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This is a list of the longest running U.S. primetime television series , ordered by the number of broadcast seasons offered by a U.S. broadcast network or cable network in prime time on the show's original run. Broadcast syndication that could have been scheduled by local stations in prime time have been omitted.
Series shaded in light blue are in production. |
Number of seasons | Series | Genre/subject | Network | First broadcast | Last broadcast | Number of episodes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
69 | Hallmark Hall of Fame [1] | Anthology | NBC | Dec 24, 1951 | Dec 17, 1978 | 260 |
CBS | Nov 14, 1979 | April 30, 1981 | ||||
PBS | Feb 9, 1981 | May 6, 1981 | ||||
CBS | Dec 1, 1981 | Jan 29, 1989 | ||||
ABC | April 30, 1989 | April 23, 1995 | ||||
CBS | Dec 10, 1995 | April 24, 2011 | ||||
ABC | Nov 27, 2011 | April 20, 2014 | ||||
Hallmark Channel | Nov 30, 2014 | present | ||||
58 | Walt Disney Presents [2] | Anthology | ABC | Oct 27, 1954 | June 11, 1961 | 2207 |
NBC | Sep 24, 1961 | Aug 16, 1981 | ||||
CBS | Sep 26, 1981 | May 3, 1983 | ||||
ABC | Feb 2, 1986 | May 22, 1988 | ||||
NBC | Oct 9, 1988 | Aug 26, 1990 | ||||
Disney Channel | Sep 23, 1990 | Sep 21, 1997 | ||||
ABC | Sep 28, 1997 | present | ||||
Disney Junior | March 23, 2012 | present | ||||
56 | 60 Minutes | News magazine | CBS | September 24, 1968 | present | 2500+ |
54 (NFL seasons) | Monday Night Football | Sports, football | ABC | September 21, 1970 | December 26, 2005 | 718 (games) |
ESPN | August 14, 2006 | present | ||||
53 | Sábado Gigante [3] | Spanish programming | Univisión | August 5, 1962 (Chile) May 20, 1986 (United States) | September 19, 2015 | |
50 | Nova | Science | PBS | March 3, 1974 | present | 959 (May 24, 2023) |
Number of seasons | Series | Genre/subject | Network | First broadcast | Last broadcast | Number of episodes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
48 | Masterpiece | Anthology | PBS | January 10, 1971 | present | |
49 | Saturday Night Live | Variety show | NBC | October 11, 1975 | present | 965 |
46 | 20/20 | News magazine | ABC | June 6, 1978 | present | 500+ |
Austin City Limits | Music | PBS | January 3, 1976 | present | 900 | |
43 | Live from Lincoln Center | Music | PBS | January 30, 1976 | present [4] | 251 |
27 | Live from the Met [5] | Music | PBS | 1977 | present [4] | |
42 | Inside the NFL | Sports, football | HBO | September 1977 | February 6, 2008 | |
Showtime | September 10, 2008 | present | ||||
44 | This Old House | Home improvement | PBS | February 20, 1979 | present | 1,136 (as of June 22, 2023) |
46 | Survivor | Reality competition | CBS | May 31, 2000 | present | 669 |
38 | The Woodwright's Shop | Woodworking | PBS | 1981 | present | 481 |
36 | Frontline | Public affairs | PBS | January 17, 1983 | present | 813 (as of November 21,2023 [update] ) |
39 | The Challenge | Reality game show | MTV | June 1, 1998 | present | 545 |
39 | National Geographic Explorer [6] | Documentary | Nickelodeon | 1985 | 1986 | 233 |
WTBS/TBS | 1986 | 1999 | ||||
CNBC | 1999 | 2001 | ||||
MSNBC [7] | 2001 | 2005 | ||||
National Geographic | 2005 | present | ||||
36 | The Victory Garden | Gardening | PBS | April 16, 1975 | present | |
35 | Wall Street Week [8] | News, economics | PBS | November 20, 1970 | June 24, 2005 | |
36 | 48 Hours [9] | Documentary/news magazine | CBS | January 2, 1988 | present | 991 [10] |
26 | Mystery! | Anthology | PBS | February 5, 1980 | present | |
Firing Line | Public affairs | Syndication | 1966 [11] | 1971 | ||
PBS | 1971 | December 26, 1999 | ||||
33 | The Real World [12] | Reality | MTV | May 21, 1992 | August 22, 2019 | 614 |
36 | Cops [13] | Reality | Fox | March 11, 1989 | May 4, 2013 | 1,175 |
Spike/Paramount Network | September 14, 2013 | May 11, 2020 | ||||
35 | American Experience | Documentary | PBS | October 1, 1988 | present | 366 |
Nature | Documentary | PBS | October 10, 1982 | present | ||
36 | The Amazing Race | Reality competition | CBS | September 5, 2001 | present | 414 |
34 | The Simpsons [14] | Animated sitcom | Fox | December 17, 1989 | present | 764 |
34 | America's Funniest Home Videos | Reality, comedy | ABC | November 26, 1989 | present | 785 |
34 | POV | Documentary | PBS | July 5, 1988 | present | 400+ |
Number of seasons | Series | Genre/subject | Network | First broadcast | Last broadcast | Number of episodes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
32 | Dateline NBC [15] | News magazine | NBC | March 31, 1992 | present | |
32 | Dancing with the Stars | Reality competition | ABC | June 1, 2005 | November 22, 2021 | 492 |
Disney+ | September 19, 2022 | present | ||||
32 | WWE Monday Night Raw | Professional wrestling | USA | January 11, 1993 | September 18, 2000 | 1612 |
TNN/Spike TV | September 25, 2000 | September 26, 2005 | ||||
USA | October 3, 2005 | present | ||||
26 | Grand Ole Opry [16] | Music | TNN | April 20, 1985 | August 2001 | |
CMT | August 2001 | 2003 | ||||
GAC [17] | 2003 | 2011 | ||||
28 | The Bachelor | Romance, reality | ABC | March 25, 2002 | present | 297 |
28 | America's Most Wanted | Reality | Fox | February 7, 1988 | April 21, 2012 | 1095 |
March 15, 2021 | April 12, 2021 | |||||
Lifetime | December 2, 2011 | October 12, 2012 | ||||
25 | Camera Three | Anthology | CBS | January 22, 1956 | 1979 | |
PBS | 1979 | July 1, 1980 | ||||
27 | Antiques Roadshow | Bargain hunt | PBS | January 1, 1997 | present | |
Nick News with Linda Ellerbee | Children's news program | Nickelodeon | April 18, 1992 | December 15, 2015 | ||
24 | The Ed Sullivan Show [18] | Variety show | CBS | June 20, 1948 | June 6, 1971 | 1,068 |
23 | Crossfire | Talk/news program | CNN | 1982 | June 3, 2005 | |
September 9, 2013 | August 6, 2014 | |||||
22 | E! News [19] | Entertainment newscast | E! | September 1, 1991 | present | 7,500+ |
26 | South Park | Animated sitcom | Comedy Central | August 13, 1997 | present | 327 |
22 | Investigative Reports | Reality | A&E | September 27, 1991 | 2004 | |
22 | Ted Mack and The Original Amateur Hour [20] | Reality | DuMont | January 18, 1948 | October 1949 | |
NBC | October 1949 | September 1954 | ||||
ABC | October 1955 | June 1957 | ||||
NBC | July 1957 | October 1958 | ||||
CBS | May 1959 | October 1959 | ||||
ABC | March 1960 | September 26, 1960 | ||||
CBS | October 2, 1960 | September 27, 1970 | ||||
21 | The New Yankee Workshop | Western woodworking | PBS | January 1988 | June 27, 2009 | 284 |
25 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit [21] | Crime drama | NBC | September 20, 1999 | present | 547 |
25 | Big Brother | Reality competition | CBS | July 5, 2000 | present | 897 |
20 | NFL Primetime | Sports, football | ESPN | 1987 | present | |
20 | Biography [22] | Documentary | A&E | April 6, 1987 [23] | August 2006 | |
Biography Channel | August 2006 | present [24] | ||||
20 | The Red Skelton Show | Variety show | NBC | September 30, 1951 | June 21, 1953 | 672 |
CBS | September 22, 1953 | June 23, 1970 | ||||
NBC | September 14, 1970 | August 29, 1971 | ||||
20 | Gunsmoke [25] | Drama | CBS | September 10, 1955 | March 31, 1975 | 635 |
23 | Law & Order [26] | Crime drama | NBC | September 13, 1990 | May 24, 2010 | 497 |
February 24, 2022 | present | |||||
22 | Family Guy | Comedy | Fox | January 31, 1999 | February 14, 2002 | 424 |
May 1, 2005 | present | |||||
21 | American Idol | Reality | Fox | June 11, 2002 | April 7, 2016 | 692 |
ABC | March 11, 2018 | present | ||||
20 | Moneyline | Editorial | CNN | June 1, 1980 | November 11, 2000 | |
20 | Grey's Anatomy [27] | Drama | ABC | March 27, 2005 – | present | 425 |
Number of seasons | Series | Network | First broadcast | Last broadcast | Number of episodes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
19 | ESPN Sunday Night Football [28] | ESPN | November 8, 1987 [29] | January 1, 2006 | |
19 | Lassie | CBS/syndication | September 12, 1954 | March 21, 1973 | 591 |
18 | ESPN Major League Baseball [30] | ESPN, ESPN2 [31] | April 15, 1990 | present | |
21 | NCIS | CBS | September 23, 2003 | present | 464 |
20 | American Dad! | Fox | February 6, 2005 | September 21, 2014 | 366 |
TBS | October 24, 2014 | present | |||
17 | Outside the Lines | ESPN | 1990 | present | |
25 | What's My Line? [32] (network version) | CBS | February 16, 1950 | September 3, 1967 | CBS : 876 Syndication: 1,320 Total: 2,196 |
17 | Showbiz Today | CNN | October 29, 1984 | 2001 | |
17 | USA Tuesday Night Fights | USA | March 30, 1982 | 1998 | |
17 | Capital Gang | CNN | September 7, 1988 | 2005 | |
16 | Bleach | Cartoon Network (Toonami) | October 5, 2004 | March 27, 2012 | |
16 | MTV Unplugged | MTV | November 26, 1989 | November 10, 2005 [33] | 108 |
16 | Booknotes | C-SPAN | April 2, 1989 | December 5, 2004 | 801 |
16 | The Lawrence Welk Show [34] | ABC | July 2, 1955 | September 4, 1971 | |
16 | Criminal Minds | CBS | September 22, 2005 | February 19, 2020 | 334 |
15 | Supernatural | CW | September 13, 2005 | November 19, 2020 | 327 |
15 | ER | NBC | September 19, 1994 | April 2, 2009 | 331 |
15 | I've Got a Secret | CBS | June 19, 1952 | April 3, 1967 | CBS 1952–1967: 680 Syn 1972–1973: 39 CBS 1976: 4 Oxygen 2000-2001: 120 [35] GSN 2006: 40 |
24 | Concentration | NBC | August 25, 1958 | September 20, 1991 | 3,770 (1958–1973) 975 (1973–1978) 1,020 (1987–1991) |
15 | The Jack Benny Program | CBS | October 29, 1950 | September 15, 1964 | 260 |
NBC | September 25, 1964 | September 10, 1965 | |||
15 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | CBS | October 6, 2000 | September 27, 2015 | 337 |
Number of seasons | Series | Network | First broadcast | Last broadcast | Number of episodes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
16 | Unsolved Mysteries | NBC | January 20, 1987 [36] | September 5, 1997 | 602 |
CBS | November 13, 1997 | June 11, 1999 | |||
Lifetime | July 2, 2001 | September 20, 2002 | |||
Spike TV | October 13, 2008 | April 27, 2010 | |||
14 | World Poker Tour | Fox Sports Networks | March 30, 2003 | present | 420 |
14 | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet [37] | ABC | October 10, 1952 | September 3, 1966 | 435 |
14 | Bonanza [38] | NBC | September 12, 1959 | January 16, 1973 | 431 |
14 | Dallas | CBS | April 2, 1978 | May 3, 1991 | 357 |
14 | Knots Landing | CBS | December 27, 1979 | May 13, 1993 | 344 |
14 | An Evening at the Improv | A&E | February 3, 1982 | January 1, 1996 | |
12 | Wild America | PBS | 1982 | 1996 | 120 |
14 | Video Soul | BET | June 26, 1983 | 1997 | |
18 | America's Got Talent | NBC | June 21, 2006 | present | 440 |
13 | Private Screenings | TCM | January 1, 1996 | 2010 | |
29 | Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel | HBO | April 2, 1995 | present | 320 |
13 | King of the Hill | Fox | January 12, 1997 | September 13, 2009 | 259 |
14 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | NBC | June 6, 1950 | June 1957 | 370 |
CBS | October 1957 | August 28, 1963 | |||
13 | Tim Russert | CNBC | 1994 | 2008 | |
14 | SpongeBob SquarePants | Nickelodeon | May 1, 1999 | present | 299 |
12 | The Big Bang Theory | CBS | September 24, 2007 | May 16, 2019 | 279 |
12 | To Tell the Truth | CBS | December 18, 1956 | September 6, 1968 | |
16 | Ghost Hunters | Syfy | October 6, 2004 | October 26, 2016 | 251 (+ 12 specials not included) |
A&E | August 21, 2019 | May 27, 2020 | |||
Discovery+ | December 31, 2021 | March 19, 2022 | |||
Travel Channel | October 1, 2022 | present | |||
12 | CBS Reports | CBS | October 27, 1959 | September 7, 1971 | |
12 | My Three Sons | ABC | September 29, 1960 | September 2, 1965 | 380 |
CBS | September 16, 1965 | August 24, 1972 | |||
12 | NYPD Blue | ABC | September 21, 1993 | March 1, 2005 | 261 |
12 | Murder, She Wrote | CBS | September 1, 1984 | May 19, 1996 | 264 (+ 4 TV movies) |
12 | Hawaii Five-O | CBS | September 26, 1968 | April 26, 1980 | 281 |
12 | Don Francisco Presenta | Univision | October 10, 2001 | January 30, 2012 | |
12 | Two and a Half Men | CBS | September 22, 2003 | February 19, 2015 | 262 |
12 | Bones | Fox | September 13, 2005 | March 28, 2017 | 246 |
12 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | HBO | October 15, 2000 | April 7, 2024 | 120 |
Number of seasons | Series | Network | First broadcast | Last broadcast | Number of episodes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
11 | Murphy Brown | CBS | November 14, 1988 | May 18, 1998 | 260 |
September 27, 2018 | December 20, 2018 | ||||
11 | Kraft Television Theatre [39] | NBC | May 7, 1947 | October 1, 1958 | 650 |
11 | The Voice of Firestone | NBC | September 5, 1949 | June 1954 | |
ABC | June 1954 | June 1959 | |||
ABC | September 1962 | June 16, 1963 | |||
11 | You Bet Your Life | NBC | October 5, 1950 | June 29, 1961 | 529 + 1 unaired |
11 | The Andy Williams Show | CBS | 1957 | 1959 | |
NBC | 1962 | 1971 | |||
11 | The Carol Burnett Show | CBS | September 11, 1967 | March 29, 1978 | 279 |
11 | M*A*S*H | CBS | September 17, 1972 | February 28, 1983 | 256 |
11 | Happy Days | ABC | January 15, 1974 | May 8, 1984 | 255 |
11 | Cheers | NBC | September 30, 1982 | May 20, 1993 | 275 (including three double-length episodes and a triple-length finale) |
11 (all episodes filmed in black-and-white) | The Danny Thomas Show | ABC | September 20, 1953 | 1957 |
|
CBS | 1957 | September 14, 1964 | |||
11 | Frasier | NBC | September 16, 1993 | May 13, 2004 | 264 |
11 | Married... with Children | Fox | April 5, 1987 | June 9, 1997 | 259 |
11 | The Jeffersons | CBS | January 18, 1975 | July 23, 1985 | 253 |
11 | 7th Heaven [40] | The WB | August 26, 1996 | May 8, 2006 | 243 |
The CW | September 25, 2006 | May 13, 2007 | |||
10 | Arthur Godfrey and His Friends | CBS | January 12, 1949 | April 28, 1959 | |
13 | Mystery Science Theater 3000 | KTMA | November 24, 1988 | May 28, 1989 | 230 |
Comedy Central | November 18, 1989 | May 18, 1996 | |||
Sci Fi | February 1, 1997 | September 12, 1999 | |||
Netflix | April 14, 2017 | November 22, 2018 | |||
14 | NCIS: Los Angeles | CBS | September 22, 2009 | May 21, 2023 | 323 |
11 | Modern Family | ABC | September 23, 2009 | April 8, 2020 | 250 (+1 special) |
11 | Will & Grace | NBC | September 21, 1998 | April 23, 2020 | 246 |
10 | The Goldbergs | ABC | September 24, 2013 | May 3, 2023 | 229 |
10 | The Fairly OddParents | Nickelodeon | March 30, 2001 | July 26, 2017 | 172 (294 segments) |
10 | Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts [41] | CBS | December 6, 1948 | July 21, 1958 | |
10 | Studio One [42] | CBS | November 7, 1948 | September 29, 1958 | |
10 | The Arthur Murray Party [43] | ABC | July 20, 1950 | September 1950 | |
DuMont | October 1950 | March 1951 | |||
ABC | April 1951 | May 1952 | |||
CBS | July 1952 | August 1952 | |||
NBC | October 1953 | September 1955 | |||
CBS | April 1956 | September 1956 | |||
NBC | July 1957 | September 6, 1960 | |||
10 | General Electric Theater | CBS | February 1, 1953 | September 16, 1962 | 302 |
10 | Stargate SG-1 [44] | Showtime | July 27, 1997 | May 17, 2002 | 214 + 2 DVD films |
Sci Fi | June 7, 2002 | 2007 [45] | |||
10 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents [46] | NBC | October 2, 1955 | June 26, 1960 |
|
CBS | September 25, 1960 | June 26, 1962 [47] | |||
NBC | September 20, 1962 | July 3, 1964 | |||
CBS | October 5, 1964 | May 10, 1965 | |||
10 | Nashville Now | TNN | March 1, 1983 | January 1, 1993 | Unknown |
11 | All That | Nickelodeon | April 16, 1994 | October 22, 2005 | 210 |
June 15, 2019 | December 17, 2020 | ||||
10 | Friends | NBC | September 22, 1994 | May 6, 2004 | 236 |
10 | JAG | NBC | September 1, 1995 | May 22, 1996 [48] | 227 |
CBS | January 3, 1997 | April 29, 2005 | |||
10 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Fox | October 4, 1990 | May 17, 2000 | 293 |
10 | Pantomime Quiz [49] | CBS | July 1, 1950 | August 1951 | |
NBC | January 1952 | March 1952 | |||
CBS | July 1952 | May 1952 | |||
CBS | July 1952 | August 1953 | |||
DuMont | October 1953 | April 1954 | |||
CBS | June 1954 | August 1954 | |||
ABC | January 1955 | March 1955 | |||
CBS | July 1955 | July 1957 | |||
ABC | April 1958 | September 1959 | |||
10 | The United States Steel Hour | ABC | October 27, 1953 | June 21, 1955 | 315 |
CBS | July 6, 1955 | August 13, 1963 | |||
10 | Smallville [50] | The WB | October 16, 2001 | May 11, 2006 | 217 [50] |
The CW | September 28, 2006 | May 13, 2011 | |||
10 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | NBC | September 30, 2001 | May 21, 2007 | 195 |
USA | October 4, 2007 | June 26, 2011 | |||
10 | CSI: Miami | CBS | September 23, 2002 | April 8, 2012 | 232 |
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The headquarters of NBC is in New York City at the Comcast Building. NBC also has offices in Chicago at the NBC Tower.
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by the Fox Entertainment division of Fox Corporation, headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan. Fox hosts additional offices at the Fox Network Center in Los Angeles and at the Fox Media Center in Tempe, Arizona. Launched as a competitor to the Big Three television networks on October 9, 1986, Fox went on to become the most successful attempt at a fourth television network. It is also known to push the boundaries of what could be shown on a broadcasting network, as evident with shows like Married… with Children, The Simpsons, Family Guy and That '70s Show. It was also the highest-rated free-to-air network in the 18–49 demographic from 2004 to 2012 and 2020 to 2021, and was the most-watched American television network in total viewership during the 2007–08 season.
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compère or host. The variety format made its way from the Victorian era stage in Britain and America to radio and then television. Variety shows were a staple of English language television from the late 1940s into the 1980s.
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Daytime television is the general term for television programs produced for broadcast during the daytime hours on weekdays; programs broadcast in the daypart historically have been programmed to appeal to a female audience.
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