Question: What TV shows were ...

Question: What TV shows were popular in the year 1990? — Lizzie, Ft. Jennings, Ohio

Televisionary: Why do I get the feeling that's the year you were born, Lizzie? Call it a hunch.

Anyway, it depends which part of 1990 you're talking about, since each year is split between two TV seasons. From the fall of 1989 through the following April, The Cosby Show (NBC) and Roseanne (ABC) were tied for the top spot with ratings of 23.1 each. Rounding out the top 10 were Cheers (NBC, 22.7), A Different World (NBC, 21.1), America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC, 20.9), The Golden Girls (NBC, 20.1), 60 Minutes (CBS, 19.7), The Wonder Years (ABC, 19.2), Empty Nest (NBC, 18.9) and Monday Night Football (ABC, 18.1)

For the fall of 1990 to spring of '91, the top 10 were: Cheers (21.3), 60 Minutes (20.6), Roseanne (18.1), A Different World (17.5), The Cosby Show (17.1), Murphy Brown (CBS, 16.9), Empty Nest and America's Funniest Home Videos (both 16.7), Monday Night Football (16.6) and The Golden Girls (16.5).