The 15 Longest Running Television Shows Of All Time Ranked

The 15 Longest Running Television Shows Of All Time, Ranked

Contents

1 The 15 Longest Running Television Shows Of All Time, Ranked

Though some of these shows may have run a bit longer than they should have, it is still impressive to know how long they were kicking.

You Are Reading :[thien_display_title]

Some TV shows have got what it takes to last longer than anyone had ever envisioned. Whilst some chose to go out on top like Seinfeld, others decide to limp on well past there sell-by date, like some suspects on this list. Today we are ranking the ten longest-running TV shows in history. Now, there are many things to take into consideration when declaring something as “longest-running.”

For example, WWE Monday Night Raw has been Sharpshooting, Stone Cold Stunning, Attitude Adjusting and Curb Stomping for over 1300 episodes, but that is because there is no offseason in the world of wrestling entertainment. Likewise, Doctor Who has been traveling through time and space since 1963, albeit with a couple of almost decade long breaks here and there. For this list, we are looking at continuous runs for scripted prime time TV shows, and we’ve added 5 more that deserve a special shout-out for defying all the odds!

Updated on June 6th, 2020 by Derek Draven: As mentioned in our updated intro, we’ve added 5 more shows to our list that deserve recognition for having soldiered on well past a full decade, and scored millions of fans in the process. Each of these shows had that special chemistry which allowed them to connect with viewers, and maintain their attention for the long haul!

15 The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet

Few probably remember (or have heard of) The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet, but it ran for 14 seasons, beginning on CBS in 1952. The show featured show creator Ozzie Nelson and his real-life family against the backdrop of their actual, real home in Los Angeles, which would have been unheard of by today’s standards.

Nelson adopted many of the challenges of raising his real-life family, and turned them into stories for the show, which grew organically as his children began to rise into adulthood. The introduction of a major cultural change in the 1960s effectively put the brakes on the Nelson family’s nuclear family values.

14 American Dad!

The success of one show doesn’t always migrate to a spinoff series, but somehow Seth MacFarlane managed to pull it off with American Dad! The show started in 2005, and is currently awaiting the announcement of a 17th season, which is astonishing considering that MacFarlane’s other spinoff The Cleveland Show got the axe after just 4 seasons.

While American Dad! is geared towards a specific audience in comparison to Family Guy’s circular firing squad-style of comedy, it’s enough to have kept it going this long. That’s a major feather in MacFarlane’s cap.

13 Criminal Minds

Another crime thriller/drama series that caught on in a big way is CBS’ Criminal Minds, which has 15 seasons under its belt. The show recently wrapped for good with the series finale “And In The End,” which means there’s a lot of content to run in syndication.

Expect Criminal Minds to maintain its spot as one of the most watched programs on television, with re-runs galore to enjoy. The show has also produced several spin-offs including Suspect Behavior and Beyond Borders, not to mention a Korean adaptation!

12 The Jack Benny Program

The original Jack Benny Program was a radio series that scored a major hit with listeners at a time when TV hadn’t even caught on. Benny’s comedy was unique in how it portrayed real African American actors who were smart, intelligent and of high class, at a time when most shows were pushing racial stereotypes.

By the time Benny transitioned from radio to television, audiences were ready for it, and the Jack Benny Program ran 15 seasons before calling it a day in 1965. It ended on a high note with an estimated 18 million viewers, but Benny was ready to drop out of television for good, citing poor experiences behind the scenes.

11 Family Guy

Peter Griffin and his family have been on our screens for 20 years and despite being canceled twice it has managed to crawl its way back onto our screens thanks to its rabid fan base and DVD sales. Although the show has been very formulaic with uninspired plot lines for quite a while now, the stories were never really Family Guy’s strong point, it was always about the joke and parody rate which is why it continues to this day!

10 Lassie

It is a known fact that if you don’t like dogs then you are more than likely a cat or a postman. America welcomed Lassie to its hearts back in 1943, and she continued her adventures on TV between 1953 and 1974, even doing a Dorothy Gale by making the transition from black and white to color. Along with Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart, Lassie is one of only three dogs to have a star on the Hollywood walk of fame! Well, we say one, there have been many actors to play the role over the years. Sorry to break it to you.

9 C.S.I: Crime Scene Investigation

“Who are you? Who Who? Who Who?” That’s the question The Who screamed at you when C.S.I debuted in 2000 and the show was a smash hit, heralding spin-offs and computer games thanks to grizzly mysteries and cool leading characters. Sadly, as Miami Vice and The Fonz from Happy Days have historically proven, cool becomes dated after a while and the one-liners and raised eyebrows almost forced the show to become a parody of itself before ending its run in 2015.

8 Law & Order

Americans love cops shows, hospital dramas and cartoons as the list will evidently prove. Law & Order pretty much started the cop show style that continues to this day, grounding it in the realism of many departments rather than the single gun-ho hero that proceeded it (we’re looking at you T.J Hooker).

Spinning off companion shows in many countries to create an extended universe Stan Lee would be proud of, there are over 1000 hours of justice to be viewed from this show alone.

7 Greys Anatomy

Currently enjoying its 16th season Grey’s Anatomy still continues it’s successful run to this day, and so far sits at 38 Emmy nominations over that time. In an interview with the New York Times, creator Shonda Rhimes quoted that she wanted to make a show that saw “smart women competing against each other.”

That formula obviously proved to be a winning one which continues to make Grey’s Anatomy Americas no.1 current running hospital drama.

6 NCIS

NCIS was a spin-off from the show JAG and is one of two on this list that beats its predecessor in terms of ratings and show run time. The NCIS team are a special unit composed of a variety of interesting characters to counter naval and marine felonies. The show owes its success thanks to comedic elements, ensemble acting, and character-driven plots.

5 E.R

This is the show that threw George Clooney into superstar status before Batman & Robin almost immediately threw him out again.

E.R proved itself as far more than the Dr. Doug Ross show when it continued for another 10 years after the handsome medicine man departed back in 1999. Still, it’s the template that most hospital dramas follow.

4 Gunsmoke

Gunsmoke, or as its known by its other name “that old cowboy show that isn’t Bonanza” started way back as a radio series in 1952 before transitioning to TV in 1955. Originally titled “Gun Law” the show started off quite gritty, especially for its day, handling themes like violence and drug addiction, before becoming more humorous in tone as it went on.

3 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

The spin-off from Law and Order started 9 years after the original and has recently surpassed its longevity in terms of episode numbers. Originally titled “Sex Crimes” for fear that if it failed it would damage the original show.

It was renamed to Law & Order: Special Crimes Unit after the real-life department that deals with such cases. It is now the longest-running live-action TV drama of all time.

2 South Park

The secret to South Park’s success is the ability to change and develop as the years go by. Starting off as the view of a non-innocent world from innocent eyes, thanks to the advancement in technology an episode is now written, recorded and animated within a week before its air date making it the most up to date in contemporary political and pop-culture satire. It also has stoner towels, cripple fights, and man bear pigs. What more could you want?

1 The Simpsons

It’s very easy to condemn The Simpsons for its decline in quality over the years, but the fact is that silly cartoon sketch from the Tracey Ulman show has become as much of an American staple as Superman, KFC, and dim-witted presidents.

Generations have grown up with The Simpsons and classic lines still find there way into lexicon and internet memes 32 years later. A quick terrifying thought, if Bart aged at the same time as the show he would now be 42. Aye caramba!

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/longest-running-shows/

Movies -