Friends, The Office, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, they all could have, but didn’t: the series that pulled in 105 million viewers is none other than MASH.
On February 28, 1983, the record was broken. It was the day of the last episode mashThe comedy series about life in an American camp during the Korean War aired on CBS and is the only time a series has managed to gather 105 million people in front of a TV, an impressive figure that was achieved 40 years ago and has never been beaten.
As our colleagues at SensaCine recall, titled “Goodbye, Goodbye and Amen” (“Goodbye to all” in French), the episode tells the final days of the Korean War and its aftermath through several separate stories. After declaring a ceasefire, the heroes throw a farewell party. Between tears and goodbyes, the heroes part ways and go their separate ways.
As with any series finale, it’s no surprise that this series generated a lot of interest. The producer also bet everything on it, spending about 40 million dollars in advertising (including inflation). But the interesting thing is that this number could have been higher because many areas in California were experiencing power outages due to extreme winter conditions and thus could not watch the episode!
Few equivalents in the world
From 1983 to 2010, “Goodbye, Goodbye, and Amen” remained the most-watched television show in American history. The 2010 Super Bowl stole its spot. While it’s no surprise that a sporting event that dominates the American landscape has overtaken him, it still took 27 years to get there!
This is primarily a record for American and Canadian television, but nevertheless, it is difficult to find another series in the rest of the world that has had such an impact. Apart from the Super Bowl, only the Cricket World Cup in India and the moon landing on 20 July 1969 surpassed the audience for this episode…
In the list of the 30 most watched events on North American television, we find only two additional fictions: the mini-series Raisins (1977) and the TV movie The Day After (1983), which talked about the nuclear threat, too. A popular theme and consistent with the fears of the time. These two programs brought together about 100 million people in front of their screens. You’ll never really reach those impressive numbers with the changes the small screen world has undergone in recent years.
Indeed, “traditional” television – which involves turning on the TV and watching an episode of a series programmed by a channel – is attracting fewer and fewer people as streaming platforms take over. Therefore, this record may never be broken…
Source: Allocine
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
