The final episode of the "M*A*S*H" series aired February 28, 1983, to over 50 million television homes and an estimated 105 million viewers. Over 46 percent of the population of the United States tuned in. This episode rates as the most watched episode of all time, based on both the number of viewers and the percentage of the population.
The Beatles were one of the most popular bands of the 1960s. When the foursome went on the air in February 1964 with a performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," American viewers tuned in. They performed for two consecutive weeks, on February 9 and 16, respectively. The two episodes rank as the second and third most watched episodes of all time, according to "USA Today." They pulled in an estimated 70 million viewers for each episode, which equated to 40 percent of the population of the United States. Their third performance on the February 23 brought in over 59 million viewers, making it the 16th most watched episode ever.
On November 21, 1980, over an estimated 83 million people tuned into to the season premier of "Dallas" to find out exactly who shot JR. It all started when CBS asked the creators of the show to create two additional episodes past the planned season finale when they decided to shoot JR and figure out who did it later. Almost 38 percent of the country tuned in to find out that JR was shot by his mistress and sister-in-law, Kristin.
In May of 1993 the long-running sitcom, "Cheers," came to an end. Over 93 million views watched which represented just over 37 percent of the population at the time. Based on the number of viewers alone, this is the second most watched television episode ever. The bar flies finally found out what happened to Diane when she receives an screenwriting award. Sam and Diane reunite and plan to get married, but Sam comes to the conclusion that he is meant to be behind the bar. The final scene features Sam telling a man, "We're Closed."