Cartoon Network launched at 12 p.m. ET on October 1, 1992, when Turner Broadcasting flipped the switch on the first 24-hour cable channel built entirely around animation. It ran on Ted Turner’s newly acquired Hanna-Barbera library plus the Warner Bros., MGM, and Popeye cartoons he controlled, reaching just 233 cable systems on day one. Betty…
Cheers premiered on NBC on September 30, 1982, and finished dead last in the Nielsen ratings that first season. A surprise Emmy win for the pilot’s writing convinced NBC to renew it anyway, and by its third season it was a top-20 hit. The Cheers premiere eventually grew into an eleven-season run, 28 Emmy Awards,…
On September 20, 1984, The Cosby Show premiered on NBC after ABC passed on it — and ended up saving a last-place network and reviving the sitcom genre.
On June 17, 1994, 95 million Americans watched a white Ford Bronco roll down the 405 at 35 mph. The OJ Simpson Bronco chase rewrote television.
Tracey Ullman Simpsons history starts on April 19, 1987, when the crude little Good Night short introduced TV’s most durable family.
The Diff’rent Strokes cast gave us one of the most beloved 80s sitcoms — and one of Hollywood’s most tragic stories. Gary Coleman, Dana Plato, and Todd Bridges deserved better.
