A Year in Review: The Biggest Moments in TV

The only calendar that matters to TV fans is the one that begins in September — the official kickoff of a new television season. As we set our DVRs for what’s to come, we also take a look back at all the big news, onscreen and off, from the last year.

Jan. 2, 2018: Hoda Kotb is officially named Savannah Guthrie’s cohost on Today, making them the first all-female anchor team on NBC’s morning show.

Feb. 7, 2018: NBC’s coverage of the Winter Olympics kicks off in PyeongChang, South Korea. Over 2,400 hours of programming air on more platforms than ever before.

Feb. 25, 2018: The midseason premiere of The Walking Dead ends with Carl Grimes shooting himself after being bitten by a walker.

April 29, 2018: With its 636th show, “Forgive and Regret,” The Simpsons bests Gunsmoke as America’s longest-running scripted series in episode count. Fittingly, the opening sequence features a gunfight between Maggie and Marshal Matt Dillon.

May 8, 2018: Pauley Perrette closes out 15 seasons as NCIS forensic specialist Abby Sciuto by coming out of a gunshot-induced coma, catching her attacker and then leaving town to start a charity in a fallen colleague’s honor.

Aug. 21, 2018: Still no return date for Game of Thrones. Dragons everywhere heave a huge, fiery sigh of frustration.

Sept. 24, 2017: Star Trek: Discovery boldly launches on CBS All Access as the first new Trek series in 12 years… but not the last: More spinoffs are in development. (And how ’bout the original U.S.S. Enterprise popping up in the finale?!)

Jan. 12, 2018: David Letterman returns to TV with his Netflix talk show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. His first guest: Barack Obama.

Sept. 25, 2017: CBS’s Young Sheldon premieres, and The Big Bang Theory spinoff becomes the highest-rated new comedy of the season. ABC’s The Good Doctor nabs the same honor among dramas.

Feb. 4, 2018: Super Bowl Sunday gives the Philadelphia Eagles a massive win over the New England Patriots and the postgame This Is Us episode finally reveals that Pearson patriarch Jack died of a heart attack caused by smoke inhalation.

March 27, 2018: She’s back! After a 21-year wait, more than 18 million people tune in for the return of Roseanne. Three days later, the show is renewed.

May 29, 2018: She’s gone! Just two months after her triumphant return, Roseanne Barr tweets herself out of a job. Three weeks later, a Barr-less retooling of the sitcom, retitled The Conners, is announced with the rest of the cast intact.

May 19, 2018: The royal wedding of Prince Harry and Suits alum Meghan Markle airs across most broadcast networks and cable news outlets, attracting an estimated 1.9 billion romantics worldwide.

July 12, 2018: Netflix is the most Emmy-nominated network of the season with 112 nods, besting perennial leader HBO.

Aug. 13, 2018: Maurice Benard celebrates 25 years as General Hospital’s tortured mob-throb Sonny Corinthos.