List of 2021 American television debuts
These are the American television shows that premiered in 2021.
Television films and specials
These television films and specials premiered or are scheduled to premiere in 2021. The premiere dates may be changed depending on a variety of factors.| First aired | Title | Channel | Source |
| January 1 | The Rose Parade's New Year's Celebration | NBC | |
| January 1 | The Wrong Real Estate Agent | LMN | |
| January 2 | Taking a Shot at Love | Hallmark Channel | |
| January 3 | Mountain Monsters: A Tribute to Trapper | Travel Channel | |
| January 5 | Gordon Ramsay's American Road Trip | Fox | |
| January 5 | [2020–21 United States Senate election in Georgia|Election Night: The Georgia Senate Runoffs - Your Voice Your Vote - An American Broadcasting Company|ABC News Special] | ABC | |
| January 8 | The Wrong Fiancé | LMN | |
| January 9 | A New Year's Resolution | Hallmark Channel | |
| January 10 | Critics' Choice Super Awards | The CW | |
| January 10 | The SpongeBob SportsPants Countdown Special | Nickelodeon | |
| January 10 | NFL on Nickelodeon | Nickelodeon | |
| January 15 | The Wrong Mr. Right | LMN | |
| January 16 | Monster Preacher | Oxygen | |
| January 16 | Two for the Win | Hallmark Channel | |
| January 17 | Ships in the Night: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery | Hallmark Movies & Mysteries | |
| January 18 | North Korea: Inside the Mind of a Dictator | National Geographic | |
| January 20 | Celebrating America | ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, NBC | |
| January 22 | The Wrong Prince Charming | LMN | |
| January 23 | Salt-N-Pepa | Lifetime | |
| January 23 | Let's Talk About Salt-N-Pepa | Lifetime | |
| January 23 | Love in the Alps | Hallmark Channel | |
| January 28 | COVID-19 Vaccine and the Black Community A Tyler Perry Special | BET | |
| January 30 | Snowkissed | Hallmark Channel | |
| January 30 | Wendy Williams: The Movie | Lifetime | |
| January 30 | Wendy Williams: What a Mess! | Lifetime | |
| January 30 | Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street | HBO | |
| February 4 | No Joke: Chris Rock and Gayle King | BET | |
| February 5 | Deadly Therapy | LMN | |
| February 6 | Whitney Houston & Bobbi Kristina: Didn't We Almost Have It All | Lifetime | |
| February 6 | Beverly Hills Wedding | Hallmark Channel | |
| February 9 | Black Art: In the Absence of Light | HBO | |
| February 9 | My Celebrity Dream Wedding | VH1 | |
| February 10 | Tuskegee Airmen: Legacy of Courage | History | |
| February 11 | The Wrong Valentine | LMN | |
| February 12 | Galentine's Day Nightmare | LMN | |
| February 13 | Death Saved My Life | Lifetime | |
| February 13 | Beyond the Headlines: Faking Death | Lifetime | |
| February 13 | Playing Cupid | Hallmark Channel | |
| February 14 | Valentine's Again | Hallmark Channel | |
| February 14 | Crossword Mysteries: Terminal Descent | Hallmark Movies & Mysteries | |
| February 14 | A Spy in the FBI | Reelz | |
| February 14 | Aaron Hernandez: Life Inside | Reelz | |
| February 14 | Grand Ole Opry: 95 Years of Country Music | NBC | |
| February 19 | His Killer Fan | LMN | |
| February 20 | The Long Island Serial Killer: A Mother's Hunt for Justice | Lifetime | |
| February 20 | The Long Island Serial Killer: Special Report Documentary | Lifetime | |
| February 20 | Mix Up in the Mediterranean | Hallmark Channel | |
| February 21 | Chronicle Mysteries: Helped to Death | Hallmark Movies & Mysteries | |
| February 26 | Brutal Bridesmaids | LMN | |
| February 27 | Girl in the Basement | Lifetime | |
| February 27 | Beyond the Headlines: Surviving Child Abduction and Imprisonment | Lifetime | |
| February 27 | It Was Always You | Hallmark Channel | |
| February 27 | Bigfoot: I Saw It! | Reelz | |
| February 28 | Don't Waste Your Pretty | TV One | |
| March 5 | Dangerous Medicine | LMN | |
| March 6 | Circle of Deception | Lifetime | |
| March 6 | Beyond The Headlines: Beauty Queens Gone Bad | Lifetime | |
| March 7 | Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special | CBS | |
| March 9 | Covid Diaries NYC | HBO | |
| March 12 | An Organized Killer | LMN | |
| March 13 | A House on Fire | Lifetime | |
| March 13 | Beyond The Headlines: Mental Health Myths and Misconceptions | Lifetime | |
| March 14 | Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: How to Con a Con | Hallmark Movies & Mysteries | |
| March 18 | Deep Blue Nightmare | LMN | |
| March 19 | Deadly Excursion: Kidnapped From The Beach | LMN | |
| March 20 | Chasing Waterfalls | Hallmark Channel | |
| March 20 | Ruby | Lifetime | |
| March 21 | Pearl in the Mist | Lifetime | |
| March 21 | Mystery 101: Killer Timing | Hallmark Movies & Mysteries | |
| March 24 | The Day Sports Stood Still | HBO | |
| March 25 | People Presents: Harry & Meghan's American Dream | The CW | |
| March 25 | Girl Talk | TLC/Oprah Winfrey Network | |
| March 27 | Breakup Bootcamp | Hallmark Channel | |
| March 27 | All That Glitters | Lifetime | |
| March 28 | Hidden Jewel | Lifetime | |
| April 2 | Hysterical | FX | |
| April 3 | Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia | Lifetime | |
| April 3 | Tarnished Gold | Lifetime | |
| April 3 | One Perfect Wedding | Hallmark Channel | |
| April 4 | Faith Heist | Bounce TV | |
| April 10 | As Luck Would Have It | Hallmark Channel | |
| April 17 | Right in Front of Me | Hallmark Channel | |
| April 17 | Lust: A Deadly Sins Saga | Lifetime | |
| April 18 | Roll Up Your Sleeves: Presented by Walgreens | NBC | |
| April 24 | Envy: A Deadly Sins Saga | Lifetime | |
| April 24 | Hearts Down Under | Hallmark Channel | |
| April 26 | Sesame Street: 50 Years of Sunny Days | ABC | |
| April 29 | People Presents: William & Kate's Royal Anniversary | The CW | |
| May 8 | Baby, It's Cold Inside | Hallmark Channel | |
| May 14 | The Queen Carries On: A Gayle King Special | CBS | |
| May 15 | Sweet Carolina | Hallmark Channel | |
| May 22 | Iyanla: Fix My Life Farewell Special | Oprah Winfrey Network | |
| May 27 | Friends: The Reunion | HBO Max | |
| May 30 | Bo Burnham: Inside | Netflix | |
| May 31 | Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten | PBS | |
| May 31 | A Party Gone Wrong | Lifetime | |
| May 31 | The Secrets She Keeps | Lifetime | |
| June 5 | Gone Mom | Lifetime | |
| June 5 | You Had Me at Aloha | Hallmark Channel | |
| June 6 | Soccer Mom Madam | Lifetime | |
| June 12 | Left for Dead: The Ashley Reeves Story | Lifetime | |
| June 12 | The Baker's Son | Hallmark Channel | |
| June 13 | Secrets of a Gold Digger Killer | Lifetime | |
| June 18 | Trevor Noah Presents: Josh Johnson | Comedy Central | |
| June 19 | Secrets of a Marine's Wife | Lifetime | |
| June 19 | Her Pen Pal | Hallmark Channel | |
| June 20 | Cradle Did Fall | Lifetime | |
| June 26 | Doomsday Mom | Lifetime | |
| June 26 | Sand Dollar Cove | Hallmark Channel | |
| June 27 | Picture Perfect Lies | Lifetime | |
| June 29 | TMZ Investigates: UFOs: The Pentagon Proof | Fox | |
| June 30 | Dragging the Classics: The Brady Bunch | Paramount+ | |
| July 5 | Shark Beach With Chris Hemsworth | National Geographic | |
| July 10 | Crashing Through the Snow | Hallmark Channel | |
| July 13 | Spin | Disney Channel | |
| July 13 | Descendants: The Royal Wedding | Disney Channel | |
| July 21 | Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans | Netflix | |
| July 21 | Olympic Dreams Featuring Jonas Brothers | NBC | |
| July 24 | Tig Notaro: Drawn | HBO | |
| Spring | The Puppy Draft | Nat Geo Wild | |
| September 1 | 9/11: Inside the President's War Room | Apple TV+ | |
| September 1 | Reporting 9/11 and Why it Still Matters | Wondrium | |
| September 1 | Women Journalists of 9/11: Their Stories | Wondrium | |
| September 2 | CMA Summer Jam | ABC | |
| September 5 | Front Row to History: The 9/11 Classroom | CNN | |
| September 5 | Lost Calls of 9/11 | Fox News | |
| September 5 | Remembering 9/11: Reflections From Those Forever Changed | Start TV | |
| September 6 | Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace | Lifetime | |
| September 6 | Stories from the Stage: Changed Forever | World Channel | |
| September 7 | Rebuilding Hope: The Children of 9/11 | Discovery+ | |
| September 7 | America After 9/11 | PBS | |
| September 8 | Women of 9/11: A Special Edition of 20/20 with Robin Roberts | ABC | |
| September 8 | E60: Comeback Season – Sports After 9/11 | ESPN2 | |
| September 8 | Memory Box: Echoes Of 9/11 | MSNBC | |
| September 8 | Vice Versa Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11 | Vice TV | |
| September 9 | The 26th Street Garage: The FBI’s Untold Story | Paramount+ | |
| September 9 | 9/11, 20 Years Later: Remembrance and Ramifications | CNN | |
| September 9 | No Responders Left Behind | Discovery+ | |
| September 9 | Remembering the Game for New York | MLB Network | |
| September 10 | Come from Away | Apple TV+ | |
| September 10 | The CIA: Race Against Time – The True Story of the CIA and 9/11 | CBS | |
| September 10 | I Can Hear You: President Bush at Ground Zero | Fox News | |
| September 10 | 9/11: The Legacy | History | |
| September 10 | Rise and Fall: The World Trade Center | History | |
| September 10 | Return of the Taliban: A Vice Special Report | Showtime | |
| September 10 | Detainee 101 | Showtime | |
| September 11 | 9/11/01: The First Night | MSNBC | |
| September 12 | America's Longest War: What Went Wrong in Afghanistan | CNN | |
| September 15 | Amanda Gorman: Brave Enough with Robin Roberts - A Special Edition of 20/20 | ABC | |
| September 23 | Kenny Rogers: All In for the Gambler | CBS | |
| September 26 | The Tony Awards Present: Broadway's Back! | CBS | |
| October 1 | Under Wraps | Disney Channel | |
| October 1 | The Most Magical Story on Earth: 50 Years of Walt Disney World | ABC | |
| October 1 | Lego Star Wars: Terrifying Tales | Disney+ | |
| October 5 | Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It | PBS | |
| October 7 | Mickey's Tale of Two Witches | Disney Junior | |
| October 8 | Muppets Haunted Mansion | Disney+ | |
| October 12 | A Night in the Academy Museum | ABC | |
| October 14 | Signed, Sealed, Delivered 13 | Hallmark Drama | |
| October 29 | Scooby-Doo, Where Are You Now! | The CW | |
| November 4 | The Queen Family Singalong | ABC | |
| November 6 | Highway to Heaven | Lifetime | |
| November 6 | Attica | Showtime | |
| November 14 | Adele One Night Only | CBS | |
| November 18 | Psych 3: This Is Gus | Peacock | |
| November 25 | South Park: Post Covid | Paramount+ | |
| November 25 | World Pet Games | Fox | |
| November 26 | A Loud House Christmas | Nickelodeon | |
| November 26 | Trolls: Holiday in Harmony | NBC | |
| November 27 | Nash Bridges | USA Network | |
| November 28 | The Waltons' Homecoming | The CW | |
| November 28 | One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga | CBS | |
| December 1 | Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas | The Roku Channel | |
| December 1 | Beebo Saves Christmas | The CW | |
| December 1 | Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Around | NBC | |
| December 2 | Annie Live! | NBC | |
| December 2 | Mickey and Minnie Wish Upon a Christmas | Disney Junior | |
| December 3 | Christmas Again | Disney Channel | |
| December 3 | Mariah's Christmas: The Magic Continues | Apple TV+ | |
| December 3 | A Christmas Dance Reunion | Lifetime | |
| December 6 | A Very Boy Band Holiday | ABC | |
| December 6 | Michael Bublé's Christmas in the City | NBC | |
| December 7 | Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes | ABC | |
| December 9 | The Real Housewives of the North Pole | Peacock | |
| December 12 | A Christmas Proposal | CBS | |
| December 12 | December 12 | Blending Christmas | |
| December 13 | Gordon Ramsay's Road Trip: European Vacation | Fox | |
| December 14 | Gordon Ramsay's Road Trip: Christmas Vacation | Fox | |
| December 16 | Days of Our Lives: A Very Salem Christmas | Peacock | |
| December 16 | South Park: Post Covid: The Return of Covid | Paramount+ | |
| December 19 | Christmas Takes Flight | CBS | |
| December 23 | TMZ's Merry Elfin' Christmas: Bye, Bye 2021! | Fox | |
| December 27 | 2021 and Done with Snoop Dogg & Kevin Hart | Peacock | |
| December 31 | New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash | CBS | |
| December 31 | Miley's New Year's Eve Party | NBC |