Ahead of the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, the Television Academy has compiled a list of the 75 Most Impactful TV Moments.
In collaboration with a group of academic professionals, the Television Academy scoured eight decades on television in search of the moments that have made the most impact on viewers, the industry and culture.
Chosen were classic moments (from the late 1940s until the 2020s) of TV’s most beloved programs, as well as news events that brought the U.S. and the world together to watch them in real time. Many of the selected televised events influenced politics and shifted the common wisdom about race, LGTBQ+ representation and more.
At the top of the list is the Apollo 11 moon landing, followed by coverage of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade center and the Beatles’ 1964 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
You can read the entire list here and watch a video compilation above.
Other highlights include Roots’ premiere episode with the newborn Kunta Kinte; Hawkeye’s (Alan Alda) goodbye from B.J. (Mike Farrell) spelled out with rocks on the final episode of M*A*S*H, Saturday Night Live’s premiere hosted by George Carlin, Ellen (Ellen DeGeneres) telling Susan (Laura Dern) that she’s gay inadvertently over an airport’s public address system, Linus telling Charlie Brown the true meaning of Christmas, Sammy Davis Jr. kissing Archie (Carroll O’Connor) on the cheek and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) getting rejected from the soup kitchen when she offends the Soup Nazi.
Other television shows on the list include The Sopranos, The Twilight Zone, Maude, American Idol, The Golden Girls, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Star Trek, Game of Thrones, The Day After, The Last of Us, The Nat King Cole Show, General Hospital, Julia, Will & Grace, Meet the Press, The Tonight Show, Lost, Six Feet Under, The Simpsons, I Love Lucy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Dallas, The Carol Burnett Show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Newhart, as well as television’s coverage of such historic events as the first Kennedy-Nixon debate, 1985’s Live Aid benefit concert, bystander video footage of George Floyd’s murder and the funeral of Princess Diana. Also included are unique pop culture moments such as the debut of MTV with the cable net’s airing of the Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” and Bette Midler serenading Johnny Carson on his penultimate night hosting The Tonight Show.
Outgoing Television Academy Chair Frank Scherma said, “There is no greater medium than television to influence our culture. These 75 incredible moments demonstrate how television has shaped conversations, broadened our perspectives and motivated social change over the past eight decades. As we celebrate 75 years of the Emmy Awards, we also celebrate television’s powerful impact.”
Check out the video compilation above.