American educator and television personality Fred Rogers on the set of his 1970s television series 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.'
TV

Best family TV shows of the '70s

Written by:
January 31, 2023
Fotos International // Courtesy of Getty Images

Best family TV shows of the '70s

The 1970s may have been when the term "Me Generation" was coined, in reference to entitled baby boomers, but the decade produced a whole lot of TV shows about families as a whole. Of course there was the "Brady Bunch," which debuted in 1969 but had its reign in the '70s; then, there was another musically gifted group in "The Partridge Family"; and who could forget the Ingalls family of "Little House on the Prairie" or the self-titled family on the historical drama "The Waltons"?

Those who were quite young in the 1970s will likely remember growing up watching Kermit and Miss Piggy on "The Muppet Show," Bert and Ernie on "Sesame Street," and of course, the titular Fred Rogers of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." (Like "The Brady Bunch," the latter two series debuted in the late '60s but aired new episodes throughout the '70s.)

You may be surprised to learn, however, that none of those are aforementioned series are the best family TV show of the '70s—at least, according to IMDb voters. Stacker compiled a list of the best '70s family TV shows based on IMDb user rating. To qualify, the show had to have family as one of its genres on IMDb and have at least 5,000 IMDb user votes. Data was collected in December 2022. Show posters are from OMDb

Read on to see which family TV show was the best the '70s had to offer—and find out where your favorite ranks!

#30. Fantasy Island

- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Years on air: 1977 to 1984
- Read more on IMDb

#29. Diff'rent Strokes

- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Years on air: 1978 to 1986
- Read more on IMDb

#28. The Yogi Bear Show

- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Years on air: 1961 to 1988
- Read more on IMDb

#27. The Brady Bunch

- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Years on air: 1969 to 1974
- Read more on IMDb

#26. The Facts of Life

- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Years on air: 1979 to 1988
- Read more on IMDb

#25. Laverne & Shirley

- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Years on air: 1976 to 1983
- Read more on IMDb

#24. Mork & Mindy

- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Years on air: 1978 to 1982
- Read more on IMDb

#23. The Beverly Hillbillies

- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Years on air: 1962 to 1971
- Read more on IMDb

#22. Green Acres

- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Years on air: 1965 to 1971
- Read more on IMDb

#21. Star Trek: The Animated Series

- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Years on air: 1973 to 1975
- Read more on IMDb

#20. The Sylvester & Tweety Show

- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Years on air: 1976 to 2022
- Read more on IMDb

#19. I Dream of Jeannie

- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Years on air: 1965 to 1970
- Read more on IMDb

#18. Happy Days

- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Years on air: 1974 to 1984
- Read more on IMDb

#17. Heidi: A Girl of the Alps

- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Years on air: 1974 to 1974
- Read more on IMDb

#16. Little House on the Prairie

- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Years on air: 1974 to 1983
- Read more on IMDb

#15. Wacky Races

- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Years on air: 1968 to 1970
- Read more on IMDb

#14. Bewitched

- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Years on air: 1964 to 1972
- Read more on IMDb

#13. The Pink Panther Show

- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Years on air: 1969 to 2011
- Read more on IMDb

#12. The New Scooby-Doo Movies

- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Years on air: 1972 to 1973
- Read more on IMDb

#11. The Waltons

- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Years on air: 1972 to 1981
- Read more on IMDb

#10. The New Tom & Jerry Show

- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Years on air: 1975 to 1977
- Read more on IMDb

#9. Scooby Doo, Where Are You!

- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Years on air: 1969 to 1970
- Read more on IMDb

#8. Sesame Street

- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Years on air: 1969 to present
- Read more on IMDb

#7. Get Smart

- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Years on air: 1965 to 1970
- Read more on IMDb

#6. Doctor Who

- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Years on air: 1963 to 1989
- Read more on IMDb

#5. The Muppet Show

- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Years on air: 1976 to 1981
- Read more on IMDb

#4. Well, Just You Wait!

- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Years on air: 1969 to 2017
- Read more on IMDb

#3. The Carol Burnett Show

- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- Years on air: 1967 to 1978
- Read more on IMDb

#2. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- Years on air: 1968 to 2001
- Read more on IMDb

#1. El Chavo del Ocho

- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- Years on air: 1972 to 1983
- Read more on IMDb

Trending Now