Business Insider Edition
Despite its cancellation earlier this year, the short-lived "Roseanne" reboot still came out on top as 2018's biggest show.
Nielsen released its list of the year's highest-rated shows this week, and the usual suspects like "This Is Us and "The Big Bang Theory" were also included. NBC's new drama, "Manifest," which premiered in September, also crept onto the list.
"Roseanne" held tight the entire year as the biggest show of 2018 since it premiered in March. The revival was quickly canceled after one season after the show's star Roseanne Barr tweeted a racist remark at former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. It was replaced with a spin-off named "The Conners," which premiered in October to lower, but not bad, ratings .
Meanwhile, "The Big Bang Theory" entered its 12th and final season this year with the usual strong numbers, and its prequel, "Young Sheldon," continued to be a hit for CBS, as well.
We did not include NBC's Sunday Night Football in this list, which ranked second in Nielsen's list of top 10 shows.
Below are the nine biggest shows of 2018, according to Nielsen ratings:
CBS
Average viewers: 13.5 million
Summary: "Stars Michael Weatherly as Dr. Jason Bull in a drama inspired by the early career of Dr. Phil McGraw, the founder of one of the most prolific trial consulting firms of all time."
NBC
Average viewers: 14.3 million
Summary: "The all-new winter edition of TVs No. 1 alternative series, "America's Got Talent: The Champions," premieres Monday, January 7 at 8/7c.
The series, from NBC,Fremantle and Syco Entertainment, will feature the star-studded judges panel from "America's Got Talent" - Executive Producer Simon Cowell, Mel B, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel - as well as Host Terry Crews, co-star of NBCs "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."
ABC
Average viewers: 14.5 million
Summary: "Freddie Highmore plays Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome, relocates from a quiet country life to join a prestigious hospital's surgical unit."
NBC
Average viewers: 14.6 million
"When Montego Air Flight 828 landed safely after a turbulent but routine flight, the crew and passengers were relieved. Yet in the span of those few hours, the world had aged five years and their friends, families and colleagues, after mourning their loss, had given up hope and moved on. Now, faced with the impossible, they're all given a second chance."
Robert Voets/CBS
Average viewers: 15.7 million
Summary: "Follows the 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper as he navigates living with his family in East Texas and going to high school."
NBC
Average viewers: 16.6 million
Summary: "Everyone has a family. And every family has a story. 'This Is Us' chronicles the Pearson family across the decades."
CBS/Bill Inoshita
Average viewers: 16.7 million
Summary: "'NCIS' (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) is more than just an action drama. With liberal doses of humor, it's a show that focuses on the sometimes complex and always amusing dynamics of a team forced to work together in high-stress situations."
CBS
Average viewers: 18.3 million
"Leonard and Sheldon are brilliant physicists geniuses in the laboratory but socially challenged everywhere else. Enter beautiful, street-smart neighbor Penny, who aims to teach them a thing or two about life."
ABC
Average viewers: 20 million
Summary: "Explore life, death and everything in between through the relatable, hilarious and brutally honest lens of the Conner household."
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