1991 in American television
| List of years in American television: 1988 1989 1990 – 1991 – 1992 1993 1994 |
| 1991-92 United States network television schedule |
The year 1991 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1991.
Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 3 | First television sets with built-in closed-caption display are introduced in the United States. |
| January 14 | Wheel of Fortune moves back to NBC, before being ultimately cancelled by NBC on September 20, after a total 16½ year run on daytime network television. |
| January 16 | All major television networks were pre-empted by the Gulf War coverage right after the Big 3 ended their evening news broadcasts. Some of the planned broadcasts was the Seinfeld second season is pushed off the following week during the war. |
| February 9 | Tim Meadows and Adam Sandler join Saturday Night Live. Meadows stays with the show until 2000, while Sandler departs in 1995. |
| March 3 | In Los Angeles, California, Rodney King is severely beaten by Police Officers after leading them on a high speed chase and resisting arrest. The beating is captured on video by observers and portions of the tape are aired repeatedly on television in the US. |
| March 16 | A. Whitney Brown makes his final appearance on Saturday Night Live. |
| April 1 | The premium movie channel Encore launches in the United States, primarily on TCI cable systems. The channel initially carried films from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, before eventually phasing in more recent movies by the 2000s (decade). Showtime Networks launched Flix, a premium channel with a format identical to Encore less than a year-and-a-half later. |
| CBS began airing a late-night crime-investigation program entitled Crimetime After Primetime. | |
| April 5 | Katie Couric is officially designated as co-host of the Today Show after substituting since February 1991. |
| April 20 | The Museum of Broadcasting, now called The Paley Center for Media, moved into its new 17-story building, located a block from its previous location in New York City. |
| May 3 | The final episode of Dallas on CBS airs, when it was 21 years later before it returned to the airwaves. |
| May 19 | Knight Rider 2000 is televised on NBC, with an attraction of 16.1 viewers for the movie presentation based off on a TV series. |
| May 21 | Financial News Network ceased broadcasting before transactions were completed by CNBC. |
| June 1 | After merging places with Ha! and The Comedy Channel. CTV: The Comedy Network relaunches Comedy Central, forging the CTV name in Canada. |
| July 1 | Court TV (now TruTV) launches in the United States. |
| September 1 | E! News went live. |
| September 8 | Minnie Pearl makes her final appearance on Hee Haw. |
| September 9-13 | The 20th Anniversary week of The Price is Right airs as a season premiere on CBS. |
| September 17 | Full House moves from the ABC's TGIF lineup, and airs on Tuesday nights until its cancellation in 1995. |
| October 13 | Jennifer Lopez joins the cast as one of the Fly Girls on In Living Color. Other cast additions include future Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx and Steve Park. Shawn Wayans, the original DJ for the show, is replaced by Twist. Wayans joins the cast until the end of the following season. |
| November 14 | Michael Jackson's Black or White was first televised on Fox. This is the first Micheal Jackson music videos to be shown on Fox, alongside with other MTV Networks music channels. |
| November 16 | Ellen Cleghorne, Melanie Hutsell and Beth Cahill joins Saturday Night Live. |
| December | Britney Spears appears on Star Search. |
| December 8 | Tim Russert becomes moderator of Meet the Press a position he holds until his untimely death in 2008. |
Programs debuting in 1991
Programs returning in 1991
| Show | Last Aired | Previous Network | Retitled as/Same | New/Returning/Same Network | Returning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The $100,000 Pyramid | 1988 | CBS | Same, formerly known as The $25,000 Pyramid | Syndication | January 7 |
| Candid Camera | 1988 | CBS | Same, Additionally known as The New Candid Camera with Dom DeLuise | Syndication | September 16 |
| Baywatch | 1990 | NBC | Same | Syndication | September 23 |
Programs ending in 1991
| Date | Show | Debut |
|---|---|---|
| January 5 | Haywire | 1990 |
| January 25 | Generations | 1989 |
| February 3 | Good Grief' | 1990 |
| February 11 | About Face | 1989 |
| February 16 | The Fanelli Boys | 1990 |
| March 8 | The Joker's Wild | 1990 |
| Tic-Tac-Dough | 1990 | |
| April 6 | Doctor Doctor | 1989 |
| April 12 | Fun House | 1988 |
| April 27 | 21 Jump Street | 1987 |
| May 3 | Dallas | 1978 |
| May 9 | Babes | 1990 |
| May 18 | The Flash | 1990 |
| May 28 | thirtysomething | 1987 |
| June 1 | D.E.A. | 1990 |
| June 6 | Gabriel's Fire | 1990 |
| June 10 | Twin Peaks | 1990 |
| June 12 | Over My Dead Body | 1990 |
| June 28 | Fast Friends | 1991 |
| July 14 | Lifestories | 1990 |
| July 17 | The Family Man | 1990 |
| July 22 | China Beach | 1988 |
| July 27 | Amen | 1986 |
| August 8 | TaleSpin | 1990 |
| August 11 | Parenthood | 1990 |
| August 31 | Dink, The Little Dinosaur | 1989 |
| September 6 | Trump Card | 1990 |
| September 7 | The Gummi Bears | 1985 |
| September 15 | The Party Machine with Nia Peeples | 1991 |
| September 20 | Wheel of Fortune | 1975 |
| October 22 | The Real Ghostbusters | 1986 |
| October 25 | Princesses | 1991 |
| October 26 | Captain N: The Game Master | 1989 |
| November 2 | Muppet Babies | 1984 |
| The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh | 1988 | |
| November 6 | Mathman from Square One TV | 1987 |
| November 23 | Attack of the Killer Tomatoes | 1990 |
| December 2 | Peter Pan and the Pirates | 1990 |
| December 6 | Get the Picture | 1991 |
| December 7 | Super Mario World | 1991 |
| Wish Kid | 1991 | |
| December 14 | Where's Wally?: The Animated Series | 1991 |
Made for TV movies and miniseries
Changes of network affiliation
January 14 – The daytime version of Wheel of Fortune moves once again to NBC after a year and a half on CBS, eventually leading to its ultimate canning several months later.
Births
- March 28 – Amy Bruckner, actress
- June 27 – Madylin Sweeten, actress
- July 12 – Erik Per Sullivan, actor
Deaths
- January 12 – Keye Luke, 86, character actor
- January 25 – Stanley Brock, 59, character actor
- February 3 – Harry Ackerman, 78, producer (Bewitched)
- Nancy Kulp, 69, actress (Miss Jane Hathaway on The Beverly Hillbillies).
- February 6 – Danny Thomas, 77, actor (Make Room for Daddy)
- February 24 – George Gobel, 71, comedian.
- March 3 – Vance Colvig, Jr., 72, actor (Bozo the Clown on KTLA in Los Angeles)
- April 10 - Natalie Schafer, 90, actress Gilligan's Island.
- June 9 – Joe Hamilton, 62, producer (The Carol Burnett Show, Mama's Family), former husband of Carol Burnett and father of Carrie Hamilton.
- July 1 – Michael Landon, 54, actor, producer (Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, and Highway to Heaven) .
- July 15 – Bert Convy, 57, game show host (Super Password).
- Theodore Wilson, 47, character actor (That's My Mama)
- July 23 – Candice Crowthford, 66, actress
- August 6 – Harry Reasoner, 68, news anchor.
- August 22 – Colleen Dewhurst, 67, actress (Murphy Brown, Anne of Green Gables).
- September 4 – Tom Tryon, 65, actor (Texas John Slaughter)
- September 7 – Ben Piazza, 57, actor (Dallas)
- September 15 – John Hoyt, 85, actor (Gimme a Break!)
- October 9 – Thalmus Rasulala, 51, actor (Roots, What's Happening!!)
- October 11 – Redd Foxx, 68, comedian, star of Sanford and Son.
- October 24 – Gene Roddenberry, 70, creator of Star Trek.
- November 2 – Irwin Allen, 75, producer (Lost in Space)
- November 5 – Fred MacMurray, 83, actor on My Three Sons.