| Date |
Event |
| January 1 |
Affiliation swaps in Florida: In Miami, 3 channels change their network affiliation: WTVJ moves to NBC from CBS, WCIX (now WFOR-TV) moves to CBS from Fox, and WSVN moves to Fox from NBC. In West Palm Beach, WPEC-TV switches from ABC to CBS, WTVX leaves CBS to become an independent, and ABC station WPBF signs on this day. |
| January 9 |
Pat Sajak quits the daytime version of the series Wheel of Fortune for a CBS late night talk show while remaining host of the nighttime version. His daytime hosting role will be assumed by Rolf Benirschke, then by Bob Goen when Wheel switches networks from NBC to CBS the next July. |
| February 20 |
Falcon Crest actress Jane Wyman is rushed to the hospital, after suffering from diabetes and a liver ailment. |
| Charlie O'Donnell returned to Wheel of Fortune as the announcer, following a nine-year absence. |
| March 2 |
Pepsi's controversial advertisement with Madonna and her song "Like a Prayer" aired during NBC's showing of The Cosby Show The same ad was run on ITV in the UK, 12 minutes into The Bill. |
| March 24 |
For the first time since 1973, NBC reruns the 1960 telecast of Peter Pan, with Mary Martin in the title role. Earlier that day, Sale of the Century and Super Password aired their final episodes. |
| April 8 |
Mike Myers joins the cast of the series Saturday Night Live. |
| April 30 |
CNBC, NBC's answer to the Financial News Network, launched (CNBC and FNN would merge two years later). |
| May 11 |
In the series finale of Dynasty, Blake Carrington, Alexis Colby, Dex Dexter and Fallon Carrington Colby are stuck in mortal peril. |
| May 18 |
Donna Mills makes her final regular appearance as villainess Abby on Knots Landing. |
| August 14 |
Cliff and Nina Warner marry one another for the fourth (and seemingly final) time on All My Children, a record that has not been matched for soap operas. |
| September 4 |
The Family Channel debuts its children programming block Fun Town. |
| September 22 |
ABC debuts TGIF from 8:00pm to 10:00pm, a new programming block for Friday Nights with four shows (Full House, Family Matters, Perfect Strangers, and Just the Ten of Us), it also includes interstitial hosts. This block would become a rating hit throughout the 1990s, lasting until 2000. |
| September 30 |
NBC broadcasts its final Major League Baseball Game of the Week (before the program is transferred to CBS). Bob Costas and Tony Kubek called the action from Toronto's SkyDome, as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Baltimore Orioles to clinch the American League Eastern Division title. |
| October 6 |
Jane Wyman is already on medical leave from Falcon Crest, when her character, Angela Channing, is in a coma. |
| October 17 |
Four minutes into ABC's broadcast of Game 3 of the World Series, the Lome Prieta earthquake occurred, forcing a ten-day delay of the series. |
| November 15 |
The Comedy Channel debuted (become Comedy Central two years later). |
| December 18 |
A seldom-seen 1956 Christmas special episode of I Love Lucy is re-broadcast by CBS. |
The following is a list of shows that premiered in 1989.
| Date |
Name |
Notability |
| January 3 |
Alex D. Linz |
Actor (The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald) |
| January 9 |
Nina Dobrev |
Actress (Degrassi: The Next Generation, The Vampire Diaries) |
| January 10 |
Emily Meade |
Actress (The Leftovers) |
| January 16 |
Yvonne Zima |
Actress (ER, The Young and the Restless) |
| February 16 |
Elizabeth Olsen |
Actress (The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley) |
| February 21 |
Corbin Bleu |
Actor (Flight 29 Down) |
| Kristin Herrera |
Actress (Zoey 101) |
| Scout Taylor-Compton |
Actress (Charmed) |
| March 1 |
Daniella Monet |
Actress (Victorious) |
| March 5 |
Sterling Knight |
Actor (Sonny with a Chance, So Random!) |
| March 15 |
Caitlin Wachs |
Actress (Profiler, Family Affair, Commander in Chief) |
| March 18 |
Lily Collins |
Actress and daughter of Phil Collins |
| March 25 |
Aly Michalka |
Actress (Phil of the Future, Hellcats) |
| April 5 |
Lily James |
English actress (The Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Downton Abbey) |
| April 8 |
Gabriella Wilde |
English actress |
| April 18 |
Alia Shawkat |
Actress (Arrested Development) |
| May 8 |
Nora Arnezeder |
French actress (Xanadu, Zoo) |
| May 10 |
Lindsey Shaw |
Actress (Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Pretty Little Liars) |
| May 19 |
Gaelan Connell |
Actor (Level Up) |
| May 29 |
Brandon Mychal Smith |
Actor (Sonny with a Chance, So Random!) |
| Riley Keough |
Actress (The Girlfriend Experience) and granddaughter of Elvis Presley |
| June 18 |
Renee Olstead |
Actress (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) |
| July 11 |
David Henrie |
Actor (Wizards of Waverly Place) |
| July 12 |
Phoebe Tonkin |
Australian actress (H2O: Just Add Water, The Secret Circle, The Originals) |
| July 23 |
Daniel Radcliffe |
English actor |
| July 25 |
Noel Callahan |
Actor (Romeo!) |
| July 31 |
Alexis Knapp |
Actress (Ground Floor) |
| Jessica Williams |
Actress (Just for Kicks) |
| August 1 |
Landry Allbright |
Actress (The Bold and the Beautiful) |
| August 2 |
Breanna Conrad |
Actress (Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County) |
| August 9 |
Paige Spara |
Actress (Kevin from Work) |
| August 15 |
Carlos Pena, Jr. |
Actor (Big Time Rush) |
| Joe Jonas |
Actor (Jonas L.A.) |
| August 19 |
Romeo Miller |
Actor and rapper (Romeo!) |
| August 21 |
Hayden Panettiere |
Actress and singer (Heroes, Nashville) |
| September 14 |
Jessica Brown Findlay |
English actress (Downton Abbey) |
| Logan Henderson |
Actor (Big Time Rush) |
| September 25 |
Jordan Gavaris |
Canadian actor (Unnatural History) |
| September 26 |
Emma Rigby |
English actress (Hollyoaks, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland) |
| October 1 |
Brie Larson |
Actress (United States of Tara) |
| October 4 |
Dakota Johnson |
Actress (Ben and Kate) and daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith |
| October 10 |
Aimee Teegarden |
Actress (Friday Night Lights, Aim High, Star-Crossed) |
| October 14 |
Mia Wasikowska |
Australian actress (In Treatment) |
| October 24 |
Eliza Taylor |
Australian actress (Neighbours, The 100) |
| Shenae Grimes |
Canadian actress (Degrassi: The Next Generation, 90210) |
| November 30 |
Adelaide Clemens |
Australian actress (Pirate Islands: The Lost Treasure of Fiji, Rectify) |
| December 13 |
Taylor Swift |
Actress (Saturday Night Live) |
| December 18 |
Ashley Benson |
Actress (Pretty Little Liars) |
| December 22 |
Jordin Sparks |
Singer and actress (American Idol) |
| December 28 |
Mackenzie Rosman |
Actress (7th Heaven) |
| December 29 |
Jane Levy |
Actress (Suburgatory) |
| Date |
Name |
Age |
Notability |
| February 5 |
Joe Raposo |
51 |
Composer (Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Three's Company theme song) |
| February 11 |
George O'Hanlon |
65 |
Voice actor (The Jetsons) |
| April 26 |
Lucille Ball |
77 |
Actress, comedian (of the Lucy shows I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy) |
| April 30 |
Guy Williams |
65 |
Actor (Zorro, Lost in Space) |
| May 1 |
Douglass Watson |
68 |
Soap opera actor (Mac on Another World) |
| May 20 |
Gilda Radner |
42 |
Actress, comedian (Saturday Night Live) |
| July 3 |
Jim Backus |
76 |
Actor (Thurston Howell III on Gilligan's Island and voice of Mr. Magoo) |
| July 4 |
Vic Perrin |
73 |
Voice actor (the original Control Voice on The Outer Limits, Hanna-Barbera cartoons) |
| July 10 |
Mel Blanc |
81 |
Voice actor (as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and countless other characters) |
| July 18 |
Rebecca Schaeffer |
21 |
Actress (My Sister Sam) |
| September 17 |
Jay Stewart |
71 |
Announcer (Let's Make a Deal, Sale of the Century, Scrabble) |
| October 6 |
Bette Davis |
81 |
film and television actress |
