This article presents the top-rated American primetime broadcast network television series by season from 1950 to the present according to Nielsen Media Research.
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
September 2019–May 2020[1]
September 2020–May 2021[2]
September 2021–May 2022[3]
September 2022–May 2023[4]
September 2023–May 2024[5]
Multiple rankings in the Top 30
- 43 seasons
|
- 32 seasons
- Monday Night Football (ABC)
|
- 18 seasons
|
- 17 seasons
- Disneyland/Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color/The Wonderful World of Disney (ABC/NBC)
- The Red Skelton Show (NBC/CBS)
- Survivor (CBS)
- The Toast of the Town/The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS)
|
- 16 seasons
|
- 15 seasons
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS)
- Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
|
- 14 seasons
- American Idol (FOX/ABC)
- Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
- ER (NBC)
|
- 13 seasons
- Criminal Minds (CBS)
- Sunday Night Football (NBC)
|
- 12 seasons
- All in the Family/Archie Bunker's Place (CBS)
- Bonanza (NBC)
- Law & Order (NBC)
- The Lucy Show/Here's Lucy (CBS)
- Two and a Half Men (CBS)
|
- 11 seasons
- Frasier (NBC)
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC)
- Murder, She Wrote (CBS)
- My Three Sons (ABC/CBS)
|
- 10 seasons
- The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
- CSI: Miami (CBS)
- Dallas (CBS)
- Friends (NBC)
- I've Got a Secret (CBS)
- The Jack Benny Show (CBS)
- M*A*S*H (CBS)
- NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)
- NYPD Blue (ABC)
- Roseanne/The Conners (ABC)
|
- 9 seasons
- The King of Queens (CBS)
- Blue Bloods (CBS)
- The Carol Burnett Show (CBS)
- Cheers (NBC)
- Dragnet (NBC)
- Happy Days (ABC)
- Hawaii Five-0 (CBS)
- Lassie (CBS)
- The Voice (NBC)
- You Bet Your Life (NBC)
|
- 8 seasons
- The Andy Griffith Show (CBS)
- The Beverly Hillbillies (CBS)
- The Cosby Show (NBC)
- Desperate Housewives (ABC)
- Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS)
- General Electric Theater (CBS)
- Hawaii Five-O (CBS)
- Home Improvement (ABC)
- The Jeffersons (CBS)
- Knots Landing (CBS)
- Little House on the Prairie/Little House: A New Beginning (NBC)
- One Day at a Time (CBS)
- 20/20 (ABC)
- The Virginian/The Men from Shiloh (NBC)
|
- 7 seasons
- Alice (CBS)
- Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (CBS)
- Castle (ABC)
- Cold Case (CBS)
- CSI: NY (CBS)
- The Danny Thomas Show (CBS)
- The F.B.I. (ABC)
- The Golden Girls (NBC)
- The Good Wife (CBS)
- The Jackie Gleason Show (1962-1970) (CBS)
- Laverne & Shirley (ABC)
- The Love Boat (ABC)
- The Mentalist (CBS)
- Murphy Brown (CBS)
- Three's Company (ABC)
- The Waltons (CBS)
- What's My Line? (CBS)
- Without a Trace (CBS)
|
- 6 seasons
- The Bachelor (ABC)
- Bewitched (ABC)
- Coach (ABC)
- Dateline NBC (NBC)
- Dynasty (ABC)
- Falcon Crest (CBS)
- Fireside Theatre (NBC)
- Full House (ABC)
- Growing Pains (ABC)
- Have Gun – Will Travel (CBS)
- House (FOX)
- The Life of Riley (NBC)
- I Love Lucy (CBS)
- Ironside (NBC)
- Judging Amy (CBS)
- L.A. Law (NBC)
- Lost (ABC)
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS)
- Matlock (NBC/ABC)
- Newhart (CBS)
- Night Court (NBC)
- The Perry Como Show (NBC)
- Perry Mason (CBS)
- Primetime Live (ABC)
- Sanford and Son (NBC)
- Seinfeld (NBC)
- Trapper John, M.D. (CBS)
- Wagon Train (NBC/ABC)
- The West Wing (NBC)
- Who's the Boss? (ABC)
|
- 5 seasons
- Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (CBS)
- Chicago Fire (NBC)
- The Colgate Comedy Hour (NBC)
- The Dean Martin Show (NBC)
- A Different World (NBC)
- The Dukes of Hazzard (CBS)
- Fantasy Island (ABC)
- The Ford Show (NBC)
- Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (CBS)
- Head of the Class (ABC)
- In the Heat of the Night (NBC)
- JAG (CBS)
- The Lawrence Welk Show (ABC)
- Magnum, P.I. (CBS)
- The Millionaire (CBS)
- Modern Family (ABC)
- NCIS: New Orleans (CBS)
- Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts (CBS)
- Private Secretary (CBS)
- Rawhide (CBS)
- The Real McCoys (ABC)
- Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (NBC)
- Texaco Star Theater/The Milton Berle Show/The Buick-Berle Show (NBC)
- This Is Your Life (NBC)
- Thursday Night Football (CBS/NBC/FOX)
- Touched by an Angel (CBS)
- Unsolved Mysteries (NBC)
|
- 2 seasons
- The Adventures of Robin Hood (CBS)
- The Alan Young Show (CBS)
- All Star Revue (NBC)
- The Amazing Race (CBS)
- America's Funniest People (ABC)
- Amos 'n' Andy (CBS)
- The Ann Sothern Show (CBS)
- The Apprentice (NBC)
- Armstrong Circle Theatre (NBC)
- The Bachelorette (ABC)
- Baretta (ABC)
- Ben Casey (ABC)
- The Big Event (NBC)
- Big Town (CBS)
- The Bionic Woman (ABC)
- Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (NBC)
- Body of Proof (ABC)
- Cagney & Lacey (CBS)
- Caroline in the City (NBC)
- Chicago P.D. (NBC)
- Chico and the Man (NBC)
- Climax! (CBS)
- Code Black (CBS)
- Cosby (CBS)
- Cybill (CBS)
- Daktari (CBS)
- Dave's World (CBS)
- Dear John (NBC)
- The Defenders (CBS)
- Diagnosis: Murder (CBS)
- Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (CBS)
- The Donna Reed Show (ABC)
- Doogie Howser, M.D. (ABC)
- Ellen (ABC)
- Flipper (NBC)
- 48 Hours (CBS)
- The Fugitive (ABC)
- Gangbusters (NBC)
- The George Gobel Show (NBC)
- Get Smart (NBC)
- Gilligan's Island (CBS)
- The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour (CBS)
- The Good Doctor (ABC)
- Grand (NBC)
- The Guardian (CBS)
- Hee Haw (CBS)
- Heroes (NBC)
- Hogan's Heroes (CBS)
- Hopalong Cassidy (NBC)
- How to Get Away with Murder (ABC)
- I Dream of Jeannie (NBC)
- Jesse (NBC)
- The Jim Nabors Hour (CBS)
- Julia (NBC)
- Kung Fu (ABC)
- Little Big Shots (NBC)
- The Loretta Young Show (NBC)
- Lou Grant (CBS)
- Love & War (CBS)
- Lux Video Theatre (NBC)
- Major Dad (CBS)
- Man Against Crime (NBC)
- The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (CBS)
- Martin Kane, Private Eye (NBC)
- Maverick (ABC)
- McHale's Navy (ABC)
- Miami Vice (NBC)
- Mike & Molly (CBS)
- Mork & Mindy (ABC)
- My Favorite Martian (CBS)
- The Naked Truth (ABC/NBC)
- Name That Tune (CBS)
- The Nanny (CBS)
- 9-1-1 (FOX)
- Our Miss Brooks (CBS)
- The Patty Duke Show (ABC)
- Peter Gunn (NBC)
- The Phil Silvers Show (CBS)
- Police Woman (NBC)
- Private Practice (ABC)
- The Red Buttons Show (CBS)
- Rescue 911 (CBS)
- Riptide (NBC)
- Robert Montgomery Presents (NBC)
- Route 66 (CBS)
- The Roy Rogers Show (NBC)
- Rules of Engagement (CBS)
- Shark (CBS)
- The Single Guy (NBC)
- The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (CBS)
- Still Standing (CBS)
- Strike It Rich (CBS)
- Sugarfoot (ABC)
- Tales of Wells Fargo (NBC)
- Taxi (ABC)
- 3rd Rock from the Sun (NBC)
- To Tell the Truth (CBS)
- Too Close for Comfort (ABC)
- Treasury Men in Action (NBC)
- TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes (NBC)
- 2 Broke Girls (CBS)
- Undercover Boss (CBS)
- The Unit (CBS)
- Vega$ (ABC)
- Veronica's Closet (NBC)
- Wanted: Dead or Alive (CBS)
- Webster (ABC)
- What's Happening!! (ABC)
- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (ABC)
- Young Sheldon (CBS)
References
- ^ Schneider, Michael (May 21, 2020). "100 Most-Watched TV Shows of 2019-20: Winners and Losers". Variety. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
- ^ Schneider, Michael (May 25, 2021). "100 Most-Watched TV Shows of 2020-21: Winners and Losers". Variety. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ Porter, Rick (June 9, 2022). "2021-22 TV Ratings: Final Seven-Day Numbers for Every Network Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ Porter, Rick (June 7, 2023). "TV Ratings 2022-23: Final Seven-Day Averages for Every Network Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ Porter, Rick (June 11, 2024). "TV Ratings 2023-24: Final Numbers for (Almost) Every Network Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
|
---|
|
1950s | |
---|
1960s | |
---|
1970s | |
---|
1980s | |
---|
1990s | |
---|
2000s | |
---|
2010s | |
---|