CBS
Still the deepest network lineup.Medical Center, Hawaii Five-O, Gunsmoke and Here’s Lucy gave CBS medical drama, modern crime, western authority and one of television’s most durable comedy stars.
Top 10 TV Shows of 1971: Nielsen Ratings & Prime-Time Shift
PRIME TIME
CHANNEL 1971 TV GUIDE
Nielsen top 10 • CBS 4 • NBC 3 • ABC 3
Smells Like Gen X • 1970–71 Nielsen Season
Quick Answer • Nielsen Desk
Top TV Shows of 1971 Nielsen Ratings & Prime-Time Shift
The top TV shows of 1971 show the old network order finally losing its exclusive grip on the living room. Westerns and Lucille Ball remain powerful, but medical dramas, modern crime shows, event movies and a fresher style of variety television are moving directly into the center of prime time.
This countdown uses the 1970–71 Nielsen season, the site’s season-ending-year method for the 1971 rankings. The list runs from The F.B.I. at #10 to Marcus Welby, M.D. at #1, with Flip Wilson, Lucy, Ironside, Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O and a weekly movie event filling the changing dial between them.
What Was the Number One TV Show of 1971?
Marcus Welby, M.D. ranked #1 in the 1970–71 Nielsen season. The Flip Wilson Show finished #2 and Here’s Lucy ranked #3. CBS placed four shows in the top 10, while NBC and ABC each had three. Jump to the complete ranking or begin the full show-by-show countdown.
Marcus Welby takes the crown.
The biggest show in America is now a contemporary medical drama
built around competence, compassion and adult emotional stakes.
Tonight’s Listings • Ten Nielsen Hits
Quick List: Top TV Shows of 1971
The ranking moves from institutional crime drama and a fading western giant to event movies, Lucy, contemporary variety and the medical drama that took over the entire season.
10
The Complete 1971 Prime-Time Guide
1970–71 season
#10
ABC • Crime drama
The F.B.I.
TUNE IN →
#9
NBC • Western / family drama
Bonanza
TUNE IN →
#8
CBS • Medical drama
Medical Center
TUNE IN →
#7
CBS • Crime drama
Hawaii Five-O
TUNE IN →
#6
ABC • Event movie programming
ABC Movie of the Week
TUNE IN →
#5
CBS • Western drama
Gunsmoke
TUNE IN →
#4
NBC • Crime drama
Ironside
TUNE IN →
#3
CBS • Family sitcom / star vehicle
Here’s Lucy
TUNE IN →
#2
NBC • Variety / comedy
The Flip Wilson Show
TUNE IN →
#1
ABC • Medical drama
Marcus Welby, M.D.
TUNE IN →
The Big Three Split the Top 10 More Evenly
The 1971 Network Scoreboard
CBS still placed the most shows, but ABC owned the #1 program and NBC held the #2 position. The ranking no longer feels like one network or one old formula controls the room.
NBC
The network held #2 and #4.Flip Wilson, Ironside and Bonanza connected contemporary variety and modern crime drama to one remaining western institution.
ABC
The network owned the #1 show.Marcus Welby, ABC Movie of the Week and The F.B.I. gave ABC the season winner, event programming and procedural authority.
Ten Shows • One Television Order in Motion
The Full 1971 Nielsen Countdown
From The F.B.I. at #10 to Marcus Welby, M.D. at #1, the countdown catches prime time in motion: westerns are still alive, Lucy is still royalty, crime drama is surging, and contemporary television is starting to take over the room.
ABC
#10
FEDERAL PROCEDURAL
OFFICIAL NIELSEN RANK • #10
#10 — The F.B.I.
The F.B.I. rounding out the 1971 top 10 shows how much procedural authority still mattered in prime time. This was television built around structure, official competence, and the reassurance that complicated threats could be identified, pursued, and resolved inside a clear moral framework. That kind of confidence played extremely well in an era when networks still depended on weekly reliability as much as novelty.
What helped the show stay so competitive was its seriousness. It did not need broad comedy, domestic sentiment, or frontier mythology to connect. Instead, it offered viewers a disciplined law-enforcement world where professionalism was the point. That gave it a different kind of appeal from many of the more personality-driven hits around it. It was less about hanging out and more about trust in institutional competence.
In the larger story of 1971 television, The F.B.I. matters because it helps explain why cop shows came to rule so much of 1970s television. Audiences were clearly ready for more modern forms of weekly tension, as long as they still came wrapped in order.
Why it ranked
it turned professional authority into dependable weekly drama at exactly the moment TV was leaning harder into crime and procedure.
Back to the TV Guide ↑
NBC
#9
WESTERN HOLDOVER
OFFICIAL NIELSEN RANK • #9
#9 — Bonanza
Bonanza slipping to ninth in 1971 does not mean the western suddenly lost its power. It means the competition around it was changing. The series was still a top-10 giant, which says a lot about how durable its world remained. The Cartwrights still represented one of television’s clearest models of authority, masculinity, family order, and frontier morality, and audiences still had plenty of appetite for that combination.
What makes the ranking especially revealing is that Bonanza now sits below medical drama, crime drama, variety, event-movie programming, and a Lucille Ball sitcom. That placement captures the transitional mood of the early 70s perfectly. The western was still respected, but it was no longer the unquestioned center of the schedule.
Even so, the show’s continued presence in the top 10 proves it remained a prestige brand for network television. It still offered scale, moral clarity, and a multi-generational viewing experience that few formats could match.
1971 signal
the western was still huge, but now it had to share the spotlight with newer, more contemporary TV forms.
Back to the TV Guide ↑
CBS
#8
MEDICAL MOMENTUM
OFFICIAL NIELSEN RANK • #8
#8 — Medical Center
Medical Center landing at #8 is one more sign that medicine had become one of television’s most useful dramatic engines. Hospitals naturally generate urgency, ethical decisions, emotional stakes, and rotating crises, which made the format ideal for weekly network storytelling. It also allowed shows to feel serious and adult without becoming too dark or alienating for a mass audience.
What made Medical Center so effective in this period is that it fit the network sweet spot between authority and emotion. Viewers got institutional credibility, but they also got patients, families, and doctors dealing with situations that felt human rather than abstract. That balance helped medical drama become one of the early 70s’ most durable prime-time lanes.
Its top-10 finish matters because it confirms that Marcus Welby, M.D. was not an isolated hit. The format itself had become a major piece of the television mainstream. That is one of the biggest changes between the old network order and the new one coming into view.
Why it mattered
it proved medical drama was not a niche trend — it was becoming central to early-70s prime time.
Back to the TV Guide ↑
CBS
#7
LOCATION & SPEED
OFFICIAL NIELSEN RANK • #7
#7 — Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O at #7 feels like one of the clearest previews of where 70s television is headed. The series had procedural authority, but it also had visual identity, momentum, and a setting that made it stand out immediately from the rest of the schedule. It was a crime drama, yes — but it was also atmosphere, style, and weekly tension with a stronger sense of place than many of its competitors.
That distinction mattered. By 1971, viewers were still loyal to dependable formats, but they were also responding to shows that felt more contemporary and more cinematic. Hawaii Five-O benefited from that shift. It offered order and professionalism through Steve McGarrett’s command presence, yet the series never felt stiff. It moved. It had urgency.
In a top 10 filled with transitional signals, this show stands out as one of the most obviously forward-looking. It still belongs to network tradition, but it points toward a sleeker, more location-driven version of television that would become increasingly important as the decade continued.
Why it stood out
it made crime drama feel faster, sharper, and more visually alive than a lot of older TV formulas.
Back to the TV Guide ↑
ABC
#6
EVENT TELEVISION
OFFICIAL NIELSEN RANK • #6
#6 — ABC Movie of the Week
ABC Movie of the Week making the top 10 is one of the most revealing details on the entire chart because it shows how valuable “event television” had become. This was not just another series with a recurring cast and set formula. It was a branded programming slot that trained viewers to expect something self-contained, promoted, and special enough to feel different from ordinary weekly TV.
That model is important historically. It tells you networks were already discovering the commercial power of packaging anticipation. You didn’t need a sitcom family or a long-running western to win the week. You could build audience loyalty around the promise of a movie-style experience entering the home on a predictable schedule.
In 1971, that feels very modern. ABC Movie of the Week belongs to the same broad story as variety, procedural drama, and medical drama rising on this chart: television was diversifying the ways it could become an appointment.
Why it mattered
it proved prime time could sell anticipation itself, not just recurring characters.
Back to the TV Guide ↑
CBS
#5
WESTERN AUTHORITY
OFFICIAL NIELSEN RANK • #5
#5 — Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke holding onto the top five in 1971 is one of the strongest arguments against any lazy narrative that westerns disappeared overnight. They didn’t. At least not yet. This was still one of the five biggest shows in America, which means audiences still deeply valued the kind of ordered, morally legible dramatic world the series provided.
What made Gunsmoke so resilient was its confidence. It knew exactly what it was, and it never needed to chase every new television trend to remain compelling. The authority of Matt Dillon, the stability of Dodge City, and the show’s deliberate dramatic rhythm gave viewers something many forms of TV can never quite fake: a sense of durable trust.
But its 1971 position is also revealing because the shows now above it come from multiple newer directions — medical drama, variety, and crime drama. That means Gunsmoke is still powerful, but it is now powerful inside a much more competitive and changing television culture.
Why it endured
it remained one of television’s great authority dramas even as the decade started changing the channel around it.
Back to the TV Guide ↑
NBC
#4
MODERN CRIME DRAMA
OFFICIAL NIELSEN RANK • #4
#4 — Ironside
Ironside reaching #4 shows how fully crime drama had embedded itself into the center of prime time. This was not a fringe success or a respectable mid-tier performer. It was one of the biggest shows in the country. That matters because it reflects a broader audience shift toward more urban, modern, and adult forms of weekly storytelling.
What made the series stand out was its strong lead identity. It wasn’t just another case-of-the-week show disappearing into its own mechanics. Raymond Burr’s presence gave Ironside real gravity. The series delivered investigations, yes, but it also delivered a sense of character authority that helped viewers feel anchored inside the format.
In the context of 1971, Ironside feels like one of the clearest examples of the decade’s tone beginning to sharpen. It is more contemporary than the westerns, less sentimental than the family comedies, and more grounded in institutional modernity than a lot of older TV hits. That made it feel timely without sacrificing accessibility.
Why it hit
it gave the audience modern, adult crime drama with a lead strong enough to make the whole machine feel authoritative.
Back to the TV Guide ↑
CBS
#3
LUCY STILL RULES
OFFICIAL NIELSEN RANK • #3
#3 — Here’s Lucy
Here’s Lucy climbing all the way to #3 in 1971 is a reminder that Lucille Ball was not merely coasting on legend. She was still a ratings force. In a season increasingly shaped by procedural drama and more modern-feeling programming, she remained one of the few performers whose presence alone could still carry a show near the very top of the national chart.
That kind of staying power does not happen by accident. Lucy’s comic control was so complete that even a familiar sitcom framework could feel elevated just by the way she moved through it. Embarrassment, hustle, panic, and absurd escalation were all native languages for her. Audiences trusted that whatever the setup was, she would find a way to turn it into rhythm.
In the bigger 1971 story, Here’s Lucy is important because it proves the old television royalty had not yet been pushed aside. The schedule may have been changing, but classic star power still had enough force to crash directly into the new decade and stay near the top.
Why it soared
Lucy was still one of the safest and strongest bets in prime time, even as TV taste was evolving around her.
Back to the TV Guide ↑
NBC
#2
CONTEMPORARY VARIETY
OFFICIAL NIELSEN RANK • #2
#2 — The Flip Wilson Show
The Flip Wilson Show finishing second in 1971 confirms that variety TV was still capable of dominating the culture — but now with a different kind of charisma. This was not just old-fashioned showbiz polish repeated one more time. The series had personality, energy, timing, and a more contemporary comic feel that made it resonate differently from some of the variety institutions of the previous era.
What gave the show such power was Wilson himself. Variety only really works when the host is not just competent, but magnetic enough to make the format feel personal. That was the advantage here. The material, guests, and recurring comic business all mattered, but the gravitational center was Flip Wilson’s presence and ease.
In the 1971 lineup, the show acts almost like a bridge between television’s older broad-entertainment traditions and the newer, sharper mood taking hold in the early 70s. It still belongs to the network variety machine, but it carries a fresher comic pulse. That helps explain why it finished so high.
Why it mattered
it proved variety could still be massive as long as it felt alive, current, and driven by real star charisma.
Back to the TV Guide ↑
ABC
#1
THE NEW #1
OFFICIAL NIELSEN RANK • #1
#1 — Marcus Welby, M.D.
Marcus Welby, M.D. taking the #1 spot in 1971 is one of the clearest indicators that television had entered a new phase. The biggest show in America was no longer a western or a traditional variety giant. It was a medical drama — a format built around professional authority, emotional seriousness, and weekly human conflict handled through competence and empathy.
That is a big shift. The show did not win by being flashy. It won by being humane. What made Marcus Welby, M.D. work so well was that it offered audiences a version of adulthood that felt caring rather than cold. The drama came from illness, family stress, ethical choices, and professional judgment, but the emotional core remained reassuring. It gave viewers seriousness without punishing them for showing up.
As the #1 show of 1971, it says a lot about where the decade is heading. Television is becoming more issue-aware, more professionally oriented, and more interested in contemporary institutions than in rural myth or pure nostalgia. The old network order is still visible everywhere on this chart. But by the time Marcus Welby, M.D. takes the crown, the future is already on screen.
1971 verdict
the year’s biggest show made compassion, competence, and contemporary drama the new center of prime time.
Back to the TV Guide ↑
The Old Order Is Still Visible—But No Longer in Charge
The 1971 Rewind Verdict
The rankings capture the year when medical drama, contemporary crime, event movies and modern variety moved past the western-heavy television order that still dominated only one season earlier.
Prime Time Starts Looking Like the 70s
The top TV shows of 1971 look like a country changing its viewing habits without completely abandoning what came before. Westerns are still strong. Lucille Ball is still dominant. Variety is still a major force. But the real momentum now belongs to medical drama, crime drama, and event programming that feels more contemporary than the old small-town or frontier comfort formulas.
That is what makes 1971 such a useful year in this series. If 1970 still looked like the old television machine was fully in charge, 1971 looks like the same machine starting to retool itself in public. The winners are becoming more adult, more urban, more professionally centered, and a little more restless in tone. The next season would make that break impossible to miss when All in the Family changed television.
For a lot of us who later met this era through reruns, this is where early-70s prime time starts looking less like a holdover from the 60s and more like the decade we actually remember.
Television Was Only One Part of the Year
Keep Rewinding 1971
Move from the prime-time dial to the toy box, radio and movie theater, then compare the television season before and after it.
The Toy Box
Top Toys of 1971
Weebles, Barbie, Hot Wheels, G.I. Joe, Lite-Brite, Etch A Sketch
and the analog toy box getting wobblier.
The Radio Dial
Top Songs of 1971
Soul, soft rock, singer-songwriters and AM radio turning the
opening decade into its own sound.
The Movie Theater
Top Movies of 1971
Grittier stories, bigger swings and Hollywood moving more deeply
into its unmistakable 1970s identity.
Turn Back One Channel
Top TV Shows of 1970
Return to Laugh-In, Gunsmoke and Bonanza before the new
prime-time order became impossible to miss.
Change the Channel
Top TV Shows of 1972
Continue as All in the Family and a sharper television culture
transform the rankings again.
The Whole Television Dial
Complete 70s TV Guide
Sitcoms, crime shows, family television, Saturday mornings,
classic shows and every TV year from 1970 through 1979.
Ten Seasons • One Rapidly Changing Decade
Top 70s TV Shows by Year
Follow the ratings from the western-heavy opening of the decade through the socially sharper sitcoms, crime dramas, family hits and event television that reshaped the living room. For the whole decade in one place, explore the complete 70s TV guide.
CH
70
1970 PRIME TIME
Top TV Shows of 1970
Laugh-In, Gunsmoke, Bonanza and the old network order at full strength.
Open 1970 television →
CH
71
1971 PRIME TIME
Top TV Shows of 1971
The Flip Wilson Show rises while a sharper new decade begins taking shape.
Open 1971 television →
CH
72
1972 PRIME TIME
Top TV Shows of 1972
All in the Family changes the center of gravity and television gets louder.
Open 1972 television →
CH
73
1973 PRIME TIME
Top TV Shows of 1973
Urban comedy, social conflict and new ensemble hits keep expanding.
Open 1973 television →
CH
74
1974 PRIME TIME
Top TV Shows of 1974
Waltons, M*A*S*H, Sanford and Son and a broader prime-time mix.
Open 1974 television →
CH
75
1975 PRIME TIME
Top TV Shows of 1975
Sitcom power, police drama and variety all fight for the living room.
Open 1975 television →
CH
76
1976 PRIME TIME
Top TV Shows of 1976
Family comedy, detective shows and event television crowd the rankings.
Open 1976 television →
CH
77
1977 PRIME TIME
Top TV Shows of 1977
Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and ABC’s giant sitcom machine dominate.
Open 1977 television →
CH
78
1978 PRIME TIME
Top TV Shows of 1978
Three’s Company, Laverne & Shirley and broad comedy own the dial.
Open 1978 television →
CH
79
1979 PRIME TIME
Top TV Shows of 1979
60 Minutes, sitcom giants and the final prime-time lineup before the 80s.
Open 1979 television →
Programming Department Answers
Top TV Shows of 1971 FAQ
Quick answers about the #1 show, network totals, westerns, the Nielsen-season method and why 1971 marks a major prime-time shift.
What was the most watched TV show of 1971?
According to the 1970–71 Nielsen season, Marcus Welby, M.D. was the #1 TV show tied to 1971.
What was the #2 TV show of 1971?
The Flip Wilson Show ranked #2 in the 1970–71 season.
Were westerns still big in 1971?
Yes. Gunsmoke ranked #5 and Bonanza ranked #9, proving the western still had serious ratings power.
Which network had the #1 show in 1971?
ABC had the top show with Marcus Welby, M.D. The network also placed ABC Movie of the Week and The F.B.I. in the season’s top 10.
Why does this post use the 1970–71 season for 1971?
Because television popularity was measured by season rather than calendar year. For year-based nostalgia rankings, the season ending in that year is the standard reference point.
What makes 1971 a notable TV year?
It’s one of the clearest transition points of the early 70s, where medical dramas, crime shows, and movie events start overtaking older prime-time formulas.
What were the top three TV shows of 1971?
Using the 1970–71 Nielsen season, the top three were Marcus Welby, M.D. at #1, The Flip Wilson Show at #2 and Here’s Lucy at #3.
What kinds of TV shows were most popular in 1971?
Medical dramas, crime shows, variety comedy, westerns and event-movie programming all made the top 10. The mix shows prime time moving toward more contemporary professional settings without completely abandoning older television institutions.
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