Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Associate Professor of Film and Television studies Charlotte Howell joins WIRED to answer the internet's burning questions about the history of television. How did television work before digital transmission? How was TV able to grow from four channels to literally hundreds? What are the most impactful and revolutionary television shows in history? How did life change when the television was first released? When do critics say was the modern golden age of television? Answers to these questions and many more await on Television History Support.
0:00 Television History Support
0:19 Criticism of Television in society
2:42 Origins of Late Night TV
3:50 365 channels and nothing’s on
5:47 90’s Family Sitcoms
7:10 Emmy snubs
8:08 I Love Lucy
10:04 We now return to our regularly scheduled programming
11:45 Star Trek
13:06 Most impactful TV shows
14:40 Educational cable gives way to Reality TV
16:36 How did life change when the television was first released?
17:25 TV in the 1940s
18:53 The Modern Golden Age of Television
20:30 Revolutionary shows
21:33 TV before digital transmission
22:19 I’m goin down to South Park gonna have myself a time
23:19 Black and White TV to Color
24:49 Syndication
25:38 Westerns
26:39 The advent of streaming
27:29 Public Access Television
28:27 Signing off
Director: Lauren Zeitoun
Director of Photography: Kevin Dynia
Editor: Richard Trammell
Expert: Charlotte Howell
Creative Producer: Lisandro Perez-Rey
Line Producer: Jamie Rasmussen
Associate Producer: Brandon White
Production Manager: Jonathan Rinkerman
Casting Producer: Nick Sawyer
Camera Operator: Jeremy Harris
Sound Mixer: Sean Paulsen
Production Assistant: Sonia Butt
Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin
Post Production Coordinator: Stella Shortino
Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araujo
Additional Editor: Sam DiVito
Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds
Still haven’t subscribed to WIRED on YouTube? ►► http://wrd.cm/15fP7B7
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Want more WIRED? Get the magazine ►► subscribe.wired.com/subscribe/splits/wired/WIR_YouTube?source=EDT_WIR_YouTube_0_Video_Description_ZZ
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Get more incredible stories on science and tech with our daily newsletter: https://wrd.cm/DailyYT
Also, check out the free WIRED channel on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV.
ABOUT WIRED
WIRED is where tomorrow is realized. Through thought-provoking stories and videos, WIRED explores the future of business, innovation, and culture.
Associate Professor of Film and Television studies Charlotte Howell joins WIRED to answer the internet's burning questions about the history of television. How did television work before digital transmission? How was TV able to grow from four channels to literally hundreds? What are the most impactful and revolutionary television shows in history? How did life change when the television was first released? When do critics say was the modern golden age of television? Answers to these questions and many more await on Television History Support.
0:00 Television History Support
0:19 Criticism of Television in society
2:42 Origins of Late Night TV
3:50 365 channels and nothing’s on
5:47 90’s Family Sitcoms
7:10 Emmy snubs
8:08 I Love Lucy
10:04 We now return to our regularly scheduled programming
11:45 Star Trek
13:06 Most impactful TV shows
14:40 Educational cable gives way to Reality TV
16:36 How did life change when the television was first released?
17:25 TV in the 1940s
18:53 The Modern Golden Age of Television
20:30 Revolutionary shows
21:33 TV before digital transmission
22:19 I’m goin down to South Park gonna have myself a time
23:19 Black and White TV to Color
24:49 Syndication
25:38 Westerns
26:39 The advent of streaming
27:29 Public Access Television
28:27 Signing off
Director: Lauren Zeitoun
Director of Photography: Kevin Dynia
Editor: Richard Trammell
Expert: Charlotte Howell
Creative Producer: Lisandro Perez-Rey
Line Producer: Jamie Rasmussen
Associate Producer: Brandon White
Production Manager: Jonathan Rinkerman
Casting Producer: Nick Sawyer
Camera Operator: Jeremy Harris
Sound Mixer: Sean Paulsen
Production Assistant: Sonia Butt
Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin
Post Production Coordinator: Stella Shortino
Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araujo
Additional Editor: Sam DiVito
Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds
Still haven’t subscribed to WIRED on YouTube? ►► http://wrd.cm/15fP7B7
Listen to the Get WIRED podcast ►► link.chtbl.com/wired-ytc-desc
Want more WIRED? Get the magazine ►► subscribe.wired.com/subscribe/splits/wired/WIR_YouTube?source=EDT_WIR_YouTube_0_Video_Description_ZZ
Follow WIRED:
Instagram ►►instagram.com/wired
Twitter ►►twitter.com/wired
Facebook ►►facebook.com/wired
Tik Tok ►►tiktok.com/@wired
Get more incredible stories on science and tech with our daily newsletter: https://wrd.cm/DailyYT
Also, check out the free WIRED channel on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV.
ABOUT WIRED
WIRED is where tomorrow is realized. Through thought-provoking stories and videos, WIRED explores the future of business, innovation, and culture.
