Top-rated United States television programs of 1985–86

This table displays the top-rated primetime television series of the 1985–86 season as measured by Nielsen Media Research.

Rank	Program	Network	Rating
1	The Cosby Show	NBC	33.7
2	Family Ties	NBC	30.0
3	Murder, She Wrote	CBS	25.3
4	60 Minutes	CBS	23.9
5	Cheers	NBC	23.7
6	Dallas	CBS	21.9
7	Dynasty	ABC	21.8
7	The Golden Girls	NBC	21.8
9	Miami Vice	NBC	21.3
10	Who's the Boss?	ABC	21.1
11	Night Court	NBC	20.9
12	CBS Sunday Night Movie	CBS	20.5
13	Highway to Heaven	NBC	20.1
14	Kate & Allie	CBS	20.0
15	Monday Night Football	ABC	19.8
16	Newhart	CBS	19.6
17	Knots Landing	CBS	19.5
17	Growing Pains	ABC	19.5
19	You Again?	NBC	19.2
20	227		18.8
21	NBC Sunday Night Movie		18.5
22	Hotel	ABC	18.3
22	NBC Monday Night Movie	NBC	18.3
24	Moonlighting	ABC	18.1
	Falcon Crest	CBS
	Valerie	NBC
27	The Facts of Life	NBC	17.7
28	Scarecrow & Mrs. King	CBS	17.4
29	Simon & Simon	CBS	17.2
30	The A-Team	NBC	16.9

References

Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (Ninth ed.). Ballantine Books. p. 1691. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.

v t e Top-rated United States television programs by season
Nielsen ratings
1950s	1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960s	1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19