Talk:List of longest-running television shows by category

Music show - syndication
Odd category, but wouldn't this be Soul Train (35 years?)

No it's top of the pops - even when you exclude the jimmy saville episodes. The japanese show is a singing contest so not the same thing81.152.94.43 (talk) 14:36, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

Female Ensemble
Longest running Female Ensemble show is not Desperate Housewives, which ran for 8 years...its the British show, which ran straight for 9 years, then had a later series a couple of years later.

Longest running Dramma sitcom?
There is a Drama sitcom in Belgium on the broadcaster VRT Een called Thuis with over 19 seasons and 3500 episodes. Starting in 1994 till present 109.135.4.220 (talk) 20:35, 17 January 2014 (UTC) What is a drama sitcom? Isn't that a contradiction??? Deathlibrarian (talk) 08:51, 29 June 2017 (UTC)

Sitcom v Situation Comedy
Someone appears to have set up two 'sitcom' rows, one just saying Sitcom and the other saying Situation Comedy, going to The Simpsons and Last of the Summer Wine respectively. Not sure if it was a mistake or a Simpsons fan getting flustered or what, but I'm going to be bold and remove the one with the shortest run time, which in this case would be The Simpsons, and replace 'Situation Comedy' with 'Sitcom', since that's the word the pipelink redirects to anyway. --94.14.6.106 (talk) 11:20, 5 August 2012 (UTC)

WRONG! Longest running can ONLY include those years where a new episode aired, as the LOWEST criteria for success. Last of the Summer Wine, in common with so many BBC shows, misses years. According to the IMDB, its longest run is 15 years. The Simpsons TROUNCES 15 years. For the Wikipedia CRETINS that don't get this- if this obvious rule is NOT followed, a show could simply produce ONE episode in year ZERO, another years later in year n, and then claim 'n' years of running duration- clearly a nonsense.

'Running' means CONTINUOUSLY running. 92.236.154.192 (talk) 23:56, 1 January 2015 (UTC)

Guiding Light
Should we count years when still a radio show? I don't think we should, so I've put the start date to 1952. Even with this change I belive it is still the world's longest running TV soap opera 81.135.138.232 (talk) 18:38, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

TV feedback show
What about those programs where ppl write in about other programmes, the ones like Points of View? - what do you call them? are there any that have been going for longer than Points of View??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.164.115.126 (talk) 20:39, 28 November 2009 (UTC)

Longest running Kids show -
Sesame st(1969 - present) is a relative newcomer, Blue Peter is a lot older(started in the 1950's and still going), followed by Here's Humphery (1965 - present- Australia). I think Sooty in the UK has been going a while too. Seasame st has a lot of molestors.

Peter Perves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And Duncan Dares = Blue Peaters! Sorry but Sooty has been on TV 61 years. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.148.218.221 (talk) 19:16, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

longest running cop show
Longest running cop show is Taggart (UK)

Started 1983 and still running today.

Oh, no its Tatort, a german cop show starting in 1970! Deathlibrarian (talk) 09:22, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

longest running sports show
The longest running Sports show is not 'Wide World of Sports' but is 'Hockey Night In Canada'; which first aired October 11, 1952 - televising a game between Montreal and Toronto. HNIC has been aired continuously since that date in various forms - with up to three games a night being shown consecutively on Saturday nights in Canada during the season (including the playoffs). 24.84.2.6 02:49, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

No probs, just changed it for you. Deathlibrarian 05:12, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

Longest running Crime/police show
I believe that this entry is in fact wrong as Taggart pre-dates The Bill by one year, according to the IMDB website. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.28.38.40 (talk) 02:21, 23 March 2007 (UTC).

Good pick..Taggart is the longest running cop show of all time!! I wonder if the makers of Taggart realise that.Deathlibrarian

Longest running Period drama
Just added Zenigata Heiji which is the longest running Historical drama - havin run since 1952!!! Deathlibrarian 05:10, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

Sketch Comedy Category
Should there be a sketch comedy category included in this list? If it is, I believe that Saturday Night Live is the longest running sketch comedy show(1975 - present).
 * Is there a published or online source that refers to this "category"? If not, it would be considered original research, which is prohibited in Wikipedia.B.Wind 06:01, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Well, I'll find a citation in a minute. But I was asking if Sketch Comedy should be considered a category?--68.198.106.213 04:57, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

No SNL is not a sketch show, its a variety show, as it has music and comedy. I thought it was the longest Variety show - running for 30 years! However, its Sábado Gigante which has been running since the 1960s. SNL may be the second longest running variety show Deathlibrarian 05:11, 30 June 2007 (UTC)

Dr Who!!
Is this even remotly true, or is it BBC propeganda. Its realy of base. I can think of older series that are still running such as: "The Twilight Zone" and series based on the character "super man" -- ie "The Adventures of Superman", "smallviille"... would have to be even older (though maybee what was sci fi back then is a new genre now). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.104.65.184 (talk) 13:56, 2 February 2010 (UTC) Shows that are based on the same character(like Superman) are different programmes. Twighlight zone ran for only 10 years, of you combine all the different shows Deathlibrarian (talk) 12:11, 3 October 2012 (UTC)

Is it right for Dr who to be continuing, or should its new series be a separate show?. The BBC calls the news series a revival, however the Wikipedia page says it is debated whether it is a continuation of the old series, or a completely different revived series. Personally, despite what the BBC say, I think technically it is a continuation - The show has the same name, the characters continue, and it has some of the characters from the old series are in the new one, even the same actors. Deathlibrarian 07:48, 27 April 2007 (UTC)


 * I agree that it ought to be considered a continuation; however, I don't think the intermediate years count. Perhaps it should be listed as "1963-1989; 2005-Present." Opinions? The Duct Tape Avenger 00:06, 3 June 2007 (UTC)


 * I would think the above suggested dating more properly reflects the reality of the show. However, I think that in fairness it should be included (perhaps as a footnote) that even in its original run it is still the longest running SF show in the world (since, unlike Star Trek etc. it as always been the same show rather than different shows in the same franchise) and perhaps special mention should go to the fact that with the recommissioning of the series it has since broken the record previously held by Trek for the combined number of episodes of any SF franchise.  In general this leads to the question of how we are defining "longest running" - is it simply by counting the time passed since the commissioning of the show and its conclusion?  Is any consideration given to the number of episodes or how many continuous years it ran (since some shows may go on hiatus for years at a time). Literaltruth 16:50, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

Yeah it does seem misrepresentative to not mention the hiatius period..I think as duct tape presents it is more apt Deathlibrarian 11:35, 15 June 2007 (UTC)


 * If taking the Hiatus period into account and the fact that a lot of things list it as a seperate entity the real longest running science fiction show is Super Sentai which has been going on for 40 years with only a one year hiatus all together and 1877 episodes as of the end of the most recent season Doctor Who has been active for 35 years if counting the new run Deragon10 (talk) 07:59, 23 March 2014 (UTC)
 * * Super sentai has been running since 5 Apr 1975. Dr who has been running since 1963, so started quite some time before Super Sentai. The other thing is, Super Sentai is not one distinct show, it's a franchise with many different shows (like star trek). It's like sayin Pre Cure is a show, it's not, it's a collection of different shows in the same universe (even though they have similar characters).  Dr who is one show, with the same character (dr who himself)central to the story and a continuing storyline from start to finish.  Deathlibrarian (talk) 07:35, 17 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Does this count include the the year off in 2016, also is the TV movie not being counted here? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.151.101.211 (talk) 00:05, 9 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Doctor Who has been running for so long, anyway you count it, its still the longest running science fiction show. Even if you split it into two separate shows, the two shows would get longest and second longest running places. Deathlibrarian (talk) 11:44, 23 September 2021 (UTC)


 * Why is Saturday Night Live, which is in Season 48, not mentioned once, while Doctor Who is listed TWICE???Pisomojado (talk) 07:37, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

Spy Show
I thought Mission Impossible was the longest running Spy show, but The Avengers (TV series) ran a bit longer, from 1962 - 1969. Danger man and the man from Uncle are other contenders
 * Danger Man only ran 3 seasons and two episodes of a 4th, while UNCLE I believe ran 4, so they aren't contenders. I think, though, that if we're going to include continuation series -- see Doctor Who -- then the two seasons of the Mission Impossible revival of 1988-90 should be added on to the 7 seasons of the original 1966-73 run, which would give it 9 seasons and possibly, therefore, beat The Avengers. Thoughts? 68.146.41.232 (talk) 19:07, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Heh, except that the Avengers has a continuation series as well! Touche! :-) Deathlibrarian (talk) 14:35, 5 November 2008 (UTC)

Actually, based on the page's criterion ("the number of years the show has been on the air and not the number of episodes produced"), the longest spy show is Spooks (9.5 years on the air, compared to 8.5 for 24). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Drmab (talk • contribs) 04:23, 8 December 2011 (UTC)

Category - Family Drama
I think this is a dubious category??? Aren't most soaps family drama's? There is no page on Family drama's on wikipedia... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.35.150.226 (talk) 08:00, 31 August 2007 (UTC)

There is no page on "Family drama"...however, it is used as a descriptive genre by wikipedia - and the show The_Waltons and Little house on the prairie both list it as their genre. It is a type of drama that centres on the *one* family.

The Waltons (and little house) are Family Dramas, but not soaps because of their format, so Soap Operas and family dramas are not synonomous. I guess the definition would be that family dramas centre on the one family, while soaps focus on a number of family, or perhaps a community.Deathlibrarian (talk) 15:10, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

Medical drama
General Hospital is not a medical drama, its a daytime soap opera see General Hospital Medical drama's are shows like ER, House, St Elsewhere, etc. See the wikipedia page on soap opera where General Hospital discussed.

The longest Medical drama is Casualty (1986 - 2007)
 * http://www.uktv.com.au/programmes/show.asp?id=24
 * http://uktv.co.uk/gold/stepbystep/aid/592428

Agreed. This should be changed. The Duct Tape Avenger (talk) 02:59, 29 November 2007 (UTC)

United Kingdom
This page seems to prove that shows in the Uk go on forever! Deathlibrarian (talk) 11:58, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Maybe it's because we don't insist on making 26 episodes per series here; that's why ideas don't get flogged to death within a couple of years. Smurfmeister (talk) 15:00, 27 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Oh yeah, UK television is superior to American television because you guys don't "flog" ideas to death. You guys just create one show, film a handful of episodes and then air it until the end of time. It's not like any media from the UK was ever flogged to death or aired so long that it got boring. Americans are the only ones who create silly franchises based on talentless losers - not like the UK who create franchises about stunning intellectuals. Nope. Americans are the only ones that do that. And it's not like you guys ever come up with stupid ideas for shows either. Nuh-uh...Americans are the only silly ones on the planet. Christ, almighty, get over yourself! TV is vapid no matter where you go. Why some non-Americans think they're so much more sophisticated and smarter than Americans is beyond me - there are idiots everywhere, including in your beloved United Kingdom. One quick search of non-American entertainment shows other countries churn out just as much crap as Americans and are just as guilty of "flogging" an idea to death. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.72.173.203 (talk) 08:47, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

Longest running family drama
I've changed this as Heartbeat has been running for 16 years - five longer than the US show listed previously. Smurfmeister (talk) 15:01, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Mr. Squiggle
Although Mr. Squiggle is definitely longer-running than Doctor Who, my impression is that, among those who count such things, Doctor Who is usually and canonically considered the longest-running SF show ever. Since Mr. Squiggle predates it, the fact that Doctor Who was at various times throughout its run and later called the longest-running SF show (whereas this is the first time I've seen Mr. Squiggle credited that way) seems to me like it should trump - especially since Mr. Squiggle's claim to being a SF show in the conventional sense seems stretched (it seems like the primary genre would be considered a children's show... certainly the show gets little attention from academic or fannish considerations of science fiction). Given that Guinness comes down definitively on the side of Doctor Who here as well I am changing this entry back to Doctor Who - unless someone can find an equally authoritative declaration that Mr. Squiggle is considered the longest-running SF show, it should not be listed as such. Phil Sandifer (talk) 20:24, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Longest running game show
I had originally put (and it's still there) The Price Is Right as the longest running game show. However, a local quiz show program out of D.C., It's Academic, has been on continuously since 1961; it is only on the air on 3 stations in the country. Would anybody consider this show to supersede Price's longevity or would the show be in a separate category ("Quiz Show", for example)?

Additionally, if you add the original Price Is Right's run into the mix (the 1956-65 version hosted by Bill Cullen), it would be older than It's Academic. Any input would be appreciated. --Mr. Brown (talk) 02:57, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Changed longest running religious program to "Songs of Praise"
I've changed the longest running religious program from "The Hour of Power", which has been on the air since 1970, to "Songs of Praise", which has been on the air since 1961. If you can think of another program which has been on longer please edit it! - Rich 00:29, 30 October 2008 UTC

Neelam_Ghar Tariq Aziz
Someone has entered this show from Pakistan. It is a quiz show that ran for 20 years, so it is beaten by the price is right http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neelam_Ghar

Deathlibrarian (talk) 14:44, 5 November 2008 (UTC)

Animated Shows
Didn't animated shows have their own list? ---Shadow (talk) 02:57, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

I think longest running animated show should be replaced by Czech/oslovakia show Večerníček running continuously since 1965.--89.102.179.13 (talk) 23:17, 31 December 2012 (UTC)

Murder/mystery series
Without wanting to open a can of worms, would Columbo be a contender for this spot? It has a longer timespan (25 years to Poirot's 20) and while it's had a very on and off record (including a hiatus of 11 years) so has Poirot, usually disappearing from the schedules for a couple of years at a time. This might also be a time to consider exactly what constitutes a "longest running TV show" -- Daduzi  talk  20:28, 11 July 2009 (UTC)

Soap Opera
I was linked here from the Guiding Light wiki, only to find that General Hospital is listed as the longest-running soap opera. 68.183.232.193 (talk)TremorMilo (not logged in) —Preceding undated comment added 19:10, 13 August 2009 (UTC). Yes, good point, you are correct, Guiding light is the longest running soapie. Coronation St, starting in 1960, is the second longest. I'll emove General Hospital. Deathlibrarian (talk) 15:33, 1 October 2011 (UTC)

Tatort
I'm not sure what category it would fall under, but Tatort has been going since 1970, which is longer than both Poirot and Taggart. Hoyland54 (talk) 22:09, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

There are three further German crime/police series from the 1970s that are still running: Polizeiruf 110 (started in East Germany, 1971 to present), Der Alte (1977 to present) and SOKO 5113 (recently renamed SOKO München, 1978 to present).--Brisanzbremse (talk) 19:27, 15 February 2018 (UTC)

Coronation Street
Why is this not listed?? Its been going non-stop since 1960. "It is the longest running and most watched soap opera on British television. It was first broadcast on 9 December 1960" says the Wikipedia article. Cannot stand it myself. And it would be nice if the list was put in the order of the start dates or duration. Edit: I have now added it. 84.13.198.33 (talk) 09:45, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

its a soapie, and the longest running one is Guiding light had been going since 1952, and just finished - it had been on radio and went straight to TV as soon as TV started. Coronation st is the longest one currently in production, it will catch up to Guiding light in 8 yearsDeathlibrarian (talk) 09:29, 21 November 2009 (UTC) Coronation st will be the longest running soap in 2017. Deathlibrarian (talk) 14:06, 1 December 2012 (UTC) Now the longest running soapie! Deathlibrarian (talk) 11:02, 14 September 2017 (UTC)

Goenkale
This Basque language programme maybe the longest running, but despite its name, the Basque country doesn't constitute an independant nation as yet. It should be labelled as a Spanish programme. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jayjase (talk • contribs) 14:51, 12 February 2010 (UTC)

Goenkale
Goenkale is a soap opera, so is beaten by many other soaps, including the longest runningGuiding Light. It should be removed.

Neighbours
Neighbours is a soap Opera, and is beaten in duration by "guiding light", so I have removed it. Deathlibrarian (talk) 03:41, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

Sewing Show
Sewing with Nancy has been on PBS since 1982 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.4.174.242 (talk) 23:22, 4 January 2011 (UTC)

Where is Music and the Spoken Word? It's the world record holder for the longest continuous broadcast television show in history with an unbroken broadcast since it's start in 1949. At the very least it should be credited for both the Music and Religious categories as the record holder if not special mention for being the longest running television program of any type anywhere in the world. 64.244.80.202 (talk) 11:03, 31 July 2011 (UTC) Music and the Spoken Word...is mainly a live music show...not sure how you would categorise it? Deathlibrarian (talk) 11:15, 23 September 2013 (UTC)

Longest Running Reality Show
Uh, The Real World has been on since the 90s, so how can a show from 2004 be the longest running reality series? 71.59.181.111 (talk) 07:15, 11 August 2011 (UTC)

COPS has been running even longer than The Real World (March 11, 1989). Shouldn't that be considered a reality show? Its article here on Wikipedia lists it as an "American documentary/reality television series". BucsWeb (talk) 12:19, 11 March 2012 (UTC)

Looks to me that cops has been running for 3 years longer than the real world. Deathlibrarian (talk) 15:02, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

Criteria
What is the criteria for this list? It seems like it is going by number of episodes. Otherwise, I can't think of a reason why a reality show from 2004 should be on the list. I would prefer if it was sorted by duration and then episodes. Anyway, it should be noted in the lead. --Maitch (talk) 13:07, 12 August 2011 (UTC) The criteria is the length of time the shows ran, so the date the shows started to the date they finished. The number of episodes have been added out of interest, and not for all shows. Deathlibrarian (talk) 15:36, 1 October 2011 (UTC) By the way, criterion (singular), not criteria (plural) Drmab (talk) 22:10, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

The Simpsons
Why isn't "The Simpsons" listed? They have been running longer than the original "Law and Order." Mr. C.C. Hey yo!I didn't do it! 07:14, 10 October 2011 (UTC)
 * The Simpsons is beaten in every category you can think of. Animation goes to Sazae-san (42 years), comedy to Radio Rochela (50 years), and sitcom to Last of the Summer Wine (37 years). Law and Order is listed because it is a legal drama and the longest running of its genre. --Maitch (talk) 07:59, 10 October 2011 (UTC)

CBS Evening News, longest running news cast?
CBS Evening News Has been on the air since 1948, so shouldn't it be the longest running newscast? Viewerofhistory (talk) 17:59, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

Longest running Fantasy television show
I stuffed up somewhere and don't know how to change it, but Bewitched is the longest running FANTASY television, Power Rangers is science fiction--124.187.32.97 (talk) 04:02, 11 August 2012 (UTC)

Quiz Show
Is there a reason It's Academic isn't the longest running Quiz Show? It's been running (continuously I might add) since 1961, which is longer than University Challenge, which started in 1962 and didn't run from 1987-94. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jfc12 (talk • contribs) 06:12, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

Current affairs vs. documentary
Subject to other views and comments here, I've removed the Four Corners entry from this list. It's categorised as being a "documentary" series, which I see as having little difference from a "current affairs" programme, a category already cited on this list. My reasons are these:


 * (i) Four Corners is described on its own Wikipedia page as a "current affairs" programme, and on its official Australian Broadcasting Corporation website as "investigative journalism", which is "current affairs" by definition. The list of themes covered by the Australian show demonstrate its focus on modern topical issues - again, the definition of "current affairs".


 * (ii) The same Wikipedia page claims that Four Corners is based on Panorama, the show presently occupying the "current affairs" slot (though there's no citation for this, so I'm willing to be convinced otherwise).

That said, I've removed it pending further debate. Greg (talk) 16:50, 8 September 2012 (UTC)


 * a new category: "nature and history documentary", to separate it from the other types of current affairs documentary 87.129.27.183 (talk) 09:49, 14 November 2022 (UTC)

I would say Four Corners is technically more a show that features documentaries (and in fact this is how wikipedia defines it) rather than a current affairs show in its true sense. Four corners shows individual documentaries, one per week. Many (but not all) are based on current events. Some of the documentaries are not current issues, but deal with historical events, or biographies. It is different to Panorama in that Panorama produce all their own shows, generally in an investigative journalism context, and generally on UK current affairs. Four corners will produce some of their own programs on individual topics, but also show other producers documentaries on various issues, often from the US or UK. Deathlibrarian (talk) 12:35, 3 October 2012 (UTC)

Sitcom
The longest running sitcom is a romanian sitcom called Trasnitii (Crazies) with 1,003+ episodes as of September 12, 2012. The show is running from December 22, 2003-present. I'm requesting that the creator of this page to change the category. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.137.176.129 (talk) 15:21, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

Sprry. "Last of the Summer wine" ran for longer, something like 40 years. If Transnati ran for 10 years, there are probably 7 or 8 sticoms that ran for longer than that (including the Simpsons and the Classic "Are you Being served") Deathlibrarian (talk) 12:38, 3 October 2012 (UTC)

Song Contest
I noticed there is an entry for "Song Contest", for an Italian program, that goes back to 1951... Sanremo Music Festival The page for it says it goes back to 1955. In any case, this is longer than Eurovision, which it is longer than so it looks like it edges out Eurovision for the Song Contest category. Apparently Eurovision got the idea for the song contest from Sanremo.Deathlibrarian (talk) 12:33, 2 December 2012 (UTC)

Criminal Investigation
This appears to be a spurious/loose genre definition, not used by Wikipedia, and the program that is nominated for it, CID (Indian) is listed as an example of Police procedural. CID is not the longest running Police procedural, as such I am removing it, and replacing the genre with the term used by Wikipedia. Deathlibrarian (talk) 15:30, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

NHK Nodo Jiman
This is a song contest, where local singers sing to win a contest, in a game show type context. Its listed as a Music show, but its basically a talent/song contestDeathlibrarian (talk) 12:39, 26 March 2013 (UTC)

Separate the two Doctor Who series
IMDB.com, epguide.com and tv.com all list the two Doctor Who series as two completely different shows, Wikipedia should too. The original Doctor Who series will still hold the record for longest running science fiction TV show, and will hold it for a very long time, in fact I think the record is unbreakable. --121.222.197.242 (talk) 05:28, 13 May 2013 (UTC)
 * I think the two series are clearly the same show. The new series isn't a remake or a spin-off, or even particularly a reboot, although it has been described as such (wrongly, IMO). The same central character is used, and many of the same alien races and old characters have featured. The different listings on IMDB et al might be because the new series started from 'series 1' rather than the 'season thirty-something' it should have been. Speaking of sources, where is the source list for this article?
 * I agree the decision doesn't matter too much for the sci-fi category, as you say Doctor Who would retain the status, but what would the implication be for Top Gear (automotive)? It too had a similar overhaul in the early 2000s. The 'series counter' (or whatever you call them!) was 'reset' to 'series 1' and the format was significantly changed. Does this too discount any episodes produced since 2001? Would a similar idea have to applied to University Challenge? It was off the air for 7 years and when it came back it was broadcast on a different network. Although, like Who, it was always produced by the same company.
 * I would also like to point out that although Wikipedia perhaps "should" treat Doctor Who as two different shows, it clearly doesn't in the majority of articles in which it is featured. Perhaps we should split up the Doctor Who article into two separate articles?
 * Anyway, I've said my bit :-) Regards, --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 14:53, 13 May 2013 (UTC)

I don't think the 2005 show is a significantly new or different show to pre 2005 Dr Who, structurally and technically. It has the same main character, made by the same company, same title, it's the same story, same characters, some of whom are played by the same actors. The storyline continues on, and from what I understand, the writers took care in continuing on the storyline and keeping it contiguous. Apart from the fact the BBC call it a "new series" and re numbered it, if you are trying to say it is a new show, or just a continuation for the old show, everything points to it being the later.Deathlibrarian (talk) 04:38, 15 May 2013 (UTC)
 * My sentiments exactly --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 23:18, 15 May 2013 (UTC)

The Doctor Who pages says this:

"The 2005 version of Doctor Who is a direct continuation of the 1963–1989 series,[note 1] as is the 1996 telefilm. This differs from other series relaunches that have either been reimaginings or reboots (for example, Battlestar Galactica and Bionic Woman) or series taking place in the same universe as the original but in a different period and with different characters (for example, Star Trek: The Next Generation and spin-offs)." Deathlibrarian (talk) 04:43, 15 May 2013 (UTC)

The official website lists the 1963 and 2005 series as two different series (look at their episode guides) and Wikipedia rules state we have to go by what the official websites state. Hence why we list The Burbs as Imagine Entertainment's first production, though the likes of Willow have "an Imagine Entertainment" production on the poster.--TBBC (talk) 09:50, 18 June 2013 (UTC)

If you look at the BBC page for Doctor Who, it does not differentiate between an older series and another. You cna't navigate separate parts of the site...its not split up. It talks about the show as all one thing. So on the front page, there is an article about Jon Pertwee, and there is one about Matt Smith. They just say Jon Pertwee, "The star of Doctor Who", or they may say the 7th doctor, they don't say Jon Pertwee from the "original series" or "Matt Smith from the new series". Similarly, if you look at the episode guide, page, it doesn't differentiate between an old and a new series. If you look at the page by date, the years are continuous, there is not a separate page for the older ones and the newer ones. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006q2x0/broadcasts/2013/05 It is *all* just...Doctor Who. Compare that to the MGM Stargate page...there is separate pages for the various series http://stargate.mgm.com/..and Star Trek talks about the different series using terms like TOS http://www.startrek.com/ Deathlibrarian (talk) 03:47, 20 June 2013 (UTC)

The BBC website also treats them as one series, with no obvious distinction between the two.http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006q2x0 This has already been discussed above by a number of editors, who agreed that in fact, that Dr Who is one continuous series, not two. Please discuss here before reverting and starting an edit war. As this involves the main Dr Who page, which also doesn't treat them as two separate series, we should possibly look at getting some input via there and some RFC/U.Deathlibrarian (talk) 02:16, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

IN addition, IMDB sees it as a continuing series, not a re-boot http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436992/faq#.2.1.11 Deathlibrarian (talk) 02:20, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

Will still be the longest sf with or without Hiatus, next closest will be Stargate SG1 with 10 years. Deathlibrarian (talk) 06:16, 24 June 2013 (UTC)
 * My views: It's one show. A run with hiatus yes, but 'tis one show nonetheless. Both in-universe and out, the older episodes are referenced by the later production teams. drewmunn talk 10:48, 21 June 2013 (UTC)
 * Comment Its the same series and isn't considered a spin off or a reboot. What troubles me however is the long hiatus the show took. 15 years if memory serves. This hiatus should be taken into consideration when deciding whether this series qualifies as the "longest running". Out of curiosity, if the 15 year hiatus is disqualified, would there be another show that would take over?-- JOJ Hutton  12:18, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

Sources?
Where is the source list for this article? While I expect it is mainly accurate, most of the information in this seems to be unsourced. The sources that are used are concerned with a particular show and are mostly in a foreign language or are broken links or both. So where does all this information come from and why isn't the source document (if indeed there is one) at the bottom of the article? Regards --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 14:56, 13 May 2013 (UTC) There aren't any convenient sources for this information, however, the information is clearly available in unsourced form (it can be confirmed on any of the Wikipedia pages for the individual shows). Deathlibrarian (talk) 13:43, 14 May 2013 (UTC)
 * That's a bit odd, but okay. --ThunderingTyphoons! (talk) 23:14, 15 May 2013 (UTC)

Childrens
En Familia con Chabelo (1968 - present) is not the longest running Children's Show. There is at least two others.... Blue Peter (1958 - present).. Play school (1966 - present)Deathlibrarian (talk) 13:49, 14 May 2013 (UTC)

Professional wrestling
Pro wrestling is a genre unto itself and ought to be recognized as such. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.164.18.250 (talk) 03:46, 7 September 2014 (UTC)

Children in Need
The Children in Need telethons as we now know them, and the Children in Need brand, started in 1980, so I don't believe the BBC children's appeals from 1955 to 1979 are the same show. It's one show per year as well, not countless. I've already changed that to 60, which is one episode per year from 1955 to 2014, which should be an uncontested edit. However, I think that we should be starting from 1980, in which case the actual number of episodes is 35. It would still be the longest running British charity show, as Comic Relief would be second and that started later. Would it still be the world's longest running charity show? Digifiend (talk) 18:44, 27 November 2014 (UTC)

sort key of the sort table
The last two column, "Duration" and "No. of episodes", do not sort in any useful way right now. "Duration" should be sorted by the length of duration, not the name of TV channel. "No. of episodes" should be sorted by numbers, but the numbers are treated as text. --Quest for Truth (talk) 16:42, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

Academy Award Show Incorrect
The information given would indicate 63 episodes, but for some reason it lists "88 ceremonies", which is misleading. The page is not a history of the Academy Awards, or any other show, it simply is supposed to state how m any episodes said show has been running for on television. This should be fixed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.13.138.185 (talk) 21:45, 27 December 2016 (UTC)

Home improvement show
How is that the longest running home improvement show, starting in 1999? This Old House started around 1979! Dignan17 (talk) 01:33, 8 January 2017 (UTC)

Longest Running Sitcoms
I was wondering why "Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten" wasn't included in the list, as the series has been running for 24 years now with over 6,000 episodes to date.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gute_Zeiten,_schlechte_Zeiten — Preceding unsigned comment added by LiasionMitCaro (talk • contribs) 13:06, 14 April 2017 (UTC)

Last of the Summer Wine lasted 27 years, so "Gute Zeiden, Schlechte Zeiden" won't make the list until 2020. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Drmab (talk • contribs) 23:06, 21 April 2017 (UTC) Also, isn't it a soap opera, not a sitcom? Drmab (talk) 22:04, 22 April 2017 (UTC)

"Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten" - is a soap opera. Its no where near the longest running, Coronation street has been running since the 1960s. Deathlibrarian (talk) 01:38, 28 June 2019 (UTC)

Comedy Reality as a Genre
For this page to be meaningful, the genres need to be legitimate, and not made up. There is no page for the concept of "comedy reality" as a genre or category, so I'm removing this genre. I mean you can put comedy in front of anything and invent a genre "comedy western" "comedy animation" "comedy sc fi".Deathlibrarian (talk) 11:48, 27 April 2017 (UTC)

Teen Show
Much as I love De Grassi High!!! - these are not the same show, they are different shows, with different titles, in the same series - in the same away that Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek are different shows(different titles, made at different times with different actors), but in the same franchise. Deathlibrarian (talk) 08:50, 29 June 2017 (UTC)

Longest Running Soap Opera
Both Guiding Light And Coronation Street Have Lasted 57 Years. They Should List Both Of Them.--81.158.6.168 (talk) 13:44, 5 November 2017 (UTC)

Documentary show
A Documentary show in Romania called "Teleenciclopedia" is running since 1965 - present, during communist regime it was our only "Discovery" like show. it is usually made out of 3-4 stories, ~15min duration each, from different areas: history, nature, science. https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleenciclopedia Pleas include it in the table
 * The documentary show, "Four Corners" is older by four years, it's been running since 1961. Deathlibrarian (talk) 12:18, 8 August 2022 (UTC)

Sports relay
I don't understand why this is a separate category from "Sports Show". What exactly constitutes a "Sports Relay"? A google search for "Sports Relay" or "What is a Sports Relay" or even "Sports Relay Definition" just turns up results about relay races. Maybe "Annual Sports Competition Broadcast"? I'm just not clear on what the category is supposed to be. --Tokuiwaza (talk) 14:43, 16 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Yes you're right - perhaps it should be sports broadcast or just outside broadcast? Basically, I didn't want to remove all the other sports programmes as they're programmes rather than coverage of a sporting event, but the Wimbledon coverage on the BBC is almost certainly the oldest television broadcast of any genre. The whole sports section is a little vague anyway - what's the difference between a sports show, sports variety and sports magazine programme? Bob talk 20:03, 16 December 2018 (UTC)
 * I think the general rule we follow for the page is that the category here is it has to be a recognised category, with an article by Wikipedia recognising it. It can't just be a made up category that commentary or RS doesn't recognise. I think the phrase "Sports relay" means live sports Broadcast - the footage is relayed from the event to the station and broadcast. Deathlibrarian (talk) 03:18, 24 September 2021 (UTC)

Deff Magazine
What Is The Longest Running Deff Magazine, I Guess See Hear (1981-, UK, BBC Two)--89.145.244.77 (talk) 19:29, 7 February 2019 (UTC)

Longest running TV Soap is Coronation street.
Guiding light was the longest running show for many years, but was surpassed by Coronation street and recognised by the Guiness book of records as the longest running TV soap. Guiding light was a radio soap before that, but this page covers TV shows, not radio soaps. Guiding light started as a TV soap first on June 30, 1952 and finished on the September 18th 2009 for a total of 57 years. Coronation street started on 9 December 1960 and is still currently in production, so in 2021 has been running for 61 years. Deathlibrarian (talk) 03:10, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

Top of the Pops
There's really two shows here. "Top of the Pops" weekly show which was cancelled in 2006... "After a legendary 42-year run, Top of the Pops was devastatingly cancelled in 2006, but at least we’ve still got the Christmas special to look forward to" and the "Top of the Pops Christmas Special", which is a special show that is shown once a year at Christmas, and is a review of the year in music. The reference here says that top of the Pops started in the in 1960s and is still going to today is incorrect. The original show was cancelled by the BBC in 2006. Deathlibrarian (talk) 03:14, 24 September 2021 (UTC)

Longest running talk show?
RTE (Ireland) have been broadcasting The Late Late Show weekly since 1962. Only The Tonight Show has been running longer. Any reason it's not on this list? 178.167.130.201 (talk) 22:36, 29 November 2021 (UTC)
 * The longest running Talk show is "The Tonight Show"... which has been running since 1954, so it beats it by 8 years. Deathlibrarian (talk) 11:47, 11 January 2022 (UTC)

Zenigata Heiji
The list states that this is the longest running historical drama and lists a single contiguous period from 1958-present. I'm not familiar with the series myself, but according to the article it was a number of series which ran from 1958–1960, 1962–1963, 1966–1984, 1987, 1991–1997 and 2004–2006. Even if this was considered as a single series, it would only have a span of around 29 years not 63 years, and I'm not sure it can really be considered as a single program anyway. Kidburla (talk) 22:21, 5 December 2021 (UTC)

Missing categories
Looking at the list of longest-running British television programmes, I noticed that The Southbank Show is the longest running art programme (43 years) & Watchdog is the longest running consumer programme (36 years). There are no art programmes nor consumer programmes on this list. I think these two programmes should be added above Supernatural (15 years), unless another country has longer running art or consumer programmes. I don't know how to add them into the table. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 143.159.44.179 (talk) 01:32, 15 December 2021 (UTC)
 * I'll add these, consumer programmes Deathlibrarian (talk) 12:19, 11 January 2022 (UTC)

List Integrity
Number of years a show was produced and number of years a show is running is not the same thing. 1. Doctor who did not run for 44 years it had a break from 1989 to 2005. 2. Why isn't the Simpsons on the list? 3. Truly befuddled at why no American Soap Opera is on this list. 2600:1003:B120:EA92:1498:CEF4:8282:274D (talk) 16:16, 31 July 2022 (UTC)
 * The longest running soap opera is British, not American ... it's Coronation Street, and it started in 1960. The Simpsons is beaten in both sitcom and animated categories by shows that are older. Deathlibrarian (talk) 12:15, 8 August 2022 (UTC)

Days of Our Lives
I personally have never watched it but Days of our Lives, at least according the Wikipedia page is 57 years old and still running. It is not on this list at all. Making it to the 21st spot on the list. Idk if there is a reason or not, I just wanted to bring it up just in case if there was a mistake. Kybrion (talk) 22:14, 18 January 2023 (UTC)
 * This isn't a total list of the Longest shows, its a list of the longest show for each category. Days is a soap Opera, and the longest soAp opera is Coronation street. - started in 1960, it is 63 years old. Deathlibrarian (talk) 03:50, 17 September 2023 (UTC)

By Category?
I’m confused by the statement “by category” does that mean it only lists the longest shows of each category despite having other shows that are longer than some of the series on this list right now. If not, then there are still multiple shows missing that are longer than many of the shows listed here on the list and, if so, why are there repeats (i.e. two “religious program” categories and a repeat on the “news show” category)? Kybrion (talk) 22:23, 18 January 2023 (UTC)


 * The list displays the longest show for each of the categories...so yes I agree, logically, there should only be one for each. If there are two shows for one category, only the oldest is supposed to be on the list. There's no point to having multiple shows for each category. Deathlibrarian (talk) 09:59, 9 April 2023 (UTC)


 * There were two agricultural shows from NZ and India claiming to be the oldest Agricultural Information show...this is incorrect, the oldest show is actually from Croatia - "Plodovi zemlje" which started in 1958...so I have removed the incorrect entries. Deathlibrarian (talk) 10:09, 9 April 2023 (UTC)
 * I don't know why people have listed two shows for one category, the second one needs to come out. Obviously there can only be one longest show for each category. Deathlibrarian (talk) 03:47, 17 September 2023 (UTC)

Reality show
Cops is the longest running Reality show - it started in March 1989. The listing here is for America's funniest home Videos, but it only aired in November 1989. Deathlibrarian (talk) 03:39, 17 September 2023 (UTC)