The Most Watched TV Series Finales in History

Have you ever wondered about the most watched TV series finales ever? Popular sitcom Friends turned 20 two weeks ago but its last episode only comes fourth in the all time finale league table with 52.5 million viewers. 76 million people tuned in for Seinfeld's final episode in 1998 while 80 million watched Cheers' swan song in 1993.

The title of the most-watched TV series finale in history goes to M*A*S*H. 1983's 2½ hour long "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" brought the curtain down on the series after 256 episodes with an incredible 106 million people tuning in. It remained the most watched television broadcast in American history until 2010 when it was surpassed by Super Bowl XLIV.

Description

This chart shows the top 10 TV series finales by viewership.

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Most watched TV series finales of all time in the United States as of May 2023 (in millions)
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Most watched TV episodes of all time in the United States as of September 2017, by average number of viewers (in millions)
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Number of Game of Thrones Season 8 viewers in the United States in 2019, by episode (in millions)
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Viewing figures for the most watched television program of each year in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2000 to 2025 (in millions)

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