Discover the most popular TV show the year you were born

1973: Hawaii Five-O

Hawaii Five-O is a police drama that aired on CBS from 1968 until 1980. The show was rebooted on CBS in 2010, and has aired for eight seasons so far. The original Hawaii Five-O was about Detective Captain Steve McGarrett, former US naval officer and head of a state police force in Hawaii. McGarrett and his team helped take down secret agents and organized crime rings that plagued the islands of Hawaii.

Hawaii Five-O was wildly popular — it has to be to last 12 seasons! — but the ratings went back and forth over the years. It was the show’s fifth season that placed highest on the Nielsen ratings charts, at #3. Over its 12 seasons, the show was nominated for 12 Emmy Awards, including a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series. The series won two Emmys, both of which were for music composition.

The show went into syndication while new episodes were still being aired. CBS aired the reruns during their late night schedule. To avoid confusion with already airing reruns, when CBS started running late night reruns of season 12 after the show’s original run, they used the title McGarrett instead of Hawaii Five-O. The show still airs in syndication around the world, including every night on MeTV in the US.