1983 in television

Table of contents

1 Events
2 Debuts
3 Popular television shows
4 Ending this year
5 Births
6 Deaths

Events

February 28 - Over 125 million Americans tune in to watch the final episode of M*A*S*H
March 7 - The Nashville Network (TNN) begins broadcasting.
April 18 - The Disney Channel is launched on American cable TV.
David Canary first premieres on All My Children
September 5 - The half-hour Robert MacNeil Report changes its name to the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, becoming the first hour-long network news show.
September 24 - After 29 seasons, the Walt Disney anthology series goes off the air. It will be revived, however, from 1986 to 1990.
October 3 - During a live NBC news update, anchor Jessica Savitch appears incoherent; her speech is slurred and she deviates from her copy and ad-libs her report. Miss Savitch, dogged by rumors of drug abuse and instability, still has her contract renewed anyway.
November 20 - An estimated 100 million people watch the controversial made-for-television movie The Day After, depicting the start of a nuclear war.

Archie Bunker's Place (1979-1983)
CHiPs (1977-1983)
Laverne & Shirley (1976-1983)
Little House on the Prairie (1974-1983)
M*A*S*H (1972-1983)
''Quincy (1976-1983)
Taxi (1978-1983)
Walt Disney (1954-1983, but will be revived)