Editing 1988 in American television (section)

===Ending this year===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Date || Title || Debut
|-
|January 2
|''[[Sable (TV series)|Sable]]''
|rowspan="5"|1987
|-
|January 8
|''[[I Married Dora]]''
|-
|January 15
|''[[Rags to Riches (TV series)|Rags to Riches]]''
|-
|February 10
|''[[The Law & Harry McGraw]]''
|-
|February 11
|''[[The Charmings]]''
|-
|February 12
|''[[Sledge Hammer!]]''
|1986
|-
|February 13
|''[[Mr. President (TV series)|Mr. President]]''
|rowspan="5"|1987
|-
|February 20
|''[[Women in Prison (TV series)|Women in Prison]]''
|-
|March 8
|''[[I'm Telling!]]''
|-
|March 22
|''[[Frank's Place]]''
|-
|March 25
|''[[Lingo (American game show)|Lingo]]'' (returned in 2002)
|-
|rowspan="3"|March 26
|''[[9 to 5 (TV series)|9 to 5]]''
|1982
|-
|''[[Dennis the Menace (1986 TV series)|Dennis the Menace]]''
|1986
|-
|''[[What's Happening Now!!]]''
|rowspan="2"|1985
|-
|March 28
|''[[Yogi's Treasure Hunt]]''
|-
|March 29
|''[[Trial and Error (TV series)|Trial and Error]]''
|1988
|-
|March 30
|''[[We Got It Made]]''
|1983
|-
|April 1
|''[[Blackout (game show)|Blackout]]''
|rowspan="2"|1988
|-
|April 9
|''[[High Mountain Rangers]]''
|-
|April 12
|''[[My Sister Sam]]''
|1986
|-
|April 14
|''[[Probe (1988 TV series)|Probe]]''
|1988
|-
|April 22
|''[[Beverly Hills Buntz]]''
|1987
|-
|rowspan="2"|May 1
|''[[Magnum, P.I.]]'' (original series) (Rebooted in 2018)
|1980
|-
|''[[Truth or Consequences]]''
|1950
|-
|May 2
|''[[Jem (TV series)|Jem]]''
|1985
|-
|May 3
|''[[Hotel (American TV series)|Hotel]]''
|1983
|-
|rowspan="3"|May 7
|''[[The Facts of Life (TV series)|The Facts of Life]]''
|1979
|-
|''[[Spenser: For Hire]]''
|1985
|-
|''[[Ohara (TV series)|Ohara]]''
|rowspan="2"|1987
|-
|May 6
|''[[The Highwayman (TV series)|The Highwayman]]''
|-
|May 8
|''[[Our House (1986 TV series)|Our House]]''
|rowspan="2"|1986
|-
|rowspan="2"|May 10
|''[[Crime Story (American TV series)|Crime Story]]''
|-
|''[[Dolly (1987 TV series)|Dolly]]''
|rowspan="3"|1987
|-
|May 12
|''[[Max Headroom (TV series)|Max Headroom]]''
|-
|May 14
|''[[Second Chance (1987 TV series)|Second Chance]]'' (aka ''Boys Will Be Boys'')
|-
|May 16
|''[[Cagney and Lacey]]''
|rowspan="2"|1982
|-
|rowspan="2"|May 25
|''[[St. Elsewhere]]''
|-
|''[[Aaron's Way]]''
|1988
|-
|May 27
|''[[Punky Brewster]]'' (returned in [[Punky Brewster (2021 TV series)|2021]])
|1984
|-
|May 28
|''[[Marblehead Manor]]''
|rowspan="3"|1987
|-
|June 8
|''[[The Slap Maxwell Story]]''
|-
|June 10
|''[[Houston Knights]]''
|-
|June 20
|''[[Eisenhower and Lutz]]''
|1988
|-
|June 28
|''[[J.J. Starbuck]]''
|rowspan="3"|1987
|-
|June 29
|''[[The Bronx Zoo (TV series)|The Bronx Zoo]]''
|-
|July 16
|''[[Little Clowns of Happytown]]''
|-
|July 23
|''[[Solid Gold (television series)|Solid Gold]]''
|1980
|-
|July 24
|''[[Tales from the Darkside]]''
|1984
|-
|August 21
|''[[Werewolf (TV series)|Werewolf]]''
|1987
|-
|September 2
|''[[Pyramid (game show)|Pyramid]]'' (returned in 1991)
|1973
|-
|rowspan="2"|September 3
|''[[Dennis the Menace (1986 TV series)|Dennis the Menace]]''
|rowspan="2"|1986
|-
|''[[The Flintstone Kids]]''
|-
|September 9
|''[[High Rollers]]''
|1974
|-
|October 22
|''[[Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures]]''
|1987
|-
|October 28
|''[[The Late Show (1986 TV series)|The Late Show]]''
|1986
|-
|November 18
|''[[3-2-1 Contact]]''
|1980
|-
|November 22
|''[[Denver, the Last Dinosaur]]''
|rowspan="6"|1988
|-
|December 3
| ''[[The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley]]'' 
|-
|December 7
|''[[The Van Dyke Show]]''
|-
|December 9
|''[[Something Is Out There]]''
|-
|December 17
|''[[Superman (TV series)|Superman]]''
|-
|December 24
|''[[Hey Vern, It's Ernest!]]''
|-
|December 25
|''[[The Care Bears (TV series)|The Care Bears]]''
|1985
|-
|December 28
|''[[Annie McGuire (TV series)|Annie McGuire]]''
|rowspan="2"|1988
|-
|December 31
|''[[Raising Miranda]]''
|}