In popular culture, the phrase is most strongly associated with the network's entire Thursday night lineup, including both sitcoms and dramas, which dominated the ratings from the 1980s through the late 1990s.

Starting with the 1981–82 season, situation comedies would enter NBC's Thursday programming, such as Diff'rent Strokes, Harper Valley, and newcomers Gimme a Break!

A mid-season replacement, Mama's Family (starring Vicki Lawrence), which initially aired on Saturdays, was moved to Thursday nights during the summer, following Fame's removal from NBC's schedule.

A new sitcom joining the night was We Got It Made, starring Teri Copley, which initially started with strong ratings, however, critics and the general public lambasted the show.

In January 1984, We Got It Made and Mama's Family were moved to Saturdays and later canceled at the end of the 1983-84 season, with both shows reviving years later for syndication.

What marked the beginning of NBC's dominance on Thursday nights was during the 1984-85 season, when the network premiered a new show to lead that evening: The Cosby Show, receiving critical acclaim, with TV Guide listing the series as "TV's biggest hit in the 1980s", adding it "almost single-handedly revived the sitcom genre and NBC's ratings fortunes".

Critical-acclaimed police drama Hill Street Blues, which enjoyed success during most of its run on Thursday nights since its debut, was moved midway through its seventh and final season to Tuesdays, being replaced by the new legal drama L.A. Law, which debuted on Friday nights, and later became another successful show inside NBC's Thursday lineup, spending almost its entire run at the 10pm slot until the series ended in 1994.

However, that dominance during the 1980s, would begin to fade by the start of the 1990-91 season, as the growing popularity of ABC Tuesday and Friday night lineups and Fox's decision to move freshman hit The Simpsons to Thursdays to compete with Cosby partly contributed its ratings fall.

Ratings for The Cosby Show and A Different World decreased considerably and both were no longer inside the top-ten; while Wings continue to rise in popularity, entering the top-20 for the first time.

After Cosby aired its one-hour final episode in the spring of 1992, several changes were made to the NBC Thursday night lineup for the 1992-93 season: a new sitcom, Rhythm & Blues, premiered to only be pulled off by the network after five episodes, and was replaced by another new sitcom, Out All Night, starring Patti LaBelle, but it wasn't a ratings success as well, and shortly after it was canceled too.

Meanwhile, A Different World saw its ratings drop dramatically after its parent series ended its run, and later was removed from NBC's Thursday schedule in 1993 and replaced by re-runs of Cheers.

In late summer of 1993, NBC wanted viewers to tune in an hour prior to Seinfeld, and created the "Must See TV" slogan to brand the comedy block.

The first "Must See TV" block promo aired during late summer repeats and promoted Wings, Seinfeld, Cheers (which also previewed the fall premiere of its spin-off, Frasier) and new arrival Mad About You, which initially debuted on Wednesdays and later moved to Saturdays, starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt, with the latter winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series four years in a row (from 1996 to 1999); the show itself also received five Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series.

[6] The series won a total of 37 Primetime Emmy Awards during its 11-year run, breaking the record long held by CBS' The Mary Tyler Moore Show (29).

In addition to Seinfeld, Friends and ER, two new shows debuted, which became successful during their first seasons: The Single Guy, starring Jonathan Silverman (previously from Gimme a Break!

); and Caroline in the City, starring Lea Thompson (previously from the Back to the Future film trilogy); with both shows entering the top-ten.

Seeing how "Must See TV" dominated prime time on Thursdays, NBC felt that the same marketing power could translate into success for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday nights.

3rd Rock from the Sun entered "Must See TV Tuesday" during the 1995–96 season, which also saw the debut of NBC's third night of "Must See TV" on Sunday nights, with the premiere of Brotherly Love and Minor Adjustments (both shows were later canceled by NBC during the season, and were picked up by The WB and UPN, respectively), and the moves of Mad About You and freshman comedy Hope and Gloria from Thursdays to Sundays.

The trend would continue until the 1999-00 season, when NBC started promoting Mondays and Wednesdays in a standard fashion, leaving Thursdays and Tuesdays, the only "Must See TV" programming nights.

ABC had success on Thursday nights with its hit reality series, Dancing with the Stars, before moving the program to Mondays in 2006 (where it has remained since).

The "Must See TV" slogan reappeared briefly in early 2006 with the addition of two critically acclaimed and ratings-successful comedies, My Name Is Earl and The Office, in an attempt to re-establish a four-sitcom block after the rise and fall of The Apprentice, which was moved to Monday nights.

Veteran reality show The Biggest Loser would take the 8pm slot, followed by new comedies Bad Judge and A to Z and the final season of Parenthood.

They also announced that drama The Blacklist would take the 9pm slot at mid-season the week following the Super Bowl, hinting at the end of NBC's Thursday comedy tradition.

In May 2017, NBC announced the return of the Must See TV branding, with Will & Grace and Great News set to air on Thursdays for the 2017–18 season in addition to Superstore and The Good Place.

These series include: Specials that the network has aired on Thursdays to take advantage of the audience on that night: Series airing on Thursday night during and after the run of "Must See TV" during the summer months have included Spy TV, Come to Papa, Last Comic Standing, Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, The Law Firm, Windfall and Love Bites.