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TV Guide cover from the summer of 2002 that coincided with the list. Pictured clockwise from left: Johnny Carson, James Gandolfini from The Sopranos, Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore from The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bill Cosby in The Cosby Show, The Simpsons, Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy.

The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time is a list of American TV series compiled by TV Guide as a cover story for the week of May 4, 2002. It coincided with an ABC primetime special that aired on May 13, 2002. The list garnered much national attention at the time, as the magazine was simultaneously celebrating five decades on newsstands. At the time, TV Guide billed the list as a perspective of the most "influential" television programs in American history. Here is the entire list:

• 50. Bewitched (ABC, 1964–1972)
• 49. The Oprah Winfrey Show (Syndication, 1986— )
• 48. Taxi (ABC/NBC, 1978–1983)
• 47. The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (ABC, 1959–1964)
• 46. Star Trek: The Next Generation (Syndication, 1987–1994)
• 45. Twin Peaks (ABC, 1990–1991)
• 44. The Bob Newhart Show (CBS, 1972–1978)
• 43. Bonanza (NBC, 1959–1973)
• 42. Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (NBC, 1968–1973)
• 41. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (WB/UPN, 1997–2003)
• 40. Gunsmoke (CBS, 1955–1975)
• 39. The Rockford Files (NBC, 1974–1980)
• 38. The Larry Sanders Show (HBO, 1992–1998)
• 37. The X-Files (Fox, 1993–2002)
• 36. The Fugitive (ABC, 1963–1967)
• 35. Roseanne (ABC, 1988–1997)
• 34. Frasier (NBC, 1993–2004)
• 33. Playhouse 90 (CBS, 1956–1961)
• 32. An American Family (PBS, 1973)
• 31. The Defenders (CBS, 1961–1964)
• 30. Your Show of Shows (NBC, 1950–1954)
• 29. The Phil Donahue Show (Syndication, 1970–1996)
• 28. The Cosby Show (NBC, 1984–1992)
• 27. Sesame Street (PBS, 1969— )
• 26. The Twilight Zone (CBS, 1959–1964)
• 25. M*A*S*H (CBS, 1972–1983)
• 24. Law & Order (NBC, 1990— )
• 23. Nightline (ABC, 1979–present {originally premiered as The Iran Crisis—America Held Hostage})
• 22. ER (NBC, 1994— )
• 21. Friends (NBC, 1994–2004)
• 20. St. Elsewhere (NBC, 1982–1988)
• 19. Thirtysomething (ABC, 1987–1991)
• 18. Cheers (NBC, 1982–1993)
• 17. The Today Show (NBC, 1952— )
• 16. The Carol Burnett Show (CBS, 1967–1978)
• 15. The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS, 1948–1971)
• 14. Hill Street Blues (NBC, 1981–1987)
• 13. The Dick Van Dyke Show (CBS, 1961–1966)
• 12. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (NBC, 1962–1992)
• 11. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS, 1970–1977)
• 10. Saturday Night Live (NBC, 1975— )
• 9. The Andy Griffith Show (CBS, 1960–1968)
• 8. The Simpsons (Fox, 1989— )
• 7. The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, 1993— )
• 6. 60 Minutes (CBS, 1968— )
• 5. The Sopranos (HBO, 1999–2007)
• 4. All in the Family (CBS, 1971–1979)
• 3. The Honeymooners (CBS, 1955–1956)
• 2. I Love Lucy (CBS, 1951–1957)
• 1. Seinfeld (NBC, 1989–1998)

• Earliest aired show on the list: The Ed Sullivan Show (first aired in 1948)
• Most recently premiered show: The Sopranos (first aired in 1999)
• Shortest run: An American Family (12 episodes, plus two subsequent special episodes)
• Primetime shows: 41 (highest-ranking was Seinfeld, #1)
• Late-night shows: 4 (The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, ABC News Nightline, Saturday Night Live)
• Daytime shows: 4 (Oprah, Donahue, Sesame Street, Today Show)
• Syndicated shows: 3 (Oprah, Donahue, Star Trek: Next Generation)
• Sitcoms: 18 (highest-ranking was Seinfeld, #1)
• Variety shows: 5 (Laugh-In, Your Show of Shows, Carol Burnett Show, Ed Sullivan Show, Saturday Night Live)
• Talk shows: 5 (Oprah, Donahue, Today, Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Late Show with David Letterman)
• Drama: 18 (highest-ranking was The Sopranos at #5)
• News: 3 (Nightline, Today, 60 Minutes)
• Cartoons: 2 (The Simpsons, Rocky and Bullwinkle)
• Game shows: 0 (although TV Guide had earlier made a separate list of the 50 greatest game shows)
• Soap operas: 0
• Reality shows: 1 (technically, An American Family at #32 is considered primitive reality)
• NBC shows: 17 (highest-ranking was at #1, Seinfeld)
• CBS shows: 16 (highest-ranking was at #2, I Love Lucy)
• ABC shows: 8 (highest-ranking was at #19, thirtysomething)
• Fox shows: 2 (highest-ranking was at #8, The Simpsons; other was The X-Files, #37)
• Cable shows: 2 (both from HBO; highest-ranking was The Sopranos at #5; other was Larry Sanders at #38)
• Public TV shows: 2 (highest-ranking was Sesame Street at #27; other was An American Family at #32)
• WB/UPN shows: 1 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer at #41)

This section does not cite its references or sources. Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations. (help, get involved!) Any unsourced material that has been or is likely to be challenged may be removed at any time. This article has been tagged since March 2007.

Many were skeptic of decisions such as ranking Seinfeld (which made the #1 spot) higher than classics such as All in the Family and there was fury over the fact that several hits of the 1990s were unnecessarily high in ranking such as Frasier and ER. Many were upset at the fact that Married...With Children, which helped save Fox Television was completely left off the list. Also, television experts were stunned that David Letterman's late-night program was named more influential than that of the legendary "king of late-night" Johnny Carson, and that there were no daytime soap operas or any game shows at all on the list. Also, the list is heavily skewed toward more recent shows, with shows generally considered "classic" such as Have Gun, Will Travel; Perry Mason; and the original Star Trek left off the list.

Only one reality television show was put on the list, although several were included on the Worst Shows of All Time list.

• TV Guide Names 'Seinfeld' Greatest Show of All (Reuters, 2002-04-26) / Criticism of the List from the TiVo Community