Cheers (1982)
Where everybody knows your name.
The story about a blue-collar Boston bar run by former sports star Sam Malone and the quirky and wonderful people who worked and drank there.
| Type | TV series |
|---|---|
| First aired | 30 September 1982 |
| Status | Ended, last episode 20 May 1993 |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Les Charles, James Burrows and Glen Charles |
| Starring | Ted Danson, Kirstie Alley and Rhea Perlman |
| Seasons | 11 seasons, 269 episodes |
| Episode length | about 23 min |
| Time to watch it all | about 103 hours |
| Rated | TV-PG |
| Scores | TMDB users 7.6/10 |
Where to watch Cheers
Cheers is streaming on Hulu ($21.49 a month) in the US. It is also on Paramount+ ($13.99 a month). At ten hours a week, all of the series takes about 3 months of Paramount+, or $41.97 at list price.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 29 October 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
Where to watch Cheers in 9 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Australia | Binge $19.00 AUD, Paramount+, Foxtel |
| Austria | Paramount+ |
| Canada | Paramount+ |
| France | Paramount+ |
| Germany | Paramount+ |
| Ireland | Paramount+ |
| Italy | Paramount+ |
| Switzerland | Paramount+ |
| United Kingdom | Paramount+ |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Cheers is an 11-season comedy about a Boston bar where everyone knows your name, which is terrifying if you have a secret. Ted Danson plays Sam Malone, a former athlete who just wants to forget his past, but the past keeps ordering drinks. It runs 103 hours, a specific amount of time dedicated to watching people be kind to each other. The humor comes from the mundane, not the wild. It is a warm show that understands loneliness.
What the critics said
Critics liked it more than the ratings did. In its first season, the show ranked 74th out of 96, a number that looked like a death sentence. It wasn’t. Brandon Tartikoff, then president of NBC’s entertainment division, told people in 1983 that the network “never for a second doubted” the renewal. He called it a sophisticated adult comedy. The early Emmy wins helped, but the writer David Levine later noted the real reason: NBC “had nothing else better to replace it with.” That’s a cold comfort, but it worked. Decades later, the praise solidified. Chris Jones, writing in 2016, called it a “hinge sitcom,” bridging classic shtick and modern absurdism.
How it did with audiences
Cheers found its footing after a slow start. Ratings climbed as the cast hit talk shows and the show slotted behind Family Ties. NBC eventually branded the lineup "Must See Thursday." The fifth season marked its peak annual rating. By the ninth season, it hit number one for the first and only time. Even as numbers dipped in the final two years, it stayed in the top 10. That gave it eight straight seasons in the top ten, with seven in the top five. On TMDB, users rate it 7.6 out of 10. A bar that never runs out of people.
What came next for the cast
Ted Danson moved from Body Heat to Saving Private Ryan, Fargo, and The Good Place. George Wendt swapped Somewhere in Time for The Little Rascals, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and Forever Young. John Ratzenberger, who had Superman and The Empire Strikes Back under his belt, later returned to Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. The timeline shifts, but the show did not cause the pivot. It merely marked the spot where the paths diverged.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Cheers.
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Sources
- Cheers on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q732063 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Cheers” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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