The Longest Running Prime Time Shows Ever

It is pretty typical for TV shows to have between one and two handfuls of seasons, though there are many exceptions going in either direction. There are, of course, shows that get canceled before their time, spanning just a season or two before they get the axe from the execs, often due to the lack of an audience tuning in but sometimes due to the showrunners butting heads with the higher ups. This is always a bummer, at least when the shows are good, because they are stopped short just as they are getting going, and they never get a chance to fully develop their stories and characters.

On the other end of the spectrum are shows that just run and run, spanning decades and somehow still managing to pull in an audience. This works best for shows that are episodic rather than serialized, as you can change ingredients, such as main cast members, without major consequences and don’t have to juggle complex storylines over the countless seasons. Read on for the four longest running prime time shows ever, and marvel at how they have been able to stay relevant for so long.

The Simpsons

“The Simpsons” may not be the cultural force that it once was, but the classic animated show is still going, with 33 seasons (as of 2022) and counting since it debuted in 1989. The satire of a typical suburban American family is one that everyone can relate to, and its main characters Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie are American cultural icons. 

It helps being animated, as the show doesn’t have to deal with aging actors, and it gives the creators the freedom to constantly adapt the show’s ingredients to the times. “The Simpsons” has episodes about nearly every subject imaginable, and many videos have gone viral showing how old episodes of the show have predicted the future. Maybe the show just got lucky, but it is a testament to the show’s ability to stay relevant over the decades.

Law & Order

“Law & Order” combines the police procedural with the courtroom drama, and since its premier in 1990 it has been thrilling audiences week after week. It has 21 seasons and nearly 500 episodes so far, and that’s just the main series, not including the spinoff Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which despite only going on the air in 1999 has had even more episodes, with 23 seasons, making it the longest running live action show ever.

The “Law & Order” formula has not been tinkered with much, even though the cast has changed. A typical episode contains an investigation, often of a murder, and then sees the suspect go on trial. The series may not be a gritty docudrama, but within its formula it is able to feel true to life, with actual cases inspiring the bulk of the stories on the show.

Doctor Who

“Doctor Who” is perhaps the longest running show ever…depending on who’s counting. The classic BBC show had a 26 season run that began in 1963, and though it ended up 1989, it was revived in 2005 for another 13 seasons, and it is still ongoing. As it stands, there’s a total of 39 seasons and 870 episodes. However you run the numbers, it is the longest running science fiction show of all time.

Doctor Who is about a doctor who travels through time through a spaceship to fight evil, and thanks to the doctor's shapeshifting ability, thirteen different actors have been able to play the main character. In 2017, the show got its first female Doctor when Jodie Whittaker stepped into the main role. There have been a number of spinoffs to the show as well, including the four season long “Torchwood” and five season long “The Sarah Jane Adventures.”

Gunsmoke

Back when westerns were the biggest genre around, the show “Gunsmoke,” which was based on a popular radio series, hit television screens. It went on the air in 1955, and it had 20 seasons and 635 total episodes. For much of its run it ranked as one of the most popular shows on television, and was the longest running prime time live action show of all time until 2019 when “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” took the prize.

“Gunsmoke” was also the only show from the 50s to still be on the air at the end of its run, and just three shows from the 60s were able to outlast it. Impressively, the actors James Arness and Milburn Stone played their characters for all 20 years. The show’s story of a sheriff trying to keep order in a small town in Kansas struck a chord with audiences, and it remains one of the last great westerns to become a pop culture phenomenon.