Between viewership and popularity, here is a selection of series that left their mark on their time, from the 1950s to today.
Mother of all sitcoms, the one that broke codes and barriers: I Love Lucy was the most successful series in the United States in the 1950s. As it remained top-ranking several years in a row, it even achieved a record in 1953 with 44 million viewers, not to mention the many awards received, with no less than five Emmy Awards.
Aired from 1959 to 1973, Bonanza was the most successful series of that decade. It was the most watched on American television for three seasons in a row and monopolized the first six places in the ranking for nine years. Bonanza was a western that followed the daily life of the Cartwright family with Ben Cartwright and his three sons.
The competition is tough in this decade, with M*A*S*H, Happy Days or even Little House on the Prairie, but it is the comedy All in the Family which won the race of the most popular series of 70s. It remained at the top of the most watched programs five years in a row and won more than 20 Emmy Awards and several Golden Globes.
The eighties can be split into two parts. The first one was largely dominated by Dallas, and The Cosby Show left its mark upon the second one. From 1980 to 1985 the Ewing and Barnes families monopolized the first two places, before the sitcom took over until April 1990. It is difficult to declare a big winner among these two. Both shows have made history and changed the television landscape forever.
As soon as it landed on the small screen in America, in 1994, E.R. left no chance for the competition, and despite the airings of the likes of Seinfeld, Roseanne, Frasier or even Friends, it immediately imposed itself at the top of the viewership rankings. For six years, it was either first or second most watched. Whereas the George Clooney effect may have played out in the first place, viewers became fans for its compelling storylines, year after year.
The decade when everything changed, where detective series found a new lease of life and a way to tell their investigations in a modern way. And we owe it to one show: Crime Scene Investigation. Regardless of all those shows, notably reality TV shows, that blossomed at that time, Gil Grissom and his team imposed their style every year, facing mastodons like Friends, House MD, Desperate Housewives or Law and Order: Special Unit. Even today, crime dramas are inspired by CSI, who left a heavy legacy.
The most recent decade has seen two series in particular compete for top ratings: NCIS, the detective series, and The Big Bang Theory, the sitcom. Two radically opposed styles that have prevailed over any other series of the moment. Of course, the channels have multiplied, and the cable networks have also played their role since 2010, and we simply cannot disregard Game of Thrones which broke records and is discussed more than any other series on social media. It has become a real social phenomenon.
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