actor (SCTV).
- March 21 – Dack Rambo, actor (Jack Ewing on Dallas, from AIDS).
- March 22 – Walter Lantz, cartoonist, creator of Woody Woodpecker.
- April 2 – Betty Furness, consumer advocate and spokesperson.
- April 5 – Kurt Cobain, singer, songwriter, musician.
- April 18 – Don Fedderson, producer (My Three Sons).
- April 22 – Richard M. Nixon, 37th President of the United States
- May 8 – George Peppard, actor (Banacek, Hannibal on The A-Team).
- May 22 – Jane Dulo, character actress (Get Smart, Gimme a Break!).
- June 1 – Frances Heflin, soap opera actress.
- June 7 – Dennis Potter, scriptwriter; Rudolph Cartier, director.
- June 14 – Henry Mancini, composer
- July 7 - Cameron Mitchell, actor (Uncle Buck on The High Chaparral)
- July 8 – Dick Sargent, actor (Darrin Stephens #2 on Bewitched)
- July 26 – Terry Scott, actor
- August 21 – Danitra Vance, comedian, the first African-American woman regular on Saturday Night Live, from breast cancer.
- September 3 – James T. Aubrey, former head of programming at CBS.
- October 2 – Harriet Nelson, singer and actress (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet)
- October 25 – Mildred Natwick, actress
- November 8 – Michael O'Donoghue, comedy writer (Saturday Night Live)
- November 9 – Priscilla Morrill, character actress (Mrs. Vanderkellen on Newhart).
- November 11 – Pedro Zamora, HIV-positive participant of The Real World
- November 30 - Lionel Stander, actor (Hart to Hart)
- December 27 - Fanny Craddock, TV cookery expert