2004 in American television

In American television during 2004 notable events included television series debuts, finales, cancellations, and new channel initiations.

Events

January Date Event7The Apprentice, a reality show franchise produced by Mark Burnett involving a test of skill to be 'hired' into a company, which was hosted by businessman Donald Trump (who would later become the nation's president in 2016), premieres its first episode. David Gould would be the first person fired.19British children's television series Boohbah (made by Ragdoll Productions who also made Teletubbies) premieres in the US on PBS Kids.22 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire aired a spin-off of Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire which offered its biggest cash prize in a game show history of $10,000,000. Only one contestant, Robert Essig, won at least $1,000,000 during the run, and no contestants won the top prize of $10,000,000.

February Date Event 1 Super Bowl XXXVIII airs on CBS, featuring the halftime show controversy occurring during a performance "Rock Your Body" by Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake over indecency. The incident went viral and gave way to the rise of the term, "wardrobe malfunction"; in the wake of the incident, the Federal Communications Commission strengthened its rules concerning certain types of indecency, while Jackson was temporarily blacklisted from Viacom, CBS' parent company, along with other music websites, as well as having her invitation revoked for the then-upcoming Grammy Awards ceremony. After 23 years, TBS quits using the superstation moniker.11 The True Hollywood Stories sketch featuring Rick James and Charlie Murphy first airs on Chappelle's Show.14 Jetix was introduced on Toon Disney and ABC Family, making it the first trade-name to be introduced as an anime-based block.22 Sex and the City broadcasts its last episode on HBO, "An American Girl in Paris, Part Deux."

March Date Event1 On CBS, The Price Is Right broadcasts its 6,000th episode.PBS launched the HD network for the purpose of offering high definition and widescreen content 24 hours per day, seven days per week onto most PBS stations.4Rich Fields debuts as the new announcer for The Price is Right, a role he would hold until the end of Season 38.8 Tiffany is named the new host of BET's The Center. Young Sir, who has been filling in since Amerie left last fall, takes over as the new host of BET.com Countdown. In Casper, Wyoming, independent station/Pax TV affiliate KTWO-TV (having lost NBC to KCWY in September of last year) finally becomes an ABC affiliate after ABC's outgoing affiliate KFNB reaches an agreement with KTWO-TV ending its affiliation three months earlier than scheduled. KFNB then becomes a Fox affiliate, while sister station K26ES (now KWYF-LD) elevates its secondary UPN affiliation to full-time status.15 Game Show Network began making the switch to their new rebranding, GSN.18 The 57th episode of The Powerpuff Girls "See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey" airs in Canada on YTV, having been banned in the United States due to religious controversy.

April Date Event1 Nickelodeon celebrates its 25th anniversary.4The Sesame Street primetime special "The Street We Live On" premieres on PBS.5 The Australian soap Neighbours returns to U.S. television for the first time since 1991, on Oxygen.12 KLSB-TV in Nacogdoches, Texas, a satellite station of NBC affiliate KETK-TV, separates from its parent station to become a CBS affiliate, returning CBS to the Tyler-Longview market for the first time since KLMG-TV became Fox affiliate KFXK-TV in April 1991. The next day, the Federal Communications Commission approves KLSB-TV's call letter change to the current KYTX.16 C-SPAN aired a press conference being held in the White House Rose Garden in which President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke about the war in Iraq and other issues. The event was far more watched than almost any other C-SPAN broadcast of the year, getting "shockingly high" Nielsen ratings. A similar broadcast on March 27 of the previous year was similarly widely viewed.

May Date Event6 Friends ends its run after 10 years, broadcasting the last episode, "The Last One", on NBC. A spinoff, Joey, debuts on NBC the following season.9 In CBS, season two contestant Amber Brkish proposed to season four contestant Rob Mariano before naming the former the "Sole Survivor" in the inaugural All-Stars season. Four days later, season seven contestant Rupert Boneham was also awarded the $1 million prize after voted for the most popular contestant in the America's Tribal Council special aired four days later.11 NBCUniversal is founded by General Electric and Vivendi Universal.13 Frasier broadcasts its last episode on NBC, "Goodnight, Seattle".15 Jimmy Fallon makes his last appearance as a cast member of NBC's Saturday Night Live, for its season finale. The episode was hosted by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen with a musical performance of J-Kwon.19 On NBC, Jerry Orbach makes his final appearance as Detective Lennie Briscoe on Law & Order. Orbach would soon move to the Law & Order franchise's third spin-off, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, and appear in the first two episodes, before his death on December 28, 2004.26 Fantasia Barrino wins the third season of Fox's American Idol. This series also marked the first time it topped viewerships in the television ratings of this season.27 Fox announced the cancellation of television special Seriously, Dude, I'm Gay, which was intended to air on June 7, 2004. The cancellation followed intense media backlash, such as from GLAAD, over the special's portrayal of gay men; the network attributed the cancellation to "creative reasons".28 TechTV merges with G4 to form G4techTV, one of the most controversial mergers of television history as less than a year later, the merged network becomes G4 once again.

June Date Event2 Ken Jennings of Salt Lake City, Utah, begins a long run as Jeopardy! champion.4 TNA introduced their television program, Impact! and broadcast on Fox Sports Net.7 ABC broadcasts its final NHL game for 17 years, which also turns out to be the last one before the lockout that canceled the league's 2004–05 season. Through ESPN, the network resumes airing NHL games in the 2021-22 season.10 TBS reintroduces its Very Funny campaign.11Major networks cover the state funeral of Ronald Reagan.The Wild Thornberrys ends with the episode "Eliza Unplugged". 14 Cartoon Network unveils a new logo for the first time in 11 years and a new branding that involve various animated characters living around a realistic CGI-themed city. The new branding known as "CN City", replaced the previous Powerhouse branding which had been in use for the past 7 years.18 Rodney Dangerfield (who appeared more than seventy times as a guest on The Tonight Show) makes his final appearance as a talk show guest on CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn. He died on October 5.

July Date Event22 Documentary miniseries The Staircase is premiered in an abbreviated version as a special two-hour presentation of ABC's Primetime Thursday.24 The infamous fight between Jason Varitek and Alex Rodriguez occurs during a Red Sox-Yankees game on Fox. That same night, the Red Sox came back with a two-run walk-off homer by Bill Mueller against closer Mariano Rivera.27During the Democratic National Convention, Illinois Senate candidate (and future president) Barack Obama delivers the keynote address. The speech is widely praised and is credited for his victory four years later.30Rocket Power ends with its two-part finale "The Big Day"

August Date Event1Rugrats aired its last episode titled "Hurricane Alice". 9David Muir resigns as co-anchor of World News Now on ABC and is replaced by Ron Corning.13The animated comedy series Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends premieres on Cartoon Network starring Grey DeLisle as the voice of Frankie Foster, Keith Ferguson as the voice of Bloo and others.15In Charlottesville, Virginia, NBC affiliate WVIR-TV, long the only commercial station in its market, receives competition for the first time ever when WCAV signs-on as a CBS affiliate. Shortly thereafter, WCAV adds WVAW-LP as an ABC affiliate.27Craig Kilborn ends his five-year run as host of The Late Late Show.28PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch ended.30ABC affiliate WDTN in Dayton, Ohio swaps affiliations with NBC affiliate WKEF, reversing a swap that took place in 1980.

September Date Event4 A series premiere promo for the Canadian animated series Atomic Betty, which is set to premiere on sister cable network Cartoon Network on September 17, accidentally airs on Kids' WB during the split screen credits of the Pokémon: Advanced episode "A Poké-Block Party".5 British preschooler's program Thomas & Friends comes to PBS Kids as a stand-alone program with Michael Brandon taking over as the narrator.11Higglytown Heroes, created by George Evelyn, Holly Huckins, Denis Morella, Kent Redeker, and Jeff Ulin, airs on Playhouse Disney.12In Chicago, independent station WCIU drops Kids' WB. The city's WB affiliate WGN-TV, which had previously declined the block in favor of newscasts and sitcoms, picks up the block, and thus clears the entire WB schedule for the first time.19 The 56th Primetime Emmy Awards are given out on ABC.21 Drew Daniel is the winner of the U.S. version of Big Brother 5 on CBS. Runner-Up Michael "Cowboy" Ellis wins $50,000.22 The pilot episode of Lost airs on ABC.24 Kathleen Herles announces her retirement as voice of Dora on Dora the Explorer. Her final episode, "Dora Saves the Mermaids", would not air until November 2007.28 Longtime veteran Marcy Walker makes her final appearance on the ABC soap opera All My Children after two decades of being affiliated with the program.30President Bush and Senator John Kerry participate in the first of the 2004 presidential debates moderated by Jim Lehrer.

October Date Event2 Amy Poehler succeeds Jimmy Fallon as Tina Fey's co-anchor of NBC's Saturday Night Lives Weekend Update skit, making the first Weekend Update female duos. Nickelodeon and its affiliated channels begin debuting special educational programming, Worldwide Day of Play, after the Let's Just Play campaign.5Gwen Ifill moderates the 2004 Vice Presidential debate between Vice President Cheney and Senator John Edwards at Case Western Reserve University.8Charles Gibson moderates the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis.11 PBS Kids debuts a programming block targeted at children aged 6–10 entitled PBS Kids Go!, with new shows Maya & Miguel and an Arthur spinoff, Postcards from Buster premiering.13Bob Schieffer of CBS News moderates the final presidential debate at Arizona State University.15 Comedian Jon Stewart makes an appearance on Crossfire with Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala and calls the show out for "partisan hackery".20 Game 7 of the ALCS is broadcast on Fox. The Boston Red Sox reverse-sweep the New York Yankees and become the first and (to date) only team in MLB history to come back from being down 3-0 in a playoff series.27 The Boston Red Sox win the World Series title for the first time since 1918, with a total of 86 years. They swept the 105-win St. Louis Cardinals in four games. Sox closer Keith Foulke made the final out for underhanding the ball to Doug Mientkiewicz at first base after a grounder by Edgar Rentería (who coincidentally wore Babe Ruth's number 3). This officially marked the end of the Curse of the Bambino. 29 The fifth and final aired episode of Dr. Vegas aired on CBS. This marked the last time that Amy Adams appeared as a regular cast member on a television series, before returning many years later with Sharp Objects.

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