Over the years, there have been hundreds of television shows that have captured millions of viewers. With recording and online streaming options available now, important episodes of TV shows, like season premieres and series finales, don’t have the viewers that they used to. Of the top 20 most-watched episodes in television history, based on data taken from Nielsen, they all go back at least fifteen years. The most-watched episode of a TV series in history was “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen,” the series finale of M*A*S*H. The episode had an astonishing 50.15 million viewers. In the number two spot is the series finale of Cheers, which had approximately 42 million viewers when it aired in May of 1993.
The third most-watched episode of a TV series was not a season premiere, season finale, or series finale. In fact, it was the fourth episode in the fourth season of Dallas. Over 41 million viewers tuned in to see who had shot J.R. Rounding out the top five are the series finale of Seinfeld, which drew in 40.5 million viewers, and the series finale of Roots, which had around 36 million viewers when it aired in 1977. Surprise episodes on the list? “Say Hello to a Good Buy,” season three, episode 15 of The Cosby Show ranked sixth, and “Edith’s Problem,” an episode of All in the Family that ranked 20th with 25.2 million viewers. Out of the top 20, Roots ruled the list, taking up eight spots.