Talk:List of longest-running American television series

Cookin' Cheap and Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito
If Cookin' Cheap was on for 21 years and Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito has been on for 20. Why is Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito tagged as the longest running cooking program? What am I missing? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.150.117.162 (talk) 16:40, 12 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Cookin' Cheap is no longer a running program. Cio Italia with Mary Ann Esposito is the record for the longest "running" cooking program. Me, GKT5 00:57, 27 May 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Goldkingtut5 (talk • contribs)

Suggestion for record keeping purposes
Break the table up into two sections - still running and of the air.

This way, shows that are no longer broadcast can have the number of years they ran listed. Shows that are still on the air can list their start year. This will prevent the endless edits that someone needs to undertake to update the number of years on the air that are incorrect (and easy enough to figure out when you look at first air date....)

Vulture19 (talk) 03:05, 13 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I think another possible solution would be to just do away with "number of seasons" altogether. It's proved to be a maintenance nightmare, for one thing. It's also unclear what is and is not a "season." Networks have been very flexible about this type of thing, especially in the early days of television. I believe there are math templates that can automagically calculate the time between one year and another. And instead of the number of seasons, we would just give the amount of time between the first broadcast and last broadcast, or "present day" in the case of still-running shows. szyslak  ( t ) 05:27, 13 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Number of seasons is inconsistent, isn't it. The only justification I can think of (and I am loathe to even acknowledge knowing anything at all about this) is The Real World - if it doesn't follow the "normal" start/end date for seasons, it may have had only 10 runs in 17 years. I;m also thinking that this list is way too inclusive. Perhaps a cutoff should be 20 seasons/years?


 * Vulture19 (talk) 22:34, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

What about records for longest running local or statewide TV series?
In Kentucky the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources has been producing an outdoor program called "Kentucky Afield" continuously since 1953. It started just airing on WAVE-TV in Louisville, Ky until 1985 when it started airing statewide on the Kentucky Educational Television network. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.210.142.113 (talk) 02:08, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

What About...
...shows that don't have that many seasons, per se, but have been on the air for well over ten years? You know... shows like America Undercover and its spin-offs?--66.177.73.91 (talk) 05:44, 10 October 2009 (UTC)
 * You mean... like Meet the Press? Then we go by 12 month periods starting with September, or portions thereafter.B.Wind (talk) 14:40, 10 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Shows like Real Sex have been on the air for a very long time, but, since new episodes are very infrequent, the shows technically have less than 10 actual seasons - despite the fact that they've been on the air longer than most shows that do have 10 seasons or more.--66.177.73.91 (talk) 21:28, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

The Old-Time Gospel Hour? According to IMDb.com, "The Old Time Gospel Hour is the second longest-running Christian television program in America. The first is 'The Victory Hour' from Grove Avenue Baptist in Richmond, Virginia." I know that TOTGH has been around since the 50's. 188.103.56.179 (talk) 15:22, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Most episodes
According to the lists, Sports Center has had the most episodes at around 31,000. I was wondering if that should be noted.--Iron i eat u (talk) 01:42, 17 October 2009 (UTC)

Proposed reorganization
For a long time, this list has been an out-of-control nightmare in terms of maintenance, updating and sourcing. Most of us agree that there should be some more limits on what goes on this list to make it less indiscriminate. Lengthening the cutoff time from ten to 20 seasons has been proposed, but the idea hasn't gone anywhere, probably because ten years is considered a long run for prime-time entertainment series, but not news, sports, soap operas, etc.

I propose rearranging the list so the table is broken up not by length of run, but by genre. This would help resolve the problem of indescriminateness by allowing editors to remove entries that are not considered long running in their genre. For example, a ten-season prime time show is a big accomplishment, but a soap opera that runs that long is a borderline flop. It would also help readers find specific categories of long running programs (animated series, prime time series, soap operas, etc.), improving navigability. Here's what such a structure might look like:


 * Top 20 longest running series
 * Scripted programs
 * Prime time
 * Daytime
 * News and current affairs
 * Sports
 * Reality
 * Children

szyslak ( t ) 00:29, 26 October 2009 (UTC)
 * I support this.Angiex3-2 (talk) 01:02, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Dinner Hour Network News
The CBS Evening News is cited as running 59 years. But NBC Nightly News is cited as running 39 years. The CBS Evening News has gone through different titles: Including CBS TV News, Douglas Edwards with the News and The Evening Edition of CBS before assuming its current title. Likewise, NBC began a dinner hour news broadcast in 1949 (60 years), which also has had different titles, including: Camel News Caravan, The Texaco Huntley-Brinkley Report and The Huntley-Brinkley Report before assuming its current title. ABC's World News is credited as launching in 1953 despite different titles, including: John Daly and the News, ABC News with ______ and World News Tonight. Both CBS and ABC broadcasts are credited for the entire run, despite changes in personnel and format. NBC is not. NBC Nightly News should be credited for the full 60 year run. Michaelcarraher (talk) 22:45, 12 November 2009 (UTC)

Please put boy meets world. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.38.151.193 (talk) 19:26, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Boy Meets World was only on the air for seven years. Memarkw2 —Preceding undated comment added 11:57, December 11, 2014‎ (UTC)

Survivor too high up
Survivor is listed as having 20 seasons.

While Survivor may have technically had 20 seasons, each one is less than a year making the position inaccurate. Shows like 48 hours have been running from 10 years before survivor but are both ranked 20th. I look for proposals on how to fix this inconsistency

Paullb (talk) 09:27, 12 January 2010 (UTC)


 * There is some inconsistency of wording in the intro. It says it's ranked by number of years on the air, but the lists group articles by number of seasons. That said, Survivor is ranked technically correct, because it has aired 20 seasons of shows. Even though the American TV season is standardized at 26 shows for weekly programs, there are still variations, though not as many as with the length of a British TV series. Further, there are daily shows. Should nightly news and Jeopardy be bumped up the list because of their more frequent airings?
 * I think seasons is the measurement that can be reported with the least amount of synthesis; computing year-equivalents for shows like Survivor isn't fair, and what should be done with shows whose seasons were shortened due to writers' strikes? Should Star Trek: The Next Generation only qualify for six and a fraction seasons? Additionally, the data might not exist for number of shows aired, which would be the other "interesting" statistic, so there would be large holes in the table. —C.Fred (talk) 17:21, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

But the introduction says the shows are "ordered by number of years the show has been aired." So whether Survivor has two, three or 52 different seasons in one year, it's still only one year. Also, Survivor is listed among shows that have been on "20 to 25 years" It has only been on for ten years. 75.172.71.234 (talk) 04:42, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Well maybe a number of years column should be added as well and then the system can be reorganized according to that. Adam 94 (talk) 11:31, 31 May 2010 (UTC)


 * To bump this, now Survivor is entirely absent even though it has been on the air for a longer period of time than CSI, which is on the list. Additionally, for anyone that feels like editing it, the second run of Star Search in the early 2000's is not counted into its run. Anonymous 15:29, 1 August 2010 (UTC)

Good Eats
It needs to be added. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.185.117.227 (talk) 04:11, 4 February 2010 (UTC)
 * No it doesn't. The show has only been around for <10 years and isn't even on its 10th season. We can reevaluate this in a year or so. --Triesault (talk) 20:38, 10 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Good Eats has been added, 12DEC2014. Memarkw2 —Preceding undated comment added 11:57, December 11, 2014‎ (UTC)

common sense contradictions
If Romper Room is a children's program that has lasted longer than Sesame Street, than Sesame Street can't be the longest running children's program.


 * It hasn't been available on a national basis for years, if not decades. It is, as Bozo was, locally produced and locally transmitted. B.Wind (talk) 22:25, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

That's interesting and possibly relevant, but doesn't change the irrefutable logic that no other children's show can possibly run longer than the longest-running children's show. "Longer than the longest" is nonsensical. You're talking about qualifiers. Minaker (talk) 21:45, 10 March 2010 (UTC)

It could be fixed a couple of ways. Instead of saying "the longest running children's program" you could say "the longest nation wide running children's program" or such, emphasizing that technically other children's shows could have gone longer, just not nationally. Or you could just wait a few months for the issue to resolve itself (Sesame Street is about to tie/overtake Romper Room in number of seasons/years), thus making the argument moot. 172.190.109.222 (talk) 05:52, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope ran from July 7, 1975 to Janurary 13, 1989 on ABC. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.97.212.135 (talk) 23:32, 6 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Ryan's Hope has been added. Memarkw2 —Preceding undated comment added 11:57, December 11, 2014‎ (UTC)

Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live airs at 11:30 PM Eastern, yet is listed as "The longest running prime-time TV show." This doesn't fit wikipedia's definition of Prime time for North America. 24.145.241.228 (talk) 14:53, 31 December 2010 (UTC)

Survivor?
I was reading the list and I didn't see Survivor, and that has run for 22 seasons. Isn't the longest reality show in the history of TV?--24.186.15.187 (talk) 02:13, 4 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Look a little more closely. Survivor is there. Jdaniels15 (talk) 13:59, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Late Night
There are many shows in the over 30 year categories on this page that changed hosts, and formats over the decades, yet they are listed in once at the place of their total years on air. I do not understand why The Late Show with... should be any different. For example the Tonight Show has actual been called Tonight Starring Steve Allen, Tonight Starring Jack Paar, Jack Paar Tonight, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, over the years; in addition there is a five month gap, January 28, 1957 to June 21, 1957, when the format was switched to news, and the name was ''Tonight! America After Dark''. Yet the Tonight Show is considered a 59 year old show in this list, having only one entry. So I modified this page to make The Late Show with... one show in this list, and posted it once at 28 years. If there is some real reason to treat it differently from all the other show of similar status, then please post the reason here. Thanks, Nick Beeson (talk) 15:44, 16 January 2014 (UTC)

Dexter?
Not sure why it's listed as being twenty-something seasons old, but I haven't edited Wikipedia long enough to really know how to fix it.

Also, "Lou Dobbs Tonight" did not run continuously on CNN, though it did run as "Moneyline" with a different host for a while, I believe, when Dobbs left the network for Space.com before returning.157.166.159.230 (talk) 00:37, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

Family Feud
How come Family Feud is counted once between three different versions? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Joltman (talk • contribs) 16:30, 7 October 2014‎ (UTC)


 * The Family Feud article also describes the second incarnation as a revival, which suggests a split necessary per the definition of this table. In light of that, why are we keeping it together on this table? —C.Fred (talk) 17:44, 7 October 2014 (UTC)


 * I went ahead and remove the first two versions, since they were less than 10 years, and made the third its own 15 year entry -Joltman (talk) 19:32, 12 October 2014 (UTC)

Updates

 * Please list major page updates or significant changes here.

I updated the page on 12DEC2014. I added series from the talk page such as Good Eats and Ryan's Hope, removed some that have been on less than ten years, and updated some that are no longer airing or have switched networks. - Memarkw2 —Preceding undated comment added 11:57, December 11, 2014‎ (UTC)

I removed Beavis & Butthead. The show only aired a little over four years, non-consecutively, with a short lived revival in 2011. - Memarkw2 — Preceding undated comment added 11:48, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

SpongeBob
SpongeBob has entered his 16th year. Someone needs to change that. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.81.44.71 (talk) 04:33, May 18, 2015‎ (UTC)

Formatting
It would be great if we could get all of the columns the same width all the way down the page. Working on changing #years to age|premiere year|premiere month|premiere day (with –  around it) in order to have the page update itself. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Memarkw2 (talk • contribs) 14:39, May 28, 2015‎ (UTC)
 * This has been on my mental list of "Things To Do" for a while now. I don't know when I will get to it, but I plan to go through all of the suite of "longest-running... series" lists and try to standardize the table formatting. So, stay tuned... --IJBall (contribs • talk) 18:30, 15 March 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on List of longest-running United States television series. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20090107042918/http://itiswritten.com/about/facts to http://www.itiswritten.com/about/facts/

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at ).

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 04:30, 21 March 2016 (UTC)

Why is the order messed up
There are shows that belongs in the 25-29 year cat but are in the the 20-24 year cat and are labeled as they would be if they would be in the 25-29 cat examples ie: Monday night raw, the real world just 2 of them but there are several and possible several more in other cats Kylea0470 (talk) 09:51, 11 February 2018 (UTC)

The Jetsons!
How is The Jetsons on this list??? It aired for 1 season in the 60s, then was cancelled. It aired for 2 more years in the 80s and was cancelled again! 75 episodes over 3 seasons! Sure, it may have run in repeats in syndication during the time between seasons 1 and 2, but that doesn't matter. This should be removed. Thoughts? Donaldd23 (talk) 00:42, 24 April 2018 (UTC)

Formatting
Per WP:ACCESS, we cannot use only color to distinguish things--we should also use (e.g.) bold. This is a bit cumbersome to edit all of these entries, so can someone please help me finish the list? ―Justin ( koavf ) ❤T☮C☺M☯ 22:06, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

List is outdated
Moving a comment made by 73.59.82.86 to this talk page:

"Note: This list is outdated by about a year. Take for example the Simpsons is now in season 30 and 29 years running not what it says on the list. Please help update the list."

&mdash;Mr. Strong Bad (talk) 02:52, 28 November 2018 (UTC)

Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo has been included on this list for several years now. It has been presented as a continuation of one show similar to how the new seasons of Will & Grace and Murphy Brown are now presented as a continuation of those respective programs. And each of those programs is included on this list. Also The Tonight Show is presented as one continuous program with different hosts over the years. As such, it seems to me that Scooby should stay on this list.

Those are the reasons I have readded it back to this list.

The argument that Star Trek would count as on contentious show is easily countered by the fact that it is presented as several separate unique programs. They just share a universe similar to show Cheers and Frasier or Happy Days and Mork & Mindy shared story universes. All were each clearly presented as separate programs.

Thank you. dreiss2 (talk) 21:24, 6 April 2019 (UTC)

98.116.37.205 (talk) 23:16, 16 February 2020 (UTC)New Scooby-Doo episodes have been produced during 28 of its 50-year broadcast run. I've added a comment pointing this discrepancy out, but I believe the franchise's broadcast run needs to be reduced from 50 to 28.

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:List of longest-running UK television programmes which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 14:20, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

This page is a mess.
Many shows are just thrown about in the wrong section, there are more shows in the 10-14 year table that lasted more than 10-14 years than shows that did. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Frying1mans (talk • contribs) 16:31, 23 April 2021 (UTC)

Separate section for defunct programs
Can we have a separate section for defunct programs? It seems confusing to have them in the same table. Wolf O&#39;Donnel (talk) 18:33, 23 April 2021 (UTC)

"Years" off for shows that went off the air then back on
Looking over this list, many shows are being named as running for a long time longer than they actually have. For instance, it says Roseanne aired for 30 years, but it was off-air for 20 of those years, only to come back for a few months. If it hadn't had a few episodes in 2018, it would have only run for about 10 years. This is the case with a few of the shows on here. Is there a reason for this? Significa liberdade (talk) 04:32, 27 July 2021 (UTC)

"Longest-running prime-time drama"?
How can Law & Order be "tied longest-running prime-time drama" when it was on for 20 years and Law & Order:SVU has been on 23 years? I guess this page hasn't been updated in quite a while. Liz Read! Talk! 01:41, 2 October 2021 (UTC)

Bugs Bunny
I believe since January 2021, Bugs Bunny Show has returned to TV via MeTV Saturday Morning Cartoons. If somebody wants to find citation, that’s cool. Here’s a link to MeTV https://metv.com/shows/bugs-bunny-and-friends

2600:8801:E00:760:B817:DC62:F626:62EB (talk) 02:57, 13 January 2022 (UTC)