Top TV Shows of the 70s, 80s & 90s
Welcome to the Smells Like Gen X TV archive — the main hub for top TV shows by year, Nielsen-era rewinds, sitcom comfort, prime-time chaos, after-school reruns, prestige weirdness, and the shows that practically raised an entire generation.
Use this page to jump straight into the 70s TV, 80s TV, or 90s TV lanes, or browse every available yearly TV countdown in one place without digging through the archive post by post.
70s TV
Network dominance, classic sitcom comfort, detective shows, variety TV, and the analog foundation of Gen X viewing.
Explore 70s TV80s TV
Prime-time giants, family sitcoms, glossy network confidence, prestige drama, and peak rerun-era Gen X TV comfort.
Explore 80s TV90s TV
Sitcom empires, ER urgency, football ritual, big finales, and the last great decade of true monoculture TV.
Explore 90s TVStart with 1970
The cleanest way into the 70s TV lane — early network dominance, analog comfort, and the first year in the countdown series.
Start with 1984
Peak 80s TV comfort and one of the fastest ways to understand the prime-time power that still defines Gen X rerun memory.
Start with 1998
Seinfeld exits, ER dominates, Friends saturates the culture, and late-90s network TV still owns the room.
Browse TV by Year
Every available Top TV Shows post is pulled in automatically here and grouped by decade for easier browsing.
70s TV
Network dominance, classic sitcom comfort, detective shows, variety TV, and the analog foundation of Gen X viewing.
80s TV
Prime-time giants, family sitcoms, glossy network confidence, prestige drama, and peak rerun-era Gen X TV comfort.
Filmation Cartoons of the 1970s
Archie, Fat Albert, Star Trek, Batman, Tarzan and live-action superheroes made Filmation one of the defining studios of 1970s Saturday morning television.
More TV Posts
How Norman Lear Changed Television
Norman Lear changed television by turning sitcom homes into places where America’s fights over race, class, politics, feminism and family life could play out in public.
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons of the 1970s
Scooby-Doo mystery teams, Super Friends, talking animals and giant crossover shows made Hanna-Barbera the busiest cartoon factory of 1970s Saturday morning television.
The Jeffersons and the Sitcom That Moved On Up
The Jeffersons moved George and Louise into a deluxe Manhattan apartment and made Black success, marriage, race and class the center of a landmark sitcom.
Good Times and the Complicated Legacy of J.J. Evans
Good Times put the Evans family’s love, dignity and economic pressure at the center of prime time—then struggled with the enormous popularity of J.J. Evans.
Sanford and Son and the Rise of Redd Foxx
Sanford and Son transformed Redd Foxx into a prime-time star and made Fred and Lamont’s junkyard one of the most recognizable homes in 1970s comedy.
The Best Black Sitcoms of the 1970s
Rank the Black sitcoms that changed 1970s television, from Sanford and Son and The Jeffersons to Good Times, What’s Happening and overlooked short-run series.
Why Cop Shows Ruled 1970s Television
1970s television built an entire crime universe. Columbo, Kojak, Rockford, Police Story and dozens more matched urban anxiety with distinctive heroes and one hour of weekly order.
40 Best Cop and Detective Shows of the 1970s, Ranked
From Columbo and Rockford to Kojak, Starsky and Hutch and Charlie’s Angels, rank the 40 crime shows that made the 1970s television dial feel dangerous.
50 Best Saturday Morning Cartoons of the 1970s, Ranked
From Scooby-Doo and Super Friends to Schoolhouse Rock, Fat Albert and Hong Kong Phooey, count down 50 cartoons that owned 1970s Saturday mornings.
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