Top Ten Most Influential TV Shows of All Time

The Top Ten
1 The Simpsons The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening that originally started on April 19, 1987 as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show. It got its own series on December 17, 1989 and is still running as of 2023, making it the longest running animated sitcom. It is about a man named Homer Simpson and his family (wife Marge and children Bart, Lisa and Maggie and pets, Snowball II and Santa's Little Helper) going through a long series of misadventures.

It teaches you a lot, but some are so ignorant morons who say they are for adults

2 Married With Children Married... with Children is an American television live-action sitcom that aired on Fox, created by Michael G. Moye and Ron Leavitt. Originally broadcast from April 5, 1987 to June 9, 1997, it is the longest-lasting live-action sitcom on Fox, and the first to be broadcast in the network's primetime programming slot.

Without married with children there would be no Family Guy and there also wouldn't be no Simpsons.

3 I Love Lucy I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning 6 seasons.
4 Survivor Survivor is a reality TV show in which a group of castaways inhabit an island where they are forced to compete against each other in a series of challenges. They must survive in order to win the million dollar prize.

I'ts reality. What influences most but realities, especially SURVIVOR format.

5 The Cosby Show The Cosby Show is an American television sitcom starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.

Which one? Actually Bill Cosby has starred in several T.V. series, probably the most influential was "I Spy".

6 WWE Monday Night Raw

That teaches you this bull, well at least he has good fights

7 The Sopronos
8 All in the Family All in the Family is an American sitcom television series that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network for nine seasons.
9 The Honeymooners

Without the Honeymooners we wouldn't have had the Flintstones.

10 Tom & Jerry
The Contenders
11 Adventure Time Adventure Time is an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn (voiced by Jeremy Shada) and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake (voiced by John DiMaggio)—a dog with the magical power to change shape and size at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo. Throughout the show, they interact with the other main characters Princess Bubblegum (voiced by Hynden Walch), the Ice King (voiced by Tom Kenny), and Marceline the Vampire Queen (voiced by Olivia Olson). The series is based on a short produced for Nicktoons and Frederator Studios' animation incubator series Random! Cartoons. ...read more.

Adventure Time influenced pretty much every animated show that came after it. Former writers on the show went on to create Steven Universe, Over the Garden Wall, and Clarence. Regular Show and Gumball were inspired by it. Even creators of adult cartoons like Rick and Morty cite Adventure Time as an influence.

12 Tiny Toon Adventures Tiny Toon Adventures is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990 through May 28, 1995 as the first collaborative effort of Warner Bros.
13 The Flintstones The Flintstones is the first animated prime-time American television series. It was broadcast from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966 on ABC.
14 Family Guy Family Guy is an American adult animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a family consisting of parents Peter (Fat, Idiotic Dad) and Lois (Nagging Bitchy Wife), their children Meg (Socially Awkward Daughter) Chris (Fat, Idiotic ...read more.
15 The Tonight Show

Jay Leno was also good, as were Steve Allan, Jack Paar, Jimmy Fallon, and I even liked Conan.
However, Carson is THE archetype of the late night host, and will be forever more.

16 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
17 Futurama Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company.
18 Star Trek Star Trek is an American science-fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise.
19 Lucifer
20 Supernatural This haunting series follows the thrilling yet terrifying journeys of Sam and Dean Winchester, two brothers who face an increasingly sinister landscape as they hunt monsters. After losing their mother to a supernatural force, the brothers were raised by their father as soldiers who track mysterious ...read more.
21 Leave It to Beaver
22 American Idol American Idol is an American talent reality television series that first aired in 2002. As of May 2019, there have been seventeen seasons.

I think it's pretty awesome watching ordinary people with talent getting big and doing what they love. Most of the American Idol contestants are very successful and that inspires other people to go out there and chase their dreams.

23 Beavis & Butt-Head
24 Sailor Moon Sailor Moon is a Japanese shōjo manga series by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Nakayoshi from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 tankōbon volumes. ...read more.
25 Law and Order

The most popular is SVU, but whetehr you are talking about Criminal Intent, the short-lived Trial by Jury, or just the good old "original", this is the greatest T.V. series franchise of all time. If you add up the number of total years on the air of all versions, they eclipse everything else.

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