: Written by: Super User; Published: 07 April 2023

Article Index

Page 1 of 8

Top TV Shows By Year / Season

This article presents the top-rated American primetime broadcast network television series by season from 1950 to the present according to Nielsen Media Research.

Rating: Average viewership in millions.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-rated_United_States_television_programs_by_season

1950's

October 1950–April 1951

Rank	Program	Network	Rating
1	Texaco Star Theater	NBC	61.6
2	Fireside Theatre		52.6
3	Philco TV Playhouse		45.3
4	Your Show of Shows		42.6
5	The Colgate Comedy Hour		42.0
6	Gillette Cavalcade of Sports		41.3
7	The Lone Ranger	ABC	41.2
8	Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts	CBS	40.6
9	Hopalong Cassidy	NBC	39.9
10	Mama	CBS	39.7
11	Robert Montgomery Presents	NBC	38.8
12	Martin Kane, Private Eye	NBC	37.8
13	Man Against Crime	CBS	37.4
14	Kraft Television Theatre	NBC	37.0
15	The Toast of the Town	CBS	36.5
16	The Aldrich Family	NBC	36.1
17	You Bet Your Life	NBC	36.0
18	Arthur Godfrey and His Friends	CBS	35.9
19	Armstrong Circle Theatre	NBC	35.6
	Lights Out	NBC
	Big Town	CBS
22	The Alan Young Show	CBS	34.4
23	Stop the Music	ABC	34.0
24	Studio One	CBS	33.8
25	The Big Story	NBC	33.7
26	Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts	CBS	33.4
26	The Original Amateur Hour	NBC	33.4
28	The Ken Murray Show	CBS	32.1
29	Your Hit Parade	NBC	32.0
30	Lux Video Theatre	CBS	31.5
30	The Speidel Show	NBC	31.5

October 1951–April 1952

Rank	Program	Network	Rating
1	Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts	CBS	53.8
2	Texaco Star Theater	NBC	52.0
3	I Love Lucy	CBS	50.9
4	The Red Skelton Show	NBC	50.2
5	The Colgate Comedy Hour	NBC	45.3
6	Arthur Godfrey and His Friends	CBS	43.3
7	Fireside Theatre	NBC	43.1
8	Your Show of Shows	NBC	43.0
9	The Jack Benny Show	CBS	42.8
10	You Bet Your Life	NBC	42.1
11	Mama	CBS	41.3
12	Philco TV Playhouse	NBC	40.4
13	Amos 'n' Andy	CBS	38.9
14	Gangbusters	NBC	38.7
15	Big Town	CBS	38.5
16	Goodyear TV Playhouse	NBC	37.8
17	Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts	CBS	37.5
18	The Lone Ranger	ABC	36.8
19	Gillette Cavalcade of Sports	NBC	36.5
20	All Star Revue		36.3
20	Dragnet		36.3
22	The Alan Young Show	CBS	35.8
23	Kraft Television Theatre	NBC	34.8
24	Armstrong Circle Theatre	NBC	34.7
25	Strike It Rich	CBS	34.5
26	Robert Montgomery Presents	NBC	34.4
27	The Roy Rogers Show		32.7
28	Hopalong Cassidy		32.2
29	Man Against Crime	CBS	32.0
29	Racket Squad	CBS	32.0

October 1952–April 1953

Rank	Program	Network	Rating
1	I Love Lucy	CBS	67.3
2	Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts		54.7
3	Arthur Godfrey and His Friends		47.1
4	Dragnet	NBC	46.8
5	Texaco Star Theater		46.7
6	The Buick Circus Hour		46.0
7	The Colgate Comedy Hour		44.3
8	Gangbusters		42.4
9	You Bet Your Life		41.6
10	Fireside Theatre		40.6
11	The Red Buttons Show	CBS	40.2
12	The Jack Benny Show		39.0
13	Life with Luigi		38.5
14	Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts		37.9
15	Goodyear TV Playhouse	NBC	37.8
16	The Life of Riley		37.4
17	Philco TV Playhouse		37.3
18	Mama	CBS	37.0
19	Your Show of Shows	NBC	36.0
20	What's My Line?	CBS	35.3
20	Strike It Rich		35.3
22	Our Miss Brooks		35.0
22	The Big Story	NBC	35.0
24	Gillette Cavalcade of Sports	NBC	34.7
25	Amos 'n' Andy	CBS	34.4
26	All Star Revue	NBC	34.3
27	Treasury Men in Action		34.2
28	The Red Skelton Show		33.7
28	The Lone Ranger	ABC	33.7
30	Ford Theatre	NBC	33.6

October 1953–April 1954

Rank	Program	Network	Rating
1	I Love Lucy	CBS	58.8
2	Dragnet	NBC	53.2
3	Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts	CBS	43.6
3	You Bet Your Life	NBC	43.6
5	The Milton Berle Show	NBC	40.2
6	Arthur Godfrey and His Friends	CBS	38.9
7	Ford Theatre	NBC	38.8
8	The Jackie Gleason Show	CBS	38.1
9	Fireside Theatre	NBC	36.4
10	The Colgate Comedy Hour		36.2
10	This Is Your Life		36.2
12	The Red Buttons Show	CBS	35.3
13	The Life of Riley	NBC	35.0
14	Our Miss Brooks	CBS	34.2
15	Treasury Men in Action	NBC	33.9
16	The Jack Benny Show	CBS	33.3
17	The Toast of the Town	CBS	33.0
18	Gillette Cavalcade of Sports	NBC	32.7
19	Philco TV Playhouse	NBC	32.5
20	The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show	CBS	32.4
21	Kraft Television Theatre	NBC	31.3
22	Goodyear TV Playhouse	NBC	31.0
23	Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts	CBS	30.9
24	Private Secretary	CBS	30.3
25	I Married Joan	NBC	30.2
25	Mama	CBS	30.2
27	General Electric Theater		29.9
28	What's My Line?		29.6
29	The Big Story	NBC	29.5
	Martin Kane, Private Eye
	Your Hit Parade

October 1954–April 1955

Rank	Program	Network	Rating
1	I Love Lucy	CBS	49.3
2	The Jackie Gleason Show	CBS	42.4
3	Dragnet	NBC	42.1
4	You Bet Your Life	NBC	41.0
5	The Toast of the Town	CBS	39.6
6	Disneyland	ABC	39.1
7	The Jack Benny Show	CBS	38.3
8	The George Gobel Show	NBC	35.2
9	Ford Theatre	NBC	34.9
10	December Bride	CBS	34.7
11	The Buick-Berle Show	NBC	34.6
12	This Is Your Life	NBC	34.5
13	I've Got a Secret	CBS	34.0
14	Two for the Money	CBS	33.9
15	Your Hit Parade	NBC	33.6
16	The Millionaire	CBS	33.0
17	General Electric Theater		32.6
18	Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts		32.5
19	Private Secretary		32.2
20	Fireside Theatre	NBC	31.1
21	The Life of Riley	NBC	30.9
22	Arthur Godfrey and His Friends	CBS	29.8
23	The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin	ABC	29.5
24	Topper	CBS	29.4
25	Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts		29.1
26	The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show		29.0
27	The Colgate Comedy Hour	NBC	28.0
28	The Loretta Young Show		27.7
29	My Little Margie		27.1
30	The Roy Rogers Show		26.9

October 1955–April 1956

Rank	Program	Network	Rating
1	The $64,000 Question	CBS	47.5
2	I Love Lucy		46.1
3	The Ed Sullivan Show		39.5
4	Disneyland	ABC	37.4
5	The Jack Benny Show	CBS	37.2
6	December Bride	CBS	37.0
7	You Bet Your Life	NBC	35.4
8	Dragnet	NBC	35.0
9	The Millionaire	CBS	33.8
10	I've Got a Secret		33.5
11	General Electric Theater		32.9
12	Private Secretary		32.4
12	Ford Theatre	NBC	32.4
14	The Red Skelton Show	CBS	32.3
15	The George Gobel Show	NBC	31.9
16	Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts	CBS	31.1
17	The Lineup	CBS	30.8
18	The Perry Como Show	NBC	30.3
19	The Honeymooners	CBS	30.2
20	The Adventures of Robin Hood	CBS	30.1
21	The Life of Riley	NBC	29.9
22	Climax!	CBS	20.6
23	Your Hit Parade	NBC	29.1
24	Fireside Theatre		29.0
25	Lux Video Theatre		28.9
26	This Is Your Life		28.8
27	People Are Funny		28.4
27	The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show	CBS	28.4
29	The Chevy Show	NBC	28.2
30	The Phil Silvers Show	CBS	28.1

October 1956–April 1957

Rank	Program	Network	Rating
1	I Love Lucy	CBS	43.7
2	The Ed Sullivan Show		38.4
3	General Electric Theater		36.9
4	The $64,000 Question		36.4
5	December Bride		35.2
6	Alfred Hitchcock Presents		33.9
7	I've Got a Secret		32.7
7	Gunsmoke		32.7
9	The Perry Como Show	NBC	32.6
10	The Jack Benny Show	CBS	32.3
11	Dragnet	NBC	32.1
12	Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts	CBS	31.9
13	The Millionaire	CBS	31.8
13	Disneyland	ABC	31.8
15	The Red Skelton Show	CBS	31.4
15	The Lineup	CBS	31.4
17	You Bet Your Life	NBC	31.1
18	The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp	ABC	31.0
19	The Ford Show	NBC	30.7
20	The Adventures of Robin Hood	CBS	30.3
21	People Are Funny	NBC	30.2
22	The $64,000 Challenge	CBS	29.7
22	The Phil Silvers Show		29.7
24	Lassie		29.5
25	Private Secretary		29.0
26	Climax!		28.9
26	What's My Line?		28.9
28	The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show		27.8
29	The Jackie Gleason Show		27.6
30	Name That Tune		27.2

October 1957–April 1958

Rank	Program	Network	Rating
1	Gunsmoke	CBS	43.1
2	The Danny Thomas Show	CBS	35.3
3	Tales of Wells Fargo	NBC	35.2
4	Have Gun – Will Travel	CBS	33.7
5	I've Got a Secret	CBS	33.4
6	The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp	ABC	32.6
7	General Electric Theater	CBS	31.5
8	The Restless Gun	NBC	31.4
9	December Bride	CBS	30.7
10	You Bet Your Life	NBC	30.6
11	The Perry Como Show	NBC	30.5
12	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	CBS	30.3
12	Cheyenne	ABC	30.3
14	The Ford Show	NBC	29.7
15	The Red Skelton Show	CBS	28.9
16	The Gale Storm Show		28.8
17	The Millionaire		28.5
18	The Lineup		28.4
19	This Is Your Life	NBC	28.1
19	The $64,000 Question	CBS	28.1
21	Zane Grey Theater		27.9
22	Lassie		27.8
23	Wagon Train	NBC	27.7
	Sugarfoot	ABC
	Father Knows Best	NBC
26	Twenty-One	NBC	27.6
27	The Ed Sullivan Show	CBS	27.3
28	The Jack Benny Show	CBS	27.1
29	People Are Funny	NBC	27.0
30	The Loretta Young Show	NBC	26.6
	Zorro	ABC
	The Real McCoys	ABC

October 1958–April 1959

Rank	Program	Network	Rating
1	Gunsmoke	CBS	39.6
2	Wagon Train	NBC	36.1
3	Have Gun – Will Travel	CBS	34.3
4	The Rifleman	ABC	33.1
5	The Danny Thomas Show	CBS	32.8
6	Maverick	ABC	30.4
7	Tales of Wells Fargo	NBC	30.2
8	The Real McCoys	ABC	30.1
9	I've Got a Secret	CBS	29.8
10	The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp	ABC	29.1
11	The Price Is Right	NBC	28.6
12	The Red Skelton Show	CBS	28.5
13	Zane Grey Theater		28.3
13	Father Knows Best		28.3
15	The Texan		28.2
16	Wanted: Dead or Alive		28.0
16	Peter Gunn	NBC	28.0
18	Cheyenne	ABC	27.9
19	Perry Mason	CBS	27.5
20	The Ford Show	NBC	27.2
21	Sugarfoot	ABC	27.0
	The Ann Sothern Show	CBS
	The Perry Como Show	NBC
24	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	CBS	26.8
25	Name That Tune		26.7
25	General Electric Theater		26.7
27	The Lawman	ABC	26.0
28	Rawhide	CBS	25.9
29	This Is Your Life	NBC	25.8
30	The Millionaire	CBS	25.6

October 1959–April 1960

Rank	Program	Network	Rating
1	Gunsmoke	CBS	40.3
2	Wagon Train	NBC	38.4
3	Have Gun – Will Travel	CBS	34.7
4	The Danny Thomas Show		31.1
5	The Red Skelton Show		30.8
6	Father Knows Best		29.7
6	77 Sunset Strip	ABC	29.7
8	The Price Is Right	NBC	29.2
9	Wanted: Dead or Alive	CBS	28.7
10	Perry Mason	CBS	28.3
11	The Real McCoys	ABC	28.2
12	The Ed Sullivan Show	CBS	28.0
13	The Rifleman	ABC	27.5
14	The Ford Show	NBC	27.4
15	The Lawman	ABC	26.2
16	Dennis the Menace	CBS	26.0
17	Cheyenne	ABC	25.9
18	Rawhide	CBS	25.8
19	Maverick	ABC	25.2
20	The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp	ABC	25.0
21	Mr. Lucky	CBS	24.4
	Zane Grey Theater
	General Electric Theater
24	The Ann Sothern Show		24.2
25	Alfred Hitchcock Presents		24.1
26	You Bet Your Life	NBC	24.0
27	What's My Line?	CBS	23.9
28	I've Got a Secret	CBS	23.5
29	The Perry Como Show	NBC	23.1
29	Lassie	CBS	23.1

Last Updated: 16 July 2023

Comments powered by CComment

Top TV Shows By Year / Season

Article Index

Top TV Shows By Year / Season

1950's

Become a Producer

Social Media