The top TV show from the year you were born
- It's hard to keep up with every new or returning show, but some shows stand out each year, whether it's a particular season or a strong debut.
- George Clooney won hearts on "ER," the dysfunctional folks at Dunder Mifflin made "The Office" memorable, and "Game of Thrones" was one of the best shows we had in years (at least until its final season.)
- Aiming to name a different program every year, we used Nielsen ratings from "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows," along with award nominations, and our own takes to choose the most popular show airing on TV from every year since 1967.
- Most noticeable is the shift in popularity from must-watch network TV, to the rise of reality TV in the late '90s and early 2000s, to streaming content in the 2010s.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Anjelica Oswald contributed to a previous version of this story.
1967: "The Andy Griffith Show"
The final season of "The Andy Griffith Show" took place during the 1967-1968 TV season, and it rated No. 1.
1968: "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C."
"The Andy Griffith Show" spin-off ranked No. 2 during its final year. "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" had the top network ranking.
1969: "Bonanza"
This Western hit consistently rated high, usually between No. 1 and No. 3 on the ratings.
1970: "Gunsmoke"
The Western was the number one show on TV from 1957 to 1961. In 1970, it was still the number two most popular series.
1971: "Marcus Welby, M.D."
The show's second season ranked No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings.
1972: "All in the Family"
The hit show featuring Archie Bunker premiered in 1971 and resulted in numerous spin-offs and was the highest-rated show for five seasons.
1973: "Hawaii Five-0"
The show earned an Emmy nomination for best drama in 1973 and was at its height during season five.
1974: "M*A*S*H"
The show ran from 1972 to 1983, and it ranked at its highest in 1974 at No. 4. The finale was watched by 106 million people.
1975: "Sanford and Son"
The comedy was Norman Lear's second hit after "All in the Family." Based on a British comedy, "Steptoe and Son," the series was No. 2 from 1974 to 1975.
1976: "Happy Days"
The high-school comedy set in the '50s became the No. 1 program in 1976.
1977: "Laverne & Shirley"
The sitcom following the assembly-line workers became No. 1 in its second year and held the spot for the 1978-1979 TV season.
1978: "Mork & Mindy"
The "Happy Days" spin-off comedy starring Robin Williams was number three behind "Laverne & Shirley" and "Three's Company" from 1978-1979. Williams played an alien, Mork, who was outcast from his kind and sent to study Earthlings.
1979: "Three's Company"
The John Ritter sitcom was consistently in the top three programs from 1977 through 1980.
1980: "Dallas"
The soap opera became the highest-rated in 1980 thanks in part to its "Who Shot JR?" campaign. It remained the most popular show through the 1982 TV season.
1981: "The Dukes of Hazzard"
Other than "60 Minutes," the comedy starring Tom Wopat, John Schneider, and Catherine Bach was the only show to come close to "Dallas" during the height of its popularity.
1982: "The Jeffersons"
The series following George Jefferson, Archie Bunker's former neighbor, ran for 11 seasons from 1975 to 1985 and reached No. 3 in the 1981-1982 season.
1983: "The A-Team"
The series was the fourth most-watched program in 1983 behind "Dallas," "60 Minutes," and "Dynasty." The series followed a team of soldiers in Vietnam on a secret mission.
1984: "Dynasty"
"Dynasty" finally topped "Dallas" in the ratings in the 1984 to 1985 television season.
1985: "The Cosby Show"
The sitcom was the top show for five consecutive television seasons starting in September 1985 until "Cheers" had a rating's surge.
1986: "Family Ties"
Michael J. Fox won three Emmy awards for lead actor in a comedy from 1986 until 1988.
1987: "The Golden Girls"
Blanche, and Dorothy, and Rose were a hit from 1985 to 1992. The series won best comedy series at the Emmys in 1987.
1988: "A Different World"
"The Cosby Show" spin-off starred Lisa Bonet as she went to college in its first season. It was the second and third most-watched program during its first two seasons.
1989: "Roseanne"
"Roseanne" was an instant hit and was among the top three shows on TV from 1988 through 1993.
1990: "Cheers"
"Cheers" ran from 1982 to 1993 and hit its stride in 1990, finally taking the rating's crown from "The Cosby Show."
1991: "Murphy Brown"
The journalism sitcom ran from 1988 to 1998 and broke CBS records in 1991. It was third most-watched show that season behind "Roseanne" and "60 Minutes."
1992: "Murder She Wrote"
Angela Lansbury played mystery author and detective Jessica Beatrice Fletcher. The series was consistently among the top 10 watched shows from 1990 through 1995. Lansbury won the Golden Globe for best performance by an actress in a TV drama for four years in 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1990.
1993: "Home Improvement"
The only show that beat out "Home Improvement" in the 1993-1994 season was "60 Minutes."
1994: "Seinfeld"
The "show about nothing" finally hit No. 1 in its sixth season.
1995: "ER"
The series went back and forth with "Seinfeld" in the rating's for the top spot a few seasons, but "E.R." won out in 1995, 1996, and 1998.
1996: "NYPD Blue"
The series, which based episodes on real cases, had one of its best seasons in 1996, ranking in the top 10.
1997: "Suddenly Susan"
The comedy starring Brooke Shields surpassed "Friends" during the 1996-1997 TV season and was the only other show to compete with "ER" and "Seinfeld" in the ratings.
1998: "Frasier"
The show started as a spin-off from "Cheers" and was at No. 3 on the Nielsen ratings.
1999: "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"
When reality TV started to take off, families gathered to watch Regis Philbin quiz contestants and see if anyone could win the million. The show was so popular in the 1999-2000 season that its Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday night showings were the three highest-viewed shows.
2000: "Survivor"
The US was entralled with the idea of watching ordinary people battle their wits and strength to win $1 million. Better yet, people wanted to know if Richard Hatch, who was considered one of the show's biggest villains for backstabbing contestants, could win it all. He did.
2001: "Friends"
After years of hovering around the top three spot, by the end of season eight, "Friends" was the most-watched TV program.
2002: "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
The show has spawned many spin-offs.
2003: "American Idol"
America tuned in to see if Justin or Kelly would win the singing competition hosted in part by Ryan Seacrest. Now, Kelly Clarkson has her own show. Both the Tuesday and Wednesday night tapings came in right behind "CSI."
2004: "Desperate Housewives"
The drama's 2004 premiere was ABC's most popular debut.
2005: "Grey's Anatomy"
"Grey's Anatomy" was the next most-watched show behind "American Idol," "CSI," and the housewives for the 2005-2006 year.
2006: "The Office"
The comedy, about a group of employees at a paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania may have dwindled after Steve Carell's departure, but season three of the comedy was acclaimed.
2007: "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Curb Your Enthusiasm's" sixth season aired in 2007 and was consistently ranked high. The show has been renewed for an 11th season.
2008: "The Wire"
The critically-acclaimed HBO series wrapped in 2008 with sensational reviews.
2009: "Mad Men"
The third season of AMC's advertising series starring Elisabeth Moss and Jon Hamm was universally acclaimed.
2010: "Parks & Recreation"
The second season established "Parks & Rec" as one of the best shows, even though it wasn't necessarily the best critically.
2011: "Game of Thrones"
The hit HBO show premiered in 2011, and while its ending was divisive, the show established itself as a front-runner for years to come. It also became one of the most-pirated series during its run.
2013: "The Walking Dead"
When Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) woke up from a coma to find the world overrun by the dead, millions of fans followed along to see if he would be reunited with his family. By season three, over 10 million viewers were tuning in weekly.
Though the ratings aren't as strong now, the series has been renewed for an 11th season and has spawned two spin-off shows.
2013: "Breaking Bad'
Walter White's journey from school teacher to drug lord ended with a near perfect critics' score.
2014: "Orange Is the New Black"
By the end of 2013, Netflix said "OITNB" was its most-watched original series and remained as such through February 2016.
2015: "Empire"
According to Indiewire, other than "TWD" and Sunday Night Football, the top show among adults from 18-49 was Fox's musical drama from Lee Daniels.
2016: "Atlanta"
"Atlanta" was a standout, proven by its high ratings and awards, including a nomination for Critics' Choice and an Emmy.
2017: "This Is Us"
Viewers kept tuning in to find out what happened to Jack. Their curiosity made "This Is Us" among the most popular shows during the 2017-2018 season.
The series won outstanding new program at the Television Critics Association Awards and Sterling K. Brown won best actor in a TV series drama at the Golden Globes and Primetime Emmys.
2018: "The Big Bang Theory"
Over 17 million viewers tuned in weekly to see what mischief Sheldon, Penny, and Leonard would get into and if Bob Newhart would return to reprise his popular cameo. In the 2017-2018 season, Sheldon and Amy finally became engaged and were married by Mark Hamill.
The show was the top-watched show from 2016 through 2018. Only Sunday Night Football was more viewed by it during its final season from 2018-2019.
2019: "The Mandalorian"
No one anticipated how universally beloved the speechless little green guy would become. He quickly became dubbed "Baby Yoda," though his official name is "The Child."
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