TV is at the heart of American culture. Ever since the television first became mainstream, people have been consuming show after show for decades. The characters and storylines from these many programs seep into everyday life, and keeping up with the latest TV hit often becomes a matter of social survival.
However, while watching TV might be something all Americans do, what we watch is often very different. This is due in part to the massive amount of content that is out there to consume. Much of this content comes from streaming services, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. Yet millions and millions of Americans still rely on traditional cable TV, and the shows they watch are some of the most popular in the country.
There is still a lot of variation in TV favorites, particularly from state to state. This helps show the diversity in preferences across the country, making American television so vibrant and entertaining.
Wondering which show is most popular in your state and across the country? We've got all the information for you and more.
Let's get straight to it. Here is a list of the most-watched TV shows in each state. Some are still on the air, while some are classics. Here's the complete list:
Although off the air for almost two years, Game of Thrones, which aired on HBO, is still one of the most popular shows in the United States. However, it's preferred by just eight states out of 50. While this is the most-watched in terms of the number of states, there are lots of other shows that are quite popular, such as:
As you can see, our initial statement that while Americans can agree on TV, they can't agree on what to watch is proving true. Sure, some of these shows are popular in more than one state, but when it comes to the most-watched and most preferred, there is so much variation across the country that it's difficult to spot any significant trend.
Reality television has come to play a big part in our lives, whether we like it or not. Looking at which reality shows are popular gives us an idea of what's playing well on TV at this current moment.
We have information on the top three shows in each state for this category, but first, here's a snapshot of each state's most preferred reality shows.
The following shows got the most first-place votes:
The following shows are all the preferred reality program in one state each: Supernanny, Dance Moms, Kate Plus 8, Pawn Stars, The Voice, Ru Paul's Drag Race, America's Got Talent, Long Island Medium, 19 and Counting, Sister Wives, Love and Hip Hop, Real Housewives, and American Idol.
This ranking shows that The Apprentice, Hoarders, Shark Tank, and America's Next Top Model are America's most-watched reality TV shows. We can, however, dig a bit deeper and look at how often a show appeared in a state's top three. This should give us an idea of what is genuinely the most-watched reality show in America.
Here's what we found:
Chosen as the most popular in 5 states and listed in the top three of 17 states is The Apprentice, the reality show featuring former President Donald Trump. This show was part of why he was able to achieve the level of fame that he did, something that helped propel him to the presidency.
As time moves forward and America reflects on the Trump presidency, perhaps his show's popularity will wane? That said, he remains a force in American politics despite running one of the most controversial administrations of all time. Perhaps his show will remain popular until the end of time?
America's second choice is slightly less polemic. Hoarders, the show about people who never throw anything away and then get inundated by their things, seems to resonate with American audiences enough to make it into the top three in 13 different states.
Americans do own a lot of stuff, so there could be a reason for this. We also tend to enjoy watching people struggle, as it helps make us feel better about ourselves. Hoarders' popularity may be partly because it is relatable but perhaps just as much because it is not.
One form of reality TV that has remained popular is performance. Shows such as Dancing with the Stars (top three in 12 states) and American Idol (top three in nine states) are still some of the most popular in the country, and several states also chose The Voice and America's Got Talent as their top choice.
In its early days, American Idol was far and away the most popular television show in America. The emergence of competitors reduced its prominence, but it still stands out as one of the nation's most-watched shows.
No state listed three (or sometimes four in the case of a tie) unique shows on their top-three lists. Most had one or two shows that appeared on someone else's list, though most shared all three with at least one other state – the order was often different.
However, Utah, which listed four total shows because of a tie, had three shows on its list that do not appear on any other. Those were The Biggest Loser, The Bachelorette, and So You Think You Can Dance.
The fourth show listed is Sister Wives, which happens to be one of Wyoming's favorite shows.
Whether this is just a coincidence or a symbol of Utah's originality is up to the fans to decide, but there's no denying that their list is different from others.
If we zoom out for a second and don't just focus on what's most popular in each state, we see that many of the most-watched shows are not any state's favorites. This is because these shows are aimed at a national audience. They attract smaller groups of viewers from all over, rather than a concentrated group from one area.
The most-watched shows in America are The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC and Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News. Over the past year, cable news shows have been extremely popular, mainly because there has been so much news. Between the pandemic, protests, the election, and all the events that followed it, people have been turning to cable news to help them figure out what is going on.
Beyond this, the most watcher shows over the past month were:
And the most popular shows over the past season (defined as September until May) were:
All four major networks are represented on this list, demonstrating their continued dominance of the network television market. However, CBS and NBC have a clear advantage. NBC's Chicago series is immensely popular, as well its long-running hit, NCIS.
As a trend, it seems America still loves a good crime drama, and networks keep responding with new, exciting versions. Because of their ability to tap into the nation's pulse, it's hard to see any of these networks falling from their position anytime soon.
So, there you have it, a snapshot into the most-watched shows in the United States. As you can see, people's preferences vary widely, so it's impossible to know what someone is going to like based just on where they're from, but there are some regional patterns.
Perhaps the most important question we should ask is, what's your favorite?
