See also: 2000 in television, other events of 2001, 2002 in television and the list of 'years in television'.

Events

• February 25 - *NSYNC is featured on an episode of The Simpsons entitled "New Kids On The Blecch".
• June 18 - Luke and Laura Spencer, widely regarded as the soap opera pairing that helped coin the term "supercouple", signed divorce papers on General Hospital, dissolving their fictional two-decade union.
• September 1 - All four commercial television stations in Vancouver, British Columbia change network affiliations, the largest such change in a single market in television history.
• September 11 - Viewers around the world are horrified as they witness a terrorist attack on the United States, and the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York City, live on television. Additionally, the ABC, CBS, and NBC affiliates' broadcast towers are knocked out by the attacks, but New Yorkers can still view them on cable. Most broadcasters abandon regular programming - American networks for more than a week - and numerous major daily talk shows go off the air for several weeks until their hosts feel comfortable in returning to the airwaves.
  • The start of the 2001-2002 fall season in the US is delayed as a result of the attacks, with some shows such as The West Wing substituting special episodes dealing with the event in lieu of their originally scheduled season premieres. Some series, such as the military-themed JAG and New York-based Third Watch have to be retooled to encompass the aftermath of the attacks.
  • In addition, several planned series and events were cancelled; most notably, a mini-series planned for spring 2002, which would have united the cast of Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, dealing with a terrorist attack on New York City.
  • airs on VH1, with performances by Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Billy Joel and others. It raises funds for the families of those killed in the attacks.
  • Continually scrolling news headlines along the bottom of the screen become a standard feature on CNN and other news broadcasters after they are used to great affect during coverage of the attacks.
• November 5 - BBC 2W, a new digital channel for Wales, is launched.
• Canada rolls out hundreds of new digital cable channels (see List of Canadian digital television channels for complete list).
• TSN changes its logo to match with ESPN's though the N is not slashed.
• Kirby: Right Back At Ya premieres on Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Company in Japan.

Debuts

• January 12 - Lizzie McGuire premieres on Disney Channel (2001-2004).
• February - Lloyd in Space premieres on ABC (2001-2004).
• March 30 - The Fairly OddParents premieres (2001-present).
• March - My Wife and Kids premieres (2001-present).
• April - That's My Bush! premieres. The show was cancelled in May.
• June 3 - Six Feet Under premieres on HBO (2001-present).
• June - JR Digs premieres on CHCH in Hamilton, Ontario as a paid advertisement (2001-present).
• September 5 - The Amazing Race debuts on CBS (2001-present).
• September 30 - Alias debuts on ABC and CTV (2001-present).
• September - The Guardian premieres on CBS (2001-2004).
• October - According to Jim, an ABC sitcom starring James Belushi and Courtney Thorne-Smith (2001-present).
• October - Smallville premieres (2001-present).
• November 14 - The Bernie Mac Show premieres (2001-present).
• 24 premieres (2001-present).
• Adult Swim, a line-up on the Cartoon Network (2001-present).
• Braceface premieres (2001-present).
• Enterprise premieres on UPN. The show was run under this name for the first two seasons; then it was renamed Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005).
• Fear Factor premieres (2001-present).
• Law & Order: Criminal Intent premieres (2001-present).
• Mutant X premieres (2001-2004).
• Pop Idol premieres on ITV (2001-present).
• Scrubs debuts on NBC (2001-present).

Television shows

• Meet the Press (1947-present).
• Candid Camera (1948-present).
• Guiding Light (1952-present).
• The Today Show (1952-present).
• Panorama (UK) (1953-present).
• Face the Nation (1954-present).
• The Tonight Show (1954-present).
• This Is Your Life (UK) (1955-2003).
• As the World Turns (1956-present).
• What the Papers Say (UK) (1956-present).
• The Sky at Night (UK) (1957-present).
• Blue Peter (UK) (1958-present).
• Grandstand (UK) (1958-present).
• Coronation Street (UK) (1960-present).
• Four Corners (Australia) (1961-present).
• The Late Late Show (Ireland) (1962-present).
• General Hospital (1963-present).
• Top of the Pops (UK) (1964-present).
• Days of Our Lives (1965-present).
• Play School (1966-present).
• The Money Programme (UK) (1966-present).
• 60 Minutes (1968-present).
• One Life to Live (1968-present).
• Sesame Street (1969-present).
• All My Children (1970-present).
• Monday Night Football (1970-present).
• Masterpiece Theatre (1971-present).
• Soul Train (1971-present).
• Emmerdale (UK) (1972-present).
• Newsround (UK) (1972-present).
• The Price Is Right (1972-present).
• Last of the Summer Wine (UK) (1973-present).
• The Young and the Restless (1973-present).
• Wish You Were Here...? (UK) (1974-present).
• Good Morning America (1975-present).
• Saturday Night Live (1975-present).
• the fifth estate (Canada) (1975-present).
• Wheel of Fortune (1975-present).
• 20/20 (1978-present).
• Grange Hill (UK) (1978-present).
• Entertainment Tonight (1981-present).
• Jeopardy! (1964-1975, 1984-present).
• The Bill (UK) (1984-present).
• EastEnders (UK) (1985-present).
• Neighbours (Australia) (1985-present).
• Sally (1985-2002).
• The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986-present).
• The Bold and the Beautiful (1987-present).
• Cops (1989-present).
• The Simpsons (1989-present).
• Law & Order (1990-present).
• Rugrats (1991-2004).
• The Jerry Springer Show (1991-present).
• Barney & Friends (1992-2002).
• Dateline NBC (1992-present).
• The Real World (1992-present).
• Frasier (1993-2004).
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993-present).
• NYPD Blue (1993-present).
• The Late Show with David Letterman (1993-present).
• The X-Files (1993-2002).
• WWF RAW (1993-present).
• ER (1994-present).
• Friends (1994-2004).
• Touched by an Angel (1994-2003).
• JAG (1995-present).
• Sesame Park (Canada) (1995-2002).
• The Drew Carey Show (1995-2004).
• 7th Heaven (1996-present).
• Dexter's Laboratory (1996-present).
• Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005).
• Hey Arnold! (1996-2004).
• Judge Judy (1996-present).
• Spin City (1996-2002).
• The Daily Show (1996-present).
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003).
• Dharma & Greg (1997-2002).
• Johnny Bravo (1997-present).
• Just Shoot Me (1997-2003).
• King of the Hill (1997-present).
• South Park (1997-present).
• Stargate SG-1 (1997-present).
• The Practice (1997-2004).
• The Wonderful World of Disney (1997-present).
• Becker (1998-2004).
• Call For Help (1998-2004).
• Charmed (1998-present).
• Dawson's Creek (1998-2003).
• Sex and the City (1998-2004).
• That '70s Show (1998-present).
• The King of Queens (1998-present).
• The Powerpuff Girls (1998-2004).
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (UK) (1998-present).
• Will & Grace (1998-present).
• Angel (1999-2004).
• Family Feud (1976-1985, 1988-1995, 1999-present).
• Family Guy (1999-2002, 2005-present).
• Farscape (1999-2003).
• Futurama (1999-2003).
• Judging Amy (1999-present).
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999-present).
• Passions (1999-present).
• Rocket Power (1999-present).
• (1999-present).
• SpongeBob SquarePants (1999-present).
• Tenacious D (1999-present).
• The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (1999-2004).
• The Sopranos (1999-present).
• The West Wing (1999-present).
• Third Watch (1999-present).
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (US) (1999-present).
• As Told by Ginger (2000-present).
• Boston Public (2000-2004).
• Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000-present).
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000-present).
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-present).
• Ed (2000-2004).
• Malcolm in the Middle (2000-present).
• Survivor (2000-present).
• The District (2000-2004).
• The Gavin Crawford Show (2000-2002).
• The Weakest Link (UK) (2000-present).
• Yes, Dear (2000-present).
• Absolutely Fabulous (UK) (1992-1996, 2001-2003).
• Crossroads (UK) (1964-1988, 2001-2003).
• Home Movies (1999, 2001-present).
• Let's Bowl (1998, 2001-2002).
• Only Fools and Horses (UK) (1981-1983, 1985-1993, 1996-1997, 2001-2003) (the only episode aired this year was the Christmas special If They Could See Us Now).

Ending this year

• Baywatch (1989-2001).
• Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001).
• The Wheezer Bros. (1995-2001). The last four episodes were not shown until 2004.
• Daria (1997-2001).
• Disney's One Saturday Morning (1997-2001).
• CatDog (1998-2001).
• Bette (2000-2001).

Changes of network affiliation

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer moves from WB to UPN.

Notable TV movies and events

• April 30 - On Golden Pond, an adaptation of the play, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, working together for the first time since the film The Sound of Music, is aired live on CBS.

Deaths

• March 12 - Morton Downey, Jr., television personality .
• March 21 - Norma Macmillan, voice actor.
• March 22 - William Hanna, cofounder (with Joseph Barbera) of famous Hanna-Barbera animation studio.
• April 15 - Joey Ramone, 49, actor/songwriter of the Ramones.
• June 21 - Carroll O'Connor, 76, actor who played Archie Bunker on All in the Family.
• August 4 - Lorenzo Music, 64, writer and actor who co-created The Bob Newhart Show and did the voices of Carlton the doorman on Rhoda and Garfield the cat in the animated cartoon Garfield and Friends.