10 Most-Watched Episodes In NBC History

As the home to some of the most iconic series of all time, NBC has been able to find some incredibly large audiences for its shows over the years. While the network has hosted big-ticket events like Super Bowls and awards shows, which draw in large numbers of viewers, the metrics for its scripted TV viewing have been interesting throughout the years. In the ’80s and ’90s, especially in the dawn of NBC’s Must-See-TV lineup, NBC’s weeknight lineups could pull in 30 to 40 million viewers, which felt unprecedented and would now be an incredible anomaly for network TV standards.

With shows like ER, Friends, and Seinfeld making a splash in the early years of Must-See-TV, which blocked together the network’s most popular shows in ways that allowed them to crossover from time to time, even if they didn’t have shared universes, viewers were drawn into the lineup. Outside of the Must-See-TV shows, popular sitcoms that became culturally relevant, like Cheers and The Cosby Show, were huge draws for hoards of viewers, breaking network records. By today’s standards, where viewership is regularly in the thousands rather than the millions, NBC’s most-watched episodes would be a shock for any typical viewer.

Though standards for network TV have changed in recent years, Neilsen’s ratings records for NBC in particular make it clear that the golden era of network, and the Must-See-TV blocks that were holding viewers’ attention, have some spectacular standouts.

10

ER

Season 2 Episode 7, “Hell and High Water” (42.0M)

As one of ER’s most famous hours, the show’s second season’s November sweeps episode saw Dr. Doug Ross (George Clooney) rescuing a young boy from the imminent threat of a flooding storm drain. Epic and cinematic, the episode was billed as a can’t miss hour, and saw Clooney’s leap from TV heartthrob to film star happen in real time. Bringing in over 40 million viewers, ER season 2 episode 7, “Hell and High Water”, established a different path for Ross, who’d been the bad boy of the medical drama since the show’s beginning, and made ER all the more popular.

9

ER

Season 4 Episode 1, “Ambush” (42.7M)

A rare feat for a medical drama, ER pulled off an exciting live episode during its fourth season premiere with “Ambush” and made primetime TV history. While there was a point where most network TV was airing live, by the mid-to-late 90s, it was a rarity to see truly live television. For its season 4 premiere, ER chose to push the envelope, performing their season opener twice (once for the east coast, once for the west) complete with procedures and music happening live on set. The live TV event pulled in over 42 million viewers, kicking off a huge season.

8

ER

Season 4 Episode 22, “A Hole in the Heart” (47.8M)

One of ER’s intense season finales, the medical drama’s season 4 episode “A Hole In The Heart” had the benefit of following one of the most-watched series finales of all time, which will appear later in this list. While ER season 4 episode 22, “A Hole In The Heart”, is one of the series’ best finales, featuring the start of the conflict that sees Doug leave the series in the following season. With excellent performances from the rest of the cast, including Laura Innes in a tremendous episode for Kerry Weaver. ER season 4’s finale shines at the show’s peak.

7

The Cosby Show

Season 5 Episode 13, “Cliff Babysits” (48.4 M)

Although in recent years The Cosby Show has become a more taboo subject after accusations against Bill Cosby have come to light, the show’s legacy still holds strong, and the show’s fifth installment was its most successful in its 8-season run. The episode “Cliff Babysits”, which pulled in over 48 million viewers during its regular weeknight timeslot, saw Cosby in the role of Cliff Huxtable, left with his new twin grandchildren after an emergency brought his wife Clair (Phylicia Rashad) back to the office. In the goofy, sweet episode, viewers got to see the charm of Cliff truly shine through.

6

The Cosby Show

Season 5 Episodes 6 & 7, “The Birth” (49.3 M)

Another episode of The Cosby Show that brought in a record-breaking number of viewers was season 5’s two-parter, “The Birth”, which saw Cliff and Clair’s oldest daughter Sondra (Sabrina Le Beauf) giving birth to the couple’s first grandchildren. In a wacky series of events, Elvin (Geoffrey Owens) struggles to get Sondra to the hospital, and the chaos of the two-parter leads to sweet moments for the whole family. With Cliff and Clair as doting grandparents by the hour’s end, The Cosby Show season 5 episodes 6 & 7 pulled in nearly 50 million viewers, marking a major turn for the Huxtable’s.

5

Friends

Season 10 Episodes 17 & 18, “The Last One” (52.5M)

As one of the most successful sitcoms of all time, Friends was a cultural reset that proved sitcoms could make a massive impact on the wider culture. While the show ran successfully throughout its ten seasons, the final season of the series dipped a bit in quality, but retained its viewership nonetheless. The final episode of Friends, a two-parter called “The Last One”, saw a staggering 52.5 million viewers tuning in to say one final goodbye to their favorite friend group. With an hour that wrapped up the group’s stories and brought them together, Friends’ ending was a major milestone.

4

Friends

Season 2 Episodes 12 & 13, “The One After The Super Bowl” (52.9M)

MovieStillsDB

While the final episode of Friends was one of its highest-rated, there was another episode of the series that wound up pulling in more viewers. Getting the coveted post-Super Bowl spot, Friends season 2 episodes 12 and 13, “The One After The Super Bowl” saw an exciting two-parter that reeled in a ton of residual viewers after the big game. While the episode wasn’t entirely able to stand alone and did depend on a pre-existing knowledge of the series to an extent, Friends season 2’s post-Super Bowl episodes were great exposure, leading nearly 53 million viewers to the semi-new series.

3

Seinfeld

Season 9 Episodes 21 & 22, “The Chronicle” (58.53M)

Seinfeld, which began airing in 1989 and continued for a tremendous 9-season run, redefined what a sitcom could truly be. The series, which starred Jerry Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself along with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards as his close friends, was one of the most successful throughout the 1990s, ending with an iconic series finale that spanned the course of four episodes. The first two episodes of the series finale, Seinfeld season 9 episode 21, “The Chronicle”, and a clip show that aired after, reeled in over 58 million viewers during its exciting initial airing.

2

Seinfeld

Season 9 Episodes 23 & 24, “The Finale” (76.3M)

The finale of Seinfeld, which aired on the same night as “The Chronicle”, was the TV event of the season. A can’t miss episode, the entirety of Seinfeld season 9 was leading up to the hilarious, absurdist conclusion of the long-running sitcom. When all was said and done, Seinfeld had one of the most divisive endings of all time, leaving Jerry and the rest of the gang in jail for their poor behavior. While some felt that it was an awful ending, others understood the joke and enjoyed Seinfeld’s conclusion. Regardless of opinions, the episode garnered over 76 million views.

1

Cheers

Season 11 Episodes 26, 27, & 28, “One For The Road” (80.4M)

NBC

As one of the best sitcoms of all time, Cheers has the largest viewership for a non-sporting event in NBC history. Airing over the course of 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993, Cheers was a tremendous success that starred Ted Danson as Sam Malone, former Boston Red Sox pitcher turned recovering alcoholic/bar owner. The finale of Cheers, which was a three-part episode that brought back one of the show’s iconic characters in Diane Chambers (Shelley Long), saw unprecedented viewership for the sitcom, with over 80 million viewers tuning in. Event TV at its finest, Cheers went out in style.

Callsign

NBC

Station Type

Network