When we think of the most-watched TV shows you would be forgiven for thinking about the most rated ones in the same list. You may think series like “Breaking Bad” and “Game of Thrones” is most-watched, but it is far from the truth. Today we have prepared the list of the most-watched TV shows of all time based on the number of viewership. The numbers are provided by Nielsen who calculated the number of viewers per minute. If you want to watch these shows online, you might find them on one of the services listed on this page.
1 – M*A*S*H
It is a comedy and drama series revolving around the employees of a hospital during the Korean War. The show aired first in 1972 and the final episode was watched by 50.15 million people.
2 – Cheers
The American TV show attracted 42.36 million viewers for its series finale in 1993. The show follows Woody as he starts his new life as a city councilman.
It is a good drama with quality comedy which won several hearts at that time.
3 – Dallas
The final episode aired in November 1980 was watched by 41.47 million viewers. The series presented the story of the wealthy Ewings family based in Texas.
It brings up many aspects of dysfunctional families and corrupt oil business contracts.
4 – Seinfeld
Seinfeld has been associated with many of our young days and is one of the iconic shows of all time.
The finale aired in May 1998 was broadcasted across 40.5 million TV sets making it one of the most-watched shows ever!
5 – Roots
The mini TV series follows the story of an African slave who ended up in America. 36.38 million people watched the final episode telecasted in January 1977 and all parts attracted a similar number of viewers.
It was developed based on “Roots” by Alex Haley.
6 – The Cosby Show
The episode of “Say Hello to a Good Buy” is one of the most-watched with 36.1 million viewers. The family show was a hit at that time with its beautiful comedy around the life of an African American family.
7 – The Thorn Birds
It is one of the most watched series with all parts attracting over 100 million viewers.
The story centres on Cleary family and the daughter Meggie and her romantic feelings for the family priest.
8 – The Winds of War
This miniseries on World War 2 had many viewers glued to their TV sets. The series finale itself attracted 34.15 million viewers which is no joke.
9 – The Fugitive
The highly acclaimed crime and drama series presented the story of Dr Richard Kimble. Being wrongly convicted of murdering his wife, he escapes in a thrilling search for the real killer.
25.7 million people watched the season finale alone in August 1967.
10 – All In The Family
The American TV series was broadcasted on CBS and continued for 9 seasons. The episode called “Edith’s Problem” was viewed by 25.2 million people.
The show follows stories of Archie Bunker who is an uneducated loudmouth and his wife.
If you are looking for some more action, you may even want to look for the top 10 most watched Netflix shows. Netflix has some of the best shows today, and widely acclaimed ones at that.