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Best TV Series of the 1940s

163 series that started in the 1940s, ranked by popularity

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Genres

Genres as assigned by IMDb. Selecting several means a show must match all of them.

Decades

By first-air year. Several selections widen the range; a specific year narrows within its decade.

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Rating patterns, computed from IMDb episode-rating trajectories. Deliberately strict: only shows with an unmistakable pattern carry one, so expect small numbers.

Rating patterns

Taste tags, judged by our AI taste model. They cover the 5,000 most-rated shows.

Tone & mood
Pacing & structure
Humor style
Themes & subject matter
Characters & perspective
Emotional payoff
Craft & style
Format & audience
Viewing-culture clusters
Intensity & content character
163 series

The Magic Clown

★ 5.0
15 10 1949–1959
Family

Ship's Reporter

★ 4.6
15 1948–1952
Short · Talk-Show

Winner Take All

★ 3.5
15 21 1948–present
Family · Game-Show

Who Said That?

★ 5.3
15 311 1948–1955
Family · Game-Show

The Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue

★ 4.4
14 100 1949–1952
Music

The Benny Rubin Show

★ 4.3
14 6 1949–present
Comedy

Amanda

★ 5.0
14 6 1948–1949
Music

Erskine Johnson's Hollywood Reel

★ 6.0
14 1 1949–1952
News

How Do You View?

★ 5.3
14 30 1949–1953
Comedy

Easy Aces

★ 2.8
14 1 1949–1950
Comedy · Family · Talk-Show

Pinwright's Progress

★ 7.0
13 10 1946–1947
Comedy

Welcome Aboard

★ 3.8
13 1 1948–1949
Comedy · Music

ABC Television Players

★ 3.2
13 1 1949–present
Drama

1948 World Series

★ 4.3
13 6 1948–present
Sport

Pabst Blue Ribbon Bouts

★ 7.6
12 41 1948–1955
Sport

Children's Theater

★ 6.7
12 1949–present
Family

I Love to Eat

★ 3.9
12 2 1946–1947
Reality-TV

Campus Hoopla

★ 3.5
12 1 1946–1947
Game-Show · Sport

New Year's Day Concert from Vienna

★ 6.8
12 1946–present
Music

1949 World Series

★ 5.2
12 5 1949–1949
Sport

Stop the Music

★ 4.0
12 21 1949–1956
Game-Show

Mr. and Mrs.

★ 6.6
12 1948–present
Talk-Show

The Hoffman Hayride

★ 5.7
11 2 1948–1957
Musical

The Gay Nineties Revue

★ 5.8
11 1 1948–1949
Music
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