1990 in American television
| List of years in American television: |
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| 1989–90 United States network television schedule |
| 1990–91 United States network television schedule |
| List of American television shows currently in production |
The year 1990 in American television involved some significant events. Below is a list of American television-related events during 1990.
Notable events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 2 | All My Children broadcasts its 20th anniversary special. Joe and Ruth Martin sit down with Erica Kane, her mother Mona, and Phoebe Wallingford as they go through scrapbook pictures which segue into memorable clips from the series's past twenty years. |
| January 15 | Square One TV returned for its third season. |
| January 21 | MTV Unplugged premieres on cable television with musical guest band, Squeeze. |
| February 9 | After 16 years, the 1st generation CBS Special Presentation bumper is shown for the final time. |
| February 17 | Aerosmith appeared in the Saturday Night Live sketch Wayne's World, where they perform the Wayne's World theme song. |
| March 13 | All My Children actress Debbi Morgan quits the role of Angie Baxter Hubbard. |
| April 1 | CBS dismisses prominent sportscaster Brent Musburger one day before his final assignment for the network, the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. Musburger would sign with ABC Sports later that year. |
| Debut of comedy TV network Ha!. | |
| April 21 | Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, a special program warning children about the danger of drugs and featuring characters from several Saturday morning children's shows, is simultaneously simulcast by ABC, BET, CBS, Fox, NBC, USA Network, and Nickelodeon. |
| April 22 | The Earth Day Special, a two-hour commercial-free special event premiered on ABC. |
| April 30 | The long-lost pilot show for I Love Lucy is broadcast by CBS as a special. |
| May 25 | CBS began broadcasting its daytime lineup in stereo sound; the last of the three major networks. |
| June 7 | The Cruise of Deception storyline is broadcast on Days of Our Lives. |
| June 27 | Genie Francis, in an attempt to shed her image as Laura Spencer, started playing Irishwoman Ceara Connor on All My Children. |
| July 16 | Radio DJ personality Rick Dees debuts an ABC late-night talk show, Into the Night, Starring Rick Dees. |
| July 30 | MovieTime was rebranded as E!. |
| September 8 | Fox Kids, a children's programming block, debuts. |
| September 10 | The Disney Afternoon debuts as a syndicated children's block. |
| September 15 | CBN renames itself The Family Channel. |
| October 1 | TBS drops the "SuperStation" sub-title. It would return 6 years later. |
| November 3 | The NBA on NBC debuts, with its first game being the Los Angeles Lakers visiting the San Antonio Spurs. |
| November 10 | Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider and Julia Sweeney join the cast of Saturday Night Live. |
Programs
Debuts
The following is a list of shows that premiered in 1990.
Network changes
The following shows aired new episodes on a different network than previous first-run episodes:
| Show | Moved from | Moved to |
|---|---|---|
| Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears | ABC | Syndication |
| The Hogan Family | NBC | CBS |
| The Major League Baseball Game of the Week | ||
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Syndication |
Returning
| Show | Last aired | Previous | New/Same network | Return date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supermarket Sweep | 1967 | ABC | Lifetime | February 5 |
| Match Game | 1982 | Syndication | ABC | July 16 |
| The Joker's Wild | 1986 | Same | September 10 | |
| Tic-Tac-Dough |
Ending
| Date | Show | Debut |
|---|---|---|
| January 14 | Free Spirit | 1989 |
| March 9 | The Bradys | 1990 |
| March 12 | Mama's Family | 1986 |
| March 23 | Scrabble (returned in 1993) | 1984 |
| March 24 | ALF | 1986 |
| April 6 | Baywatch (returned in 1991) | 1989 |
| April 13 | The Pat Sajak Show | |
| April 24 | Mancuso, F.B.I. | |
| May 6 | 227 | 1985 |
| May 7 | Alien Nation | 1989 |
| May 12 | The Famous Teddy Z | |
| May 17 | Falcon Crest | 1981 |
| May 21 | Newhart | 1982 |
| May 25 | You Can't Do That on Television | 1981 |
| May 26 | The Tracey Ullman Show | 1987 |
| June 14 | NBA on CBS | 1973 |
| June 29 | Hardball | 1989 |
| July 6 | Snoops | |
| July 8 | Mr. Belvedere | 1985 |
| July 30 | Sister Kate | 1989 |
| August 31 | Rodeo Drive | 1990 |
| September 2 | Tim Conway's Funny America | |
| November 10 | Pee-wee's Playhouse | 1986 |
| November 19 | Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers | 1989 |
| November 28 | DuckTales | 1987 |
| December 1 | Alvin and the Chipmunks | 1983 |
| The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 | 1990 | |
| December 28 | Quiz Kids Challenge |
Made-for-TV movies
| Title | Network | Date of airing |
|---|---|---|
| Murder in Mississippi | NBC | February 5 |
| The Death of the Incredible Hulk | February 18 | |
| The Incident | CBS | March 4 |
| A Killing in a Small Town | May 22 | |
| It | ABC | November 18 & 20 |
Births
| Date | Name | Notability |
|---|---|---|
| January 30 | Jake Thomas | Actor (Lizzie McGuire) |
| March 18 | Luke Tarsitano | Actor (Fudge) |
| April 23 | Matthew Underwood | Actor (Zoey 101) |
| May 1 | Caitlin Stasey | Actress (Neighbours) |
| May 27 | Chris Colfer | Actor (Glee) |
| September 9 | Haley Reinhart | Musician (American Idol) |
| October 22 | Jonathan Lipnicki | Actor (The Jeff Foxworthy Show) |
| November 24 | Sarah Hyland | Actress (Modern Family) |
Deaths
| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2 | Alan Hale, Jr. | 68 | Actor (Skipper Jonas Grumby on Gilligan's Island) |
| January 9 | Northern Calloway | 41 | Actor (David on Sesame Street) |
| January 18 | Rusty Hamer | 42 | Former child actor (Make Room For Daddy) |
| March 24 | Ray Goulding | 68 | Comedian, half of the comedy team Bob and Ray |
| May 10 | Susan Oliver | 58 | Actress (Peyton Place) |
| May 14 | Franklyn Seales | 37 | Actor (Dexter on Silver Spoons) |
| May 16 | Jim Henson | 53 | Puppeteer (The Muppets creator) |
| May 25 | Vic Tayback | 60 | Actor (Mel Sharples on Alice) |
| June 4 | Jack Gilford | 82 | Actor (Cracker Jack commercials) |
| July 7 | Bill Cullen | 70 | Game show host (original host of The Price Is Right) |
| July 8 | Howard Duff | 76 | Actor (Felony Squad) |
| October 26 | William S. Paley | 89 | Founder and longtime head of CBS |
| November 3 | Mary Martin | 76 | Actress/singer (Peter Pan) |
| November 12 | Eve Arden | 82 | Actress (Our Miss Brooks) |
| November 27 | David White | 74 | Actor (Larry Tate on Bewitched) |
| December 2 | Robert Cummings | 80 | Actor (The Bob Cummings Show) |
| December 28 | Kiel Martin | 46 | Actor (Officer J.D. LaRue on Hill Street Blues) |