1994: Seinfeld
You can’t talk about popular television and not expect Seinfeld to come up. The sitcom is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential TV comedies of all-time, and that’s not too bad for a show about nothing! Seinfeld aired on NBC for nine seasons, from 1989 to 1998, created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. The show followed a fictionalized version of Seinfeld, living in New York City, and the daily trials of him and his best friends, George, Elaine, and Kramer.
When Seinfeld hit the airwaves in 1989, it stood out from the other shows on the air at the time, since a lot of them were family sitcoms. The show was a favorite among critics, even when it was slow to find its audience. By season four, the show was picking up steam and cracked the Nielsen ratings Top 30. The series hit the top of the Nielsen ratings in seasons 6 and 9, and finished among the top two spots from 1994 until 1998 when the show went off the air.
It would take days to list off the many accomplishments, awards, and titles given to Seinfeld, but it goes without saying that it’s one of the greatest TV shows of all time. TV Guide named it the greatest TV show of all time in 2002, and on their 2013 list, it still ranked in the second spot (beat only by The Sopranos).