The BEST ABC (US) shows of all time
Every ABC (US) show, ranked
We've compiled the average episode rating for every ABC (US) show to compile this list of best shows!
#1 - Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
An annual fashion show sponsored by Victoria's Secret, a brand of lingerie and sleepwear. Victoria's Secret uses the show to promote and market its goods in high-profile settings. The show features some of the world's leading fashion models such as current Victoria's Secret Angels Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Miranda Kerr, Doutzen Kroes, Behati Prinsloo, Candice Swanepoel, Chanel Iman, Erin Heatherton, Lily Aldridge, and Lindsay Ellingson.
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#2 - The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show and Scrappy Too!
The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show and Scrappy Too! is a package show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1980 for ABC Saturday mornings. The program contained segments from Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo and Richie Rich. The Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo shorts represents the sixth show in which Scooby-Doo appears.[1] This was the only Hanna-Barbera package series for which Scooby-Doo was given second billing and also notable for Richie Rich's debut in animation.
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#3 - Primetime: What Would You Do?
ABC's hidden camera, ethical dilemma series What Would You Do? puts ordinary people on the spot. From bullying to abuse, racial attacks and more.
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#4 - Pound Puppies
Pound Puppies cartoon was inspired by the Tonka Toys line and centers on 11-year old Holly and her dog friends Cooler, Whopper, Nose Marie, and Howler at the Wagga Wagga Pound who work hard to find happy homes for dogs. They are opposed by Brattina and Katrina, along with Catgut and Nabbit. The series began with a one-hour special in 1985 on ABC. The Pound Puppies consisted of 13 episodes, aired Saturday mornings on ABC. It was followed by The All-New Pound Puppies in 1987.
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#5 - Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution
Famed TV chef and cookbook author Jamie Oliver heads to American cities to help get the residents to start leading a healthier life. Oliver's goal is to set each community up as a template for the rest of the country to follow and start a chain reaction of Americans eating healthier. Naysayers challenge Oliver in his quest for improving the health of the residents.
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#6 - Expedition Impossible
Are you ready for an adventure of epic proportions? Then brace yourself for Expedition Impossible. 13 three-person teams find themselves racing across vast deserts, over snow-capped mountains and through raging rivers in the beautifully exotic, fabled Kingdom of Morocco. Each week, a new stage of the expedition will be revealed to the teams. Will they crumble under the pressure of life in the wilds, or will they find a way to work together to complete their incredible journey? After 10 stunning legs of competition filled with drama, laughs and memorable characters, one team will cross the finish line to claim victory. Each winning team member gets $50,000 (that's $150,000 total for the team) as well a new Ford Explorer. Excellent! Expedition Impossible comes from Executive Producer Mark Burnett, whose hits include Shark Tank, Survivor and The Apprentice, just to name a few. The show promises to have lots of human drama to accompany all the high adventure. Adventurer, zoologist, big cat trainer and all-around risk-taker Dave Salmoni hosts the show which premieres on Tuesday, June 21 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on ABC. Buckle up! This is going to be one heck of an expedition!
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#7 - Child Support
Fred Savage serves as host of this game show that features adult contestants and interactions between Ricky Gervais and a group of 5 kids. The contestants are asked to answer 10 questions and if they cannot correctly answer, they have the chance to be saved by the kids who always say the most unpredictable things.
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#8 - Schoolhouse Rock!
Schoolhouse Rock! is an American series of animated musical educational short films that aired during the Saturday morning children's programming on the U.S. television network ABC. The topics covered included grammar, science, economics, history, mathematics, and civics. The series produced original episodes between 1973 and 1986 (with 37 episodes created between 1973 and 1980, and four created as the "Computer Rock" segment between 1983 and 1984), with a return in 1993 and new episodes airing at least once a year between then and 1996, when production of the series for ABC was halted. Episodes continued to air for an additional five years after that, finally coming to an end after a 26-year run cancellation in 1999 by ABC. This television program was often rated TV-G in the United States.
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#9 - The Pink Panther
The Pink Panther is a heroic, moral cartoon cat with pink fur and the manners of an English aristocrat. He only becomes flustered or angry at obtuse or offensive humans who try to disrupt his existence, or at troublesome gadgets, rodents, or insects. In most of his cartoons, he stumbles into a difficult situation and stoically endeavors to make the best of it. Episodes of this series feature three theatrical cartoons, two with the Pink Panther, and one featuring the Inspector, a cartoon version of the accident-prone, bumbling French detective, Inspector Clouseau, played in movies by Peter Sellers. The Inspector is often assisted by a Spanish gendarme, Sergeant Deux-Deux, and together they fallibly battle villains of all shapes and sizes in various parts of the world, always on the orders of the long-suffering Surete Commissioner.
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#10 - The Weekenders
The Weekenders is a original Disney Channel show which focuses on a group of hardcore friends named Tino, Lor, Carver and Tish who spend their weekends trying to have as much fun as possible. While sometimes their weekends are far from what they plan, they usually manage to work together with the help of some advice from Tino's mother, and things usually work out in the end.
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#11 - Sports Night
Sports Night ran nearly two full seasons on the ABC network in the US during the '98-99 and '99-00 seasons. Smart, fast-paced, witty and featuring a fine ensemble cast, Sports Night struggled in the ratings from the start, particularly during its second season, when it was routinely pre-empted and moved from night to night. Art imitated life imitating art, as the show took on a consultant, was hired to "tweak" the ratings. The show within a show continued to falter, amidst rumors of the imminent sale of its network and the subsequent gutting of its staff, until it, like its parent Sports Night, simply disappeared from the schedule.
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#12 - Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters
Episodes feature the Ghostbusters as well as their secretary Janine. But the main star of this show is their pet ghost Slimer, who's joined by some new friends and some new enemies.
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#13 - Scrubs
Scrubs focuses on the lives of several people working at Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced dialogue, slapstick, and surreal vignettes presented mostly as the daydreams of the central character, Dr. John Michael "J.D." Dorian.
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#14 - Columbo
A Los Angeles homicide detective, Lieutenant Columbo, uses his humble ways and shrewd demeanor to ferret out even the most careful criminals.
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#15 - Boston Legal
Boston Legal tells the professional and personal stories of a group of brilliant but often emotionally-challenged attorneys. James Spader and William Shatner play Alan Shore and Denny Crane, unlikely kindred spirits among the brigade of high-priced litigators at Crane, Poole & Schmidt. In addition, Shirley Schmidt, a founding partner of the firm, continues to help bring order to the chaotic office. She keeps a vigilant eye on all, particularly Denny Crane, with whom she shares a checkered past. Fast-paced and wildly comedic, the series confronts social and moral issues, while its characters continually stretch the boundaries of the law.
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#16 - Jabberjaw
In the year 2076, Jabberjaw, a 15-foot tall talking great white shark, and his human friends Biff, Shelly, Bubbles and Clamhead play in a band called The Neptunes; the group travels from underwater city to city, battling diabolical villains while playing concerts.
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#17 - Bump in the Night
Mr. Bumpy is a monster who lives under the bed, has many adventures around the house with his friends Squishington, the bathroom monster and Molly Coddle, the comfort doll.
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#18 - When We Rise
“When We Rise” chronicles the personal and political struggles, set-backs and triumphs of a diverse family of LGBT men and women who helped pioneer one of the last legs of the U.S. Civil Rights movement from its turbulent infancy in the 20th century to the once unfathomable successes of today. The period piece tells the history of the gay rights movement, starting with the Stonewall Riots in 1969.
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#19 - Better Off Ted
As the head of research and development at Veridian Dynamics, Ted Crisp must deal with nutty scientists, crazy coworkers and hazy ethical boundaries.
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#20 - The Addams Family
The Addams Family is the creation of American cartoonist Charles Addams. A satirical inversion of the ideal of the perfect American nuclear family, they are an eccentric wealthy family who delight in everything grotesque and macabre, and are never really aware that people find them bizarre or frightening. In fact, they themselves are often terrified by "normal" people.
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#21 - Soap
Soap: the TV show that made Soap Operas funny! Soap is a tale about two sisters, Mary Campbell and Jessica Tate. While the Tates are a rich family, the Campbells are just another blue-collared family, but they go through amazing and crazy situations. This series will make you travel through a world of crazy and funny situations that happen all in the family.
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#22 - Castle (2009)
Rick Castle is one of the world's most successful crime authors. But when his rock star lifestyle isn't enough, this bad boy goes looking for new trouble and finds it working with smart, beautiful Detective Kate Beckett. Inspired by her professional record and intrigued by her buttoned-up personality, Castle's found the model for his bold new character whether she likes it or not. Now with the mayor's permission, Castle is helping solve crime with his own twist.
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#23 - Lost
After their plane, Oceanic Air flight 815, tore apart whilst thousands of miles off course, the survivors find themselves on a mysterious deserted island where they soon find out they are not alone.
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#24 - On the Air
Czars of the bizarre, Mark Frost & David Lynch have concocted a new series that shows the perils of live television during the "Golden Age of Television." Complete with the usual odd assortment of strange characters that would normally be associated with a Lynch / Frost production. Music for the series was composed and conducted by Angelo Badalamenti. In an attempt to revive his failing career, movie star Lester Guy has agreed to star in this new live variety show for the Zoblotnick Broadcasting Company (ZBC). The owner of the network sends his nephew, from the old country, to direct this show...
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#25 - Veritas: The Quest
What if you watched your mother mysteriously vanish in an ancient tomb? What if you discovered that your father was not who he seemed to be? What if the worst day of your life began your life's greatest adventure? Meet Nikko Zond, a hyper-intelligent but rebellious teenager still… More mourning the death of his renowned archeologist mother and a virtual stranger to his workaholic father, Solomon. On the day Nikko gets kicked out of the latest in a long line of boarding schools, he discovers his father's career as a university professor is just a cover. Solomon is really head of the Veritas Foundation, whose agenda is to seek the truth behind the mysteries of history and civilization. Teaming up for the first time with his father, Nikko finds his parents' spirit of adventure clearly runs in his blood, as he inadvertently gets entangled in his dad's dangerous adventures. Soon, and against his father's better judgment, Nikko enters the high tech, classified world of Veritas and begins the adventure of his lifetime - a journey that will lead to the unlocking of universal mysteries and, hopefully, will bring him and his emotionally estranged father back together. The Veritas team includes: The highly intelligent and mysterious Vincent Siminou, Solomon's closest confidant and protector; Calvin Banks, a high strung but brilliant by-the-books archaeologist; and Maggie, a cool and sophisticated computer scientist. And charged with the difficult task of trying to keep Nikko out of trouble is Juliet Droil, a beautiful and brilliant former student of his father's who will be Nikko's tutor and friend. From an excavation site of the pre-Roman civilization of Ancient Gaul to the North Pole, there is no place to which the Veritas Foundation will not venture in their mission for the truth. But a secret nefarious organization, seeking to destroy the Foundation's research, will never be far behind. The series stars Ryan Merriman as Nikko Zond, Alex Carter as Solomon Z
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#26 - Pushing Daisies
Pushing Daisies centers on the life of Ned, a pie-maker gifted with the mysterious ability to bring dead things back to life by touching them. There are some conditions to this somewhat unusual talent. Ned quickly learns that if something is revived for more than exactly one minute, something of similar "life value" in the vicinity drops dead, as a form of balance. Additionally, if he touches the revived person or thing a second time, it falls dead again, this time permanently.
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#27 - China Beach
The trials of a weary nurse, her friends and colleagues in a Vietnam War field hospital.
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#28 - Vega$
This popular series, handsome, fun loving, private eye, Dan Tanna, drives around Las Vegas in his vintage Thunderbird solving private cases but is also on retainer to a wealthy casino owner to keep crime out of his hotels. He is helped by his smart and sexy assistant, a sexy and not too smart chorus girl who takes messages for him, and his enthusiastic, yet inept, legman.
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#29 - Modern Family
This mockumentary explores the many different types of a modern family through the stories of a gay couple, comprised of Mitchell and Cameron, and their daughter Lily, a straight couple, comprised of Phil and Claire, and their three kids, Haley, Alex, and Luke, and a multi-ethnic couple, which is comprised of Jay and Gloria, and her son Manny.
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#30 - Commander In Chief
Commander-in-Chief, is a political drama about the nation's first female president. Unlike NBC's The West Wing however, Chief plans to spend more time examining the president's family life with less focus on West Wing matters.
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#31 - Boy Meets World
Boy Meets World chronicles the events and everyday life lessons of Cory Matthews who grows up from a young boy to a married man.
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#32 - Thirtysomething
When thirtysomething debuted in 1987 it was attacked by some critics as being a self-indulgent examination of the minutiae of yuppie life. Before the first season was over, some of those same critics were covering their tracks by calling it "the most improved show on television." Producers Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz had teamed up before on Family and would go on to create My So-Called Life, Relativity and Once and Again. Often using feature-film techniques, their brand of what could be called "reality" television tackled not only the small subjects, but the big ones too, all the way from life to death, as they followed their characters on the road from the idealism of youth to the search for security and responsibility as they glided toward middle age.
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#33 - The Good Doctor
Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome, relocates from a quiet country life to join a prestigious hospital surgical unit. Alone in the world and unable to personally connect with those around him, Shaun uses his extraordinary medical gifts to save lives and challenge the skepticism of his colleagues.
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#34 - Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
The first incarnation of what has become a franchise-of-sorts, Scooby-Doo is a large, loveable but cowardly Great Dane who hangs around four California high school students (Fred, Velma, Daphne and Shaggy). The four teen-agers are in constant search of mysteries and adventures, driving around in a bright green van known as the Mystery Machine. Many of the group's adventures involve villians who take on supernatural disguises (ghosts and monsters); the villians' activities usually involve blackmail, theft, fraud and other forms of corruption.
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#35 - The Wonder Years
The Wonder Years tells the story of Kevin Arnold facing the trials and tribulations of youth while growing up during the 1960s. Told through narration from an adult Kevin, Kevin faces the difficulties of maintaining relationships and friendships on his enthralling journey into adulthood.
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#36 - Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is a 1950s and 1960s family-oriented American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naive boy named Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood. The show has attained an iconic status in the United States, with the Cleavers exemplifying the idealized suburban family of the mid-twentieth century. One of the first primetime sitcom series filmed from a child's point-of-view, the show was created by Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, two radio and early television writers, who found inspiration for the show's characters, plots, and dialogue in the lives, experiences, and conversations of their own children. Like several television dramas and sitcoms of the late fifties and early sixties (Lassie and My Three Sons, for example), Leave It to Beaver is a glimpse at middle-class, American boyhood. A typical episode features Beaver getting into some sort of trouble and facing his parents for reprimand and correction.
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#37 - Norm
The show focuses on the life of Norm Henderson, a former NHL hockey player who is banned for life from hockey due to gambling and tax evasion. In order to avoid jail time for these crimes, Norm must perform five years of community service as a full-time social worker.
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#38 - Karen Sisco
Carla Gugino plays the tough but beautiful U.S. Marshal Karen Sisco working in Miami in this series based on the novels of Elmore Leonard. Her father, former marshal Marshall Sisco is now a PI, but he knows the game, and is always ready to give his daughter advice or consolation.
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#39 - Police Squad!
In this cult parody of cop dramas, replete with farce and sight gags, Lieutenant Frank Drebin and his fellow officers from Police Squad bungle their way though crime investigations.
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#40 - The Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters continues where the first movie left off, with the four Ghostbusters facing forces of the supernatural. Helping out the Ghostbusters would be their secretary, Janine Melnitz, and (eventually) Louis Tully. Also joining in would be the green ghost busted at the Sedgewick Hotel in the first movie, which was given the name Slimer.
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#41 - How to Get Away with Murder
Brilliant criminal defense attorney and law professor Annalise Keating, plus five of her students, become involved in a twisted murder case.
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#42 - Combat!
This WWII show centered on the lives of the men from King Company. For 5 1/2 years the men of King Co. faced the enemy starting with the landing on Omaha Beach-D Day June 6, 1944. You see how they evolved from a squad of men to a family.
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#43 - The Beatles Anthology
This series is a documentary on the life and times of the Beatles. It features clips from many of their songs as well as in-depth descriptions of their songs, tours, and lives
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#44 - The Untouchables
The Untouchables chronicles the campaign of Eliot Ness (Robert Stack), the young U.S. Prohibition Bureau agent, to smash the beer and booze empire of Al Capone in 1920s Chicago.
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#45 - Gargoyles
In Scotland, 994 A.D., the castle Wyvern is guarded by gargoyles, creatures that sleep during the day, turned into stone, and are fearsome warriors during the night. In spite of keeping the castle's inhabitants safe, the gargoyles are not respected nor appreciated by them, except for the Captain of Guard who sees great value and honor in these creatures. After being betrayed by the only human they trusted, most of the gargoyles are killed while sleeping, and out of anger the Magus puts a spell on the surviving gargoyles so they also sleep during the night. In 1994 A.D., the billionaire David Xanatos purchases the castle, moving it to the top of his skyscraper in Manhattan. With the castle above the clouds, the spell is broken and now the Scottish gargoyles live again in a world strange to them. The Clan is still reluctant about trusting humans, but after meeting Elisa Maza they find a reason to befriend humans again.
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#46 - Cupid
This is the story of a man, Trevor Hale (Jeremy Piven), who claims to be Cupid, the God of Love, sent to Earth as a punishment. To earn his place back on Mount Olympus, he must reunite a hundred couples without the use of magic. He has been stripped of his powers and has become a normal human being for the length of his stay among us. Because of his claims, Trevor is thought to be delusional and placed under psychology study. He must attend Claire's (Paula Marshall) therapy groups on a regular basis, where he usually likes to interfere and contradict her. Although the show is based on a fantasy premise, it is mostly an excuse. There have been no proofs so far that Trevor really is Cupid and for all we know, he really could be just another nutcase. Yet, his ability to bring couples together, his great knowledge of Greek mythology and many other elements can only make one wonder.
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#47 - Tales From the Cryptkeeper
To capitalize on the merchandising craze brought forth by HBO's series "Tales from the Crypt", they invented this Saturday morning cartoon. Much like the series (and EC comics) that the cartoon was based on, the show featured different child characters weekly who ended up in twisted situations, but with a little more morality play than the HBO series. Still hosting was The Cryptkeeper, and in the second season, The Vaultkeeper and The Old Witch (both narrators from the comic series) had come in to upstage The Cryptkeeper. After two seasons, the show disappeared from ABC's lineup, but resurfaced on CBS in 1999 with new episodes, under the title "New Tales from the Cryptkeeper." The Vaultkeeper and the Old Witch were now absent as hosts, and the Cryptkeeper kept popping up within the context of the story more than in the previous seasons. In 2000, CBS dropped their entire Saturday morning children's show schedule. Since then, the show has aired in Canada and elsewhere in the world.
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#48 - The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy was a series about bounty hunter Colt Seavers. Every week Colt and his gang was assigned to apprehend a fugitive from justice. Colt and his cousin Howie were also working as stuntmen in Hollywood. The tricks of that trade often helped them to capture their guy.
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#49 - The Outer Limits
Tending toward the hard science, space travel, time travel, and human evolution it tries to examine in each show some form of the question, "What is the nature of man?"
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#50 - The Fugitive
Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen), wrongly accused of murdering his wife, escapes custody while on the road to prison and must elude the police to continue his quest to find the real killer, which will take ages until the finale.
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