Television is a competitive industry, so any TV series that gets picked up past its first season should consider itself lucky. It’s rare when a series is popular enough to survive casting changes, cultural shifts, and disruptions in the media landscape. From daytime soap operas to late-night comedy programs, these are the 50 longest-running TV shows in history.
Soap operas are known for their longevity; they are also notorious for following complicated storylines over multiple seasons. Even by the standards of the genre, the British series Coronation Street has been around for a while. It premiered in 1960 and is still airing today. If you count its years as a radio drama, the soap opera Guiding Light technically ran longer. After it began airing in 1937, it transitioned to television in 1952 and ran for 57 years until its cancellation in 2009.
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The list of longest-running TV shows also includes several comedies. After nearly seven decades on the air with several different hosts, The Tonight Show is still in production. The same goes for the legendary sketch show Saturday Night Live, which premiered in 1975. The longest-running scripted comedy is The Simpsons, which premiered in 1989, while It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which debuted on FX in 2005, is currently considered the longest-running live-action sitcom.
You can check out the list of longest-running programs in TV history below. If you’re looking for something more bingeable, here’s how long it takes to watch more than 50 popular shows.
50. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-1966) // 14 years
49. The Jack Benny Program (1950-1965) // 15 years
48. ER (1994-2009) // 15 years
47. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000-2015) // 15 years
46. Supernatural (2005-2020) // 15 years
45. Grey’s Anatomy (2005-present) // 18 years
44. Criminal Minds (2005-2020; 2022-present) // 18 years
43. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005-present) // 18 years
42. American Dad! (2005-present) // 18 years
41. Lassie (1954-1973) // 19 years
40. Gunsmoke (1955-1975) // 20 years
39. NCIS (2003-present) // 20 years
38. Law & Order (1990-2010; 2022-present) // 22 years
37. Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-present) // 22 years
36. The Ed Sullivan Show (1948-1971) // 23 years
35. Reading Rainbow (1983-2006) // 23 years
34. The Merv Griffin Show (1962-1986) // 24 years
33. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999-present) // 24 years
32. SpongeBob SquarePants (1999-present) // 24 years
31. Family Guy (1999-present) // 24 years
30. Arthur (1996-2022) // 25 years
29. South Park (1997-present) // 26 years
28. The Daily Show (1996-present) // 27 years
27. Hee Haw (1969-1997) // 28 years
26. The Late Late Show (1995-present) // 28 years
25. Captain Kangaroo (1955-1984) // 29 years
24. The Late Show (1993-present) // 30 years
23. The Simpsons (1989-present) // 34 years
22. Search for Tomorrow (1951-1986) // 35 years
21. Another World (1964-1999) // 35 years
20. Columbo (1968-1978; 1989-2003) // 35 years
19. The Bold and the Beautiful (1987-present) // 36 years
18. Casualty (1986-present) // 37 years
17. EastEnders (1985-present) // 38 years
16. All My Children (1970-2011) // 41 years
15. Late Night (1982-present) // 41 years
14. Doctor Who (1963-1989; 1996; 2005-present) // 45 years
13. One Life to Live (1968-2012; 2013) // 45 years
12. Top Gear (1977-2001; 2002-present) // 46 years
11. Saturday Night Live (1975-present) // 48 years
10. The Young and the Restless (1973-present) // 50 years
9. Emmerdale (1972-present) // 51 years
8. As the World Turns (1956-2010) // 54 years
7. Scooby-Doo (1969-present) // 54 years
6. Sesame Street (1969-present) // 54 years
5. Guiding Light (1952-2009) // 57 years
4. Days of Our Lives (1965-2022; 2022-present) // 58 years
3. General Hospital (1963-present) // 60 years
2. Coronation Street (1960–present) // 63 years
1. The Tonight Show (1954-present) // 69 years
A version of this story ran in 2021; it has been updated for 2023.