This article presents the top-rated American primetime broadcast network television series by season from 1950 to the present according to Nielsen Media Research.
1950s
October 1950–April 1951
October 1951–April 1952
October 1952–April 1953
October 1953–April 1954
October 1954–April 1955
October 1955–April 1956
October 1956–April 1957
October 1957–April 1958
October 1958–April 1959
October 1959–April 1960
1960s
October 1960–April 1961
October 1961–April 1962
October 1962–April 1963
October 1963–April 1964
October 1964–April 1965
October 1965–April 1966
October 1966–April 1967
October 1967–April 1968
October 1968–April 1969
October 1969–April 1970
1970s
October 1970–April 1971
October 1971–April 1972
October 1972–April 1973
September 1973–April 1974
September 1974–April 1975
September 1975–April 1976
September 1976–April 1977
September 1977–April 1978
September 1978–April 1979
September 1979–April 1980
1980s
September 1980–April 1981
September 1981–April 1982
September 1982–April 1983
September 1983–April 1984
September 1984–April 1985
September 1985–April 1986
September 1986–April 1987
September 1987–April 1988
October 1988–April 1989
September 1989–April 1990
1990s
September 1990–April 1991
September 1991–April 1992
September 1992–April 1993
September 1993–April 1994
September 1994–April 1995
September 1995–May 1996
September 1996–May 1997
September 1997–May 1998
September 1998–May 1999
September 1999–May 2000
2000s
September 2000–May 2001
September 2001–May 2002
September 2002–May 2003
September 2003–May 2004
September 2004–May 2005
September 2005–May 2006
September 2006–May 2007
September 2007–May 2008
September 2008–May 2009
September 2009–May 2010
2010s
September 2010–May 2011
September 2011–May 2012
September 2012–May 2013
September 2013–May 2014
September 2014–May 2015
September 2015–May 2016
September 2016–May 2017
September 2017–May 2018
September 2018–May 2019
September 2019–May 2020 Rank Program Network Rating 1 Sunday Night Football NBC 20.09 2 NCIS CBS 15.34 3 Thursday Night Football FOX 15.05 4 FBI CBS 12.55 5 Blue Bloods 11.96 6 Chicago Fire NBC 11.70 7 This Is Us 11.55 8 Young Sheldon CBS 11.45 9 Chicago P.D. NBC 11.23 10 Chicago Med 11.22 11 The Good Doctor ABC 10.82 12 The Masked Singer FOX 10.73 13 Bull CBS 10.61 14 60 Minutes 10.46 15 9-1-1 FOX 10.42 16 The Voice NBC 10.23 17 FBI: Most Wanted CBS 10.20 18 New Amsterdam NBC 9.70 19 Hawaii Five-0 CBS 9.68 20 NCIS: New Orleans 9.58 21 The Voice: Tuesday NBC 9.53 22 Grey's Anatomy ABC 9.39 23 Survivor CBS 9.30 24 9-1-1: Lone Star FOX 9.09 25 America's Got Talent: The Champions NBC 8.9226 Magnum P.I. CBS 8.91 NCIS: Los Angeles 28 American Idol: Monday ABC 8.5429 Mom CBS 8.52 Station 19 ABC
2020s
September 2020–May 2021 Rank Program Network Rating 1 Sunday Night Football NBC 16.50 2 Thursday Night Football FOX 13.42 3 NCIS CBS 12.58 4 The Equalizer 12.07 5 FBI 10.98 6 60 Minutes 10.73 7 Chicago Fire NBC 10.23 8 Blue Bloods CBS 10.16 9 Chicago Med NBC 9.74 10 Chicago P.D. 9.73 11 9-1-1 FOX 9.62 12 Young Sheldon CBS 9.45 13 This Is Us NBC 9.32 14 FBI: Most Wanted CBS 8.83 15 9-1-1: Lone Star FOX 8.71 16 Bull CBS 8.59 17 The Voice NBC 8.40 18 The Voice: Tuesday 8.3019 The Good Doctor ABC 8.16 Grey's Anatomy 21 Law & Order: Organized Crime NBC 7.83 22 NCIS: Los Angeles CBS 7.80 23 The Masked Singer FOX 7.56 24 Magnum P.I. CBS 7.48 25 American Idol ABC 7.42 26 Big Sky 7.35 27 NCIS: New Orleans CBS 7.22 28 Celebrity Wheel of Fortune ABC 7.1529 The Rookie 7.11 Station 19
September 2021–May 2022 Rank Program Network Rating 1 Sunday Night Football NBC 18.00 2 Thursday Night Football FOX 15.40 3 NCIS CBS 10.90 4 FBI 10.29 5 Chicago Fire NBC 9.81 6 Blue Bloods CBS 9.78 7 The Equalizer 9.42 8 Young Sheldon 9.21 9 60 Minutes 9.19 10 Chicago P.D. NBC 9.15 11 Chicago Med 9.09 12 FBI: Most Wanted CBS 8.72 13 Ghosts 8.41 14 NCIS: Hawaiʻi 8.28 15 FBI: International 8.21 16 The Voice NBC 8.12 17 The Voice: Tuesday 8.11 18 This Is Us 7.76 19 La Brea 7.43 20 Bull CBS 7.37 21 Magnum P.I. 7.34 22 Survivor 7.32 23 American Idol ABC 7.29 24 NCIS: Los Angeles CBS 7.28 25 9-1-1 FOX 7.27 26 American Idol: Monday ABC 6.99 27 9-1-1: Lone Star FOX 6.88 28 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit NBC 6.8329 CSI: Vegas CBS 6.80 The Good Doctor ABC
September 2022–May 2023 Rank Program Network Rating 1 Sunday Night Football NBC 18.13 2 NCIS CBS 9.83 3 FBI 9.52 4 Young Sheldon 9.28 5 Chicago Fire NBC 9.25 6 Blue Bloods CBS 9.24 7 Ghosts 9.08 8 60 Minutes 8.80 9 Chicago Med NBC 8.48 10 The Equalizer CBS 8.28 11 Chicago P.D. NBC 8.27 12 Fire Country CBS 8.25 13 FBI: Most Wanted 8.00 14 FBI: International 7.72 15 NCIS: Hawaiʻi 7.50 16 The Voice NBC 7.30 17 The Voice: Tuesday 7.21 18 9-1-1 FOX 7.09 19 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit NBC 6.8720 American Idol ABC 6.79 East New York CBS 22 Survivor 6.71 23 S.W.A.T. 6.68 24 The Rookie ABC 6.48 25 The Neighborhood CBS 6.45 26 So Help Me Todd 6.37 27 Jeopardy! Masters ABC 6.35 28 The Good Doctor 6.23 29 NCIS: Los Angeles CBS 6.15 30 Bob Hearts Abishola 6.10
September 2023–May 2024 Rank Program Network Rating 1 Sunday Night Football NBC 19.84 2 Monday Night Football ABC 11.99 3 Tracker CBS 10.80 4 NCIS 9.66 5 Young Sheldon 9.10 6 FBI 8.96 7 Chicago Fire NBC 8.79 8 Blue Bloods CBS 8.45 9 60 Minutes 8.27 10 Ghosts 8.21 11 Chicago Med NBC 8.20 12 Chicago P.D. 7.96 13 The Equalizer CBS 7.90 14 NCIS: Hawaiʻi 7.79 15 Elsbeth 7.45 16 FBI: Most Wanted 7.39 17 Fire Country 7.33 18 FBI: International 7.21 19 The Voice NBC 7.14 20 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 6.91 21 The Voice: Tuesday 6.89 22 9-1-1 ABC 6.86 23 Will Trent 6.74 24 NCIS: Sydney CBS 6.53 25 Survivor 6.50 26 So Help Me Todd 6.18 27 S.W.A.T. 6.17 28 CSI: Vegas 6.15 29 The Golden Bachelor ABC 5.94 30 The Irrational NBC 5.93
September 2024–May 2025 Rank Program Network Rating 1 Sunday Night Football NBC 21.6 2 Tracker CBS 17.4 3 High Potential ABC 16.1 4 Matlock CBS 16.05 Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage 12.1 Ghosts 7 Monday Night Football ABC 11.9 8 Elsbeth CBS 11.5 9 Will Trent ABC 11.4 10 9-1-1 11.1 11 Watson CBS 11.0 12 Shifting Gears ABC 10.9 13 The Rookie 10.814 FBI CBS 10.6 NCIS 16 Chicago Fire NBC 10.3 17 Blue Bloods CBS 10.1 18 Chicago P.D. NBC 9.8 19 Chicago Med 9.7 20 Fire Country CBS 9.6 21 NCIS: Origins 9.3 22 Abbott Elementary ABC 8.823 60 Minutes CBS 8.7 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit NBC 25 FBI: Most Wanted CBS 8.426 Survivor 48 8.3 The Voice NBC28 The Equalizer CBS 8.2 FBI: International 30 Survivor 47 7.9
Multiple rankings in the Top 30
49 seasons 60 Minutes (CBS)
34 seasons Monday Night Football (ABC)
22 seasons NCIS (CBS) Survivor (CBS)
19 seasons Sunday Night Football (NBC)
18 seasons American Idol (FOX/ABC) Gunsmoke (CBS)
17 seasons Disneyland/Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color/The Wonderful World of Disney (ABC/NBC) Grey's Anatomy (ABC) The Red Skelton Show (NBC/CBS) The Toast of the Town/The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS)
15 seasons Blue Bloods (CBS) CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS) Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC) The Voice (NBC)
14 seasons Dancing with the Stars (ABC) ER (NBC) NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)
13 seasons Criminal Minds (CBS)
12 seasons All in the Family/Archie Bunker's Place (CBS) Bonanza (NBC) Law & Order (NBC) The Lucy Show/Here's Lucy (CBS) Two and a Half Men (CBS)
11 seasons Chicago Fire (NBC) Frasier (NBC) Murder, She Wrote (CBS) My Three Sons (ABC/CBS)
10 seasons The Big Bang Theory (CBS) Chicago Med (NBC) CSI: Miami (CBS) Dallas (CBS) Friends (NBC) Hawaii Five-0 (CBS) I've Got a Secret (CBS) The Jack Benny Show (CBS) M*A*S*H (CBS) NYPD Blue (ABC) Roseanne/The Conners (ABC)
9 seasons The King of Queens (CBS) The Carol Burnett Show (CBS) Cheers (NBC) Dragnet (NBC) Happy Days (ABC) Lassie (CBS) You Bet Your Life (NBC)
8 seasons The Andy Griffith Show (CBS) The Beverly Hillbillies (CBS) Chicago P.D. (NBC) The Cosby Show (NBC) Desperate Housewives (ABC) Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS) General Electric Theater (CBS) Hawaii Five-O (CBS) Home Improvement (ABC) The Jeffersons (CBS) Knots Landing (CBS) Little House on the Prairie/Little House: A New Beginning (NBC) 9-1-1 (ABC/FOX) One Day at a Time (CBS) Thursday Night Football (CBS/NBC/FOX) 20/20 (ABC) The Virginian/The Men from Shiloh (NBC)
7 seasons Alice (CBS) Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts (CBS) Castle (ABC) Cold Case (CBS) CSI: NY (CBS) The Danny Thomas Show (CBS) The F.B.I. (ABC) FBI (CBS) The Golden Girls (NBC) The Good Wife (CBS) The Jackie Gleason Show (1962-1970) (CBS) Laverne & Shirley (ABC) The Love Boat (ABC) The Mentalist (CBS) Murphy Brown (CBS) NCIS: New Orleans (CBS) Three's Company (ABC) The Waltons (CBS) What's My Line? (CBS) Without a Trace (CBS) Young Sheldon (CBS)
6 seasons The Bachelor (ABC) Bewitched (ABC) Bull (CBS) Coach (ABC) Dateline NBC (NBC) Dynasty (ABC) Falcon Crest (CBS) FBI: Most Wanted (CBS) Fireside Theatre (NBC) Full House (ABC) The Good Doctor (ABC) Growing Pains (ABC) Have Gun – Will Travel (CBS) House (FOX) The Life of Riley (NBC) I Love Lucy (CBS) Ironside (NBC) Judging Amy (CBS) L.A. Law (NBC) Lost (ABC) The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS) Matlock (NBC/ABC) Newhart (CBS) Night Court (NBC) The Perry Como Show (NBC) Perry Mason (CBS) Primetime Live (ABC) Sanford and Son (NBC) Seinfeld (NBC) This Is Us (NBC) Trapper John, M.D. (CBS) Wagon Train (NBC/ABC) The West Wing (NBC) Who's the Boss? (ABC)
5 seasons Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (CBS) The Colgate Comedy Hour (NBC) The Dean Martin Show (NBC) A Different World (NBC) The Dukes of Hazzard (CBS) The Equalizer (CBS) Fantasy Island (ABC) The Ford Show (NBC) Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (CBS) Head of the Class (ABC) In the Heat of the Night (NBC) JAG (CBS) The Lawrence Welk Show (ABC) Magnum, P.I. (1980-1988) (CBS) The Millionaire (CBS) Modern Family (ABC) Mom (CBS) Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts (CBS) Private Secretary (CBS) Rawhide (CBS) The Real McCoys (ABC) Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (NBC) Texaco Star Theater/The Milton Berle Show/The Buick-Berle Show (NBC) This Is Your Life (NBC) Touched by an Angel (CBS) Unsolved Mysteries (NBC)
4 seasons The A-Team (NBC) Adam-12 (NBC) Alfred Hitchcock Presents (CBS) Barnaby Jones (CBS) Barney Miller (ABC) Becker (CBS) The Blacklist (NBC) The Bob Newhart Show (CBS) Brothers & Sisters (ABC) Candid Camera (CBS) Cannon (CBS) Charlie's Angels (ABC) Cheyenne (ABC) Daniel Boone (NBC) December Bride (CBS) The Dick Van Dyke Show (CBS) The Doris Day Show (CBS) The Drew Carey Show (ABC) Eight Is Enough (ABC) Empty Nest (NBC) Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC) The Facts of Life (NBC) The Fall Guy (ABC) Family Affair (CBS) Family Ties (NBC) FBI: International (CBS) Ford Theatre (NBC) The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (CBS) Ghosts (CBS) Gillette Cavalcade of Sports (NBC) Good Times (CBS) Green Acres (CBS) Hunter (NBC) Kate & Allie (CBS) Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBC) The Lawman (ABC) The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (ABC) Madam Secretary (CBS) Mama (CBS) Mannix (CBS) Marcus Welby, M.D. (ABC) Maude (CBS) Medical Center (CBS) The Mod Squad (ABC) Person of Interest (CBS) Petticoat Junction (CBS) Philco TV Playhouse (NBC) The Price Is Right (NBC) Real People (NBC) The Rifleman (ABC) Scandal (ABC) Simon & Simon (CBS) That's Incredible! (ABC) 24 (FOX) Walker, Texas Ranger (CBS) Will & Grace (NBC) Wings (NBC) The Wonder Years (ABC) The X-Files (FOX) Your Hit Parade (NBC)
3 seasons ALF (NBC) Amen (NBC) America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC) The Big Story (NBC) Bones (FOX) Chicago Hope (CBS) CHiPs (NBC) Crossing Jordan (NBC) Deal or No Deal (NBC) Dennis the Menace (CBS) Designing Women (CBS) Dharma & Greg (ABC) Diff'rent Strokes (NBC) Dr. Kildare (NBC) Elementary (CBS) Empire (FOX) Evening Shade (CBS) Family Law (CBS) Family Matters (ABC) Father Knows Best (NBC/CBS) Fear Factor (NBC) Fire Country (CBS) The Flintstones (ABC) The Flip Wilson Show (NBC) The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (NBC) The Garry Moore Show (CBS) Goodyear TV Playhouse (NBC) Grace Under Fire (ABC)