The 50 Longest-Running TV Shows of All Time

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.