The Flintstones was the first animated series made for prime-time network television. It was broadcast from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966 on ABC and was the most financially successful network animated franchise for nearly three decades, until it was finally overtaken by The Simpsons.

NBC executives supported Hill Street Blues in its infancy despite a lack of viewers, and in 1981 it became the lowest-rated series ever renewed for a second season. It was only renewed for ten episodes, however, and wasn't picked up for the full season until ratings improved.

In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first incumbent President to appear on television when he gave the opening address at the New York World's Fair.

John Munch, played by Richard Belzer, has actually appeared in 12 different projects, including "Law and Order", "The X-Files", "Arrested Development", and "30 Rock".

Saturday Night Live was the first network television show to air the F word. The comedian who used it, Charles Rocket, was fired.

The first American television picture was broadcast from Arlington, Virginia to Washington, D.C. in 1926. It was a picture of a weather map.

In 1953, Dragnet became the first TV series whose theme song hit the Billboard Top 60 pop chart. It peaked at the Number Three spot.

In 1993, NYPD Blue became the first R-rated show in television history. Twenty-five percent of ABC's 225 affiliates chose to pre-empt the first episode.

The first illegal abortion on television happened on Another World in 1964, when a character's boyfriend talked her into aborting their baby. The character later killed her boyfriend.

The dog that portrayed Tiger was named "Tiger" in real life.