2018's ten most popular TV shows revealed – ‘Roseanne’ heads the list with 20 million viewers

It’s that time of the year again when the rankings of the most-watched shows are released based on Nielsen’s ratings. ABC's show, 'Roseanne,' tops the list with a whopping 20 million viewers.

Here are the ten most-watched TV shows of 2018.

10. BULL

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In 2016, Michael Weatherly left NCIS to star in the legal drama series, Bull. From all indications, his move paid off. Reports have revealed that the show has steadily climbed up and into network TV’s list of heavy-hitters.

According to TV Guide, there was an average of 13.5 million viewers for each episode of Bull this season.

9. AMERICA’S GOT TALENT

NBC’s beloved national talent show, America’s Got Talent, also racked up a large number of viewers. The spectacles and performances were something to behold this year.

While some viewers complained of talents from other countries getting recycled to compete on the show, still AGT had an average of 14.3 million viewers.

8. THE GOOD DOCTOR

ABC’s new medical drama The Good Doctor comes next with an average of 14.5 million viewers.

The Good Doctor which started airing in 2017 has had a great season so far. It stars Freddie Highmore – best known for his role as Norman Bates in Bates Motel.

7. MANIFEST

The American supernatural drama television series, Manifest, just premiered this fall on NBC, but has still put up an impressive display by making it onto this list.

An average of 14.6 million people watched Manifest in four months – impressive.

6. YOUNG SHELDON

The Big Bang Theory might be reaching its conclusion soon, but Young Sheldon is just getting started. The series shows a 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper; whom audiences can’t seem to get enough of, so much so that an average of 15.7 million people watched Young Sheldon this year.

5. THIS IS US

NBC’s award-winning comedy-drama sensation, This is Us, also had a large number of viewers. The series provided audiences with a perfect blend of family drama and intrigue.

This is Us had a record of 16.6 million viewers this year.

4. NCIS

CBS’ action police procedural series NCIS had an incredible year. Although the show had some significant shake-ups in which certain cast members had to leave while other characters were given more prominent roles.

The series had an average of 16.7 million viewers in 2018.

3. THE BIG BANG THEORY

There’s a huge leap between the third and fourth spots, as The Big Bang Theory had an average of 18.3 million viewers this year. The twelfth and final season of the sitcom premiered on September 24, 2018, and will have 24 episodes.

2. SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcasts held on to the second position with an average of 19.6 million viewers. While the sport seemed to be in trouble for the past few years as a result of concussion controversies and on-field protests, it still managed to be the second most-watched TV show of 2018.

1. ROSEANNE

In a surprising twist of events, the most-watched show of 2018 was Roseanne. The reboot of the show garnered about 20 million viewers on average when it returned in the spring for just nine episodes.

However, Roseanne was canceled after its star, Roseanne Barr, posted a racist tweet about former Obama administration adviser Valerie Jarrett. The controversy her tweet generated caused the series to be brought down with ABC managing to salvage the success of the series by doing a spin-off featuring all of the other characters, while Roseanne died of a drug overdose.

Nielsen's ranking also included categories for primetime TV personalities with Tyra Banks of NBC’s America’s Got Talent ranking first, and the top social media TV drama star going to Empire star, Taraji P. Henson.