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    Nostalgia Central
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    Blog 2 Mins Read

    Top Rated US TV Shows – 1950 – 1999

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    Since the advent of commercial television, ratings represented a matter of life and death on the air to virtually every television star and series. As the only method of quickly determining the size of each show’s audience, ratings decided whether a show continued or was cancelled.

    The Nielsen ratings (reported by the AC Neilsen Company of Chicago) began in the US in 1950 using the rating system market analyst Arthur C. Nielsen and his company had developed for radio.

    The following compilation lists the top-rated television shows in America for every year between 1950 and 1999. You might be surprised . . .

    1950 – 1951 Texaco Star Theatre
    1951 – 1952 Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts
    1952 – 1953 I Love Lucy
    1953 – 1954 I Love Lucy
    1954 – 1955 I Love Lucy
    1955 – 1956 The $64,000 Question
    1956 – 1957 I Love Lucy
    1957 – 1958 Gunsmoke
    1958 – 1959 Gunsmoke
    1959 – 1960 Gunsmoke
    1960 – 1961 Gunsmoke
    1961 – 1962 Wagon Train
    1962 – 1963 The Beverly Hillbillies
    1963 – 1964 The Beverly Hillbillies
    1964 – 1965 Bonanza
    1965 – 1966 Bonanza
    1966 – 1967 Bonanza
    1967 – 1968 The Andy Griffith Show
    1968 – 1969 Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In
    1969 – 1970 Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In
    1970 – 1971 Marcus Welby MD
    1971 – 1972 All in the Family
    1972 – 1973 All in the Family
    1973 – 1974 All in the Family
    1974 – 1975 All in the Family
    1975 – 1976 All in the Family
    1976 – 1977 Happy Days
    1977 – 1978 Laverne & Shirley
    1978 – 1979 Laverne & Shirley
    1979 – 1980 60 Minutes
    1980 – 1981 Dallas
    1981 – 1982 Dallas
    1982 – 1983 60 Minutes
    1983 – 1984 Dallas
    1984 – 1985 Dynasty
    1985 – 1986 The Cosby Show
    1986 – 1987 The Cosby Show
    1987 – 1988 The Cosby Show
    1988 – 1989 The Cosby Show
    1989 – 1990 Roseanne
    1990 – 1991 Cheers
    1991 – 1992 60 Minutes
    1992 – 1993 60 Minutes
    1993 – 1994 60 Minutes
    1994 – 1995 Seinfeld
    1995 – 1996 ER
    1996 – 1997 ER
    1997 – 1998 Seinfeld
    1998 – 1999 ER

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