From America’s favorite to almost forgotten
Television in the 1970s could turn a show into something almost everyone watched. The next morning, people discussed it at work, at school, and pretty much anywhere else two human beings happened to meet.
But for every massive hit, another show was quietly sinking to the bottom of the ratings. Some disappeared so completely that even their titles now sound made up.
And just a quick note: The years below refer to the Nielsen season that began that year, so 1970 means the 1970–71 television season.
1970 Most Watched: “Marcus Welby, M.D.”
Before Archie Bunker, the Fonz, and the Ewings took over American television, the country’s favorite character was a kindly family doctor. Marcus Welby, M.D. finished the season at #1, becoming the first ABC series ever to top the Nielsen ratings for an entire television season.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
1970 Least Watched: “60 Minutes”
Yes, that 60 Minutes. During the same season that Marcus Welby, M.D. finished first, CBS’s struggling newsmagazine landed all the way down at #101—the bottom of the rankings. Remember this one though, because...well, just remember it.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
1971 Most Watched: “All in the Family”
Then Archie Bunker arrived, and television changed almost overnight. All in the Family was loud, uncomfortable, politically charged, and completely unlike the gentle family sitcoms viewers were used to seeing. It jumped to #1 in its second season—and it was only getting started.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
1971 Least Watched: “The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine”
While Archie conquered America, British comedian Marty Feldman landed at the opposite end of the chart. His strange, unpredictable sketch series featured Spike Milligan, Terry Gilliam animation, and some impressive writers, but American viewers stayed away. It finished 78th out of 78 shows with a 6.6 rating.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
1972 Most Watched: “All in the Family”
By its second straight year at #1, All in the Family was no longer just a surprise hit. It was the show around which CBS built an entire powerhouse Saturday-night lineup. Archie could make viewers laugh, argue, and occasionally yell at the television—which only seemed to make them watch more.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
1972 Least Watched: “Here We Go Again”
Long before Larry Hagman became J.R. Ewing, he starred in this sitcom about two newlyweds living suspiciously close to both of their former spouses. That is either a great sitcom premise or an absolutely terrible real-estate decision. America chose the latter, placing it 75th out of 75 shows.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
1973 Most Watched: “All in the Family”
Three seasons, three first-place finishes. By now, Archie, Edith, Gloria, and Mike felt less like sitcom characters and more like the loud family living next door. Plenty of viewers disagreed with almost everything Archie said. Apparently, they also refused to miss a single word of it.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
1973 Least Watched: “Calucci’s Department”
James Coco played the good-hearted supervisor of a New York unemployment office, battling government red tape, eccentric employees, and an endless line of frustrated claimants. Unfortunately, Calucci’s Department aired opposite Sanford and Son. It lasted only 11 episodes and finished 81st—the bottom of the season’s ranking.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
1974 Most Watched: “All in the Family”
Television was changing quickly, but All in the Family still refused to give up the throne. Its fourth consecutive first-place finish came as several future classics—including The Jeffersons—were beginning to grow directly from its world. Archie Bunker was no longer just starring in a hit. He was building a television universe.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
1974 Least Watched: “The New Land”
This ambitious drama followed Swedish immigrants attempting to build a life in 1858 Minnesota. It starred Bonnie Bedelia and Kurt Russell, earned strong reviews, and even had a theme song performed by John Denver. None of that helped. ABC aired only six episodes, and the series finished 84th with a 7.9 rating.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
1975 Most Watched: “All in the Family”
Five straight seasons at #1. By this point, it probably felt as though Archie Bunker had a permanent reservation at the top of the Nielsen chart. But television’s center of gravity was shifting, and a leather-jacketed former side character in Milwaukee was about to finally knock him off.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
1975 Least Watched: “Three for the Road”
Alex Rocco played a widowed father who bought an RV and traveled across America with his two sons, played by Vincent Van Patten and Leif Garrett. The family journey ended after 12 episodes, with Three for the Road finishing 97th out of 97 shows. CBS replaced it with a little program called 60 Minutes.
Screenshot from Three for the Road, Paramount Pictures (1975)
1976 Most Watched: “Happy Days”
Fonzie had gone from supporting character to full-blown cultural phenomenon, and Happy Days rode that popularity all the way to #1. After five years of Archie Bunker, America’s favorite television character was now a motorcycle-riding mechanic who could apparently control jukeboxes by hitting them. Television had officially changed.
ABC Television. Uploaded by We hope at en.wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons
1976 Least Watched: “Who’s Who”
Created by 60 Minutes producer Don Hewitt, Who’s Who was another CBS newsmagazine, this time concentrating mostly on celebrities and other notable people. Even Charles Kuralt contributed an “On the Road” segment. But Hewitt could not create the same magic twice. The series finished 90th and last.
CBS Photo Division, Wikimedia Commons
1977 Most Watched: “Laverne & Shirley”
The Happy Days spin-off did something few spin-offs ever manage: it became even bigger than the show that created it. Laverne and Shirley climbed to #1 while Happy Days remained close behind. For a while, Tuesday night television essentially belonged to Garry Marshall and anyone he invited onto the Paramount lot.
ABC Television Uploaded by We hope at en.wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons
1977 Least Watched: “Mulligan’s Stew”
Michael and Jane Mulligan already had three children before taking in four recently orphaned relatives. That gave the show a huge family, a crowded house, and no chance against Three’s Company, Soap, M*A*S*H, and One Day at a Time. It finished at the bottom of the season’s rankings with a 10.5 rating.
NBC Television Network., Wikimedia Commons
1978 Most Watched: “Laverne & Shirley”
For the second consecutive season, Laverne and Shirley were America’s favorite television characters. The show finished ahead of Three’s Company, Happy Days, and the newly arrived Mork & Mindy. Basically, ABC had figured out that its best competition was now coming from other ABC shows.
American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Wikimedia Commons
1978 Least Watched: “Harris and Company”
Bernie Casey starred as a widowed father who moved his five children from Detroit to Los Angeles and tried to rebuild their lives. It was a thoughtful family drama that deserved more than four episodes. Instead, it received a 7.6 rating and finished 114th out of 114 regular series.
Screenshot from Harris and Company, Universal Television (1979)
1979 Most Watched: “60 Minutes”
Nine years after finishing at the bottom of the rankings, 60 Minutes became the most-watched program on television. Not a spin-off. Not a completely redesigned version. The same newsmagazine CBS could easily have cancelled climbed from #101 to #1. There may not be a more ridiculous—or satisfying—comeback in television history.
Photo courtesy of the Fred T. Korematsu Family, Wikimedia Commons
1979 Documented Bottom: “A New Kind of Family”
A complete annual bottom-of-the-chart ranking for 1979–80 has not been verified, but A New Kind of Family did hit last place in the weekly Nielsen ratings during the season. The sitcom starred Eileen Brennan and a teenage Rob Lowe, was reworked midway through its 10-episode run, and added Telma Hopkins and Janet Jackson before disappearing.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
Apparently, All It Needed Was Nine Years
For eight straight seasons, America’s #1 show was a sitcom—five years of All in the Family, one year of Happy Days, and two years of Laverne & Shirley. Then 60 Minutes, the show that began the decade at #101, ended it at #1. Apparently, all it needed was nine years and a better time slot. So, how many of the shows (on either end of the ratings) do you actually remember?
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
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