Summary
- The longest-running TV shows have amassed incredible years on the air, becoming icons in their own right.
- To be considered one of the longest TV shows, scripted programs are ranked by the time from their first episode to their last.
- Examples of long-running TV shows include Captain Kangaroo, The Simpsons, Columbo, Search For Tomorrow, Another World, The Bold and the Beautiful, Casualty, and EastEnders.
Longevity is something every small-screen series aspires to if they have plans beyond a single season, and the longest-running TV shows ever have racked up an incredible number of years on the air to hold the claim. Some shows have been running so long that they're enjoyed by multiple generations of the same family. For any show released in the last year to stand a chance of making the list, it'd have to stay on-air until the 2050s. From children’s shows to daytime television, there are plenty of examples of series that have kept running through the decades, becoming icons in their own right as some of the longest-running TV shows in the world.
The question of what is the longest TV show depends largely on which types of shows are included. Many news and sports programs, such as Meet the Press or Monday Night Football, have run for decades under the same name. However, they could also go on indefinitely, so they aren't the same as scripted programs, ranked by the amount of time from their first episode to their last (or the present day, in the case of still-ongoing shows). This year, there are many series that continue to add to their ever-growing number of years on the air, including some approaching seven decades since their inception.
10 TV Shows That Should Have Ended Sooner Than They Did & Why
While no one wants to see a great television show come to an end, there are many TV shows that should have quit while they were ahead.
30 Hee Haw - 24 Years
1969-1993
Hee Haw (1969)
- Cast
- Buck Owens , Roy Clark , Grandpa Jones , Donald Harron , Gordie Tapp
- Release Date
- June 15, 1969
- Seasons
- 23
- Creator(s)
- John Aylesworth , Frank Peppiatt
- Stream now on Roku
Hee Haw was one of the longest-running variety shows in television history, airing from 1969 through 1993 for a total of 26 seasons. The series was a comedy variety show based around country music with jokes centered around that theme, from the fictional "Kornfield Kounty." The cast ended up extremely popular in the Midwest especially, with country music superstars Roy Clark and Buck Owens as the main musical hosts. However, the supporting cast was also one that fans fell in love with for different reasons.
Minnie Pearl, with her big hats with the price tag still hanging from them, was a fashion icon.
Minnie Pearl, with her big hats with the price tag still hanging from them, was a fashion icon for many years. Grandpa Jones (Louis Jones) was also a hugely popular character on the show and is actually part of the Country Music Hall of Fame as a banjo player. With recurring sketches ("PFFT! You Was Gone," "Lulu's Truck Stop," "Gloom, Despair, and Agony On Me," and "The Haystack" among the most memorable), the show still airs in reruns and has been referenced on The Simpsons, The Critic, and more.
29 The Edge Of Night - 28 Years
1956-1984
The Edge Of Night (1956)
- Cast
- Frances Fisher , Holland Taylor , Joel Crothers , Forrest Compton , Lois Kibbee
- Release Date
- April 2, 1956
- Creator(s)
- Irving Vendig
- Not available for streaming
The soap opera The Edge of Night aired for 28 years and even survived a cancelation by one network to play on for nine more seasons on a rival network. Originally, The Edge of Night aired on CBS and premiered in 1956. The soap premiered alongside As the World Turns and both shows ended up as huge success stories. The focus was not on romance and love stories but was instead painted as a mystery series, based on the type of stories told in Perry Mason detective novels. It focused on crime stories more than any other soap of its time.
The series had some very recognizable faces in its cast over the years, including names like Dixie Carter, Kate Capshaw, Marcia Cross, Scott Glenn, Julianne Moore, Bebe Neuwirth, and John Travolta. The series was canceled in 1975 when CBS made As the World Turns one hour and considered The Edge of Night to be expendable. ABC wanted a new soap and chose to pick up The Edge of Night and added it to their daily schedule, and it didn't miss a beat. ABC finally ended the show in 1984.
28 Love Of Life - 29 Years
1951-1980
Love Of Life (1951)
- Cast
- Bonnie Bartlett , Ron Tomme , Audrey Peters , Hugh Franklin , Jocelyn Brando
- Release Date
- September 24, 1951
- Seasons
- 3
- Creator(s)
- Roy Winsor
- Not available for streaming
Created by Roy Winsor (Search for Tomorrow), the daytime soap opera Love of Life was unlike most other soaps on TV. Since American Home Products owned the soap, it aired with American Home Product commercials before and after the show rather than having commercial breaks during the episodes by the network. With that said, it still aired on CBS and lasted for 29 years and 7,315 episodes. The series was a morality tale about two sisters, one good and the other bad, and their relationship.
Christopher Reeve starred in Love of Life as Ben Harper seven years before playing Superman.
However, soon the soap phased out the bad sister Meg, and it turned into more of a basic soap opera with love stories, tragic deaths, betrayals, and more. The soap had some big names on it, with John Aniston (who went on to bigger fame as Victor Kiriakis on Days of Our Lives), Peggy McCay (who went to Days of Our Lives as Caroline Brady), and the first man to play Superman in a big screen movie, Christopher Reeve. The last episode of Love of Life ended on a cliffhanger, which was never resolved.