My grandma, an Eastern European Jew born around 1880, loved to watch Saturday morning wrestling. My mother, in her 80s, loved *Everybody Loves Raymond *and *Star Trek Voyager. *Go figure.
GUNSMOKE
I guess when it first came on TV it wasn’t anything competition so that’s probably why they watched it. I can’t watch one second of it.
My maternal grandmother, the only surviving grandparent I had till she died last year, didn’t speak much English so she mostly enjoyed Spanish TV. In addition to her telenovelas, she liked Sabado Gigante and a fake-as-hell courtroom show called “Caso Cerrado” (case closed) on Telemundo. She’d go spend days at my sister’s house and watch tv with my then-toddler nephew. He soon learned the “Caso Cerrado” theme song. 
She also liked a talk show called “Laura en America,” which was more or less the Peruvian answer to Jerry Springer, with cheating spouses, daughters led into prostitution, and bigamists getting slapped around by their two or more wives.
Lawrence Welk, Hee haw.
One very special day, we kids were left alone with grandma while parents went somewhere. We talked her into a Star Trek TOS re-run. It broke the floodgates. Before then, we were forbidden from watching that whacky sci-fi. After, Star Trek was allowed.
Nothing. Thjat is, it is strange to me that in my grandparents’ time, South Africa didn’t have TV at all. They could have, but the government didn’t allow it. Until 1976. By which point I just had the one grandparent, and he only watched the news on TV.
Holy crap. I did not know that.
*In 1971, the SABC was finally allowed to introduce a television service. Initially, the proposal was for two television channels, one in English and Afrikaans, aimed at white audiences, and another, known as TV Bantu, aimed at black viewers,[10] but when television was finally introduced, there was only one channel. Experimental broadcasts in the main cities began on 5 May 1975, before nationwide service commenced on 5 January 1976. *
— Wikipedia
This is/was both of my grandmothers as well. My maternal grandmother, who is still with us at 88 can’t see so well anymore but she still turns on the megachurch shows to listen to them. That and “The Bold and the Beautiful”. She can’t see the TV but she can still tell you exactly what happened last week.
My paternal grandmother died in 2013 at 91. She didn’t watch much TV other than the news and Indiana University basketball. You did not disturb Grandma when IU was playing.
I can’t really remember either of my grandfathers watching anything unusual. Paternal grandfather would rather listen to the police scanner than watch TV. Maternal grandfather loved John Wayne movies.
My maternal grandmother lived with us, and when I was a little kid in the 60’s we watched TV together a lot. She really liked game shows, and her favorite was “The Newlywed Game”. My favorite was “Bewitched”, which she disapproved of a bit because witches made her think of The Devil, but she could see it was just silly fun and watched it with me.
It doesn’t sound really odd, but for my maternal grandparents it was football, well, the Steelers. If the Steelers were on, you did NOT talk. My grandmother would hang up on you if you called during a game.
Both of my grandmothers watched soap operas, (Guiding Light was one), and the news.
My parents are currently in in their 90’s so this is from my kid’s view: Lawrence Welk like ftg said. Being in the Dakotas they’ve seen him in person, danced to Myron Floren, visited Welk’s birthplace, so that was their show.
After Welk’s show went off the air (their reruns at least), they started watching a locally produced PBS show of a local dance hall (such as a VFW) playing polka music and showing old people dancing polkas, waltzes and the ilk. They got where they started recognizing some of their old friends on the show, and even visited a few of the locations, but never made it on the air. This was Minnesota if you couldn’t guess. The worst part was as their hearing worsened, the volume increased, as did their on-going commentary “that’s not how you do a schottische!” Ugh!
My grandparents’ children gave them a TV for Christmas, about 1947. My grandmother, a farmer’s wife, went to bed at the regular time, soon after sundown, and then got up again at 10 pm on Friday nights to watch wrestling. There was only one channel, and that went off the air at midnight.
My grandparents (both in their 80’s) are downstairs right now watching Full Metal Jacket. A few nights ago, I came home from work to find them watching some movie with a naked woman on a trapeze. I have no idea what that was, but it looked like it was from the 1960’s.
As for TV shows, they never miss Hardcore Pawn or Ice Road Truckers
Naked woman on the trapeze could be Coogan’s Bluff, Clint Eastwood film. The adventures of a sheriffs deputy who travels to New York City to extradite a prisoner back to Arizona, IIRC.
In addition to Lawrence Welk my grandparents never missed Dean Martin show, Andy Williams show [though my grandfather called Andy Williams “the Groaner”.] They also followed the bouncing ball while watching Sing Along with Mitch [Miller].
My great-aunt watched Gunsmoke religiously. I couldn’t tell you the plot of a single episode; I just remember the end credits with that coffee pot (apparently the deputy made a pot of joe that could peel the paint off an outhouse).
I’m another grandson of a Benny Hill fanatic. Gran never liked it when Benny would be slapping Jackie Wright (the little bald old Irish guy) on the head, but otherwise she found him charming and funny. She even said once that Benny made a semi-attractive woman in drag. :dubious:
Only other things I can remember Gran watching was Johnny Carson (a favorite when I stayed overnight at her place) and the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie (particularly Columbo and McCloud.)
The strangest thing (to me) my conservative Southern Christian grandfather watched was Benny Hill.
My grandmother loved Lucha Libre. But even stranger was Walter Mercado.
He had an astrology show in the 70s and 80s. And yes, that picture encapsulates the vibe of the show exactly. Even stranger, Walter lives with and maintains a “spiritual relationship” with Brazilian dancer and actress Mariette Detotto. Seriously. Can you feel the love?
Is that a guy in drag or a woman in drag? I can’t tell.
That is the best thing I have read all day! How sweet. 
My grandfather (1899-1971) was a man ahead of his time. He liked to veg out and watch sports all day.
Unfortunately he was born before ESPN and the MLB Network, so there wasn’t much on. One weekend we found him watching the surfing championship from Hawaii, with rapt interest.
I watched what they watched if I was there on a Saturday night. That usually consisted of Hee Haw, Golden Girls, Empty Nest, Facts of Life, etc. If I was there particularly late they would watch the crime drama Hunter.