Pick a Day

Music History Events: TV Shows

March 11, 2018 American Idol, which ran for 15 seasons on Fox, returns on ABC just two years later with new judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.

September 30, 2016 Mary J. Blige debuts her Apple Music talk show, The 411, and welcomes Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton as her first guest. Halfway through the intimate conversation, Blige bursts into a rendition of Bruce Springsteen's protest anthem "American Skin (41 Shots)" in a bid to address the rash of police brutality against African Americans. The attempt falls flat with viewers, who heckle the singer on social media.More

September 8, 2016 Lance Bass of *NSYNC hosts Finding Prince Charming on the Logo network, the first all-gay dating show.

April 7, 2016 After 15 years of memorable performances, cringeworthy auditions, and shocking eliminations, the American Idol stage finally goes dark, but not before one more winner is crowned: Trent Harmon.More

March 20, 2015 The series finale of Glee, titled "Dreams Come True," airs on FOX. During its six-year run, the influential musical drama made old music new again with a stream of hit covers... and broke records from Elvis Presley and The Beatles along the way.More

October 7, 2014 The TV series The Wonder Years, which went off the air in 1993, is finally released on DVD. What took so long? The distributor spent years clearing most of the 285 songs that were used on the show, including the theme, Joe Cocker's version of "With A Little Help From My Friends."

May 19, 2009 The first episode of the TV series Glee airs, featuring a Glee Club performance of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" that brings the song back to the charts. The Glee version lands at #4 - five spots higher than Journey's original.

November 16, 2008 MTV's Total Request Live ends after 10 seasons with a special three-hour finale. Guests include several of the countdown's mainstays, including Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Eminem, and Britney Spears. Britney's "...Baby One More Time" takes the top spot on the final tally, which presents the Top 10 most iconic music videos.More

September 24, 2007 The Big Bang Theory premieres on CBS with a theme song written and recorded by Barenaked Ladies.

July 15, 2007 After getting favorable ratings for their unruly reality series Flavor of Love, featuring hip-hop legend Flavor Flav, VH1 decides to cash in on a bygone era of rock n' roll with a similar spectacle called Rock of Love, starring one the biggest names in hair metal: Bret Michaels of Poison.More

June 10, 2007 In the last scene of the HBO series The Sopranos, "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey plays on the jukebox while Tony Soprano sits at a diner. It cuts to black on the line, "Don't Stop."More

March 13, 2006 Isaac Hayes quits the TV series South Park after an episode airs mocking his religion, Scientology.More

January 20, 2006 The TV movie High School Musical premieres on the Disney Channel, creating a teen and tween sensation and the biggest album of 2006.More

March 30, 2005 Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica ends its three-season run on MTV as its subjects, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, are on the brink of divorce. The marriage is officially over the following June.

January 1, 2005 Gavin DeGraw's "I Don't Want To Be," the theme song to the popular teen drama One Tree Hill, peaks at #10 on the Hot 100 in the midst of the show's second season.More

October 11, 2003 Justin Timberlake makes his first appearance on Saturday Night Live, doing double-duty as host and musical guest. It's the first of many appearances he makes on the show through the coming years; his sketches eventually grow to include a Bee Gees parody, a sketch about dating Lady Gaga, a bailiff in a courtroom trial of an alligator, "the Target lady," appearing in drag onstage with Beyoncé, and the infamous "Dick in a Box" bit.

August 19, 2003 MTV debuts the reality series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, following the recent marriage of Jessica Simpson and 98 Degrees' Nick Lachey. The show is a hit thanks to Jessica's "dumb blonde" antics and lasts three seasons, after which the couple promptly divorce.

March 17, 2003 On the very first episode of MTV's practical joke show Punk'd, host Ashton Kutcher stages a prank involving the IRS that makes Justin Timberlake cry.More

January 9, 2003 MC Hammer and Vince Neil star in the first season of The Surreal Life on the WB network.More

September 4, 2002 Kelly Clarkson beats Justin Guarini to become the first winner of American Idol.More

March 5, 2002 MTV launches its new reality television show, The Osbournes, which chronicles the domestic life of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and his family. In its first season, it becomes the most-viewed series on MTV.More

October 20, 2000 Ice-T, who in 1992 released the incendiary song "Cop Killer," makes his debut on the TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit playing a cop: Detective Fin Tutuola.

October 5, 2000 Gilmore Girls debuts on The WB with an updated version of Carole King's "Where You Lead" as its theme song. Reflecting the show's mother-daughter theme, King sings the song with her daughter Louise Goffin.More

January 2, 1999 "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)" from the TV series South Park hits #1 in the UK.More

September 14, 1998 MTV debuts Total Request Live, a countdown of the Top 10 fan-requested music videos, hosted by Carson Daly. By the end of its 10-year run, the show is a cultural phenomenon.More

January 5, 1998 In the Ally McBeal episode "Cro-Magnon," a thirty-something Ally is reminded of her ticking biological clock when she hallucinates a baby dancing to the tune of Blue Swede's "Hooked On A Feeling." By the end of the episode, Ally relents and grooves along with the tot.More

September 8, 1997 The first episode of the legal dramedy Ally McBeal airs on FOX. Vonda Shepard, an unknown singer, catches her big break when she sings the theme song "Searchin' My Soul." Shepard also becomes a series regular, playing a lounge singer who gives voice to Ally's troubles through music at the end of each episode.More

October 17, 1995 Rhino releases all 58 episodes of the The Monkees in a deluxe VHS box set. It's a big box: 21 tapes, making it the largest video release of all time.More

September 22, 1994 Friends debuts on NBC, accompanied by a catchy theme song by The Rembrandts that becomes an unexpected hit.More

November 15, 1993 Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and Ryan Gosling join J.C. Chasez and Keri Russell in the cast of The All-New Mickey Mouse Club.More