List of longest-running American broadcast network television series explained

This is a list of the longest-running U.S. broadcast network television series, ordered by the number of broadcast seasons.

To qualify for this list, the programming must originate in North America, be shown on a United States national (not regional) television network, and be first-run (as opposed to a repackaging of previously aired material or material released in other media). For this list, series that were available only on a local or regional basis are excluded. The "number of seasons" total does not include cable broadcasts or series in syndication.

Over 60 years

Series shaded in light blue are currently in production.

Length	Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes	Notes
years		Meet the Press (NBC News)^[1]	NBC	November 6, 1947^[2]	present		Longest-running show.
years		CBS Evening News (CBS News)^[3]	CBS	May 3, 1948	present	16,400+	Longest-running network newscast.
years		Hallmark Hall of Fame^[4]	NBC	December 24, 1951	December 17, 1978		Not broadcast on a regular schedule, with only a limited number of productions per year.
			CBS	November 14, 1979	April 30, 1980
			PBS	February 9, 1981	May 6, 1981
			CBS	December 1, 1981	January 29, 1989
			ABC	April 30, 1989	April 23, 1995
			CBS	December 10, 1995	April 13, 2011
			ABC^[5]	November 27, 2011	April 20, 2014
			Hallmark Channel	November 30, 2014	present
years		Today (NBC News)	NBC	January 14, 1952	present
years		ABC World News Tonight (ABC News)^[6]	ABC	October 12, 1953^[7]	present	15,722+
years		The Tonight Show^[8]	NBC	September 27, 1954	present
years		The Wonderful World of Disney^[9]	ABC	October 27, 1954	June 11, 1961	1,224
			NBC	September 24, 1961	August 16, 1981
			CBS	September 26, 1981	September 24, 1983
			ABC	February 1, 1986	May 21, 1988
			NBC	October 8, 1988	August 26, 1990
			CBS	September 23, 1990	December 1, 1996
			ABC	September 28, 1997	December 24, 2008
				December 12, 2015	present
			Disney+	May 20, 2020	present
years		Face the Nation (CBS News)	CBS	November 7, 1954	present	3,000+
years	64	NFL on CBS	CBS	September 30, 1956	January 23, 1994		CBS originally broadcast NFL games from 1956 to its merger with the AFL in 1970. It continued to broadcast NFC regular and playoff games as well as the Super Bowl until 1994 when CBS lost the rights to broadcast these games to Fox. The network returned its football broadcasts by 1998 after CBS acquired the rights to broadcast AFC regular and playoff games from NBC. It also airs Super Bowl matches and between 2014 and 2017, Thursday Night Football alongside NBC in 2016 and 2017 and the NFL Network.
				September 6, 1998	present
years	58	General Hospital (ABC Daytime)	ABC	April 1, 1963	present		Television's longest-running drama series.

50–59 years

Length	Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes	Notes
years	50	Days of Our Lives (NBC Daytime)	NBC	November 8, 1965	September 9, 2022
			Peacock^[10]	September 12, 2022	present
57 years	57	Guiding Light (CBS Daytime)^[11]	CBS	June 30, 1952	September 18, 2009	15,762	Longest-running dramatic series of any genre. Longest-running daytime drama. While its television debut was on June 30, 1952, The Guiding Lights first incarnation was as a radio show, which premiered on January 25, 1937.
years	49	Washington Week^[12]	NET	February 23, 1967	October 1970	2,000+
			PBS	October 1970	present
years		60 Minutes (CBS News)	CBS	September 24, 1968	present
54 years		As the World Turns (CBS Daytime)	CBS	April 2, 1956	September 17, 2010
years		Sesame Street	NET	November 10, 1969	May 8, 1970		Longest-running children's show.^[13] While Sesame Street remains on the PBS schedule with second-run rights, new episodes now premiere on HBO Max and become available to PBS nine months later. This formerly applied to HBO from 2016 until 2020 starting at Season 51 when the show moved to Max.
			PBS	November 9, 1970	present
			HBO	January 16, 2016	November 1, 2020
			Max	November 21, 2020	present
years		Monday Night Football	ABC	September 21, 1970	December 26, 2005		Since 2016 and 2018 respectively, ABC has simulcast ESPN's coverage of its NFL Wild Card playoff game and the Pro Bowl. In 2020, ABC simulcasted three select ESPN Monday Night Football games. Starting in 2021, ABC will get expanded broadcast rights, including exclusive games, Week 18 Saturday doubleheader simulcasts, and Super Bowl rights. Per NFL Policy, all games that are broadcast via cable or satellite television on a Pay TV Network must also be made available on over-the-air television stations in each participating team's local market.
			ESPN	September 11, 2006	present
			ABC	January 9, 2016	present
years		NBC Nightly News (NBC News)	NBC	August 3, 1970	present		NBC has had an evening broadcast since 1948, starting with Camel News Caravan, lasting until 1956, when it was replaced by Nightly News' predecessor the Huntley-Brinkley Report.
years		Masterpiece^[14]	PBS	January 10, 1971	present
years		The Price Is Right (CBS Daytime)^[15]	CBS	September 4, 1972	present	9,000+	Longest-running game show.
years	49	The Young and the Restless (CBS Daytime)	CBS	March 26, 1973	present	12,500
years		Great Performances	PBS	November 4, 1972	present
years		Nova	PBS	March 3, 1974	present	975

40–49 years

Length	Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes	Notes
years		Saturday Night Live^[16]	NBC	October 11, 1975	present		Longest-running sketch comedy show on American television.
years	40	PBS NewsHour^[17]	PBS	October 20, 1975	present
years		Good Morning America	ABC	November 3, 1975	present	9,914+
years		Austin City Limits	PBS	January 3, 1976	present		The 1st episode was a one-off filmed in 1974 and broadcast in 1975. It became a regular series in 1976.
years		20/20	ABC	June 6, 1978	present
years		CBS News Sunday Morning	CBS	January 28, 1979	present
45 years	45	Wide World of Sports (ABC Sports)	ABC	April 29, 1961	August 2006^[18]
years		This Old House	PBS	February 20, 1979	present	1,136
years		Nightline^[19]	ABC	March 24, 1980	present
years	35	Noticiero Univision^[20]	Univision	June 1, 1981	present
43 years	43	One Life to Live (ABC Daytime)	ABC	July 15, 1968	January 13, 2012	11,096
42 years	43	Live from Lincoln Center	PBS	January 30, 1976	2019^[21]	251
41 years	41	All My Children (ABC Daytime)	ABC	January 5, 1970	September 23, 2011	10,712	While the show has ceased airing as a television series it is still in production. As of April 29, 2013 the show had resumed airing now as a web series on the internet. It can be seen through Hulu, iTunes, and YouTube.
years		Nature	PBS	October 10, 1982	present	615
years		Frontline	PBS	January 17, 1983	present	813
years		Wheel of Fortune (syndicated)	Syndicated	September 5, 1983	present	8,000+
40 years	40	Nightly Business Report	PBS	January 22, 1979	December 27, 2019	10,680

30–39 years

Length	Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes	Notes
years		Jeopardy!	Syndication	September 10, 1984	present
years	29	The Bold and the Beautiful	CBS	March 23, 1987	present
37 years	36	The Woodwright's Shop^[22]	PBS	1979	2017	481
years	29	Hometime	PBS	November 1, 1986	present
years		48 Hours^[23]	CBS	January 2, 1988	present
years		American Experience	PBS	October 1, 1988	present
years		Cops	Fox	March 11, 1989	May 4, 2013
			Spike / Paramount Network	September 14, 2013	May 11, 2020
			Fox Nation	October 1, 2021	present
35 years	35	Professional Bowlers Tour (ABC Sports)	ABC	January 6, 1962^[24]	June 21, 1997
35 years	35	Search for Tomorrow (CBS and NBC Daytime)	CBS	September 3, 1951	March 29, 1982	9,130
			NBC	March 26, 1982	December 26, 1986
35 years	35	Another World (NBC Daytime)	NBC	May 4, 1964	June 25, 1999	8,891	Longest-running continuous title sequences on television
34 years	35	Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser^[25]	PBS	November 20, 1970	June 24, 2005
34 years	35	Evening at Pops	PBS	July 12, 1970	August 29, 2004
35 years	41	The Victory Garden^[26]	PBS	April 16, 1975	2010
years	27	Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito^[27]	PBS / National Educational Telecommunications Association syndication	October 1, 1989	present		Longest-running cooking program.
years		America's Funniest Home Videos	ABC	November 26, 1989	present
years		The Simpsons^[28]	Fox	January 14, 1990^[29]	present		Longest-running animated series, longest-running sitcom and longest-running scripted primetime series.
years		Law & Order	NBC	September 13, 1990	May 24, 2010
				February 24, 2022	present
33 years	33	Mister Rogers' Neighborhood	NET	February 19, 1968	October 1970	895
			PBS	October 1970	August 31, 2001
32 years		MotorWeek^[30]	PBS	1982	present
years		Dateline NBC^[31]	NBC	March 31, 1992	present
31 years	31	Lamp Unto My Feet	CBS	November 21, 1948	January 21, 1979
30 years	30	American Bandstand^[32]	ABC	August 5, 1957	November 5, 1987	4,134
30 years	30	Live from the Met^[33]	PBS	1977	2007

20–29 years

Length	Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes	Notes
29 years	29	Love of Life	CBS	September 24, 1951	February 1, 1980	7,316
29 years	30	Sábado Gigante^[34]	Univision	April 12, 1986	September 19, 2015	2,800+	Longest-running imported TV show.
years		Fox NFL Sunday	Fox	September 18, 1994	present
years	28	The Late Late Show^[35]	CBS	January 9, 1995	April 27, 2023	5,346
29 years	29	Captain Kangaroo^[36]	CBS	October 3, 1955	December 8, 1984
28 years	28	The Edge of Night	CBS	April 2, 1956	November 28, 1975	7,420
			ABC	December 1, 1975	December 28, 1984
28 years	28	Mystery!^[37]		PBS	February 5, 1980	2008
25 years	25	Charlie Rose	PBS	September 30, 1991	November 17, 2017
years		WWE SmackDown	UPN	April 29, 1999	September 15, 2006
			The CW	September 22, 2006	September 26, 2008
			MyNetworkTV	October 3, 2008	September 24, 2010
			Syfy	October 1, 2010	December 31, 2015
			USA	January 7, 2016	September 24, 2019
			Fox	October 4, 2019	present
24 years	24	Camera Three	CBS	January 22, 1956	January 21, 1979
			PBS	October 4, 1979	July 1, 1980
24 years	24	CBS Morning News^[38]	CBS	September 2, 1963	January 9, 1987
23 years	23	The Ed Sullivan Show^[39]	CBS	June 20, 1948	June 6, 1971	1,087
23 years	23	America's Most Wanted	Fox	February 1, 1988	June 18, 2011	940+
23 years	23	Lilias, Yoga and You^[40]	PBS	1976	1999
23 years	23	Reading Rainbow	PBS	June 6, 1983	November 10, 2006	155
22 years	22	The Original Amateur Hour^[41]	DuMont	January 18, 1948	October 1949
			NBC	October 1949	September 1954
			ABC	October 1955	June 1957
			NBC	July 1957	October 1958
			CBS	May 1959	October 1959
			ABC	March 1960	September 26, 1960
			CBS	October 2, 1960	September 27, 1970
22 years	22	NASCAR on CBS	CBS	February 18, 1979	July 15, 2000
22 years	22	NFL on NBC^[42]	NBC	1975	1997
21 years	21	Issues and Answers^[43]	ABC	1960	1981
21 years	21	Sneak Previews^[44]	PBS	1975	1996
21 years	21	Cookin' Cheap	PBS	1981	2002
21 years	21	The New Yankee Workshop	PBS	January 1988	June 27, 2009	284
20 years	20	The Doctors	NBC	April 1, 1963	December 31, 1982	5,280
20 years	20	The Red Skelton Show	NBC	September 30, 1951	June 1953	672
			CBS	September 1953	June 1970
			NBC	September 1970	August 1, 1971

See also

• List of longest-running United States television series
• List of longest-running U.S. cable television series
• List of longest-running U.S. primetime television series
• List of longest-running U.S. first-run syndicated television series
• List of longest-running television shows by category
• List of longest-running Philippine television series
• List of longest-running UK television series
• List of longest-running Australian television series
• List of television series canceled after one episode
• List of television series canceled before airing an episode

Notes and References

1. Only its time on television is counted here; it began on radio (as American Mercury Presents: Meet the Press) in 1945
2. https://web.archive.org/web/20100702042618/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3403008/ns/meet_the_press-about_us/ NBC News
3. CBS Television News 1948–51, Douglas Edwards with the News 1951–63
4. Originally Hallmark Playhouse radio series, was Hallmark Television Playhouse (1951–54)
5. Web site: Hallmark Hall of Fame Has Rough Start on ABC. 28 November 2011.
6. ABC Evening News 1953–65 and 1967–78; Peter Jennings and the News 1965–67; World News Tonight 1978–2006; World News with Charles Gibson 2000–09
7. Web site: Early TV Anchors | Poynter . 2014-07-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150220224307/http://www.poynter.org/uncategorized/74607/early-tv-anchors/ . 2015-02-20 . dead .
8. Includes the various permutations and re-brandings over the years, including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
9. [Disney anthology television series]
10. Web site: Clifford. Kambra. NBC drops Days of our Lives; soap now available for streaming only, exclusively on Peacock. Soap Central. January 11, 2023. August 3, 2022.
11. Originally The Guiding Light. Only its time on television is counted here; it began on radio January 25, 1937.
12. Originally Washington Week in Review
13. This only applies to the time that a children's program has broadcast nationwide. Technically a few other children's programs may have run longer in years/seasons than Sesame Street. Its just that some of those programs' seasons/years don't count as said programs weren't broadcast nationwide for their entire run.
14. Originally Masterpiece Theatre
15. Originally The New Price Is Right; longest-running game show in American television history.
16. Originally NBC Saturday Night
17. Previously The Robert MacNeil Report (1975), The MacNeil/Lehrer Report (1975–83), The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour 1975–95, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer 1995–2009
18. Weekly broadcasts ended January 1, 1997; irregular airings afterward; officially ended with the absorption of ABC Sports into ESPN
19. Evolved from The Iran Crisis – America Held Hostage (1979–80)
20. Originally titled "Noticiero SIN" when Univision was known as SIN (Spanish International Network).
21. Not currently on a regular schedule
22. Broadcast only in North Carolina, 1979–81
23. Also called 48 Hours Investigates
24. Web site: Schenkel Going Out on a Roll. New York Daily News.
25. Became Wall Street Week with Fortune after original host was fired in 2002
26. Jim Crockett's Victory Garden, 1975–79
27. America's longest-running cooking show, running consecutive episodes and consecutive seasons. While some believe Julia Child's series to have run longer, Child and other appeared in series with different names, hosts. Ciao Italia has been on the air since 1989.
28. Only its time as its own television show is counted here; it began on The Tracey Ullman Show as animated shorts. It is currently the longest-running prime time entertainment program with a consistent setting and recurring characters. While other prime-time shows have run longer, they are all news, sports, anthology or variety programs.
29. Sneak peek airing December 17, 1989
30. Also syndicated, 1982–present
31. Also known as Dateline (day of week it airs), Dateline With Stone Phillips
32. Continuation of Bandstand, which aired on WFIL 1952–57
33. Also known as The Metropolitan Opera Presents
34. Continuation of series that aired 1962–85 on Chile's Canal 13
35. Host: Tom Snyder 1995–99, Craig Kilborn 1999–2004, Craig Ferguson 2004–2014, James Corden 2015-2023
36. Reruns aired in syndication, 1984–92
37. Started in 2008, Mystery! was absorbed into Masterpiece (the former Masterpiece Theatre) and airs under the banner Masterpiece Mystery
38. Morning 1979–82
39. Aired as Toast of the Town until 1955
40. Local transmission only (WCET), 1972–96
41. Originated on radio as Major Bowes' Original Amateur Hour, 1934–46
42. Originally GrandStand, then changed name to reflect year; was also NFL Live 1987–97
43. Originally ABC Press Conference; succeeded in time slot by This Week
44. Originally Opening Soon at a Theater Near You (1975–77); Sneak Previes Goes Video 1989–91