The Best TV Shows on ABC

Every ABC Show Ranked From Best To Worst

ABC’s extensive portfolio includes more than 20 shows, spanning the years from 1949 to 2018. Notable series such as The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet from ABC first graced the screens in 1949 and 1952. Our curated list, current as of June 2025, showcases over 20 of ABC’s highest-rated series.

  • The Rookie
    The Rookie (2018)8.5

    Starting over isn't easy, especially for small-town guy John Nolan who, after a life-altering incident, is pursuing his dream of being an LAPD officer. As the force's oldest rookie, he’s met with skepticism from some higher-ups who see him as just a walking midlife crisis.

  • Grey's Anatomy
    Grey's Anatomy (2005)8.2

    Follows the personal and professional lives of a group of doctors at Seattle’s Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

  • Castle
    Castle (2009)8.0

    After a serial killer imitates the plots of his novels, successful mystery novelist Richard "Rick" Castle receives permission from the Mayor of New York City to tag along with an NYPD homicide investigation team for research purposes.

  • Desperate Housewives
    Desperate Housewives (2004)7.9

    Looking down on her friends and family isn't a way of life for Mary Alice Young... it's a way of death. One day, in her perfect house, in the loveliest of suburbs, Mary Alice ended it all. Now she's taking us into the lives of her family, friends and neighbors, commenting from her elevated P.O.V.

  • Modern Family
    Modern Family (2009)7.9

    The Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan is a wonderfully large and blended family. They give us an honest and often hilarious look into the sometimes warm, sometimes twisted, embrace of the modern family.

  • Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
    Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013)7.5

    Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) puts together a team of agents to investigate the new, the strange and the unknown around the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary.

  • Once Upon a Time
    Once Upon a Time (2011)7.4

    There is a town in Maine where every story book character you've ever known is trapped between two worlds, victims of a powerful curse. Only one knows the truth and only one can break the spell. Emma Swan is a 28-year-old bail bonds collector who has been supporting herself since she was abandoned as a baby. Things change for her when her son Henry, whom she abandoned years ago, finds her and asks for her help explaining that she is from a different world where she is Snow White's missing daughter.

  • Dark Shadows
    Dark Shadows (1966)7.2

    Dark Shadows is an American gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements. It was unprecedented in daytime television when ghosts were introduced about six months after it began. The series became hugely popular when vampire Barnabas Collins appeared a year into its run. Dark Shadows also featured werewolves, zombies, man-made monsters, witches, warlocks, time travel, and a parallel universe. A small company of actors each played many roles; indeed, as actors came and went, some characters were played by more than one actor. Major writers besides Art Wallace included Malcolm Marmorstein, Sam Hall, Gordon Russell, and Violet Welles.

  • Leave It to Beaver
    Leave It to Beaver (1957)7.0

    Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive and often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood. The show also starred Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont as Beaver's parents, June and Ward Cleaver, and Tony Dow as Beaver's brother Wally. The show has attained an iconic status in the US, with the Cleavers exemplifying the idealized suburban family of the mid-20th century.

  • The Bullwinkle Show
    The Bullwinkle Show (1959)7.0

    A variety show, with the main feature being the serialized adventures of the two title characters, the anthropomorphic moose Bullwinkle and flying squirrel Rocky. The main adversaries in most of their adventures are the Russian-like spies Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale. Supporting segments include Dudley Do-Right, Peabody's Improbable History, and Fractured Fairy Tales, among others.

  • The Lone Ranger
    The Lone Ranger (1949)6.7

    The Lone Ranger is an American western television series that ran from 1949 to 1957, starring Clayton Moore with Jay Silverheels as Tonto. The live-action series initially featured Gerald Mohr as the episode narrator. Fred Foy served as both narrator and announcer of the radio series from 1948 to its finish and became announcer of the television version when story narration was dropped there. This was by far the highest-rated television program on the ABC network in the early 1950s and its first true "hit".

  • Shark Tank
    Shark Tank (2009)6.7

    Aspiring entrepreneurs pitch various business ideas to "The Sharks" -- tough, self-made, multi-millionaire and billionaire tycoons -- in hopes of landing an investment.

  • The Drew Carey Show
    The Drew Carey Show (1995)6.5

    Drew is an assistant director of personnel in a Cleveland department store and he has been stuck there for ten years. Other than fighting with co-worker Mimi, his hobbies include drinking beer and not being able to get dates. To make a few extra bucks he has a micro-brewery going in his garage with his buddies.

  • Wagon Train
    Wagon Train (1957)6.3

    The series initially starred veteran movie supporting actor Ward Bond as the wagon master, later replaced upon his death by John McIntire, and Robert Horton as the scout, subsequently replaced by lookalike Robert Fuller a year after Horton had decided to leave the series. The series was inspired by the 1950 film Wagon Master directed by John Ford and starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr. and Ward Bond, and harkens back to the early widescreen wagon train epic The Big Trail starring John Wayne and featuring Bond in his first major screen appearance playing a supporting role. Horton's buckskin outfit as the scout in the first season of the television series resembles Wayne's, who also played the wagon train's scout in the earlier film.

  • Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
    Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (1999)6.3

    American version of the tense gameshow where contestants tackle a series of multiple-choice questions to win large cash prizes.

  • Dancing with the Stars
    Dancing with the Stars (2005)6.0

    The competition sees celebrities perform choreographed dance routines which are judged by a panel of renowned ballroom experts and voted on by viewers. Enjoy sizzling salsas, sambas and spray-tans as they vie for the coveted Mirrorball Trophy.

  • The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
    The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952)5.9

    The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet is an American sitcom, airing on ABC from October 3, 1952 through March 26, 1966, starring the real life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television where it continued its success, running on both radio and television for a few years. The series stars Ozzie Nelson and his wife, singer Harriet Nelson, and their young sons, David and Eric "Ricky" Nelson. Don DeFore had a recurring role as the Nelsons' friendly neighbor "Thorny".

  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!
    Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003)5.5

    Jimmy Kimmel Live! is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast on ABC.

  • The Bachelor
    The Bachelor (2002)5.3

    A single bachelor dates multiple women over several weeks, narrowing them down to hopefully find his true love.

  • The View
    The View (1997)4.5

    ABC Daytime's morning chatfest, currently featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Ana Navarro discussing the most exciting events of the day. Hot topics in the news, the best experts in their field, celebrity interviews and general entertainment are all part of The View.