Must-see TV.

“Must-see TV” is a piece of late-20th-century American media slang that became widely recognizable through network television promotion, especially in the era when broadcasters tried to brand certain nights or lineups as appointment viewing. The phrase is strongly associated with NBC’s 1990s marketing (notably the “Must See TV” branding for its Thursday-night comedy block), and it also circulated more generally in entertainment journalism and advertising as a generic label for highly anticipated programming. Because it functioned primarily as a slogan and catchphrase rather than a literary utterance, it is often treated as effectively anonymous in quotation collections.

The phrase compresses a persuasive claim into three words: this program is so compelling that it demands priority over competing activities. Implicitly, it frames television not as passive background but as an event—something that confers cultural participation (“everyone will be talking about it”) and personal reward (entertainment, suspense, prestige). As a slogan, it also reveals how attention is monetized: “must-see” converts desire into obligation, turning leisure into a scheduled commitment. In contemporary usage, it can be sincere praise or ironic shorthand for hype, depending on tone and context.

“Must See TV” (capitalized as a brand/slogan)
“must-see television”
“must-see viewing”