| List of years in American television: |
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| 2002–03 United States network television schedule |
| 2003–04 United States network television schedule |
| List of American television programs currently in production |
In American television during 2003, notable events included television series debuts, finales, cancellations, and new channel initiations.
NCIS a spin-off of JAG premiered on September 23, 2003 on CBS, becoming the third-longest-running scripted, nonanimated U.S. prime-time TV series currently airing, and has later spawned multiple spin-offs and was voted America's favorite television series in 2011.[1] Other notable shows that premiered that year included Arrested Development,[2] Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Two and a Half Men,[3] The Venture Bros.,[4] One Tree Hill,[5] The OC,[6] Nip/Tuck,[7] and Teen Titans.[8]
Later 2010s/2020s TV shows like Better Call Saul (2015-2022) and the television adaptation of The Last of Us (2023-present) are set in 2003.[9][10]
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2 | ABC affiliate WBKP in Calumet, Michigan greatly improves its coverage area in the Upper Peninsula when it signs-on satellite station WBUP in Ishpeming. |
| 20 | KMAY-LP (now KAGS-LD) in Bryan, Texas signs-on as a satellite of Temple-based NBC affiliate KCEN-TV. |
| 26 | The 37th edition of the Super Bowl is broadcast on ABC, making the last ever Super Bowl to be scheduled on January. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers win their first championship, defeating the Oakland Raiders by score of 48–21. John Madden, who provided color commentary alongside Al Michaels, becomes the first person to announce Super Bowls on different networks in consecutive years, having called Super Bowl XXXVI on Fox. |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 16 | The 300th episode of the series The Simpsons is broadcast on Fox the same night as the Married... with Children reunion special. |
| 21 | Late Show host David Letterman begins a few weeks' leave from the CBS talk show due to a bout of shingles (during this time, guest hosts will include Bruce Willis, Regis Philbin, Will Ferrell and Elvis Costello). |
| 24 | CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather interviews Saddam Hussein on national television, shortly before the Iraq invasion began. |
| The miniseries Giant Robot Week is broadcast by Cartoon Network, which includes 2 edited episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion. This is the first attempt to broadcast the series by network TV. | |
| 26 | On CBS, The Young and the Restless celebrates its 30th anniversary. |
| 27 | Fred Rogers, host of the television series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood dies of stomach cancer at the age of 74. |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 27 | C-SPAN airs a press conference being held in the White House in which President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke about the 2003 Invasion of Iraq which had begun roughly one week prior. The event was one of the most-watched C-SPAN broadcasts of the year according to Nielsen ratings and was simultaneously broadcast on CNN and Fox News. A similar broadcast in April of the following year was similarly widely viewed.[11] |
| 29 | K13VC ends operations. |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | On ABC, General Hospital celebrates its 40th anniversary. |
| 1 | WRBU was disaffiliated from the Home Shopping Network to become a UPN station. |
| 5 | Everyday Italian debuts on Food Network hosted by Giada De Laurentiis. The show, which De Laurentiis focuses for her viewers on traditional Italian cuisine with an American flair, would result in becoming one of Food Network's most popular daytime cooking shows. |
| 7 | Noggin revises its branding and lineup, introducing new hosts Moose and Zee, and a new slogan, "It's Like Preschool on TV." |
| 12 | All Grown Up!, a spin-off of Rugrats, premieres right after the 2003 Kids' Choice Awards on Nickelodeon. |
| 22 | Bianca Montgomery (Eden Riegel) kisses Lena Kundera (Olga Sosnovska) on the ABC soap opera All My Children; this is the first lesbian kiss on American daytime television. |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 8 | Nancy Christy becomes the first woman to win $1,000,000 on the syndicated version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. |
| On a special episode of Primetime entitled Major Fraud (which originally aired as an episode of Tonight on ITV on April 21), segments of an unaired 2001 episode of the British version of Millionaire featuring Charles Ingram were broadcast. The program featured additional interviews with witnesses of the criminal trial that happened after Ingram was stripped of the £1,000,000 prize; Ingram had been found guilty of deception at Southwark Crown Court on April 7. | |
| 16 | The 30th Daytime Emmy Awards are given, in a ceremony telecast by ABC. |
| 19 | ABC broadcasts a four-hour 50th anniversary special. |
| 20 | America's Next Top Model premieres on UPN. UPN also aired the final episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer after 2 additional seasons and 44 episodes after being picked up by The WB (after being the smash hit on the network in the series's beginnings). |
| 21 | On Fox, Ruben Studdard becomes the winner of American Idol – season two. His debut single "Flying Without Wings" reaches number two in the Billboard Hot 100 in June 2003. |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 13 | Liz Cho co-anchors her last World News Now newscast on ABC before heading to the network's flagship station WABC-TV in New York City. She is replaced by Andrea Stassou. |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 14 | David Muir is named the new co-anchor of ABC's World News Now, replacing Derek McGinty, who left for WUSA in Washington, D.C. |
| Date | Event |
|---|
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | In Casper, Wyoming, Pax TV affiliate KCWY switches its affiliation to NBC, taking that affiliation from KTWO-TV which will join ABC in March 2004. In the interim, KTWO-TV becomes an independent station with select programming from Pax. |
| 8 | Amerie, host of BET's The Center, leaves the show so she could work on her new music. |
| 10 | UPN's series Enterprise begins a season-long story sequence – the first time a full season of a Star Trek series has been devoted to one storyline. (Three episodes into the new season, the series title is changed to Star Trek: Enterprise.) |
| 11 | John Ritter dies from an undiagnosed aortic dissection at the age of 54 hours after falling ill on the set of his sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. |
| Wheel of Fortune incorporates "Prize Puzzle" in one of the first three rounds and awards a trip to the contestant who solve the themed puzzle for this round. The initial incarnation occurs weekly during the first two seasons of appearance, but has changed to a daily format beginning on Season 23 and has used since. | |
| 21 | The CBS comedy Everybody Loves Raymond wins its first Outstanding Comedy award and the NBC drama The West Wing wins its fourth straight Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series at the 55th Primetime Emmy Awards. The ceremonies are telecast by Fox. |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | James Marsters joins the cast of Angel on The WB, carrying his Buffy the Vampire Slayer character of Spike over from the former series. |
| 4 | Kenan Thompson makes his first appearance as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Thompson would eventually become the longest serving cast member in SNL history. |
| 16 | The New York Yankees win Game 7 of the ALCS over the Boston Red Sox with a walk-off home run by Aaron Boone. |
| 20 | Rod Roddy makes his final appearance as announcer of The Price Is Right on CBS. Roddy would pass away from colon cancer exactly a week later, on October 27. |
| 25 | Game 6 of the World Series airs on Fox. The Florida Marlins win their second world championship over the New York Yankees, making one of the biggest upsets in baseball history. |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2 | CBS at 75, the special celebrating the network's 75th anniversary, is broadcast by CBS. |
| 10 | The 4,000th episode of Wheel of Fortune (since the 1982 pairing of host and hostess Pat Sajak and Vanna White) is broadcast in syndication, featuring a clip show of Wheel's most memorable moments over the years. The milestone episode would air in syndication on January 23, 2004. |
| 19 | The 2003 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is broadcast on CBS. 9.4 million people tune in.[12][13][14][15][16] |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2 | Tamala Edwards is named the new co-anchor of ABC's World News Now, replacing Andrea Stassou. |
| 20 | During a National Football League game between the New England Patriots at New York Jets, former Jets quarterback Joe Namath in a sideline interview with ESPN's Suzy Kolber twice stated that he wanted to kiss her, and "couldn't care less about the team strugg-a-ling." Namath later apologized and blamed the incident on his obvious intoxication. Soon after, Namath entered an outpatient alcoholism treatment program. Namath chronicled the episode, including his battle with alcoholism in his book, Namath (ISBN 0-67003-329-4). |
| Show | Channel | Last aired | New title | New network | Returning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Weekenders | ABC, UPN | 2001 | Same | Toon Disney | March 21 |
| The Ren and Stimpy Show | Nickelodeon, MTV | 1996 | Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" | Spike | June 26 |
| Date | Show | Debut | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | Cooking Live | 1997 | Cancelled |
| Truth or Scare | 2001 | ||
| January 3 | Cita's World | 1999 | |
| January 12 | Andy Richter Controls the Universe | 2002 | |
| January 14 | In-Laws | ||
| January 21 | Hidden Hills | ||
| January 24 | Presidio Med | ||
| January 30 | Columbo | 1968 | |
| January 31 | Win Ben Stein's Money | 1997 | |
| February 2 | Super Duper Sumos | 2002 | |
| February 5 | The Legend of Tarzan | 2001 | |
| February 7 | 3 South | 2002 | |
| February 16 | For the People | ||
| February 17 | Birds of Prey | ||
| February 22 | The Nick Cannon Show | ||
| February 23 | Oz | 1997 | Ended |
| February 25 | Clifford the Big Red Dog (returned in 2019) | 2000 | Cancelled |
| March 7 | Talkback Live | 1994 | |
| March 10 | Veritas: The Quest | 2003 | |
| March 13 | Family Affair | 2002 | |
| March 21 | Farscape | 1999 | |
| April 1 | Friend or Foe? | 2002 | |
| WinTuition | |||
| April 4 | Liberty's Kids | ||
| April 13 | Clone High | 2002 | |
| My Big Fat Greek Life | 2003 | ||
| April 17 | On the Spot | ||
| April 21 | Robbery Homicide Division | 2002 | |
| April 24 | Sabrina the Teenage Witch | 1996 | |
| April 25 | Fastlane | 2002 | |
| John Doe | |||
| April 26 | Cubix: Robots for Everyone | 2001 | |
| April 27 | Touched by an Angel | 1994 | Ended |
| May 4 | 120 Minutes (returned in 2011) | 1986 | Cancelled |
| May 7 | Stargate Infinity | 2002 | |
| May 9 | Greetings from Tucson | ||
| May 14 | Dawson's Creek | 1998 | Ended |
| May 16 | Cartoon Cartoon Fridays | 1999 | Cancelled |
| May 17 | The Agency | 2001 | |
| May 20 | The Weakest Link (returned in 2020) | ||
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | 1997 | Ended | |
| Watching Ellie | 2002 | Cancelled | |
| May 21 | Change of Heart | 1998 | |
| The Jenny Jones Show | 1991 | ||
| The Other Half | 2001 | ||
| The Caroline Rhea Show | 2002 | ||
| The Twilight Zone | |||
| May 23 | Supermarket Sweep (returned in 2020) | 1965 | |
| May 24 | Stuart Little | 2003 | |
| June 1 | Black Sash | 2003 | |
| June 5 | Cedric the Entertainer Presents | 2002 | |
| June 7 | The Mummy: The Animated Series | 2001 | |
| June 13 | The Hoobs | ||
| Even Stevens | 2000 | ||
| Russian Roulette | 2002 | ||
| June 17 | Hey Joel | 2003 | |
| June 20 | Baby Bob | 2002 | |
| June 26 | 30 Seconds to Fame | ||
| July 1 | Say What? Karaoke | 1998 | |
| July 3 | Primetime Glick | 2001 | |
| July 5 | Sitting Ducks | ||
| July 7 | Surf Girls | 2003 | |
| July 20 | The Popeye Show | 2001 | |
| July 24 | Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" | 2003 | |
| July 25 | The Living Century | 2000 | |
| August 3 | Doggy Fizzle Televizzle | 2002 | |
| August 10 | Futurama (returned in 2008) | 1999 | |
| August 16 | Scaredy Camp | 2002 | |
| Dinotopia | |||
| August 20 | Beg, Borrow & Deal | ||
| Ripley's Believe It or Not! (returned in 2019) | 2000 | ||
| August 22 | I Love the '70s | 2003 | |
| August 24 | Dance Fever | ||
| September 12 | Free for All | ||
| Spider-Man: The New Animated Series | |||
| September 19 | Oswald | 2001 | |
| September 20 | Star Dates | 2002 | |
| September 29 | Temptation Island (returned in 2019) | 2001 | |
| October 3 | Port Charles | 1997 | |
| October 6 | Seven Little Monsters | 2000 | |
| October 8 | Peacemakers | 2003 | |
| October 12 | Secret, Strange & True | 2002 | |
| October 23 | Coupling | 2003 | |
| October 24 | Luis | ||
| House of Mouse | 2001 | ||
| October 25 | X-Men: Evolution | 2000 | |
| October 29 | Street Time | 2002 | |
| November 7 | Wanda at Large | 2003 | |
| November 9 | Family Guy (returned in 2005) | 1999 | |
| November 11 | The Angry Beavers | 1997 | |
| Playmakers | 2003 | ||
| November 14 | Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? | 2002 | |
| November 15 | Power Rangers Ninja Storm | 2003 | |
| November 16 | K Street | ||
| November 19 | The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire | ||
| November 20 | Dexter's Laboratory | 1996 | |
| November 23 | ToonHeads | 1992 | |
| Tarzan | 2003 | ||
| November 24 | Joe Millionaire | ||
| November 26 | Just Shoot Me! | 1997 | Ended |
| Time Squad | 2001 | Cancelled | |
| November 30 | The Lyon's Den | 2003 | |
| December 1 | Conquest | 2002 | |
| December 3 | The Jeff Corwin Experience | 2000 | |
| December 5 | Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck | 2002 | |
| December 11 | Gary the Rat | 2003 | |
| December 12 | A Minute with Stan Hooper | ||
| December 15 | Miss Match | ||
| December 17 | Kid Notorious | ||
| December 18 | Good Morning, Miami | 2002 | |
| December 28 | Boomtown | ||
| December 30 | Rich Girls | 2003 | |
| December 31 | The Brak Show | 2000 |
| Show | Seasons | In Production | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angel | 4 | Yes | [citation needed] |
| Becker | 5 | No | [17] |
| The King of Queens | 5 | Yes | [18] |
| Judging Amy | 4 | Yes | [19] |
| The Parkers | 4 | Yes | [citation needed] |
| Show | Moved from | Moved to |
|---|---|---|
| Da Ali G Show | Channel 4 (UK) | HBO |
| The Ren & Stimpy Show | Nickelodeon | Spike |
| Teamo Supremo | ABC | Toon Disney |
| Fillmore! | ||
| The Weekenders | ABC/UPN | |
| Grounded for Life | Fox | The WB |
| Totally Spies! | ABC Family | Cartoon Network |
| Title | Network | Date of airing |
|---|---|---|
| You Wish! | Disney Channel | January 10 |
| Maniac Magee | Nickelodeon | February 23 |
| Right on Track | Disney Channel | March 21 |
| The Even Stevens Movie | Disney Channel | June 13 |
| Abra-Catastrophe! | Nickelodeon | July 12 |
| The Cheetah Girls | Disney Channel | August 15 |
| Red Water | TBS | August 17 |
| Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time | Disney Channel | November 28 |
| National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2 | NBC | December 20 |
| Network | Type | Launch date | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDNet Movies | Cable and satellite | January 13 | ||
| GOL TV | Cable and satellite | February 1 | ||
| ¡Sorpresa! | Cable television | March 15 | ||
| Sportsman Channel | Cable and satellite | April 1 | ||
| Tennis Channel | Cable and satellite | May 15 | ||
| Bravo HD+ | Cable and satellite | July 31 | ||
| NFL Network | Cable and satellite | November 4 |
| Old network name | New network name | Type | Conversion Date | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MMUSA | Fuse | Cable and satellite | May 19 | ||
| The New TNN | Spike TV | Cable and satellite | August 11 |
| Date | City of License/Market | Station | Channel | Old affiliation | New affiliation | Notes/Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | Waterville/Portland, Maine | WPFO | 23 | Pax TV (as WMPX-TV) | Fox | |
| September 1 | Casper, Wyoming | KCWY | 13 | Pax TV | NBC | |
| October 1 | Sioux Falls, South Dakota | KWSD | 36 | Pax TV (as KAUN) | The WB | |
| Unknown date | Louisville, Kentucky | W24BW | 24 | MuchUSA | America One |
| Date | City of license/Market | Station | Channel | Affiliation | Sign-on date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 27 | Marquette, Michigan | WUPT-CA | 25 | UPN | January 8, 1980 |
| Date | Name | Notability |
|---|---|---|
| January 4 | Jaeden Martell | Actor (Masters of Sex) |
| January 9 | Megan Richie | Actress (Legendary Dudas, Jake and the Neverland Pirates) |
| January 21 | Garren Stitt | Actor (Andi Mack, General Hospital) |
| January 23 | Ivan Mallon | Actor (School of Rock) |
| January 24 | Johnny Orlando | Canadian actor |
| January 28 | Anton Starkman | Actor (Warped!) |
| Whitney Peak | Actress (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Home Before Dark, Gossip Girl) | |
| February 4 | Kyla Kenedy | Actress (The Walking Dead, Speechless) |
| February 7 | Reed Horstmann | Actor (The Villains of Valley View) |
| February 20 | Olivia Rodrigo | Actress (Bizaardvark, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) |
| March 1 | Yasmeen Fletcher | Actress and musician (Ms. Marvel, Andi Mack) |
| March 3 | Thomas Barbusca | Actor (The Mick) |
| March 8 | Montana Jordan | Actor (Young Sheldon) |
| March 12 | Malina Weissman | Actress |
| April 13 | Olivia Sanabia | Actress (Coop and Cami Ask the World) |
| April 15 | Julia Antonelli | Actress (Every Witch Way, WITS Academy) |
| Sam Ashe Arnold | Actor (Best.Worst.Weekend.Ever., Are You Afraid of the Dark?) | |
| April 16 | Alina Foley | Actress (The League, Shimmer and Shine) |
| April 18 | Benjamin Cole Royer | Actor (Best Friends Whenever) |
| Matthew Lewis Royer | ||
| April 19 | Caleel Harris | Voice actor (Blaze and the Monster Machines, The Loud House) |
| April 30 | Emily Carey | Actress |
| May 1 | Lizzy Greene | Actress (Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn, A Million Little Things) |
| May 11 | Dora Dolphin | Actress |
| May 16 | Ariana Molkara | Actress (Warped!) |
| May 18 | Lukas Rodriguez | Actor (Malcolm in the Middle) |
| May 19 | JoJo Siwa | Actress (Dance Moms) and singer |
| June 2 | Jeremy Ray Taylor | Actor (Are You Afraid of the Dark?) |
| June 11 | Breanna Yde | Actress (The Haunted Hathaways, School of Rock, The Loud House) |
| June 15 | Galilea La Salvia | Actress (Talia in the Kitchen) |
| June 16 | Anna Cathcart | Canadian actress (Odd Squad) |
| July 5 | Terrell Ransom Jr. | Actor (Days of Our Lives, The Amazing World of Gumball) |
| July 9 | Marcel Ruiz | Actor |
| July 11 | Meg Crosbie | Actress (WITS Academy) |
| July 30 | Daniel DiMaggio | Actor (Clarence, American Housewife) |
| August 11 | Rachel Gage | Actress (Walk the Prank) |
| August 18 | Max Charles | Actor (The Neighbors, Harvey Beaks, The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show, The Lion Guard, The Strain) |
| August 20 | Christopher Paul Richards | Actor (The Kids Are Alright) |
| August 28 | Quvenzhané Wallis | Actress |
| September 3 | Jack Dylan Grazer | Actor (Me, Myself & I) |
| September 8 | Carmen Blanchard | Actress |
| Nicolas Cantu | Voice actor (The Amazing World of Gumball, Sofia the First) | |
| September 18 | Nina Lu | Actress (Bunk'd) |
| Aidan Gallagher | Actor (Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn) | |
| October 7 | Kate Godfrey | Actress (All That, Warped!) |
| October 10 | Maggie Elizabeth Jones | Actress (Ben and Kate) |
| October 24 | Hudson Yang | Actor (Fresh Off the Boat) |
| October 27 | Gavin Lewis | Actor |
| November 8 | Meyrick Murphy | Actress (Legendary Dudas, The Walking Dead) |
| November 12 | Kamaia Fairburn | Actress (Star Falls) |
| November 21 | Elijha Hammill | Canadian voice actor (Ryder on PAW Patrol) |
| November 23 | Olivia Keville | Actress (Splitting Up Together) |
| December 9 | Jackson A. Dunn | Actor (Legendary Dudas) |
| December 12 | Lincoln Melcher | Actor (Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn, Bunk'd) |
| Date | Name | Age | Notability |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 12 | Maurice Gibb | 53 | Musician/songwriter (Bee Gees) |
| January 23 | Nell Carter | 54 | Actress, singer (Gimme a Break) |
| February 21 | Julie Mitchum | 88 | Actress |
| February 27 | Fred Rogers | 74 | Mister Rogers of (Mister Rogers' Neighborhood) |
| March 12 | Lynne Thigpen | 54 | American television/film/stage actress (Bear in the Big Blue House, The District, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?)[20] |
| March 30 | Michael Jeter | 50 | Voice actor/stage actor (Sesame Street, Evening Shade, and voice of Nate Horowitz (Eugene's Dad) on Hey Arnold!) |
| April 30 | Lionel Wilson | 79 | Voice actor (The Aldrich Family, Tom Terrific, The Hector Heathcote Show and first voice of Eustace Bagge on Courage the Cowardly Dog) |
| May 14 | Robert Stack | 84 | Actor (Eliot Ness on The Untouchables) |
| May 15 | June Carter Cash | 73 | Singer and actress (The Johnny Cash Show) |
| June 19 | Laura Sadler | 22 | English actress (Grange Hill, Holby City) |
| June 20 | Raymond Serra | 22 | Actor |
| July 6 | Buddy Ebsen | 95 | Actor (The Beverly Hillbillies, Barnaby Jones) |
| July 27 | Bob Hope | 100 | Comedian, host and actor |
| September 8 | Jaclyn Linetsky | 17 | Canadian voice actress (Mega Babies, What's with Andy?, Caillou) |
| Vadim Schneider | 17 | French-Canadian actor | |
| September 11 | John Ritter | 54 | Actor (Three's Company, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, and voice of Clifford the Big Red Dog) |
| September 12 | Johnny Cash | 71 | Singer and actor (The Johnny Cash Show) |
| October 17 | Janice Rule | 72 | Actress (The Fugitive) |
| October 21 | Fred Berry | 52 | Actor (Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs on What's Happening!!) |
| October 27 | Rod Roddy | 66 | Announcer (Press Your Luck, Soap, and most famously, The Price Is Right) |
| November 9 | Art Carney | 85 | Actor (Ed Norton on The Honeymooners) |
| November 12 | Jonathan Brandis | 27 | Actor (Lucas Wolenczak on seaQuest DSV) |
| Penny Singleton | 95 | Voice actress (Jane Jetson on The Jetsons) | |
| November 14 | Gene Anthony Ray | 41 | Actor (Leroy Johnson on Fame) |
| December 14 | Jeanne Crain | 78 | Actress |
| December 28 | Helen Kleeb | 96 | Actress (Miss Mamie Baldwin on The Waltons) |
| December 29 | Earl Hindman | 61 | Actor (Wilson J. Wilson Jr. on Home Improvement) |