8CHEERS

Aired: NBC, 1982-1993

The qualities that made The Mary Tyler Moore Show a seminal sitcom in the 1970s gave Cheers the same importance to the '80s. At the height of the multi-camera sitcom format that would come to make sitcoms feel all the more mass-produced, Cheers conveyed a sense of real place, and the show's jokes came from clearly established characters and relationships the main one being the pas de deux between ex-jock bar owner Sam Malone and his new well-read waitress Diane Chambers. Created by brothers Glen and Les Charles and director James Burrows, Cheers placed 75th in the Nielsen ratings in its first year on the air, before going on to become a cornerstone in NBC's long run of hit "must-see" comedies The Cosby Show, Seinfeld and Friends. According to TV.com, Cheers, over the course of its 11 seasons, saw 58 writers come through its room.