List of longest-running scripted American primetime television series
This is a list of the longest-running scripted prime time television series in the United States, as measured by number of seasons. Only shows that have aired on a major broadcast network for seven or more seasons and at least 100 episodes are included. Those that moved to a cable network or syndication are noted below.
Series shaded in aqua are currently in production. |
Number of seasons |
Series | Network | First air date |
Last air date |
Number of episodes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
33 | The Simpsons | Fox | 1989-12-17 | Present | 721 |
23 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | NBC | 1999-09-20 | Present | 510 |
21 | Law & Order | NBC | 1990-09-13
2022-02-24 |
2010-05-24
Present |
460 |
20 | Gunsmoke | CBS | 1955-09-10 | 1975-03-31 | 635 |
20 | Family Guy | Fox | 1999-01-31 | Present | 383[1] |
19 | Lassie | CBS | 1954-09-12 | 1971-03-21 | 591[2] |
19 | NCIS | CBS | 2003-09-23 | Present | 430 |
18 | Grey's Anatomy | ABC | 2005-03-27 | Present | 393 |
19 | American Dad! | Fox (2005–2014) TBS (2014–)[3] |
2005-02-06 | Present | 330 |
15 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | CBS | 2000-10-06 | 2015-02-15 | 337[4] |
15 | ER | NBC | 1994-09-19 | 2009-04-02 | 331 |
15 | Supernatural | WB (2005–2006) CW (2006–2020) |
2005-09-13 | 2020-11-19 | 327 |
15 | Criminal Minds | CBS | 2005-09-22 | 2020-02-19 | 324 |
15 | The Jack Benny Program | CBS (1950–1964) NBC (1964–1965) |
1950-10-28[5] | 1965-04-16 | 260 |
14 | The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet | ABC | 1952-10-03 | 1966-04-23 | 435 |
14 | Bonanza | NBC | 1959-09-12 | 1973-01-16 | 431 |
14 | Dallas | CBS | 1978-04-02 | 1991-05-03 | 357 |
14 | Knots Landing | CBS | 1979-12-27 | 1993-05-13 | 344 |
13 | NCIS: Los Angeles | CBS | 2009-09-22 | Present | 292 |
13 | King of the Hill | Fox | 1997-01-12 | 2010-05-06 | 259[6] |
12 | My Three Sons | ABC (1960–1965) CBS (1965–1972) |
1960-09-29 | 1972-04-13 | 380 |
12 | Hawaii Five-O | CBS | 1968-09-26 | 1980-04-26 | 281 |
12 | The Big Bang Theory | CBS | 2007-09-24 | 2019-05-16 | 279 |
12 | Murder, She Wrote | CBS | 1984-09-30 | 1996-05-19 | 264 (+ 4 TV movies) |
12 | Two and a Half Men | CBS | 2003-09-22 | 2015-02-19 | 262 |
12 | NYPD Blue | ABC | 1993-09-21 | 2005-03-01 | 261 |
12 | Blue Bloods | CBS | 2010-09-24 | Present | 250 |
12 | Bones | Fox | 2005-09-13 | 2017-03-28 | 246 |
12 | Bob's Burgers | Fox | 2011-01-09 | Present | 231 |
11 | The Danny Thomas Show[7] | ABC (1953–1957) CBS (1957–1964) |
1953-09-29 | 1964-04-27 | 343 |
11 | Cheers | NBC | 1982-09-30 | 1993-05-20 | 275 |
11 | Frasier | NBC | 1993-09-16 | 2004-05-13 | 264 |
11 | Murphy Brown | CBS | 1988-11-14 | 2018-12-20 | 260 |
11 | Married... with Children | Fox | 1987-04-05 | 1997-06-09 | 259 |
11 | M*A*S*H | CBS | 1972-09-17 | 1983-02-28 | 256 |
11 | Happy Days | ABC | 1974-01-15 | 1984-09-24 | 255 |
11 | The Jeffersons | CBS | 1975-01-18 | 1985-06-25 | 253 |
11 | Modern Family | ABC | 2009-09-23 | 2020-04-08 | 250 (+1 special) |
11 | Will & Grace | NBC | 1998-09-21 | 2020-04-23 | 246[8] |
11 | 7th Heaven | WB (1996–2006) CW (2006–2007) |
1996-08-26 | 2007-05-13 | 243 |
11 | The X-Files | Fox | 1993-09-10 | 2018-03-21 | 218[9] |
10 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Fox | 1990-10-04 | 2000-05-17 | 293 |
10 | Hawaii Five-0 | CBS | 2010-09-20 | 2020-04-03 | 240 |
10 | Friends | NBC | 1994-09-22 | 2004-05-06 | 236 |
10 | CSI: Miami | CBS | 2002-09-23 | 2012-04-08 | 232 |
10 | Roseanne | ABC | 1988-10-18 | 2018-05-22 | 231[10] |
10 | JAG | NBC (1995–1996) CBS (1997–2005) |
1995-09-01 | 2005-04-29 | 227[11] |
10 | Smallville | WB (2001–2006) CW (2006–2011) |
2001-10-16 | 2011-05-13 | 218 |
10 | Chicago Fire | NBC | 2012-10-10 | Present | 211 |
9 | The Beverly Hillbillies | CBS | 1962-09-26 | 1971-03-23 | 274 |
9 | Perry Mason | CBS | 1957-09-21 | 1966-05-22 | 271 |
9 | The Virginian[12] | NBC | 1962-09-19 | 1971-03-24 | 249 |
9 | The Love Boat | ABC | 1977-09-24[13] | 1986-05-24 | 250 |
9 | The F.B.I. | ABC | 1965-09-19 | 1974-04-28 | 241 |
9 | The Drew Carey Show | ABC | 1995-09-13 | 2004-09-08 | 233 |
9 | Falcon Crest | CBS | 1981-12-04 | 1990-05-17 | 227 |
9 | The Waltons | CBS | 1972-09-14 | 1981-06-04 | 221 |
9 | Dynasty | ABC | 1981-01-12 | 1989-05-11 | 220 |
9 | Family Matters | ABC (1989–1997) CBS (1997–1998) |
1989-09-22 | 1998-07-17 | 215 |
9 | The Middle | ABC | 2009-09-30 | 2018-05-22 | 215 |
9 | Touched by an Angel | CBS | 1994-09-21 | 2003-04-27 | 211 |
9 | Everybody Loves Raymond | CBS | 1996-09-13 | 2005-05-16 | 210 |
9 | One Day at a Time | CBS | 1975-12-16 | 1984-05-28 | 209 |
9 | How I Met Your Mother | CBS | 2005-09-19 | 2014-03-31 | 208 |
9 | The King of Queens | CBS | 1998-09-21 | 2007-05-14 | 207 |
9 | All in the Family | CBS | 1971-01-12 | 1979-04-08 | 205 |
9 | Little House on the Prairie[14] | NBC | 1974-09-11 | 1983-03-21 | 204 (+ 4 specials) |
9 | 24 | Fox | 2001-11-06 | 2014-07-14 | 192 + 24: Redemption + 12 (24: Live Another Day)[15] |
9 | Alice | CBS | 1976-08-31 | 1985-03-19 | 202 |
9 | The Facts of Life | NBC | 1979-08-24 | 1988-05-07 | 201 |
9 | The Office | NBC | 2005-03-24 | 2013-05-16 | 201 |
9 | Coach | ABC | 1989-02-28 | 1997-05-14 | 200 |
9 | CSI: NY | CBS | 2004-09-22 | 2013-02-22 | 197 |
9 | The Goldbergs | ABC | 2013-09-24 | Present | 202 |
9 | Last Man Standing | ABC (2011–2017) Fox (2018–2021) |
2011-10-11 | 2021-05-20 | 194 |
9 | Night Court | NBC | 1984-01-04 | 1992-05-31 | 193 |
9 | Matlock | NBC (1986–1992) ABC (1992–1995) |
1986-09-23 | 1995-05-07 | 193 + pilot movie |
9 | One Tree Hill | WB (2003–2006) CW (2006–2012) |
2003-09-23 | 2012-04-04 | 187 |
9 | Scrubs | NBC (2001–2008) ABC (2009–2010) |
2001-10-02 | 2010-03-17 | 182 |
9 | The Blacklist | NBC | 2013-09-23 | Present | 186 |
9 | Seinfeld | NBC | 1989-07-05 | 1998-05-14 | 180 |
9 | Chicago P.D. | NBC | 2014-01-08 | Present | 179 |
8 | The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show | CBS | 1950-10-12 | 1958-09-15 | 291 |
8 | Wagon Train | NBC (1957–1962) ABC (1962–1965) |
1957-09-18 | 1965-05-02 | 284 |
8 | Dragnet | NBC | 1951-12-16 | 1959-08-23 | 276 |
8 | The Donna Reed Show | ABC | 1958-09-24 | 1966-03-19 | 275 |
8[16] | Mama | CBS | 1949-07-01 | 1956-07-27 | 261[16] |
8 | Bewitched | ABC | 1964-09-17 | 1972-03-25 | 254 |
8 | The Andy Griffith Show | CBS | 1960-10-03 | 1968-04-01 | 249 |
8 | Rawhide | CBS | 1959-01-09 | 1965-12-07 | 217 |
8 | Home Improvement | ABC | 1991-09-17 | 1999-05-25 | 204 |
8 | The Cosby Show | NBC | 1984-09-20 | 1992-04-30 | 201 (plus outtakes special) |
8 | Walker, Texas Ranger | CBS | 1993-04-21 | 2001-05-19 | 200 |
8 | That '70s Show | Fox | 1998-08-23 | 2006-05-18 | 200 |
8 | Ironside | NBC | 1967-09-14[17] | 1975-01-16 | 199[18] |
8 | Who's the Boss? | ABC | 1984-09-20 | 1992-04-25 | 196 |
8 | Mannix | CBS | 1967-09-16 | 1975-04-13 | 194 |
8 | Full House | ABC | 1987-09-22 | 1995-05-23 | 192 |
8 | Diff'rent Strokes | NBC (1978–1985) ABC (1985–1986) |
1978-11-03 | 1986-05-07 | 189 |
8 | Newhart | CBS | 1982-10-25 | 1990-05-21 | 184 |
8 | According to Jim | ABC | 2001-10-03 | 2009-06-02 | 182 |
8 | Desperate Housewives | ABC | 2004-10-03 | 2012-05-13 | 180 |
8 | Barnaby Jones | CBS | 1973-01-28 | 1980-04-03 | 178 |
8 | Laverne & Shirley | ABC | 1976-01-27 | 1983-05-10 | 178 |
8 | Diagnosis: Murder | CBS | 1993-10-29 | 2001-05-11 | 178 + 5 TV movies + Pilot |
8 | Charmed | WB | 1998-10-07 | 2006-05-21 | 178 |
8 | House M.D. | Fox | 2004-11-16 | 2012-05-21 | 177 |
8 | Mad About You | NBC (1992–1999) Spectrum (2019) |
1992-09-23 | 2019-12-18 | 176 |
8 | Castle | ABC | 2009-03-09 | 2016-05-16 | 173 |
8 | Three's Company | ABC | 1977-03-15 | 1984-09-18 | 172 |
8 | L.A. Law | NBC | 1986-10-03[19] | 1994-05-19 | 172 |
8 | Wings | NBC | 1990-04-19 | 1997-05-21 | 172 |
8 | Girlfriends | UPN (2000–2006) CW (2006–2008) |
2000-09-11 | 2008-02-11 | 172 |
8 | The Vampire Diaries | CW | 2009-09-10 | 2017-03-10 | 171 |
8 | Arrow | CW | 2012-10-06 | 2020-01-28 | 170 |
8 | Mom | CBS | 2013-09-23 | 2021-05-13 | 170 |
8 | Barney Miller | ABC | 1975-01-23 | 1982-05-20 | 170 |
8 | The Practice | ABC | 1997-03-04 | 2004-05-16 | 168 |
8 | Black-ish | ABC | 2014-09-24 | Present | 171 (172 including unbroadcast episode) |
8 | Magnum, P.I. | CBS | 1980-12-11 | 1988-05-08 | 162 |
8 | The Flash | CW | 2014-10-07 | Present | 159 |
8 | Simon & Simon | CBS | 1981-11-24 | 1989-01-21 | 156 |
8 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Fox (2013-2018)
NBC (2019-2021) |
2013-09-17 | 2021-09-16 | 153 |
8 | Perfect Strangers | ABC | 1986-03-25 | 1993-08-06 | 150 |
8 | Quincy, M.E. | NBC | 1976-10-03 | 1983-09-04 | 148 |
7 | Melrose Place | Fox | 1992-07-08 | 1999-05-24 | 226 |
7 | Petticoat Junction | CBS | 1963-09-24 | 1970-04-04 | 222 |
7 | The Golden Girls | NBC | 1985-09-14 | 1992-05-21 | 180 |
7 | Family Ties | NBC | 1982-09-22 | 1989-05-14 | 176 + one film |
7 | Adam-12 | NBC | 1968-09-21 | 1975-05-20 | 174 |
7 | Star Trek: Voyager | UPN | 1995-01-16 | 2001-05-23 | 172 |
7 | Mission: Impossible | CBS | 1966-09-17 | 1973-03-30 | 171 |
7 | Medical Center | CBS | 1969-09-24[20] | 1976-09-06 | 171 |
7 | Empty Nest | NBC | 1988-10-08 | 1995-04-29 | 170 |
7 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | ABC | 1969-09-23[21] | 1976-05-04 | 170 |
7 | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | CBS | 1970-09-19 | 1977-03-19 | 168 |
7 | Growing Pains | ABC | 1985-09-24 | 1992-04-25 | 166 |
7 | Designing Women | CBS | 1986-09-29 | 1993-05-24 | 163 |
7 | Sabrina, the Teenage Witch | ABC (1996–2000) WB (2000–2003) |
1996-09-27 | 2003-04-24 | 163 |
7 | Step by Step | ABC (1991–1997) CBS (1997–1998) |
1991-09-20 | 1998-06-26 | 160 |
7 | Without a Trace | CBS | 2002-09-26 | 2009-05-19 | 160 |
7 | Benson | ABC | 1979-09-13 | 1986-04-19 | 158 |
7 | Boy Meets World | ABC | 1993-09-24 | 2000-05-05 | 158 |
7 | Cold Case | CBS | 2003-09-28 | 2010-05-02 | 156 |
7 | The Good Wife | CBS | 2009-09-22 | 2016-05-08 | 156 |
7 | NCIS: New Orleans | CBS | 2014-09-23 | 2021-05-23 | 155 |
7 | Once Upon a Time | ABC | 2011-10-23 | 2018-05-18 | 155 |
7 | The West Wing | NBC | 1999-09-22 | 2006-05-14 | 154[note 1] |
7 | Elementary | CBS | 2012-09-27 | 2019-08-15 | 154 |
7 | Gilmore Girls | WB (2000–2006) CW (2006–2007) |
2000-10-05 | 2007-05-15 | 153 |
7 | Hunter | NBC | 1984-09-18 | 1991-04-26 | 153 |
7 | Fantasy Island | ABC | 1978-01-28 | 1984-05-19 | 152, plus 2 TV movies[22] |
7 | Trapper John, M.D. | CBS | 1979-09-23 | 1986-09-04 | 151 |
7 | Malcolm in the Middle | Fox | 2000-01-09 | 2006-05-14 | 151 |
7 | The Mentalist | CBS | 2008-09-23 | 2015-02-18 | 151 |
7 | Just Shoot Me! | NBC | 1997-03-04 | 2003-08-16 | 148 |
7 | The Dukes of Hazzard | CBS | 1979-01-26 | 1985-02-08 | 147 |
7 | Hill Street Blues | NBC | 1981-01-15 | 1987-05-12 | 146 |
7 | New Girl | Fox | 2011-09-20 | 2018-05-15 | 146 |
7 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | WB (1997–2001) UPN (2001–2003) |
1997-03-10 | 2003-05-20 | 144 |
7 | In the Heat of the Night | NBC (1988–1992) CBS (1992–1994) |
1988-03-06 | 1994-05-11 | 142 + 4 TV movies |
7 | MacGyver | ABC | 1985-09-29 | 1992-05-21 | 139 + 2 TV films |
7 | Futurama | Fox (1999–2003) Comedy Central (2008–2013) Hulu (2023) |
1999-03-28 | Present | 140 |
7 | 30 Rock | NBC | 2006-10-11 | 2013-01-31 | 139 |
7 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | ABC | 2013-09-24 | 2020-08-12 | 136 |
7 | Medium | NBC (2005–2009) CBS (2009–2011) |
2005-01-03 | 2011-01-21 | 130 |
7 | Chicago Med | NBC | 2015-11-17 | Present | 135 |
7 | Cagney & Lacey | CBS | 1982-03-25[23] | 1988-05-16 | 125 (+ 4 TV movies) |
7 | Parks and Recreation | NBC | 2009-04-09 | 2015-02-24 | 126 |
7 | Scandal | ABC | 2012-04-05 | 2018-04-19 | 124 |
7 | Homicide: Life on the Street | NBC | 1993-01-31 | 1999-05-21 | 122 |
7 | Legends of Tomorrow | CW | 2016-01-21 | Present | 110 |
7 | Cheyenne | ABC | 1955-09-20[24] | 1962-12-17 | 108 |
7 | Rules of Engagement | CBS | 2007-02-05 | 2013-05-20 | 100 |
7 | The 100 | CW | 2014-03-19 | 2020-09-30 | 100 |
See also[]
- Lists of longest-running U.S. shows by broadcast type:
- List of longest-running U.S. television series
- List of longest-running U.S. broadcast network television series
- List of longest-running U.S. cable television series
- List of longest-running U.S. first-run syndicated television series
- List of longest-running U.S. primetime television series
Notes[]
- ^ This includes the special episodes "Documentary Special" and "Isaac and Ishmael", but not the 2020 special "A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote" (primarily a restaging of "Hartsfield's Landing").
References[]
- ^ Family Guy has two episodes that did not originally air on Fox. "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" originally aired on Adult Swim and "Partial Terms of Endearment" originally aired in the UK.
- ^ Lassie ran for a total of 19 seasons and 591 episodes. The final two seasons aired in syndication.
- ^ American Dad! moved to TBS in 2014 for additional seasons.
- ^ CSI: Crime Scene Investigation officially ended its run with Immortality on September 27, 2015. The TV movie is considered the two-episode 16th season, bringing the episode total to 337.
- ^ The Jack Benny Program began with a pilot episode on May 8, 1949.
- ^ Four more episodes of King of the Hill aired after its official final broadcast, bringing the total to 259.
- ^ For its first three seasons, The Danny Thomas Show aired as Make Room for Daddy.
- ^ "'Will & Grace' to Return to NBC for New Season". 18 January 2017.
- ^ In 2016, The X-Files returned to television after 14 years for two more seasons.
- ^ Show later continued as The Conners for a further ten episodes.
- ^ The episode "Skeleton Crew" did not originally air on NBC.
- ^ In its final season, the title of The Virginian was changed to The Men from Shiloh.
- ^ The Love Boat had two pilot movies that aired on September 18, 1976 and January 21, 1977.
- ^ In its final season, the title of Little House on the Prairie was changed to Little House: A New Beginning.
- ^ In 2014, 24 returned to television with another 12-episode series 24: Live Another Day.
- ^ a b An additional season of Mama aired on Sunday afternoons, bringing the episode total to 283.
- ^ Ironside began with the pilot movie A Man Called Ironside on March 28, 1967.
- ^ Ironside had three additional episodes after its official final broadcast.
- ^ L.A. Law began with a two-hour pilot on September 15, 1986.
- ^ Medical Center began with the pilot movie U.M.C. on April 17, 1969.
- ^ Marcus Welby, M.D. began with a pilot movie on March 26, 1969.
- ^ Fantasy Island had two premiere movies that aired on January 14, 1977 and January 20, 1978.
- ^ Cagney & Lacey began with a pilot movie on October 8, 1981.
- ^ Cheyenne began as a rotating element of Warner Bros. Presents.
Categories:
- Lists of American television series
- Lists of longest-running U.S. TV shows