2001 in American television
The following is a list of events affecting American television during 2001. Events listed include 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. |
| 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, including the recently cancelled Crashbox, are transferred to its multiplex channel HBO Family. |
| 12 |
The American version of National Geographic Channel debuts. |
February
March
April
| Date |
Event |
| 10 |
Kevin Olmstead wins a $2.18 million jackpot on the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, making him the biggest winner in American game show history until Ken Jennings' Jeopardy! run three years later.[1] |
May
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 General Hospital, dissolving their fictional two-decade union. |
July
| Date |
Event |
| 1 |
HBO's second multiplex channel HBO Plus is renamed HBO 2, its original name from 1991 to 1998. |
| 21 |
Nickelodeon's hit TV series Rugrats celebrates its 10th anniversary with a one-hour special, All Growed Up, and a documentary, Still Babies After All These Years, narrated by Amanda Bynes |
August
September
| Date |
Event |
| 2 |
Adult Swim, an adult-oriented programming block debuts on its Turner sister cable channel Cartoon Network. |
| 8 |
Fox broadcasts the final episode of Murder in Small Town X, in which New York City firefighter Ángel Juarbe, Jr. won. Juarbe was killed on Sept. 11 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 ABC and NBC affiliates' broadcast towers are ruined by the attacks, but New Yorkers can still view them by cable and satellite. Most broadcasters abandon regular programming – American networks for more than a week – and numerous major daily talk shows are cancelled for several weeks until their hosts feel comfortable resuming programming. |
| 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 used it to allow viewers to keep track of the latest developments during the September 11 attacks. |
| 17 |
Card Sharks is revived with host Pat Bullard, but due to its dramatically different gameplay, it is cancelled after just 13 weeks. |
| 20 |
Dr. Will Kirby is the winner of Big Brother 2, which was delayed by the attacks of September 11, 2001. Runner-Up Nicole Nilson-Schafrich wins $50,000. |
| 21 |
All four major US networks broadcast America: A Tribute to Heroes a two-hour telethon to raise money for the families of those killed by the attacks.[2] |
| Alex Trebek, the longtime host of Jeopardy!, appears for the first time without his trademark mustache. |
| 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 The West Wing substituting special episodes dealing with the event in lieu of their originally scheduled season premieres. Some series, such as the military-themed series JAG and New York-based Third Watch have to be reformatted in consideration of the attacks. |
October
| Date |
Event |
| 2 |
The medical comedy Scrubs premiered on NBC. |
| 3 |
In addition, several planned series and events were cancelled; most notably, 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. |
| 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. |
| 22 |
A new bonus round premieres on Wheel of Fortune, in which a contestant can win as much as $100,000. This was not won until the December 19 episode. |
| 24 |
The Walt Disney Company completes its purchase of Fox Family for $2.9 billion. |
November
December
| Date |
Event |
| 31 |
ABC broadcasts a live news special entitled ABC 2002, a spinoff of ABC 2000, which shows clips from the original special and also reflects on the September 11, 2001 attacks. |
Programs
Debuts
These shows premiered in 2001:
Returning this year
Ending this year
Changes of network affiliation
Notable TV movies
Births
Deaths
| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
| January 1 |
Ray Walston |
86 |
Actor (My Favorite Martian ) |
| January 18 |
Al Waxman |
65 |
Actor (Lt. Samuels on Cagney & Lacey) |
| January 22 |
Roy Brown |
68 |
Clown and puppeteer |
| 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 |
| 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) |
| August 3 |
Christopher Hewett |
80 |
Actor (Mr. Belvedere) |
| August 4 |
Lorenzo Music |
64 |
Writer and actor who co-created (The Bob Newhart Show and did the voices of Carlton the doorman on Rhoda and Garfield the cat) |
| August 25 |
Aaliyah |
22 |
American singer and actress |
| September 3 |
Thuy Trang |
27 |
Actress (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) |
| September 11 |
David Angell |
55 |
Writer (Cheers, Frasier) |
| October 9 |
Dagmar |
79 |
1950s sex symbol |
| 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) |
| December 13 |
Chuck Schuldiner |
34 |
Singer, songwriter, guitarist (guest on Headbanger's Ball) |
| December 20 |
Foster Brooks |
89 |
Actor |
| December 22 |
Lance Loud |
50 |
Member of the family documented in (An American Family) |
References
- ↑ "Interview: Kevin Olmstead, mega-Millionaire". Trivia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-04-18.
- ↑ Carman, John (September 22, 2001). "Musicians, actors honor heroes, raise money for attack victims". San Francisco Chronicle. p. A1.
- ↑ The 53rd annual Primetime Emmy Awards from Variety (November 6, 2001)