1981 in American television
The year 1981 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1981.Events
Programs
- 20/20
- 60 Minutes
- Alice
- All My Children
- American Bandstand
- Another World
- Archie Bunker's Place
- As the World Turns
- Barney Miller
- Battle of the Planets
- Benson
- Candid Camera
- Captain Kangaroo
- Charlie's Angels
- CHiPs
- Dallas
- Days of Our Lives
- Diff'rent Strokes
- Disney's Wonderful World
- Face the Nation
- Family Feud
- Fantasy Island
- Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
- General Hospital
- Good Morning America
- Guiding Light
- Hallmark Hall of Fame
- Happy Days
- Hart to Hart
- Hee Haw
- In Search of...
- It's a Living
- Knots Landing
- Laverne & Shirley
- Little House on the Prairie
- Lou Grant
- Magnum, P.I.
- M*A*S*H
- Masterpiece Theatre
- Match Game
- Meet the Press
- Monday Night Football
- Mork & Mindy
- Nightline
- One Day at a Time
- One Life to Live
- Quincy, M.E.
- Real People
- Ryan's Hope
- Saturday Night Live
- Schoolhouse Rock!
- Search for Tomorrow
- Sesame Street
- Soap
- Solid Gold
- Soul Train
- SportsCenter
- Taxi
- Texas
- That's Incredible!
- The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast
- The Doctors
- The Dukes of Hazzard
- The Edge of Night
- The Facts of Life
- The Jeffersons
- The Lawrence Welk Show
- The Love Boat
- The Mike Douglas Show
- The Muppet Show
- The P.T.L. Club
- The Price Is Right
- The Today Show
- The Tomorrow Show
- The Tonight Show
- The Waltons
- The Young and the Restless
- This Old House
- This Week in Baseball
- Three's Company
- Too Close for Comfort
- Trapper John, M.D.
- Truth or Consequences
- Wheel of Fortune
- WKRP in Cincinnati
Debuting this year
Ending this year
Changing networks
Television stations
Station launches
Network affiliation changes
Station closures
Births
Deaths
