The Crucible was a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It dramatized and partly fictionalized the story of the Salem Witch Trials during 1692/93. Miller used the play as an allegory for McCarthyism, that was the persecution of the United States government to those people accused of being communist.
Arthur Miller was questioned in the House of Representatives during that time under the accusation of being a member of the Communist Party.
For TV shows to be most watched, it puts them out there showing people what the show is about and making others want to watch it as they'd wonder why everyone else likes it. It keeps them in business as well because of the viewers they get from watching it means they get money.
