Among critical audiences, the current era of television we’re living through is marked by over-saturation and premature cancellations. Gone are the days of decades-long series and multi-season arcs. Even the best and most successful series are slashed at the knees before hitting their stride.
Still, on screen and in life, size does not always matter. Some of the best series in television history can be binged in a single day. Think Freaks and Geeks, PEN15, or Big Little Lies. Audiences agree, big things come in small packages. That said, big things can also come in big (big) packages, and that brings us here – in the preface of a historical walk through some of the longest running series on television, both currently airing and famously retired.
For the sake of our collective sanity, all soap operas have been excluded from this list because when it comes to soap drama episode count, the limit does not exist. Historic soaps that are older than the average Cosmopolitan reader and included in the fine print of this list include: The Young and the Restless, Guiding Light, As the World Turns, General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, One Life to Live, and All My Children. We can’t confirm who exactly is watching or financing these shows, but one thing is clear – they don’t need media attention to survive.
From weekly sketch comedy to adult animation, here are a few of the longest running shows to ever grace our screens.
Currently Airing
Saturday Night Live
Airing since October 11, 1975
At 49 seasons and more than 950 episodes, Saturday Night Live is the show we hope to see outlive us. Is it always good? No. Is it rarely good? Perhaps. One thing it is, dear readers, is stable. It’s a show that the CIA would use to explain Earth-culture to extraterrestrials. It’s a comedy victory lap for some, and an in-memoriam for others. It’s a PR machine, televised live. Its past is storied and rich, and its future is standing firmly on the shoulders of Sarah Sherman and Please Don’t Destroy. The show, having given us such names as Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, and Adam Sandler, is not only one of the longest running shows in television history, but it’s arguably the single most influential on American entertainment culture.
The Simpsons
Airing since December 17, 1989
With more than 750 episodes, The Simpsons is another culture-defining series, following the life of an average American family – Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is the longest running animated series, longest running sitcom, and longest running scripted primetime series in American television. What else can we say, Homie?
Law and Order: SVU
Airing since September 20, 1999
Enter Law and Order: SVU, the longest-running primetime live-action series in the history of American television. The original recipe Law and Order ran for 20 years from 1990 to 2010, but SVU remains the only ’90s series that continues to release episodes. With more than 538 episodes under its belt, SVU has managed to hold onto its core cast including Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T.
Sesame Street
Airing since November 10, 1969
One of the longest running shows in the world, Sesame Street is perhaps the only show on this list that can (appropriately) hold space in your own childhood as well as your kid’s. A live action sketch-comedy show based on animation and puppetry, Sesame Street comes from the brain of Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets. Like many of the shows on this list, the series was commercially milked for billions, spawning amusement parks, merchandise, a film series, and beyond.
South Park
Airing since August 13, 1997
The animated sitcom featuring our fearsome foursome – Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman – South Park remains the smartest, edgiest, and most agile animated series on television today. In its more than 20 years on the air, the show has skewered everything from the Jonas Brothers’ purity rings to gentrification to Border Patrol and the Elián González affair of 2000. Did you know? South Park seasons are not pre planned. Each episode is created in less than a week, allowing the show’s creators to satirize real cultural moments, in real time.
Family Guy
Airing since January 31, 1999
Something was in the air in the late ‘90s, which explains a lot for many of us. Two years after the premiere of South Park, a new animated legend landed on screen in the form of an overweight alcoholic, his dysfunctional family, and his talking dog. Family Guy, created and largely voiced by Seth MacFarlane, has birthed 22 seasons and more than 410 episodes, earning a reputation as one of the best cartoon series of all time, raunchy as it is.
NCIS
Airing since September 23, 2003
One of the many police procedurals you’ll remember from your sick days of youth, NCIS follows a special military team of agents, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The series was renewed for its 21st season earlier this year, and has stood firmly among top rated television series for decades.
American Dad!
Airing since February 6, 2005
From the creator of Family Guy, American Dad! is a satirical animated series following an upper middle class family led by a Republican, CIA-agent patriarch. American Dad! is more character driven than Family Guy, which is a ridiculous thing to say about adult animation. I digress.
Grey’s Anatomy
Airing since March 27, 2005
It’s a wonder how this show is still on the air considering the sheer amount of characters it has axed in brutal and heartbreaking fashion. Arguably the most successful medical drama in television history, Grey’s Anatomy follows the lives of the medical team at a teaching hospital in Seattle. The ensemble cast is led by Ellen Pompeo, one of the highest paid television actresses in history, as well as Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Patrick Dempsey, Chandra Wilson, and more. The series has survived shootings, (multiple) plane crashes, bomb threats, and beyond. Seattle Grace Hospital, and Grey’s Anatomy by proxy, simply will not fall.
Criminal Minds
Airing since September 22, 2005
Another police procedural! There is a reason for this, of course. Procedural shows can go on forever, unmoored by the trappings of personal storylines and reliant on the creative works of evil of the world’s criminals (an unlimited resource). Criminal Minds follows FBI criminal profilers, relying on behavioral analysis to investigate new crimes. This show did end in February 2020 – when all other things in life ended – but was ultimately brought back to life – like most other things – in 2022.
Blue Bloods
Airing since September 24, 2010
This – you guessed it – police procedural follows a family of law enforcement workers through their personal and professional struggles. Each character represents a respective wing of law enforcement, from detective work to prosecution, right up to the police commissioner patriarch played by Tom Selleck.
Bob’s Burgers
Airing since January 9, 2011
With 14 seasons, a comic book spinoff, and a feature-length film, Bob’s Burgers is one of the most successful adult animation series on television, following a restaurant owner and his wacky family. Season 15 is in the works, so stay hungry.
Law and Order
Aired 1990 – 2010, Revived in 2021
Law and Order never quite landed as well as its spinoff, SVU, which says a lot about audiences’ attraction to depravity, but still the series ran for 20 seasons. The series is more legal-driven than its detective-driven counterpart, and starred such names as Chris Noth, Jesse L. Martin, and Sam Waterson. The series was rebooted in 2021, following an 11-year hiatus, and was renewed for its 23rd season earlier this year. We have respect for the art, but must ask – who is watching this?
Not Airing, But Medal Bearing
Gunsmoke
Aired 1955 – 1975
This western drama ran for 20 years and 20 seasons, giving the world 635 episodes total. A classic western, the series followed the Marshal of Dodge City, Matt Dillon, in his adventures keeping the town in line. If you like Yellowstone or Westworld, go back to your roots with Gunsmoke.
Lassie
Aired 1954 – 1973
Dog people, have you seen this show? Lassie features the most famous TV dog in history, a Rough Collie, who admittedly was played by multiple dog actors throughout its run. Lassie (original and otherwise) starred alongside an ensemble of human actors to portray farm-life over the first ten seasons of the series, before pivoting to Lassie’s life as a Forest Ranger’s dog, a free roaming mutt, and a Ranch dog. Lassie has lived many lives, and her legacy lives on (for purchase on Amazon Prime).
ER
Aired 1994-2009
Remember all the nice things we said about Grey’s Anatomy, how it’s the best medical series ever made? Yeah, ER is pissed. This soapy medical drama ran for 15 seasons, making it the second longest running medical drama in tv history, right behind Grey’s.
Supernatural
Aired 2005-2020
Did you know that The CW managed to keep a single series running for 15 years, and it wasn’t The Vampire Diaries? Shame. Supernatural, which concluded in 2020, starred Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles as two ghost-hunting brothers whose adventures were based largely in urban legend.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Aired 2000-2015
This series may be off the air, but its offspring are not. The original CSI, which ran for 15 years, followed a team of forensic scientists investigating crimes in Las Vegas. Hugely successful in its initial run, the show spawned such spin offs as CSI: Miami, NY, Cyber, and Vegas. The series also inspired various comics, merchandise, and games, including 5 board games and 9 video games.
Bonanza
Aired 1959-1973
Another old western – we were really into those at a time – Bonanza follows a wealthy family in Virginia City, Nevada. The show hinges largely on the complicated family dynamics at play, with each of the patriarch’s three sons born from different women of various ancestries.
Dallas
Aired 1978-1991
Vintage family feuds ahead. Dallas ran for 14 seasons, following the Ewing family, owners of a lucrative oil company and ranching land, as they quarrel over money and schemes. Like Succession, but older and Western.
Courtney Young is a freelance writer covering all things entertainment and pop culture, having previously written for Betches, Mic, and The Cut. Her Real Housewives locale of choice is New Jersey, her emotional support show is Girls, and her toxic trait is romanticizing mafia culture. You can follow her on Instagram @courtneyyoungg.
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