document_title: List of That '70s Show characters

question_text: who played hyde's dad on that 70 show

question_tokens: who played hyde 's dad on that 70 show

text: List of That '70s Show characters

text: Main characters[edit]

text:
Eric Forman (portrayed by Topher Grace): The protagonist; Eric is a nice guy, generally geeky, physically slight, and somewhat clumsy. He is a smart-aleck with a fast wit and a deadpan sense of humor. He convinces his parents to let his best friend Steven Hyde move in with them, making Hyde like a brother. His father, Red, is always hard on him. Eric is in a relationship with his longtime love and neighbor Donna Pinciotti. He decides to become a teacher after high school, and he leaves the series at the end of the seventh season to teach in Africa, and returns at the series finale, reuniting with Donna.
Jackie Burkhart (portrayed by Mila Kunis): The youngest member of the group, Jackie starts the series as the pretty, rich, spoiled, selfish, conceited, and annoying immature girl. She likes to give thoughtless and superficial advice, which occasionally turns out to be correct. As the series progresses, she moves away from her self-centered ways and becomes sweeter. Partly as a result of these changes, she and Donna become better friends. By the end of the series, Jackie has dated three of the four males of the group: Kelso, Hyde, and Fez.
Michael Kelso (portrayed by Ashton Kutcher): The dim-witted pretty boy of the group who wants to coast through life on his good looks. He spends the first half of the series in a relationship with the equally vapid Jackie but their relationship comes to an end when Jackie wants to marry him and he isn't ready, so he runs away to California with Donna in the Season 4 finale. His best friend is Fez. He fathers a baby girl named Betsy during the seventh season. He becomes a police officer but gets kicked off the force because he does just about everything wrong. He gets a job as a security guard at a Playboy Club in Chicago, and leaves the series during the eighth and final season. He only appears in five episodes during season eight, including the series finale.
Steven Hyde (portrayed by Danny Masterson): Eric's best friend and the anti-establishment member of the group. By the end of season one, the Formans allow Hyde to move in after he was abandoned by his mother, making him a foster brother to Eric. Hyde has a witty, blunt, and sarcastic sense of humor, and a rebellious personality. He is also smart, and the other group members often ask for his advice. Although Hyde dates Jackie for three seasons, in the final season he marries an exotic dancer named Samantha. Hyde later discovers Samantha was still married when she married him. As Donna points out in "My Fairy King", that means Hyde and Samantha are not legally married. In the seventh season, Hyde meets his biological father (William Barnett, played by Tim Reid), a wealthy black businessman (making Hyde, who was presumed white, biracial). Barnett, who owns a chain of record stores, makes Hyde first the manager, and later the owner, of the Point Place store.
Donna Pinciotti (portrayed by Laura Prepon): Eric's longtime girlfriend (and briefly fiancée). Donna is intelligent, good-looking, and a feminist. Although she does not agree with what Jackie represents in the beginning of the series, they become friends. Donna is in a relationship with Eric for seven seasons (despite their break-up during season 4). She has brief romances with Casey, Michael's brother, and with Randy during the final season and quickly ends it. She rekindles her relationship with Eric at the end of the show's finale.
Fez (portrayed by Wilmer Valderrama): The foreign exchange student of the group whose hormones seem to be out of control. His secret country of origin is one of the longest-running gags on the show. He is sweet, friendly, perverted, gullible, and rather odd. He enjoys eating candy, drinking beer, and looking at pornography. His best friend is Kelso, and he shares a "younger brother" type relationship with Hyde and Eric. He constantly flirts with Jackie and Donna and often makes romantic advances toward them. Initially, he has a lot of trouble getting attention from girls, but during the eighth season he becomes a ladies' man. He is in love with Jackie throughout the series, but his love is not reciprocated until the eighth season when they become a couple.
Kitty Forman (portrayed by Debra Jo Rupp): Eric's mother and Red's wife, Kitty is a cheerful, doting mother, but can also be assertive when pushed. She is a nurse, and a former smoker. Her major mood swings are usually attributed to menopause. She is also a good mother figure to Eric's friends.
Red Forman (portrayed by Kurtwood Smith): Kitty's husband, Eric's and Laurie's father, and Hyde's adoptive father. Red is a Navy combat veteran, having served in World War II and the Korean War. Despite his mean exterior, Red occasionally displays a soft side. His hobbies include working with his power tools, drinking beer, watching television, reading the newspaper, hunting, and fishing.
Midge Pinciotti (portrayed by Tanya Roberts): Bob's wife, Donna's mother, and Kitty's best friend. Midge was the sexy neighborhood mom Eric and his male friends fantasized about when coming of age. Although often dim-witted, she is also a kind-hearted woman who develops feminist ideals. She and Bob divorce when she is written out of the series after the third season, however, returns during the sixth and seventh seasons in a recurring role where she and Bob almost reunite.
Bob Pinciotti (portrayed by Don Stark): Midge's husband, Donna's father. Bob often brags about his service in the National Guard, which invariably irritates Red. Bob is also known for walking around his house with his robe wide open and no underwear. He eats constantly, even in bed. Bob is almost always in a good mood and is a ladies' man. His best friend is Red, even though Red sees him as a nuisance. He usually takes the brunt of Red's abuse in a jolly manner.
Laurie Forman (portrayed by Lisa Robin Kelly/Christina Moore): Eric's beautiful but evil older sister. Laurie enjoys tormenting Eric and manipulating her parents. She is promiscuous, often seen with various men, mainly Eric's friend Kelso, who cheats on his girlfriend, Jackie. Eric, Hyde, and Donna often mock her promiscuity. She also has a strained relationship with her mother, who thinks of her as a freeloader. She leaves the series during the third season but returns in a recurring role during the fifth. In season five, she and Fez marry to prevent him from getting deported. In season six, she is portrayed by a different actress, Christina Moore.
Leo (portrayed by Tommy Chong): A hippie, and the owner of a Foto Hut at which Hyde once worked. Leo is an Army veteran who served in World War II, where he was awarded a Purple Heart. Leo often puts play before work and maintains an easy-going attitude in most things, business included. He disappears from the series after season four but is later referenced in season five's "The Battle of Evermore" when the gang goes on a mission to find him, but with no luck. He returns in season seven and remains on the series until the show's end. In season 8, he gets a new job working for Hyde at Grooves.
Randy Pearson (portrayed by Josh Meyers): The newest member of the group, who is introduced in the final season. Randy appears laid back, gentle, polite, and a ladies' man, although later many of his flaws surface. He forms a friendship with Red after showing Red how good he is at fixing things. While Hyde, Jackie, Donna, and Kelso accept him as a new member of their group, Fez does not. Randy dates Donna for the majority of season eight, but she eventually breaks up with him.

text: Recurring characters[edit]

text:
Suzy Simpson (played by Alyson Hannigan) appears in three episodes of season 6. She is Kelso's buddy from the police academy who is also attracted to him. Fez has a crush on Suzy and it is because of her that he and Kelso fight after Kelso lies to Fez saying that Suzy has agreed to go on a date with him when really she thinks that she is dating Kelso.
Angie Barnett (played by Megalyn Echikunwoke) is Steven Hyde's half-sister. Hyde did not know he had a sister until the 7th season. Angie graduated from college as a mathematics major. Angie and Hyde worked together managing their father's record store, but Angie did not always like working with him. She dated Kelso, which sometimes annoyed Hyde. Angie got her name because, in the seventh season, all episodes were named after Rolling Stones songs, and "Angie" was a song by the Stones.
Annette Berkardt (played by Jessica Simpson) was Michael Kelso's girlfriend for a brief period of time in season 5. She acts and talks very similar to Jackie, constantly bossing Kelso around. Eric and Donna once referred to her as a blonde version of Jackie, or "Blackie." Despite this, Jackie and Annette hated each other. Once at The Hub, Jackie said to Annette "I did not know they let 'slutballs' in here". Annette said since she saw Jackie in there she thought it was okay. Later in the episode, when Annette and Kelso were kissing, Jackie yelled "Get off my boyfriend!" to Annette, even though it was months after Kelso and Jackie broke up. This led to Hyde wanting to break up with Jackie.
Beatrice Dorothy "Bea" Sigurdson (née Heprage) (played by Betty White) is Kitty Forman's mother. Bea seems like a friendly old lady, but is cold and critical, especially of Kitty. She appeared in a few episodes in season five, often nagging at Burt or saying something rude to Kitty in a faux-friendly manner. She was widowed in "Your Time is Gonna Come" when Burt collapses in the driveway and is rushed to the hospital where he dies. She stays with the Formans for a while after Burt's death.
Bernice Rose Forman (née Larson) (played by Marion Ross) is Red Forman's mother. Bernice hated Kitty, and she was always mean to her, because Red married Kitty instead of another woman Bernice liked. She appeared in the episodes "Sunday, Bloody Sunday", "The Best Christmas Ever" and "Grandma's Dead" of season 1, and flashback in the episode "Halloween" of season two. In the episode Grandma's Dead she dies in Eric's car while he is driving her home.
Brooke Leslie Rockwell (played by Shannon Elizabeth) was the valedictorian of the high school class two years before Eric's class. The summer after Kelso's graduation, she had sex with him at a Molly Hatchet concert in a bathroom stall and got pregnant. Initially, Brooke did not trust Kelso because of his immaturity and did not want him in the child's life. Eventually, Kelso convinced her to give him another chance. Brooke gave birth to their daughter, Betsy in 1979.
Steven James "Bud" Hyde Jr. (played by Robert Hays) is Steven Hyde's stepfather. Bud Hyde worked as a bartender and is an alcoholic. Until the end of the 6th season, Steven Hyde thought Bud was his biological father. Bud Hyde abandoned Steven when he was a child and Steven was always angry at Bud for this. They temporarily reconciled in season 3, with Hyde even moving in with him. However, he would leave again at the beginning of season 4 after getting back together with Edna – forcing Hyde to move back to the Forman house. Hyde mentioned that Bud did attempt to get in touch with him again. (Bud was passed out drunk on Hyde's car.)
Bertrum Wayne "Burt" Sigurdson (played by Tom Poston) is Kitty Forman's father. He is often seen avoiding his wife, Bea. In one episode, he bought an ostrich farm, which was right next to a coyote farm. The coyotes ate all the ostriches and the Sigurdsons had to sell the house. Burt died in the episode Your Time is Gonna Come.
Caroline "Crazy Caroline" Dupree (played by Allison Munn) was Fez's girlfriend in season 3. Fez quickly learned Caroline is very jealous and paranoid. She made threats against Donna and Jackie because Caroline felt they were going to steal Fez from her, when in fact Jackie and Donna had no intention of doing so. Caroline was once found hiding in the men's bathroom looking for Fez. Fez did not want to be with someone that aggressive and paranoid so he broke up with her. Fez and Caroline were together one last time in the eighth season. She got extremely angry when she found out that Fez had lied to her about Jackie being his roommate, and when she found nude photos of Donna in Fez's Barry White album (Leo hid the nude photos in the album without Fez's knowledge, but Caroline believed they were put there by Fez). Caroline appeared again in "Sheer Heart Attack". Fez was having sex with women once and not seeing them again and then decided that he wanted to be with only one woman, so he called Caroline. Later in the episode, Jackie told Fez that she loved him and then kissed him as Caroline walked in. This, as always, made Caroline angry with Fez and attack him viciously.
Casey (played by Luke Wilson) is Michael Kelso's brother who was in the military. Towards the end of season 4 he was dating Donna Pinciotti. During their relationship, there were instances of them engaging in bad behavior, such as Donna drinking and skipping school to hang out with Casey. Donna's father, Bob, felt that Casey was a bad influence and did not want Donna to date him anymore. Eric was jealous of Casey because he wanted to be with Donna, so Eric wanted them to break up. When Red Forman and Bob were discussing Casey's negative influence with Donna and Casey, Casey broke up with Donna, deciding the conflict with Bob and Red to be too much hassle. Donna felt that she and Casey were in love, but Casey felt "I love you" is just something you could say and do not have to really mean. Michael Kelso said that his brother Casey got bored with his girlfriends and broke up with them. During the summer of 1979, Casey was teaching physical education at Eric's old high school, and Eric was in Casey's class. He likes to call Eric "Foreplay". his last episode was Season 7's 2120 So. Michigan Ave.
Charlie Richardson (played by Bret Harrison) is the son of one of Red's war buddies. Eric held a grudge against him from the time that he let some sick children win "Eric's" goldfish in an egg toss. Charlie only appeared in about three episodes towards the end of Season 7. Before the beginning of Season 8, Charlie accidentally fell off the water tower and died. The water tower is named the Charlie Richardson Memorial Water Tower in his honor. The original idea was to have Charlie stay on the show the entire 8th season as a replacement for Eric, but the actor got an offer for his own show so they killed his character off.
Christine St. George (played by Mary Tyler Moore) is a talk show host of What's Up Wisconsin. In the episode "Sweet Lady", Jackie felt she was destined to be Christine's co-host on the show. She persistently tries to get the job, but Christine St. George makes Jackie her assistant instead. After a few episodes, Jackie was fired for knowing too much about her.
Earl (played by Robert Clendenin) is a friend of Red's who worked for Red at Price Mart. Earl frequently came to work late and slacked off on his job, so Red fired him. After that, Earl sued Red for wrongful termination, however, Earl arrived too late to his own hearing, so the judge ruled in favor of Red. Later, Earl got a job working at a fast food restaurant, where he is again fired for his poor work ethic (this time for repeatedly eating the restaurant's food while on work). Earl appears in the episodes "Red Fired Up", "Roller Disco" and "Radio Daze".
Edna Hyde (played by Katey Sagal) is Steven Hyde's biological mother. She is only in the Season 1 episodes "Career Day", "Prom Night", and "Punk Chick", though she only appears in "Career Day". She plays a large part in "Career Day", playing opposite Hyde when on Career Day, he has to help her in the kitchen (she was the school chef, "Gross Edna" at the time). In other episodes she only has lines yelling at Hyde on the porch from the inside of the house such as:

In Prom Night Edna: "They're all gonna laugh at you!" (a reference to the 1976 film Carrie) Steven: "Shut up ma, you're makin' the night too damn special!"
In Punk Chick Steven: "It's still my suitcase!" Edna: "Nothing in this house is yours!" Steven: "Shut up!"

text:
Fenton, also known as Clerk in Season 5, (played by Jim Rash) is someone with whom Fez has a feud due to a "half-off sale, a crowded parking lot and a pair of pants that made Fez's ass look like an oil painting" in Fez's own words. In the fifth season, he was an employee at the jewelry store where Eric bought Donna's engagement ring. He is also the landlord of the apartment that Fez and Kelso moved into in the seventh season, which later became Fez and Jackie's apartment when Kelso moved to Chicago. At first, Fenton did not want to let Kelso and Fez move in because of his feud with Fez, but later when he found out Kelso wanted the apartment to have a place to take care of his daughter, and Fenton got the impression that Kelso and Fez were "life partners", he let them have it. Though Fenton does not state this explicitly, his frequent innuendos about men and his lack of experience with women imply he is gay. Whenever he sees Fez, he says "Oh, It's you" in an evil manner. Fenton later becomes good friends with Jackie, who persuades him not to evict Fez and end their feud when she accidentally floods their apartment.
Hilary Robinson (played by Lara Everly) is Fez's co-worker at the salon where Fez works in season 8. Fez tried to impress her by trying to look cool which intimidated her, but when Jackie explained to her who Fez really was, she fell in love with him. Fez and Hilary dated for a few weeks, before Hilary suddenly decided to become a nun and left Fez.
Jack Burkhart (played by Paul Kreppel) is the father of Jackie Burkhart. He was arrested for bribery and embezzling $60,000.
Joanne (played by Mo Gaffney) is a girlfriend of Bob Pinciotti, who appears in Seasons 4 and 5. She met Bob at the supermarket when Bob, being unable to cook, was about to buy a dozen TV dinners. Joanne decided to teach Bob to make a meatloaf so he would not have to buy the TV dinners. She does not get along well with Red. When Red and Joanne first met, they got into an argument about who would cook the meat and who would make the salad. Joanne works at the dog food factory and hires Eric to work there to put coupons in the dog food bags. Eric would eventually lose that job after Joanne broke up with Bob.
Mitch Miller (played by Seth Green) is a student in the same class as Eric. Mitch had a feud with Fez and because of this conflict, Mitch published a photo of Fez and Kelso kissing each other in the school newspaper. Mitch had a crush on Donna Pinciotti, and one time Donna went to a wedding with Mitch. Eric was angered when Mitch embarrassed Donna, and Eric and Mitch agreed to fight each other the next day at 5:15 PM. Not wanting to fight, Mitch persuaded Eric not to fight with him by offering him a French-made GI Joe called "GI Jacques". Mitch has a father, Charlie Miller, played by Fred Willard.
Nina Jo Bartell (played by Joanna Canton) is a girlfriend of Fez in season 5 who worked with him at the DMV. Fez lost his virginity to her, but it went badly, so she suggested they needed to do it more often to get better. They broke up a while later because Nina thought he was too needy.
Officer Phillip Otis Kennedy II (played by James Avery) is Kelso's training officer when he joins the police force. He appears mostly in the 6th season, playing a straight ace to the bumbling Kelso.
Pam Burkhart (played by Eve Plumb in Season 1 and Brooke Shields in Season 6) is the mother of Jackie Burkhart who was dating Bob Pinciotti in season 6. Once a serious business lady, she fled to Mexico when Jackie's councilman father was arrested for bribery and embezzling $60,000. She returned to try to fix her relationship between her and Jackie.
Pam Macy (played by Jennifer Lyons) is a classmate of the main characters of the show. She has been mentioned in more episodes than she appeared. She appeared in the episodes "Prom Night", "Romantic Weekend", and "It's a Wonderful life". In "Prom Night", Michael Kelso took Pam to the prom while temporarily broken up with Jackie. In "Romantic Weekend", Kelso was about to have sex with Pam but was unable to perform, telling his friends "The buffer wouldn't buff". Pam told this to the whole school, which caused everyone to tease Kelso about it.
Pastor Dave (played by Kevin McDonald), Pastor Dave is the local pastor at the church. He is overly cheerful and (incorrectly) thinks he is up to date with the trends, and is "hip and cool". He is often greeted by Eric and his friends with deadpan voices, and they typically just agree with Dave in the hopes he'll go away. Dave is good friends with Kitty, who helps with the church fundraisers, and has an uneasy friendship with Red (mostly because Red is not used to having friends). His friendship with Red seems to have brought out a less-pure side of Dave, as he spends a day with Red watching football and drinking beer, and once even quit the church because he wanted to watch more football on Sundays (he later rejoins as the pastor again). He appears primarily in Season 3 and 4, but has a few cameos in Season 2.
Rhonda (played by Cynthia Lamontagne) Often called Big Rhonda by her classmates, she was a recurring character during season 4. She was Fez's girlfriend during this season. When she and Fez were stuck in the school during a tornado, he was about to have sex with Big Rhonda, but after the tornado was gone, she did not want to anymore. She broke up with Fez after she choked him after he wanted to get to third base, which came from bad advice from Casey Kelso. Like Fez, she loves candy. The episode "It's a Wonderful Life" featured an alternate timeline, where Rhonda went to the prom with Eric (in this timeline, Eric and Donna were never in a relationship). Later in the same episode, she is seen at their 10-year reunion but now as a trim and beautiful woman (which Rhonda attributes to being dumped by a gigantic loser like Eric). It was also mentioned in the season three episode "Kitty's Birthday" that she was hit by a car but was apparently uninjured.
Roy Keen (played by Jim Gaffigan) is the kitchen manager of the Holliday Hotel who employed Eric, Hyde, and Kelso to work as waiters in the hotel's restaurant during seasons 5 and 6. The character serves as the replacement of Leo who was written out during season 5, although he had been absent for several episodes. It was mentioned by Hyde that Roy was like a father figure when his father abandoned him. Roy has stated that his standards for food service are low and he goes days without washing his hands. Roy served in the Vietnam War, once describing Eric as "scrawny, but strong... like the Vietcong". He suffers from serious trouble connecting to people. At one time he got the impression a woman was in love with him, after she insulted him when he got her some butter, and hid in her shower to surprise her with flowers. He once mentioned he was living with a woman, but moved out when she found out he was living with her in secret. It is revealed in the season 6 episode "A Legal Matter" that he was a police cadet who was oust of the police academy for shooting a police horse.
Samantha Hyde (played by Judy Tylor) is Hyde's wife during season 8. They got married while Hyde was drunk in Las Vegas. The two barely knew each other when they got married. Hyde did not even remember the wedding and did not know he was married until after Samantha came to Point Place to see Hyde. In the episode "My Fairy King", Hyde learned that Samantha was already married to someone else. After this, Hyde and Samantha's relationship ended.
Schatzie is a Dachshund that Red gave Kitty in an attempt to make her happy. Schatzie was in several episodes of season 5, was absent for all of season 6, then returned for only one episode towards the beginning of season 7. Red claimed that his absence was due to hiding under the house because he was afraid of the garden hose. "Schatzie" is German and means "little treasure" or "darling" (diminutive of "Schatz").
Timmy Thompson (played by Paul Connor) is a student who went to high school with Eric, Donna, Hyde, Fez, Kelso, and Jackie. To the annoyance of some of the gang, he announces comments to the room that start with "Heeey...", such as:

"Heeey, Forman and Donna got a motel room and they're going to do it!"
"Heeey, I'm taking off my pants!"
"Heeey, Forman's on a date with his mom!"
"Heeey, Donna's showed her ass!" (while showing everyone a yearbook photo where Donna mooned the camera).
He only has real dialogue in the episode "Burning Down The House".

William James "WB" Barnett (played by Tim Reid) is Steven Hyde's biological father. Hyde originally thought Bud Hyde was his biological father until the cliffhanger between the 6th and 7th seasons, where Kitty discovers that Steven's real father is a man who lives in Milwaukee. Sometimes people call William Barnett by his initials, WB. Barnett is wealthy and owns Grooves, a chain of record stores. Barnett put Steven in charge of the Point Place record store along with his daughter (and Hyde's half sister), Angie. Barnett is black, which Hyde believes explains his "coolness, afro and suspicion of the man" (it can also be noted that when Hyde asked him who killed Kennedy his father stated "I don't know, because they don't want me to know"). WB's last on-screen appearance is in the first half of the series finale which is the twenty-first episode of the eighth season, "Love of My Life" (WB had already appeared in the fourteenth episode of that season, "Son and Daughter").

text: Intended recurring roles[edit]

text: Several characters on the series were written as recurring, but made only one appearance. Among them:

text:
Tina Pinciotti (played by Amanda Fuller) was the younger sister of regular Donna Pinciotti. She first appeared in "Eric's Burger Job", but made no appearances following that, except for a brief mention in the episode "Vanstock". A similar situation occurred with unseen Valerie Pinciotti. The two are later written out with no explanation, as demonstrated in the season seven premiere, when Kitty refers to Donna as Bob and Midge's only daughter
Valerie Pinciotti was the older sister of Donna Pinciotti and Tina Pinciotti, who in "Eric's Birthday" was said to be away at college but never mentioned again.
Matthew and Rebecca Erdman (played by Kevin Farley and Shannon Holt) were the prudish host parents of Fez. They first appeared in "Drive-In" and convince Fez the rock they detest is diabolical by playing KISS album backwards. Fez's host parents make no further appearances in the show.
Buddy Morgan (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) was introduced in "Eric's Buddy", and was intended to become a recurring character. However, the introduction of homosexual Buddy as a love interest for Eric (at a time when both Eric and Hyde were competing for Donna) did not go over well with audiences, and Buddy was cut from the show.
Melissa (played by Reagan Gomez-Preston) appeared in "Hyde Gets the Girl" as a potential love interest for Hyde. She was intended to become his on-off girlfriend.
Patty (played by Lindsay Sloane) appeared in two episodes in the series' second season. She is introduced in "Eric Gets Suspended" along with her best friend, Mary (played by Melissa Joan Hart). The two go on a double blind date with Hyde and Fez. Hyde initially pairs with Mary, and Fez with Patty; but in the course of the date Hyde tells Fez to swap dates because he is hitting it off with Patty. Patty then returned in "Eric and Kitty's Night Out". In the episode, Fez and Patty become boyfriend and girlfriend. Patty's role and impact in the episode implies an intention to continue the character's appearance in the series. However, with no explanation in the show Patty is not seen or mentioned again.


document_title: List of most watched television broadcasts in the United States

question_text: what is the most watched tv series in history

root

text: Most watched broadcasts[edit]

text: The following is a list of the twenty most watched TV broadcasts in the United States according to Nielsen.[2][3]

tag: p

text:
No.
Show
Viewership (millions)
Date
Network

1
Super Bowl XLIX
114.4
February 1, 2015
NBC

2
Super Bowl XLVIII
112.2
February 2, 2014
Fox

3
Super Bowl 50
111.9
February 7, 2016
CBS

4
Super Bowl LI
111.3
February 5, 2017
Fox

5
Super Bowl XLVI
111.3
February 5, 2012
NBC

6
Super Bowl XLV
111.0
February 6, 2011
Fox

7
Super Bowl XLVII
108.7
February 3, 2013
CBS

8
Super Bowl XLIV
106.5
February 7, 2010
CBS

9
M*A*S*H (Finale)
105.9[4]
February 28, 1983
CBS

10
Super Bowl LII
103.4
February 4, 2018
NBC

11
Roots (Part VIII)
100.0[5]
January 30, 1977
ABC

12
Super Bowl XLIII
98.7
February 1, 2009
NBC

13
Super Bowl XLII
97.4
February 3, 2008
Fox

14
Super Bowl XXX
94.1
January 28, 1996
NBC

15
Super Bowl XLI
93.2
February 4, 2007
CBS

16
Super Bowl XX
92.6
January 26, 1986
NBC

17
Super Bowl XXVII
91.0
January 31, 1993
NBC

18
Super Bowl XL
90.7
February 5, 2006
ABC

19
Leon Spinks vs. Muhammad Ali II
90.0[6][7]
September 15, 1978
ABC

20

Super Bowl XXVIII
90.0
January 30, 1994
NBC

Super Bowl XXXII
90.0
January 25, 1998
NBC

tag: table

text:
Note
There have been television audiences this large or larger for certain news events, but those totals include coverage on multiple networks. For example, 125 million viewers watched the first moon landing on July 20, 1969; CBS had the largest share of those viewers with 57 million. Richard Nixon's resignation speech on August 9, 1974 attracted 128 million viewers. 118 million viewers watched the start of the "Operation Desert Storm" military attack on Iraq on January 17, 1991. 95 million viewers watched the police highway pursuit of O. J. Simpson on June 17, 1994.

text: Most watched television broadcasts by year[edit]

text: The following is a list of the ten most watched TV broadcasts in the United States in 2017 according to Nielsen.[8]

text: Indicates broadcast unrelated to sports.

text:
No.
Show
Viewership(in millions)
Date
Network(s)

1
Super Bowl LI
111.3
February 5, 2017
Fox

2
Packers vs. Cowboys
48.5
January 15, 2017
Fox

3
Steelers vs. Patriots
48.0
January 22, 2017
CBS

4
Donald Trump Congressional Address
47.7
February 28, 2017
VOA

5
Packers vs. Falcons
46.3
January 22, 2017
Fox

6
Giants vs. Packers
39.3
January 8, 2017
Fox

7
Steelers vs. Chiefs
37.1
January 15, 2017
NBC

8
89th Academy Awards
32.9
February 26, 2017
ABC

9
Inauguration of Donald Trump
30.6
January 20, 2017
VOA

10
Dolphins vs. Steelers
29.9
January 8, 2017
CBS

text: The following is a list of the ten most watched broadcasts in the United States in 2016 according to Nielsen.[9][10][11][12][13][14]

text: Indicates broadcast unrelated to the 2016 election.

text:
No.
Show
Viewership(in millions)
Date
Network(s)

1
Super Bowl 50
111.9
February 7, 2016
CBS

2
First presidential debate
84.0
September 26, 2016
CPD

3
Third presidential debate
71.6
October 19, 2016
CPD

4
Super Bowl 50 post-game show
70.0
February 7, 2016
CBS

5
Second presidential debate
60.3
October 9, 2016
VOA

6
World Series Game 7: Cubs vs. Indians
40.5
November 2, 2016
Fox

7
Vice presidential debate
37.0
October 4, 2016
CPD

8
Redskins vs. Cowboys
35.1
November 24, 2016
Fox

9
Donald Trump RNC acceptance speech
34.9
July 21, 2016
VOA

10
88th Academy Awards
34.4
February 28, 2016
ABC

text: The following is a list of the ten most watched TV broadcasts in the United States in 2015 according to Nielsen.[15]

text:
No.
Show
Viewership(in millions)
Date
Network

1
Super Bowl XLIX
115.2
February 1, 2015
NBC

2
Super Bowl XLIX post-game show
73.2
February 1, 2015
NBC

3
Colts vs. Patriots
42.3
January 18, 2015
CBS

4
87th Academy Awards
37.2
February 22, 2015
ABC

5
College Football Playoff National Championship
33.7
January 12, 2015
ESPN

6
Lions vs. Cowboys post-game show
33.1
January 4, 2015
Fox

7
Panthers vs. Seahawks
31.1
January 10, 2015
Fox

8
The Blacklist ("Luther Braxton", Super Bowl XLIX lead-out)
30.5
February 1, 2015
NBC

9
Colts vs. Broncos post-game show
28.6
January 11, 2015
CBS

10
Alabama vs. Ohio State
28.5
January 1, 2015
ESPN

text: Most watched TV series[edit]

text: Most watched by year[edit]

text: Nielsen began compiling ratings for television beginning in 1950. Prior to that year, television ratings were compiled by a number of other sources, including C. E. Hooper (which was bought out by Nielsen in February 1950) and Variety.

text: American Idol holds the record for most consecutive seasons at No. 1 (also its total), with eight.  Note however that American Idol usually airs two episodes a week; for the 2005-2006 season, only the Tuesday show was ranked No. 1, overall American Idol was ranked No. 2 that season.  For the show taken as a whole, it was No. 1 for six consecutive seasons.[16] All in the Family, and The Cosby Show share second place for most consecutive (and total) seasons at No. 1, with five each. Counting in for total seasons at No. 1, 60 Minutes also holds a share of a three-way second place, and is the first (and currently only) U.S. primetime television show to lead the annual Nielsen ratings in at least 3 separate decades - 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

text: The most watched series per year was determined by the number of households viewing it from the 1950–1951 television season to the 1996–1997 television season. It has been determined by the number of persons viewing it since the 1997–1998 television season.

text:
Season

Live

Live + 3 DVR

Live + 7 DVR

Show

Network

Viewers/Households[a](in millions)

Show

Network

Viewers(in millions)

Show

Network

Viewers(in millions)

1950s

1950–1951

Texaco Star Theatre

NBC

6.28[17]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1951–1952

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts

CBS

8.23[18]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1952–1953

I Love Lucy

13.73[19]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1953–1954

15.29[20]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1954–1955

15.14[21]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1955–1956

The $64,000 Question

16.58[22]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1956–1957

I Love Lucy

17.00[23]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1957–1958

Gunsmoke

18.07[24]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1958–1959

17.40[25]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1959–1960

18.44[26]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1960s

1960–1961

Gunsmoke

CBS

17.61[27]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1961–1962

Wagon Train

NBC

15.59[28]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1962–1963

The Beverly Hillbillies

CBS

18.11[29]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1963–1964

20.18[30]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1964–1965

Bonanza

NBC

19.13[31]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1965–1966

17.12[32]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1966–1967

16.04[33]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1967–1968

The Andy Griffith Show

CBS

15.64[34]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1968–1969

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

NBC

18.52[35]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1969–1970

15.39[36]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1970s

1970–1971

Marcus Welby, M.D.

ABC

17.79[37]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1971–1972

All in the Family

CBS

21.11[38]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1972–1973

21.58[39]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1973–1974

20.65[40]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1974–1975

20.69[41]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1975–1976

20.95[42]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1976–1977

Happy Days

ABC

22.43[43]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1977–1978

Laverne & Shirley

23.04[44]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1978–1979

22.72[45]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1979–1980

60 Minutes

CBS

21.67[46]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1980s

1980–1981

Dallas

CBS

27.57[47]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1981–1982

23.15[48]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1982–1983

60 Minutes

21.24[49]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1983–1984

Dallas

21.54[50]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1984–1985

Dynasty

ABC

21.23[51]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1985–1986

The Cosby Show

NBC

28.95[52]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1986–1987

30.50[53]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1987–1988

Unknown

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1988–1989

23.14[54]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1989–1990

21.28[55]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Roseanne

ABC

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1990s

1990–1991

Cheers

NBC

19.83[56]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1991–1992

60 Minutes

CBS

20.17[57]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1992–1993

20.39[58]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1993–1994

19.69[59]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1994–1995

Seinfeld

NBC

19.65[60]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1995–1996

ER

21.10[61]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1996–1997

30.79[62]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1997–1998

Seinfeld

34.10[63]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1998–1999

ER

25.40[64]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

1999–2000

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Tues)

ABC

Unknown

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

2000s

2000–2001

Survivor

CBS

29.80[65]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

2001–2002

Friends

NBC

24.50[66]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

2002–2003

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

CBS

26.12[67]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

2003–2004

American Idol (Tues)

Fox

25.73[68]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

2004–2005

27.32[69]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

2005–2006

31.17[70]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

2006–2007

American Idol (Wed)

30.58[71]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

2007–2008

American Idol (Tues)

28.80[72]

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

2008–2009

American Idol (Wed)

25.53[73]

N/A

N/A

N/A

American Idol (Wed)

Fox

26.88[73]

2009–2010

American Idol (Tues)

22.97[74]

N/A

N/A

N/A

American Idol (Tues)

24.71[75]

2010s

2010–2011

American Idol (Wed)

Fox

23.37[76]

N/A

N/A

N/A

American Idol (Wed)

Fox

25.97[77]

2011–2012

NBC Sunday Night Football

NBC

Unknown

N/A

N/A

N/A

NBC Sunday Night Football

NBC

20.74[78]

2012–2013

Unknown

N/A

N/A

N/A

NCIS[b]

CBS

21.34[80]

2013–2014

21.42[81]

N/A

N/A

N/A

The Big Bang Theory

23.01[81]

2014–2015

20.69[82]

N/A

N/A

N/A

NBC Sunday Night Football

NBC

20.81[82]

2015–2016

21.30[83]

NBC Sunday Night Football

NBC

21.38[84]

21.39[85]

2016–2017

19.63[86]

19.73[87]

19.75[88]

2017–2018

17.58[89]

Roseanne

ABC

18.21[90]

Roseanne

ABC

19.96[91]

text:
Jump up ^ Households 1950–51 through 1996–97 television seasons; Viewership 1996–97 television season to present.

Jump up ^ NBC Sunday Night Football aired three broadcasts before the official start of television season which are not counted in the rankings. If these broadcasts were counted, NBC Sunday Night Football would average 21.44 million viewers—more than NCIS.[79]

tag: ol

text: Most watched series finales[edit]

text: The number of viewers for M*A*S*H (105.9 million) and Cheers (84.4 million) are the numbers most commonly reported. M*A*S*H has also been reported at 121.6 million viewers and Cheers has been reported at 93.5 million viewers.[92][93] For M*A*S*H and Cheers, 121.6 million and 93.5 million represent the total audience who watched at least six minutes and the 105.9 million and 84.4 million represent the viewers who watched the average minute.[4]  Regular episodes of M*A*S*H were thirty minutes long, but the final episode was a television movie of running length of two hours and thirty minutes, which reached a peak audience of 125 million by the primetime telecast conclusion of the 1983 M*A*S*H series finale.

text: When TV miniseries are taken into the Nielsen tallies, ABC's Roots posted the second most watched series finale in U.S. history, watched on 30 January 1977, by 100 million viewers (51.1% of American households and more than 71% of the total U.S. television viewers that year), but attracted the largest viewership for any type of primetime television series in U.S. history – a record currently standing at between 130 million and 140 million.[94][95]

text: The M*A*S*H finale was notorious in that after the episode finished, water flow in New York City increased by 6.7 million gallons, representing about 1 million people using the bathroom. While contributing to the CD-ROM computer game Blast from the Past, in association with TV Land, Loretta Swit commented on the event, stating she thought it was due to the fact viewers stayed glued to the screens for the whole show, and then rushed to the facilities. The 2004 finale of Friends had overtaken the record of Seinfeld in 1998 since in its last 6 minutes were seen by almost 80 million people, but viewership remained at 65.9 million because it was the audience for most of the episode. Part one of the Friends finale had 52.47 million viewers and part 2 had 65.9 million viewers and both parts were broadcast on May 6, 2004 on NBC from 21:00 to 22:06.[96]

text:
Series
Viewership(in millions)
Household rating
Share
Date
Network

M*A*S*H
105.9[4]
60.2%[4]
77%[4]
February 28, 1983[4]
CBS[4]

Roots
100.0[5]
51.1%
71%
Jan 30, 1977
ABC

Cheers
84.4[97]
45.5%
64%[92]
May 20, 1993
NBC

The Fugitive
78.0[98]
45.9%
72%
Aug 29, 1967
ABC

Seinfeld
76.3[97]
41.3%
58%
May 14, 1998
NBC

Friends
52.5[99]
29.8%
43%[100]
May 6, 2004
NBC

Magnum, P.I.
50.7
32.0%
48%
May 1, 1988
CBS

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
50.0[97]
30.0%
46%
May 22, 1992
NBC

The Cosby Show
44.4[97]
28.0%
45%
April 30, 1992
NBC

All in the Family
40.2[97][101]
26.6%
43%
April 8, 1979
CBS

Family Ties
36.3
20.8%
35%
May 14, 1989
NBC

Home Improvement
35.5[102]
21.6%[103]
43%[102]
May 25, 1999
ABC

Frasier
33.7[104]
16.3%
25%
May 13, 2004
NBC

Dallas
33.3
22.0%
38%
May 3, 1991
CBS

Everybody Loves Raymond
32.9[104]
20.2%
29%
May 16, 2005
CBS

Star Trek: The Next Generation
31.0[105]
17.4%
34%
May 23, 1994
Syndication

Gunsmoke
30.9[101]
N/A
N/A
March 31, 1975
CBS

Happy Days
30.5
20.5%
31%
September 24, 1984
ABC

The Golden Girls
27.2
18.9%
38%
May 9, 1992
NBC

Full House
24.3
14.6%
25%
May 23, 1995
ABC

St. Elsewhere
22.5[101]
17%
29%
May 25, 1988
NBC[106]

MacGyver
22.3
13.8%
26%
May 21, 1992
ABC

L.A. Law
22.1
15.9%
27%
May 19, 1994
NBC

ALF
21.7
13.1%
24%
March 24, 1990
NBC

The Mary Tyler Moore Show
21.16
16.5%
28%
March 19, 1977
CBS

The Wonder Years
21.0
13.9%
23%
May 12, 1993
ABC

Quantum Leap
20.6
13.7%
23%
May 5, 1993
NBC

Who's the Boss?
20.5
12.7%
24%
April 25, 1992
ABC

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
19.9
13.1%
22%
May 20, 1996
NBC

Mad About You
19.8
13.6%
20%
May 24, 1999
NBC

Knots Landing
19.6
13.9%
22%
May 13, 1993
CBS

Bonanza
19.3[101]
?
?
January 16, 1973
NBC

Designing Women
18.8
14.2%
22%
May 24, 1993
CBS

Matlock
18.7
13.2%
20%
May 7, 1995
ABC

Will & Grace
18.6
12.9%
20%
May 18, 2006
NBC

The Facts of Life
18.2
13.2%
29%
May 7, 1988
NBC

Jake and the Fatman
18.1
12.9%
20%
May 6, 1992
CBS

Major Dad
17.9
12.6%
20%
April 16, 1993
CBS

Murphy Brown
17.5
12.3%
19%
May 18, 1998
CBS

Beverly Hills, 90210
16.8
11.9%
21%
May 17, 2000
Fox

Roseanne
16.6
11.6%
19%
May 20, 1997
ABC

Murder, She Wrote
16.5
12.3%
21%
May 19, 1996
CBS

The Oprah Winfrey Show
16.404
11.5%
N/A
May 25, 2011
Syndication

ER
16.4
10.4%
17%
April 2, 2009
NBC

NYPD Blue
16.1
10.4%
17%
March 1, 2005
ABC

Miami Vice
16.1
11.0%
21%
June 28, 1989
NBC

Perfect Strangers
15.8
11.8%
16%
August 6, 1993
ABC

Married... with Children
15.2
10.0%
16%
May 5, 1997
Fox

In the Heat of the Night
15.0
10.9%
17%
May 16, 1995
CBS

Kate & Allie
14.9
11.9%
20%
May 22, 1989
CBS

Dynasty
14.7
10.8%
17%
May 11, 1989
ABC

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
14.6
-%
-%
February 6, 2014
NBC

Monday Night Football
14.4[107]
9.2%
16%
December 26, 2005
ABC

Wings
14.2
10.2%
16%
May 21, 1997
NBC

JAG
14.0[108]
9.0%
15%
April 29, 2005
CBS

Mr. Belvedere
13.8
8.5%
16%
July 8, 1990
ABC

The Late Show with David Letterman
13.76
9.3%
-%
May 20, 2015
CBS

Lost
13.6
7.5%
13%
May 23, 2010
ABC

Evening Shade
13.5
9.6%
15%
May 23, 1994
CBS

Two and a Half Men
13.5
-%
N/A
February 19, 2015
CBS

The King of Queens
13.5
8.8%
13%
May 14, 2007
CBS

Doogie Howser, M.D.
13.4
9.2%
14%
March 24, 1993
ABC

American Idol
13.3[109]
9.6%
15%
April 7, 2016
Fox

Providence
13.3
9.0%
16%
December 20, 2002
NBC

Life Goes On
13.2
8.9%
17%
May 23, 1993
ABC

The X-Files
13.2[110]
7.9%
12%
May 19, 2002
Fox

How I Met Your Mother
13.13
8.6%
13%
March 31, 2014
CBS

Coach
13.1
9.3%
16%
May 14, 1997
ABC

Touched by an Angel
12.9[111]
8.9%
15%
April 27, 2003
CBS

Amen
12.9
8.3%
19%
May 11, 1991
NBC

Falcon Crest
12.3
9.3%
15%
May 17, 1990
CBS

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
12.2
N/A
N/A
September 27, 2015
CBS

Desperate Housewives
11.9
9.0%
14%
May 13, 2012
ABC

3rd Rock from the Sun
11.9
7.9%
13%
May 22, 2001
NBC

The Sopranos
11.9
6.5%
11%
June 10, 2007
HBO

Empty Nest
11.6
8.7%
17%
April 29, 1995
NBC

Ally McBeal
11.5
7.5%
11%
May 20, 2002
Fox

Homicide: Life on the Street
11.4
8.4%
15%
May 21, 1999
NBC

Without a Trace
11.2
7.3%
12%
May 19, 2009
CBS

The Nanny
11.1
8.1%
14%
May 12, 1999
CBS

Picket Fences
11.1
8.2%
14%
April 24, 1996
CBS

The Practice
10.9
7.5%
13%
May 16, 2004
ABC

Walker, Texas Ranger
10.8
6.8%
13%
May 19, 2001
CBS

Judging Amy
10.8
7.6%
12%
May 3, 2005
CBS

Sex and the City
10.6[112]
?
?
February 22, 2004
HBO

Becker
10.6
7.3%
11%
January 28, 2004
CBS

The Good Wife
10.6
TBA
TBA
May 8, 2016
CBS

Grace Under Fire
10.5
7.4%
11%
February 17, 1998
ABC

Highway to Heaven
10.5
7.1%
16%
August 4, 1989
NBC

Melrose Place
10.4
7.3%
12%
May 24, 1999
Fox

Twin Peaks
10.4
N/A
N/A
June 10, 1991
ABC

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
10.3
N/A
N/A
January 22, 2010
NBC

Breaking Bad
10.28

September 29, 2013
AMC

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
10.2
6.7%
15%
May 16, 1998
CBS

Sisters
10.1
7.1%
14%
May 4, 1996
NBC

The West Wing
10.1
6.2%
10%
May 14, 2006
NBC

The Mentalist
10.1
%
%
February 18, 2015
CBS

That '70s Show
10.0
6.0%
10%
May 18, 2006
Fox

Boy Meets World
10.0
6.1%
12%
May 5, 2000
ABC

Cold Case
10.0
6.4%
11%
May 2, 2010
CBS

text: Most watched series episode of the decade[edit]

text: This table lists the most watched overall television episode for every decade in the United States, as tallied by the Nielsen Media Research since the 1950–1951 television season. The audience share category of the Nielsen ratings only began in the 1959–1960 television season, and that all the Nielsen ratings for U.S. telecasts starting 2003 were adjusted from the 2008–09 season to incorporate both the standard live primetime and time-shifted or delayed DVR viewership figures (based on the telecast's final 5-minute standard run) in the United States only (from the dates of their original series finale runs).

text:
Decade
Title
Episode
Viewers(in millions)
Household  share
Audience  share
Date
Network

1950s
The Ed Sullivan Show
Special guesting of Elvis Presley
60.0
43.7%
82.6%
9 Sep 1956
CBS

1960s
The Fugitive
"The Judgment" Part 2
78.0
45.9%
72%
29 Aug 1967
ABC

1970s
Roots (miniseries)
"Part VIII"
100.0[5]
51.1%
71%
30 Jan 1977
ABC

1980s
M*A*S*H
"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen"
125.0[5]
60.2%
77%
28 Feb 1983
CBS

1990s
Cheers
"One for the Road"
93.5[97]
51.7%
72%[92]
20 May 1993
NBC

2000s
Friends
"The Last One"
80.0[113]
40.2%
62%
6 May 2004
NBC

2010s
Undercover Boss
"Waste Management, Inc" (Series Premiere)
42.3
29.4%
36%
7 Feb 2010
CBS

text: Longest dominating series of the decade[edit]

text: This table lists the primetime television series with the most number of seasons of No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for every decade in the United States, as tallied by the Nielsen Media Research since the 1950–1951 television season. Only the Nielsen household share will be shown in the following table.

text: The U.S. television program with the longest ever streak at No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings is written in bold text.

text:
Decade
Series
Peak season  household share
Debut season at  Nielsen No. 1
End season at  Nielsen No. 1
Seasons  at No. 1
Network

1950s
I Love Lucy
67.3 (1952–1953)
1952–1953
1956–1957
4
CBS

1960s
Gunsmoke
43.1 (1957–1958)
1957–1958
1960–1961

1970s
All in the Family
34.0 (1971–1972)
1971–1972
1975–1976
5

1980s
The Cosby Show
34.9 (1986–1987)
1985–1986
1989–1990
NBC

1990s
60 Minutes
28.4 (1979–1980)
1979–1980
1993–1994
CBS

2000s
American Idol
17.6 (2005–2006)
2003–2004
2010–2011
8
Fox

2010s
NBC Sunday Night Football
13.3 (2015–2016)
2011–2012
2016-2017
5
NBC