APPENDIX 5
THE TOP 100 SERIES OF ALL TIME

In 1985 we published a small paperback book called TV’s Greatest Hits which contained our first-ever ranking of the most popular TV series of all time. The following is an updated version of that ranking, including data through the 2002–2003 season. It reflects not our choices, but those of you, the viewer. It was compiled by assigning each prime-time series points based on the number of seasons it was telecast, and its audience size ranking each year. (Detailed information on these two measures will be found in the “Top-Rated Programs by Season” and “Longest-Running Series” appendixes.) Thus, series were given credit for both popularity and longevity.

Some series currently on the air are still moving up the list; 60 Minutes which ranked number nine on the 1985 all-time list, is by virtue of its continued popularity now number one.

Program Network(s) From To
1. 60 Minutes CBS 1968 ––––
2. Gunsmoke CBS 1955 1975
3. The Red Skelton Show NBC, CBS 1951 1971
4. Bonanza NBC 1959 1973
5. All in the Family/Archie Bunker’s Place CBS 1971 1983
6. Walt Disney ABC, NBC, CBS 1954 1990
7. The Ed Sullivan Show/Toast of the Town CBS 1948 1971
8. The Lucy Show/Here’s Lucy CBS 1962 1974
9. ER NBC 1994 ––––
10. Murder, She Wrote CBS 1984 1996
11. Friends NBC 1994 ––––
12. M*A*S*H CBS 1972 1983
13. Cheers NBC 1982 1993
14. Dallas CBS 1978 1991
15. The Cosby Show NBC 1984 1992
16. Frasier NBC 1993 ––––
17. The Andy Griffith Show CBS 1960 1968
18. Roseanne ABC 1988 1997
19. Home Improvement ABC 1991 1999
20. The Jack Benny Show CBS, NBC 1950 1965
21. Three’s Company/Three’s a Crowd ABC 1977 1985
22. I Love Lucy CBS 1951 1961
23. The Danny Thomas Show ABC, CBS 1953 1971
24. The Beverly Hillbillies CBS 1962 1971
25. You Bet Your Life NBC 1950 1961
26. Happy Days ABC 1974 1984
27. 20/20 ABC 1978 ––––
28. I’ve Got a Secret CBS 1952 1967
29. Dragnet/Dragnet ’67 NBC 1952 1970
30. Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts CBS 1948 1958
31. The Jeffersons CBS 1975 1985
32. Seinfeld NBC 1990 1998
33. Law & Order NBC 1990 ––––
34. Hawaii Five-O CBS 1968 1980
35. The Jackie Gleason Show CBS 1952 1970
36. N.Y.P.D. Blue ABC 1993 ––––
37. One Day at a Time CBS 1975 1984
38. The Golden Girls/The Golden Palace NBC, CBS 1985 1993
39. Laverne & Shirley ABC 1976 1983
40. The Milton Berle Show NBC, ABC 1948 1967
41. Sanford and Son NBC 1972 1977
42. Murphy Brown CBS 1988 1998
43. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. CBS 1964 1970
44. Alice CBS 1976 1985
45. Dynasty ABC 1981 1989
46. Wagon Train NBC, ABC 1957 1965
47. A Different World NBC 1987 1993
48. My Three Sons ABC, CBS 1960 1972
49. Everybody Loves Raymond CBS 1996 ––––
50. Candid Camera CBS, NBC, ABC, PAX 1948 ––––
51. Bewitched ABC 1964 1972
52. Who’s the Boss? ABC 1984 1992
53. The Love Boat ABC 1977 1986
54. Fireside Theatre NBC, ABC 1949 1963
55. Little House on the Prairie NBC 1974 1983
56. Coach ABC 1989 1997
57. The Waltons CBS 1972 1981
58. Have Gun, Will Travel CBS 1957 1963
59. Touched by an Angel CBS 1994 2003
60. General Electric Theater CBS 1953 1962
61. Falcon Crest CBS 1981 1990
62. Arthur Godfrey and His Friends CBS 1949 1959
63. The Mary Tyler Moore Show CBS 1970 1977
64. Maude CBS 1972 1978
65. Family Ties NBC 1982 1989
66. Marcus Welby, M.D. ABC 1969 1976
67. Magnum, P.I. CBS 1980 1988
68. Ironside NBC 1967 1975
69. The Colgate Comedy Hour NBC 1950 1955
70. Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In NBC 1968 1973
71. Full House ABC 1987 1995
72. Knots Landing CBS 1979 1993
73. December Bride CBS 1954 1960
74. Family Affair CBS 1966 1971
75. Night Court NBC 1984 1992
76. The Dean Martin Show NBC 1965 1974
77. Growing Pains ABC 1985 1992
78. The Dukes of Hazzard CBS 1979 1985
79. The Virginian NBC 1962 1971
80. The Dick Van Dyke Show CBS 1961 1966
81. Newhart CBS 1982 1990
82. Lassie CBS 1954 1971
83. The Real McCoys ABC, CBS 1957 1963
84. Perry Mason CBS 1957 1974
85. America’s Funniest Home Videos ABC 1990 ––––
86. Primetime Live/Primetime Thursday ABC 1989 ––––
87. Simon & Simon CBS 1981 1989
88. The Perry Como Show NBC, CBS 1948 1963
89. Matlock NBC, ABC 1986 1995
90. Empty Nest NBC 1988 1995
91. Charlie’s Angels ABC 1976 1981
92. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation CBS 2000 ––––
93. LA. Law NBC 1986 1994
94. The Flip Wilson Show NBC 1970 1974
95. Columbo NBC, ABC 1971 1993
96. Philco TV Playhouse NBC 1948 1955
97. Adam 12 NBC 1968 1975
98. The A-Team NBC 1983 1987
99. The Lawrence Welk Show ABC 1955 1971
100. Green Acres CBS 1965 1971