1996 in American television

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List of years in American television:
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
1995–96 United States network television schedule
1996–97 United States network television schedule
List of American television programs currently in production

The following is a list of events affecting American television during 1996. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel initiations, closures and rebrandings, as well as information about controversies and disputes.

Events[]

Date	Event
January 1	Speedvision, a cable channel devoted to motor sports, commences programming. The network would be rechristened Speed Channel in 2002, then Speed in 2005. It would be replaced by Fox Sports 1 in 2013.
January 20	Fox introduces its FoxTrax "glowing puck" during its telecast of the 46th National Hockey League All-Star Game.
January 23	The pilot episode for Moesha is broadcast on UPN.
January 28	Chris Isaak and Brooke Shields make guest appearances on a post-Super Bowl episode of Friends on NBC.
February 1	Sundance Channel debuts.
February 8–9	Peter Argyropolous and Deborah Cohen win a combined total of $146,529 cash prizes from two episodes (including the $10,000 wedge played with the Double Play token and two Ford Mustangs), making the couple the biggest winner in the history of Wheel of Fortune; They remain the biggest winners for a team, and will hold the record until Michelle Lowenstein wins $1,026,080 on October 14, 2008.
February 29	ABC affiliate KBAK-TV and CBS affiliate KERO-TV swap affiliations in Bakersfield.
March 1	More than 1 billion households worldwide now own television sets.
March 4	DISH Network, a Direct Broadcast Satellite service, begins as a service of EchoStar.
March 31	WrestleMania XII from the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, California is broadcast on pay-per-view. In the main event, Shawn Michaels defeats Bret Hart in a 60-minute Iron Man match to win the WWF Championship for the first time.
April 6	The first ever Major League Soccer game is broadcast live on ESPN. The San Jose Clash hosted D.C. United at Spartan Stadium with San Jose winning on a goal by Eric Wynalda.
April 28	Dexter's Laboratory premieres on Cartoon Network.
April 29	TV Land, an offshoot of Nickelodeon's late-night block, Nick at Nite, debuts. The channel is devoted to round-the-clock broadcasts of classic television shows.
May 14	Fox airs a television film that serves as the first attempt to revive Doctor Who following its suspension in 1989. It was intended as a backdoor pilot for a new American-produced Doctor Who TV series. It introduced Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor in his only televised appearance as the character until "The Night of the Doctor" in 2013. Although a ratings success in the United Kingdom, the film did not fare well on American television and no series was commissioned. The series was later relaunched on the BBC in 2005.
May 16	More than 12 million Americans watch the final episode of Murder, She Wrote on CBS, "Death By Demographics". Through its 12-year run, the series had become the longest-running American murder mystery drama.
May 20	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ends its six-season run with its series finale on NBC.
May 28	The final episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 to be broadcast on Comedy Central airs. 1978's Laserblast holds the distinction of being the final film to be featured in the Comedy Central era. The next three seasons of the original series would air on the Sci-Fi Channel.
June 1	Major League Baseball broadcasts debut on Fox.
June 3	Zenith introduces the first HDTV-compatible front projection TV in the U.S.
	The 1994–96 United States broadcast TV realignment continues in Cincinnati, as CBS affiliate WCPO-TV and ABC affiliate WKRC-TV reverse their 1961 affiliation swap through a group affiliation deal between ABC and the E.W. Scripps Company, owners of WCPO.
June 19	CBS affiliate WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina is awarded the first experimental high-definition television license in the United States.
June 23	At the World Wrestling Federation's pay-per-view event King of the Ring, wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin wins the King of the Ring tournament by defeating Jake Roberts. After the match, Austin makes a certain victory speech in what would famously become as the "Austin 3:16" catchphrase.
June 30	New York PBS member station WNYC-TV shuts off the air. The next day, it is replaced with a commercially operated sports TV station known as WBIS.
July 6	When it becomes evident that Anna Stuart will be next to die in a serial killer storyline on the NBC soap opera Another World, many fans start letter-writing campaigns to save the actress; the NBC studios in New York City also report a great number of switchboard telephone calls regarding Stuart's imminent demise. Executive producer Jill Farren Phelps decides that actress Alice Barrett will be killed off the show instead.
	New World Communications sells its 2 remaining non-Fox affiliates, KNSD-TV (channel 39) in San Diego, California and WVTM-TV (channel 13) in Birmingham, Alabama, both of whom are affiliated with NBC, to the NBC Television Stations Division. Upon the finalization of the deal on August 14, both stations become NBC owned-and-operated stations (WVTM would eventually be sold to Media General in 2006; Hearst Television would acquire WVTM in 2015).
July 7	At the WCW produced pay-per-view event Bash at the Beach, Hulk Hogan turns heel for the first time in 15 years and announces the formation of the New World Order.
July 15	Talk-oriented America's Talking ceases broadcasting and is replaced by MSNBC, an all-news joint venture between NBC (AT's owner) and Microsoft.
August 2	MTV's secondary channel, M2 (now known as MTV2), debuts.
August 17	Kenan & Kel debuts on Nickelodeon.
August 19	NBC affiliate in Charleston, WCIV, and ABC affiliate WCBD-TV swap network affiliations.
August 23	The Price Is Right celebrates its 25th Anniversary Special on CBS.
September 7	Paula Zahn is named an Saturday anchor of CBS Evening News.
	Fox Kids airs for the final time on St. Louis affiliate KNLC. The following Monday, it moves to KTVI, becoming the only New World affiliated station to carry Fox Kids.
September 8	The 48th Primetime Emmy Awards are presented on ABC.
	The 1994–96 United States broadcast TV realignment continues when longtime ABC affiliate WBRC-TV (channel 6) in Birmingham, Alabama finally becomes a Fox owned-and-operated station, a year after Fox had acquired it (and WGHP-TV in High Point, North Carolina) from a trust that had been formed by New World Communications. ABC eventually affiliates with a trimulcast of WBMA-LP/WCFT/WJSU (channels 58, 33 and 40), which is owned by Allbritton Communications (owners of WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., one of ABC's strongest affiliates). Former Fox affiliate WTTO-TV (channel 21) becomes an independent station before affiliating with The WB the next year, while another former Fox affiliate, WNAL in Gadsden, Alabama, aligns with CBS.
	Blue's Clues premieres on Nick Jr.
September 9	Samurai Pizza Cats premieres on American television for the very first time ever with the series being shown on syndication.
	Fox Kids was moved to KTVI from KNLC due to Larry Rice's decision on putting ministry messages instead of ads, becoming the only New World station to carry the block (the other stations replace the block with expanded newscasts, syndicated programs, paid and real estate programs).
September 13	The Phil Donahue Show ends after twenty-nine years on the air.
September 14	The dubbed version of the Japanese series Dragon Ball Z premieres in syndication.
September 15	USA Cartoon Express airs for the last time on USA Network.
September 16	Wheel of Fortune introduced a gameplay round called Jackpot which contestants can win an accumulated pot based on the value spun throughout the round. The round would remain intact until 2013.
September 17	The O. J. Simpson civil trial begins.
October 1	Animal Planet and Discovery Civilization launched.
October 2	Seven newscasters were dismissed by WCBS-TV (channel 2) in New York.
October 4	Discovery Science debuts.
October 7	News Corporation gets into the cable news fray with the debut of the Fox News Channel.
	Hey Arnold! premieres on Nickelodeon.
October 10	Turner Broadcasting System merged into Time Warner.
October 20–26	Fox broadcasts its first ever World Series. The New York Yankees won their 23rd title (and first since 1978) against the Atlanta Braves in only six games.
October 30	WBKP in Calumet, Michigan signs on the air, giving the Upper Peninsula both its first full-time ABC affiliate (WLUC-TV had dropped its primary ABC affiliation the previous year in favor of its secondary NBC affiliation) and full-time affiliates of the "Big Three" networks.
November 1	ESPNNEWS, a sports news channel from ESPN, debuts.
	Seven regional sports networks operated by Prime Network relaunched as Fox Sports Net.
November 2	The original cartoon series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles broadcasts its final episode, "Divide and Conquer", on CBS.
	The Superman: The Animated Series episode "Stolen Memories" airs on Kids' WB!
November 4	In tribute to the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series, an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine features Captain Benjamin Sisko and the crew travel back in time to prevent the assassination of Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise by a Klingon using a booby-trapped tribble. Its sister series Voyager produced a similar episode, "Flashback".
	The infamous "Pillman's got a gun" angle with Brian Pillman and his former tag-team partner Stone Cold Steve Austin airs on USA Network's Monday Night RAW.
November 11	Discovery Kids debuts.
November 23	Bob Hope's final television special, Bob Hope... Laughing with the Presidents, airs on NBC.
December 1	The 25 Days of Christmas special begins on The Family Channel, starting one of the longest-running Christmas specials.
December 12	Sports Illustrated and CNN debut CNN/SI, a 24-hour sporting news channel.
December 15	Five years after its series finale, a movie version of Dallas, entitled Dallas: J.R. Returns, is broadcast by CBS.
December 17	6 years after dropping the title, TBS resumes using the term Superstation.
December 31	WAKR-TV in Akron, Ohio disaffiliates from ABC and becomes an infomercial-based station before becoming a charter O&O of station owner Paxson Communications' new Pax TV network in 1998.

Television programs[]

Debuts[]

Date	Show	Network
January 3	Matt Waters	CBS
January 6	Campus Cops	USA Network
January 9	3rd Rock from the Sun	NBC
	Champs	ABC
January 20	The Lazarus Man	TNT
January 21	Savannah	The WB
January 22	Bzzz!	Syndication
January 23	Moesha	UPN
January 24	Tracey Takes On...	HBO
January 28	Katie and Orbie	PBS, syndicated through APT
January 31	The Louie Show	CBS
	Remember WENN	AMC
February 1	World's Funniest Videos	ABC
February 5	Second Noah
February 6	Street Signs	CNBC
	C Bear and Jamal	Fox Kids
February 20	VH1 Storytellers	VH1
February 24	The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper	Fox Kids
March 1	Gold Fever	Outdoor Channel
March 2	Pacific Blue	USA Network
	Space Cases	Nickelodeon
March 4	Power Lunch	CNBC
	Good Company	CBS
	High Incident	ABC
March 5	Buddies
March 8	Muppets Tonight
March 9	Malibu Shores	NBC
March 12	The Paranormal Borderline	UPN
March 13	The Faculty	ABC
	Swift Justice	UPN
March 15	Aliens in the Family	ABC
March 16	The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo	Nickelodeon
March 17	Local Heroes	Fox
	The Show
March 20	The Sentinel	UPN
March 21	Boston Common	NBC
March 29	E! True Hollywood Story	E!
	Nash Bridges	CBS
April 1	Home and Family	The Family Channel
April 3	My Guys	CBS
April 8	Profit	Fox
April 20	Power Rangers Zeo	Fox Kids
April 21	Poltergeist: The Legacy	Showtime
April 23	Forensic Files	TLC
April 28	Dexter's Laboratory	Cartoon Network
	Fox News Sunday	Fox
May 6		Kids WB
May 13	Buzzkill	MTV
June 1	The American Athlete	ABC
June 2	Big Bag	Cartoon Network
June 3	Debt	Lifetime
	Kratts' Creatures	PBS
	The Last Frontier	Fox
	L.A. Firefighters
June 10	Caryl & Marilyn: Real Friends	ABC
	The Rosie O'Donnell Show	Syndication
	A Wedding Story	TLC
July 15	The News with Brian Williams	MSNBC
	The Site
	Time and Again
July 22	The Daily Show	Comedy Central
August 10	Arliss	HBO
August 11	The Big Easy	USA Network
August 12	Fox After Breakfast	Fox
August 17	Kenan & Kel	Nickelodeon
August 25	The Steve Harvey Show	The WB
August 26	7th Heaven
	The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest	Cartoon Network
	Goode Behavior	UPN
	In The House
	Malcolm & Eddie
	Sparks
August 27	Homeboys in Outer Space
August 28	The Jamie Foxx Show	The WB
	Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher
August 31	Women: Stories of Passion	Showtime
September 1	Big Deal	Fox
September 2	Adventures from the Book of Virtues	PBS
September 3	The Burning Zone	UPN
	Quack Pack	Syndication
	Imus in the Morning	MSNBC
September 6	Dragon Flyz	Syndication
	Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series	The Disney Channel and ABC
	Superman: The Animated Series	Kids' WB
September 7	Road Rovers
	Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys	Syndication
	Big Bad Beetleborgs	Fox Kids
September 8	Blue's Clues	Nickelodeon
	Bureau of Alien Detectors	UPN Kids
	The Incredible Hulk
	Jumanji
	Life with Roger	The WB
September 9	Lush Life	Fox
	Party Girl
		USA Network
	Access Hollywood	Syndication
	The Cape
	Samurai Pizza Cats
	F/X: The Series
	In Person with Maureen O'Boyle
	Real TV
	Scoop with Sam & Dorothy
September 12	Two
September 13	Dragon Ball Z	Toonami
	Everybody Loves Raymond	CBS
September 14	Bailey Kipper's P.O.V.
	Project G.e.e.K.e.R.
	Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House
September 16	Beast Wars: Transformers	UPN Kids
	Judge Judy	Syndication
	The Pat Bullard Show
	Cosby	CBS
	Pearl
September 17	Promised Land
	Something So Right	NBC
	Spin City	ABC
September 18	Townies
	Men Behaving Badly	NBC
September 19	The Pretender
	Suddenly Susan
	Moloney	CBS
September 20	Mr. & Mrs. Smith
	Clueless	ABC
September 21	All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series	Syndication
	Dark Skies	NBC
	WWF LiveWire	USA Network
	The Mouse and the Monster	UPN Kids
September 24	Relativity	ABC
September 25	Pulp Comics	Comedy Central
September 27	Sabrina the Teenage Witch	ABC
September 28	Early Edition	CBS
	Common Law	ABC
	Love and Marriage	Fox
	The Adventures of Sinbad	Syndication
	Psi Factor
	Mr. Rhodes	NBC
September 29	Profiler
September 30	Pappyland	TLC
	Shopping Spree	The Family Channel
	Small Talk
	Wait 'til You Have Kids
	Dangerous Minds	ABC
October 5	Jungle Cubs	ABC
October 7	Fox News Now	Fox News Channel
	Hannity & Colmes
	The O'Reilly Factor
	Your World with Neil Cavuto
	Arthur	PBS
	Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?
	Hey Arnold!	Nickelodeon
October 11	KaBlam!
October 12	The RuPaul Show	VH1
October 13	The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss	Nickelodeon
October 19	Waynehead	Kids' WB
October 21	Ink	CBS
October 25	The Crocodile Hunter	Discovery Channel
	Millennium	Fox
	Remember This?	MSNBC
October 27	Pop-Up Video	VH1
	EZ Streets	CBS
October 30	Public Morals
October 31	The New Detectives	Discovery Channel
November 3	Inspector Gadget's Field Trip	The History Channel
November 9	The High Life	HBO
December 9	Idiot Savants	MTV
December 24	Edgewise	MSNBC
December 28	E! True Hollywood Story	E!
		PBS
	Gardening by the Yard	HGTV
	Naughty Amateur Home Videos	Playboy TV

Returning this year[]

Show	Last Aired	Previous Network	New title	New Network	Returned
Doug	1994	Nickelodeon	Disney's Brand Spanking New! Doug	ABC	September 7
Gargoyles	1996	Syndication	Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles
The Dating Game	1989		Same	Same	September 9
The Newlywed Game
Shop 'til You Drop	1994	Lifetime	The New Shop 'til You Drop	The Family Channel	September 30
What A Cartoon! (World Premiere Toons)	1996	TBS/Cartoon Network	The What A Cartoon! Show	Cartoon Network	October 9

Ending this year[]

Date	Show	Debut
January 9	Live Shot	1995
January 11	The Commish	1991
January 14	Nickelodeon Guts	1992
February 3	Are You Afraid of the Dark? (returned in 1999)
	Dumb and Dumber	1995
February 7	Matt Waters	1996
February 17	Mighty Morphin Power Rangers	1993
	Maybe This Time	1995
February 21	VR Troopers	1994
February 23	Carnie!	1995
	Strange Luck
Iron Man	1994
February 26	High Society	1995
March 1	The Head	1994
March 7	The Mickey Mouse Club	1955
March 27	Dream On	1990
March 29	The Pink Panther	1993
	George & Alana	1995
March 30	Campus Cops	1996
April 1	Partners	1995
May 4	Sisters	1991
May 11	Captain Planet and the Planeteers	1990
May 19	Murder, She Wrote	1984
May 20	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	1990
	Nowhere Man	1995
June 2	Space: Above and Beyond
June 4	Minor Adjustments
June 9	seaQuest DSV	1993
June 17	Buzzkill	1996
June 19	Hudson Street	1995
June 26	Picket Fences	1992
June 28	Central Park West	1995
July 11	American Gothic
July 14	Muppets Tonight	1996
July 19	Tales from the Crypt	1989
August 8	Kratts' Creatures	1996
August 16	The Client	1995
August 17	Santo Bugito
August 27	Rescue 911	1989
August 30	(returned in 2005)	1986
September 13	The Phil Donahue Show	1967
September 14	WWF Mania	1993
September 15	USA Cartoon Express	1982
September 30	Lush Life	1996
	Party Girl
October 6	Big Deal
October 20	The Ren & Stimpy Show	1991
October 30	Public Morals	1996
	The John Larroquette Show	1993
November 2	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	1987
November 9	The Lazarus Man	1996
November 11
November 24	Rocko's Modern Life	1993
	The Tick	1994
November 25	Timon & Pumbaa (returned in 1999)	1995
November 27	Power Rangers Zeo	1996
November 28	Quack Pack
December 4	Townies
December 6	Mr. & Mrs. Smith
December 7	Project G.e.e.K.e.R.
December 8	Allegra's Window	1994
December 13	Earthworm Jim	1995
December 14	Bailey Kipper's P.O.V.	1996
	California Dreams	1992
December 18	The High Life	1996
December 24	Roundhouse	1992
December 28	The Adventures of Pete & Pete	1993
Unknown	Top Rank Boxing (returned in 2017)	1980

Made for TV movies and miniseries[]

Premiere Date	Title	Channel
February 4	Gulliver's Travels (miniseries)	NBC
February 11	Night of the Twisters	The Family Channel
February 24	The Late Shift (miniseries)	HBO
April 9	Face of Evil	CBS
April 28	The Beast	NBC
May 14	Doctor Who	Fox
September 24	After Jimmy	CBS
November 15	Dallas: J.R. Returns
November 17	Titanic
December 15	The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue	The Family Channel

Entering syndication this year[]

Show	Seasons	In Production	Source
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman	4	Yes	[1]
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	4	Yes	[2]
Mad About You	4	Yes	[3]
Martin	4	Yes	[4]

Changes of network affiliation[]

Show	Moved from	Moved to
Masked Rider	Fox Kids	Syndication
Brotherly Love	NBC	The WB
In the House		UPN
Minor Adjustments
Candid Camera	Syndication	CBS
Gargoyles		ABC
Doug	Nickelodeon
TekWar	USA Network	Sci-Fi Channel
Major League Baseball Game of the Week	CBS	Fox
The Mask		Syndication
Shop 'til You Drop	Lifetime	The Family Channel
Dumb and Dumber	ABC	Cartoon Network
The Bugs Bunny Show
Captain Planet and the Planeteers	TBS/Cartoon Network
What A Cartoon!
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Tom and Jerry
Looney Tunes
2 Stupid Dogs
SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron
G-Force: Guardians of Space

Television stations[]

Station launches[]

Date	Market	Station	Channel	Affiliation
January	Las Vegas, Nevada	KZIR	15	Univision
January 1	Reno, Nevada	KRXI-TV	11	Fox
February 22	Denver, Colorado	KTVJ	14	Independent
March 1	Louisville, Kentucky	W62BM	62	Independent
	West Milford, New Jersey	WFME-TV	66
	Ogden, Utah	K21ET	21	Univision
March 16	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	KOPX-TV	62	inTV
March 22	Merced/Fresno, California	KNSO	51	Religious Ind.
March 30	Albion, Nebraska	KLKE	24	ABC (satellite of KLKN)
April 14	Ceres/Sacramento, California		23	Independent
April 25	Binghamton, New York	W08DL	8	Independent
May 5	Grand Junction, Colorado	KKCO	11	NBC
May 26	Key West, Florida	WWFD	8	Multicultural independent
May 28	Lima, Ohio	W18BP	18	Fox (via WOHL-LP)
May 31	Killeen/Waco, Texas	KAKW	62	UPN/The WB
June	El Centro, California (Yuma, Arizona)	KVYE	7	Univision
June 23	Fayetteville, North Carolina	WUNU	31	PBS UNC-TV
July 2	Fairbanks, Alaska	K22EY	22	Wireless cable
August 7	Fairbanks, Alaska	K13XD	13	CBS
August 28	Ellensburg, Washington	K25FP	25	3ABN
September 1	Hagerstown, Maryland	WSHE-TV	60	inTV
September 14	Kansas City, Missouri	KCWB	29	The WB
September 27	Butte, Montana	KWYB	18	ABC
October 7	Flint, Michigan	W61DB	61	Independent
	Kalamazoo, Michigan	WUHO-LP	38	Independent
October 11	Grand Rapids, Michigan	WJUE	43	inTV
October 30	Marquette, Michigan	WBKP	5	ABC
October 31	Bozeman, Montana	KCTZ	7	Fox
November 7	Nashville, Tennessee	W59AW	59	America One
December 3	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma		53 (cable-only)	Independent (24/7 news)
December 12	Traverse City, Michigan	W51CS	51	America One
December 21	Arlington, Texas (Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas)	KPXD-TV	68	InTV
December 24	Bluefield, West Virginia	WVSX	59	Fox
Unknown date	Missoula, Montana	KUFM-TV	11	PBS (Montana PBS)

Stations changing network affiliation[]

Market	Date	Station	Channel	Prior affiliation	New affiliation
Akron/Cleveland, Ohio	December 31	WAKC-TV	23	ABC	inTV
Bakersfield, California	March 1	KERO-TV	23	CBS	ABC
		KBAK-TV	29	ABC	CBS
Binghamton, New York	April 4	WICZ-TV	40	NBC	Fox
Birmingham/Tuscaloosa, Alabama	September 1	WBRC	6	ABC	Fox
		WDBB/WTTO	17/21	Fox	Independent
		WCFT-TV WJSU-TV	33 40	CBS	ABC
		WNAL-TV	44	Fox	CBS
		W58CK	58	Independent	ABC
Charleston, South Carolina	August 19	WCBD-TV	2	ABC	NBC
		WCIV	4	NBC	ABC
Cincinnati, Ohio	June 3	WCPO-TV	9	CBS	ABC
		WKRC-TV	12	ABC	CBS
Fairbanks, Alaska	April 1	KTVF	11	CBS	NBC
Greensboro, North Carolina	March 14	WBFX	20	CTN	The WB
	June 19	WGGT-TV	48	ABC	UPN
Honolulu, Hawaii	January 1	KHON-TV	2	NBC	Fox
		KHNL	13	Fox	NBC
Idaho Falls/Pocatello, Idaho	January 1	KPVI	6	ABC	NBC
		KIFI-TV	8	NBC	ABC
Lincoln, Nebraska	September 1	KSNB-TV	4	ABC	Fox
Macon, Georgia	January 1	WGXA	24	ABC	Fox
		WPGA-TV	58	Fox	ABC
Mobile, Alabama/Pensacola, Florida	January 1	WALA-TV	10	NBC	Fox
		WPMI	15	Fox	NBC
	September 29	WFGX	35	Independent	The WB
New Orleans, Louisiana	January 1	WVUE-TV	8	ABC	Fox
		WGNO	26	The WB	ABC
		WNOL-TV	38	Fox	The WB
New York, New York	July 1	WNYC-TV/WBIS	31	PBS	Independent
Reno, Nevada	January 1	KAME-TV	21	Fox	UPN
South Bend, Indiana	May 26	W12BK	12	Independent	ABC
Twin Falls, Idaho	January 1	KKVI	35	ABC	Fox

Station closures[]

Date	Market	Station	Channel	Affiliation
May 5	Bluefield, West Virginia	WVGV-TV	59	The WB

Births[]

Date	Name	Cinematic Notability
January 3	Florence Pugh	Actress
January 9	Oana Gregory	Actress (Crash and Bernstein)
January 14	Gabrielle Elyse	Actress (Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn)
January 15	Dove Cameron	Actress (Liv and Maddie, Descendants, Descendants: Wicked World, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and singer
January 17	Caitlin Sanchez	Voice actress (Dora on Dora the Explorer (2008–11))
January 18	Sarah Gilman	Actress (I Didn't Do It)
January 22	Sami Gayle	Actress (Blue Bloods, Milo Murphy's Law)
January 27	Braeden Lemasters	Actor (Men of a Certain Age, Betrayal)
February 1	Rahart Adams	Actor (Every Witch Way)
February 7	David Castro	Actor (Shadowhunters)
	Jake Goldberg	Voice actor (Pablo on The Backyardigans (2006–10))
February 9	Jimmy Bennett	Actor (No Ordinary Family)
	Kelli Berglund	Actress (Lab Rats, Lab Rats: Elite Force)
February 17	Sasha Pieterse	Actress (Pretty Little Liars) and singer
February 19	Allen Alvarado	Actor (Flight 29 Down)
February 21	Sophie Turner	English actress (Game of Thrones)
February 28	Bobb'e J. Thompson	Actor (That's So Raven, Tyler Perry's House of Payne)
March 22	Gig Morton	Canadian actor (Mr. Young)
March 30	Madeleine Peters	Canadian voice actress (Martha Speaks, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)
March 31	Liza Koshy	Actress
April 3	Sarah Jeffery	Canadian actress (Descendants: Wicked World)
April 4	Austin Mahone	American singer
April 6	Miranda May	Actress (Bunk'd)
April 10	Audrey Whitby	Actress (The Thundermans)
April 14	Abigail Breslin	Actress (Scream Queens)
April 17	Dee Dee Davis	Actress (The Bernie Mac Show)
April 18	Roy Woods	Singer
April 25	Allisyn Ashley Arm	Actress (Sonny with a Chance, So Random!)
May 3	Noah Munck	Actor (iCarly, The Goldbergs)
May 8	Noah Centineo	Actor (The Fosters)
May 9	Mary Mouser	Actress (Body of Proof, Scandal, Cobra Kai)
May 14	McKaley Miller	Actress
May 17	Ryan Ochoa	Actor (iCarly, Pair of Kings)
May 18	Violett Beane	Actress
May 24	Frank Dolce	Actor (Sons of Tucson)
June 16	Cody Lohan	Actor (Living Lohan)
June 20	Claudia Lee	Actress
July 16	Nicky Jones	Voice actor (Chowder)
July 21	Joey Bragg	Actor (Liv and Maddie)
July 22	Skyler Gisondo	Actor
July 30	Austin North	Actor (I Didn't Do It)
July 31	Blake Michael	Actor (Dog With a Blog)
August 1	Cymphonique Miller	Actress (How to Rock) and singer
August 7	Liam James	Actor
August 12	Torri Webster	Canadian actress (Life with Boys)
August 13	Tessa Albertson	Actress
August 21	Jamia Simone Nash	Actress (The Backyardigans, The Young and the Restless)
August 22	Mickey Graue	Actor (Lost)
August 25	Naelee Rae	Actress (The Backyardigans, The Guiding Light)
September 1	Zendaya	Actress (Shake It Up, K.C. Undercover) and singer
September 4	Victoria Moroles	Actress (Liv and Maddie, Teen Wolf)
September 6	Alex Christian Jones	Actor (Kickin' It)
September 10	Kamil McFadden	Actor (K.C. Undercover)
September 12	Colin Ford	Actor (Under the Dome, Jake on Jake and the Never Land Pirates)
September 13	Lili Reinhart	Actress (Riverdale)
September 15	Jake Cherry	Actor
September 18	Kurt Doss	Actor (Ruby & the Rockits)
October 9	Bella Hadid	American model and sister of Gigi Hadid
October 10	Sarah Carpenter	Actress (Girl Meets World)
October 16	Tyler Perez	Actor (WITS Academy)
November 2	Liam Obergfoll	Actress (Talia in the Kitchen)
November 6	Chelsea Zhang	Actress (Titans, Daybreak, Andi Mack)
November 14	Mason Gooding	Actor (Love, Victor)
November 18	Noah Ringer	Actor
November 21	Grace Van Patten	Actress
November 22	Hailey Baldwin	American fashion model and daughter of Stephen Baldwin
	Mackenzie Lintz	Actress (Under the Dome)
	Madison Davenport	Actress (Shameless, From Dusk till Dawn: The Series) and singer
December 6	Stefanie Scott	Actress (A.N.T. Farm)
December 8	Teala Dunn	Actress (Wonder Pets, The Naked Brothers Band, Are We There Yet?, The Thundermans)
December 11	Hailee Steinfeld	Actress and singer
	Jack Griffo	Actor (The Thundermans) and singer
December 20	Timothy McCartney	Actor
December 21	Kaitlyn Dever	Actress (Justified, Last Man Standing)
December 29	Dylan Minnette	Actor (Lost, Awake, 13 Reasons Why)
December 30	Raymond Cham	Actor (Mech-X4)

Deaths[]

Date	Name	Age	Notability
February 3	Audrey Meadows	73	Actress (Alice Kramden on The Honeymooners)
February 13	Martin Balsam	76	Actor (Murray on Archie Bunker's Place)
February 15	McLean Stevenson	68	Actor (Lt. Col. Henry Blake on M*A*S*H)
	Tommy Rettig	54	Child actor (Jeff on Lassie)
March 4	Minnie Pearl	83	Comedian
March 5	Whit Bissell	86	Character actor
March 9	George Burns	100	Comedian (The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show)
March 11	Vince Edwards	67	Actor (Ben Casey)
April 21	Jimmy Snyder	77	Sports commentator (The NFL Today)
May 20	Jon Pertwee	76	Actor (Third Doctor on Doctor Who)
June 2	Ray Combs	40	Host of Family Feud
June 5	Vito Scotti	78	Character actor, Gilligan's Island
June 16	Mel Allen	83	Sports commentator
July 21	Herb Edelman	62	Actor (Stanley Zbornak on The Golden Girls)
August 27	Greg Morris	62	Actor (Mission: Impossible)
September 13	Tupac Shakur	25	Actor and songwriter
October 6	Ted Bessell	61	Actor and director (Donald on That Girl)
October 28	Morey Amsterdam	87	Actor and comedian (Buddy on The Dick Van Dyke Show)
October 31	Arthur Peterson Jr.	83	Actor (Soap)
November 13	Alma Kitchell	103	Hostess (In the Kelvinator Kitchen)
December 8	Howard Rollins	46	Actor (Tibbs on In the Heat of the Night)
December 12	Larry Gates	81	Soap opera actor (Guiding Light)
December 14	Edward K. Milkis	65	Producer

See also[]

• 1996 in the United States
• List of American films of 1996

References[]