The Best Show That Was On the Air the Year You Were Born

Published: March 6, 2024 by Colman Andrews

The first-ever television drama was a 40-minute radio play adapted for TV called “The Queen’s Messenger,” broadcast in 1928 by WGY, a radio station in Schenectady, NY, and received on specially made television screens measuring three or four inches across positioned within a range of a few miles.

By the following decade, drama series, variety shows, and sports events (including the 1936 Summer Olympics) were being broadcast, with Great Britain, Germany, and France joining the U.S. in sending programs through the airwaves in what was then still largely an experimental medium.

Britain’s BBC launched the first cop show, “Telecrime,” in 1938. The U.S. didn’t catch up in that genre until “Dragnet” transitioned from radio to TV in 1951. Meanwhile, in 1947, the first American sit-com appeared — “Mary Kay and Johnny.”

We’ve come a long way since then. In both 2021 and 2022, according to Variety, there were 633 scripted series — comedies and cop shows and everything else — on the air. Last year, due in large part to Hollywood strikes by both the writers’ and the actors’ unions, that number had dropped to 481. But that’s still a lot to watch.

If you’ve ever wondered what the best TV shows were the year you were born — or at least what modern audiences think they were or are — 24/7 Tempo has assembled a yearly list based on audience ratings from IMDb, an online movie and TV database owned by Amazon. Shows were ranked based on the average IMDb user score for all episodes that premiered in a given year. (If you’re more interested in the present than the past, here’s a list of the best new shows of 2023.)

Only shows with at least 2,500 total episode votes in each year were considered, and only English-language shows — though not only American shows — are included. (Some shows on the list, like “Blackadder,” “Only Fools and Horses,” “Cracker,” and “Father Ted,” have been broadcast in the U.S. only sporadically, and principally on streaming platforms.)

One thing the results show is that audiences have responded favorably to series of many types over the decades: Westerns, which were popular fare into the early 1970s (“Gunsmoke” appears eight times among the runners-up); unconventional comedies such as the classic “Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” the groundbreaking “All in the Family,” the beloved “M.A.S.H.,” and of course the inimitable “Seinfeld;” and cops and detective dramas featuring such memorable characters as Jim Rockford, Sherlock Holmes, and (the original) Magnum P.I.

And of course there’s also animation (from “The Simpsons” to “BoJack Horseman”) and a range of family dramas ranging from “The Sopranos” to “Succession” (you can decide which family was worse), as well as just about anything else you can think of. And the good news is that almost everything here can still be found in various corners of the TV universe.

Scroll down to learn the identity of the best TV show the year you were born:

1955

Source: Courtesy of CBS

Best show according to IMDb audiences: The Honeymooners
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.5/10 (4,465 votes)
Runner-up shows: I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, Alfred Hitchcock Presents

1956

Source: Courtesy of CBS

Best show according to IMDb audiences: The Honeymooners
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.4/10 (7,220 votes)
Runner-up shows: I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, Highway Patrol

1957

Source: Courtesy of CBS

Best show according to IMDb audiences: I Love Lucy
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.4/10 (5,198 votes)
Runner-up shows: Perry Mason, Have Gun – Will Travel, Leave It to Beaver

1958

Source: Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company

Best show according to IMDb audiences: The Rifleman
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.2/10 (2,940 votes)
Runner-up shows: Wagon Train, Perry Mason, Maverick

1959

Source: Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company

Best show according to IMDb audiences: The Rifleman
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.1/10 (5,449 votes)
Runner-up shows: Perry Mason, Wagon Train, Maverick

1960

Source: Courtesy of CBS

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Perry Mason
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.2/10 (8,651 votes)
Runner-up shows: Laramie, The Andy Griffith Show, The Rifleman

1961

Source: Courtesy of National Broadcasting Company

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Laramie
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.2/10 (2,787 votes)
Runner-up shows: Rawhide, Wagon Train, The Rifleman

1962

Source: Courtesy of CBS

Best show according to IMDb audiences: The Andy Griffith Show
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.1/10 (12,628 votes)
Runner-up shows: The Rifleman, Perry Mason, Rawhide

1963

Source: Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Combat!
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.4/10 (3,798 votes)
Runner-up shows: The Andy Griffith Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, Perry Mason

1964

Source: Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Combat!
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.3/10 (2,806 votes)
Runner-up shows: The Beverly Hillbillies, Gunsmoke, Bewitched

1965

Source: Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Combat!
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.4/10 (2,860 votes)
Runner-up shows: Bewitched, The Beverly Hillbillies, Perry Mason

1966

Source: Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Combat!
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.4/10 (2,568 votes)
Runner-up shows: Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, The Beverly Hillbillies

1967

Source: Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Bewitched
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.1/10 (10,622 votes)
Runner-up shows: The Prisoner, Green Acres, Gunsmoke

1968

Source: Courtesy of CBS

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Get Smart
Avg. episode rating in year: 7.8/10 (4,584 votes)
Runner-up shows: Bewitched, Hogan’s Heroes, Mannix

1969

Source: Courtesy of A&E Home Video

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.0/10 (13,502 votes)
Runner-up shows: Scooby Doo, Where Are You!, Gunsmoke, Dad’s Army

1970

Source: Courtesy of A&E Home Video

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.2/10 (14,137 votes)
Runner-up shows: Adam-12, Scooby Doo, Where Are You!, Doctor Who

1971

Source: Courtesy of CBS

Best show according to IMDb audiences: All in the Family
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.2/10 (8,597 votes)
Runner-up shows: Adam-12, Alias Smith and Jones, Gunsmoke

1972

Source: Courtesy of CBS

Best show according to IMDb audiences: All in the Family
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.1/10 (6,780 votes)
Runner-up shows: Emergency!, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Gunsmoke

1973

Source: Courtesy of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

N/A

Best show according to IMDb audiences: The World at War
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.6/10 (4,013 votes)
Runner-up shows: All in the Family, M*A*S*H, Kung Fu

1974

Source: Courtesy of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

N/A

Best show according to IMDb audiences: The World at War
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.7/10 (6,657 votes)
Runner-up shows: Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons, M*A*S*H

1975

Source: Courtesy of CBS/Fox

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Fawlty Towers
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.7/10 (14,257 votes)
Runner-up shows: The Rockford Files, Little House on the Prairie, M*A*S*H

1976

Source: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Best show according to IMDb audiences: I, Claudius
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.6/10 (4,993 votes)
Runner-up shows: Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Doctor Who, The Rockford Files

1977

Source: Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Laverne & Shirley
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.3/10 (2,575 votes)
Runner-up shows: The Rockford Files, Barney Miller, Columbo

1978

Source: Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Laverne & Shirley
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.3/10 (2,502 votes)
Runner-up shows: Future Boy Conan, Barney Miller, WKRP in Cincinnati

1979

Source: Courtesy of CBS/Fox

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Fawlty Towers
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.9/10 (12,631 votes)
Runner-up shows: Barney Miller, WKRP in Cincinnati, M*A*S*H

1980

Source: Courtesy of Public Broadcasting Service

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Cosmos
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.9/10 (7,485 votes)
Runner-up shows: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson: The Acquaintance, Yes Minister

1981

Source: Courtesy of CBS

Best show according to IMDb audiences: WKRP in Cincinnati
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.0/10 (3,354 votes)
Runner-up shows: Hill Street Blues, Only Fools and Horses, Three’s Company

1982

Source: Courtesy of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

N/A

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Only Fools and Horses
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.2/10 (5,012 votes)
Runner-up shows: The Young Ones, Police Squad!, Cheers

1983

Source: Courtesy of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

N/A

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Only Fools and Horses
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.2/10 (4,755 votes)
Runner-up shows: Dallas, Magnum, P.I., M*A*S*H

1984

Source: Courtesy of BBC Video

Best show according to IMDb audiences: The Young Ones
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.5/10 (3,206 votes)
Runner-up shows: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Highway to Heaven, Thomas & Friends

1985

Source: Courtesy of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

N/A

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Only Fools and Horses
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.3/10 (4,780 votes)
Runner-up shows: Highway to Heaven, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Miami Vice

1986

Source: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Best show according to IMDb audiences: Thomas & Friends
Avg. episode rating in year: 8.3/10 (2,937 votes)
Runner-up shows: Blackadder II, Highway to Heaven, The Return of Sherlock Holmes