Longevity is something most small-screen series aspire to, 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 TV icons in their own right.

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. 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 airing.

40 NCIS - 22+ Years

2023-Present

In the 1990s, JAG was a very popular military procedural show, and it ended up producing a backdoor pilot for a new show called NCIS. What few could have expected at the time was that NCIS would not only dwarf the show it spun off from but end up as one of the longest-running TV shows of all time. NCIS tells the story of the special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service who deal with crimes involving military personnel. The show became a massive hit thanks to its cast, led by Mark Harmon.

NCIS is among the longest-running scripted live-action TV shows currently airing.

In 2025, NCIS is among the longest-running scripted live-action TV shows currently airing, behind only the two Law & Order series. It took a little while to find its feet, but it was the most-watched show on television for several seasons and spawned a franchise, including series set in New Orleans, Hawai'i, Los Angeles, and most recently, a prequel series that showed how Harmon's Gibbs got his start with NCIS. While popular, it only received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

39 Curb Your Enthusiasm - 23 Years

1999-2024

As if creating one of the best sitcoms of all time with Seinfeld was not enough, Larry David then decided to make another television classic to follow, this time stepping in front of the camera as well. Curb Your Enthusiasm follows a fictional version of Larry David, with each episode simply following him as he encounters one annoying social situation after another or makes a new enemy with his cranky behavior.

Part of the reason Curb Your Enthusiasm managed to become one of the longest-running shows of all time was because it would take long hiatuses in between seasons. Compared to other long-running shows, Curb Your Enthusiasm's 12 seasons and 120 episodes might not seem like a lot. However, the series was able to remain hilarious from beginning to end, with David fully embracing his role as one of the most unlikable protagonists on television.

38 The X-Files - 24 years

1993-2018

The X-Files was a phenomenon when it initially aired on Fox. This is because it premiered on Friday nights, usually a death slot for TV shows, and ended up bringing in almost 12 million viewers per episode on that night. Even when Fox moved it to Sunday nights, another tough night for viewership, it continued to bring in over 10 million viewers until its final ninth season in 2001. The series followed Fox Mulder and Dana Scully as two FBI investigators who deal in paranormal cases.

The series is a spin on the idea of the old anthology series like The Twilight Zone but with a running alien conspiracy storyline as its backbone. It was shows like The X-Files that ensured that later series like Supernatural could find success with similar themes. The franchise then extended its run with movies and then had a revival in 2016, where two more seasons were added to the show, with original stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson returning to their roles.

37 Hee Haw - 24 Years

1969-1993

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 ing 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.

36 Arthur - 25 Years

1996-2022

Arthur might be a rather unassuming kids show compared to everything else that is out there, but it maintained strong popularity for decades and is ed as a classic for many youngsters. The animated series follows the titular character, an aardvark who lives with his mother, father, and little sister while going to school with his colorful group of friends.

In its 25-year run, Arthur was able to expand into TV movies as well as a spinoff series. However, the show always maintained its relatively low-key approach, with a grounded world and stories that were not overly flashy. However, like all good children's shows, each episode of Arthur sought to teach the young audience something new and even addressed some heavier topics. However, with its charming characters, it always remained a lighthearted good time for the whole family.

35 Family Guy - 26+ Years

1999-Present

The Simpsons remains the longest-running prime time animated TV show in history. While Family Guy is a decade behind that popular series, its run has been no less impressive. That is because Fox actually canceled Family Guy after just three seasons. FOX then sold the three seasons to Cartoon Network, and it became one of the most-watched shows on that network. The box set of the first two seasons ended up as the most-sold DVD TV set of all time, and Fox realized they had made a mistake and brought the show back.

The adult animated series now has 23 seasons and counting and well over 400 episodes. The show follows a dysfunctional family, which includes a talking dog and a diabolical baby intent on one day taking over the world. With rapid-fire pop culture jokes, meta-humor, and slapstick action scenes, the series has remained popular throughout the years and just different enough from similar shows in the same genre to always seem fresh even after such a long run.

34 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - 26+ Years

1999-Present

Law & Order: SVU did something amazing with its run on NBC. While there have been spinoffs that proved superior to their predecessors (NCIS and JAG are great examples), what SVU did was impressive. It was a spinoff from the original Law & Order and initially outlasted the original series. When NBC canceled Law & Order, SVU kept going and ended up suring the original in total seasons. While NBC brought back the original later and continued it, SVU now has two more seasons than the show it followed.

Mariska Hargitay played the lead through every season.

The main difference between Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order is that the spinoff details mostly sex crimes, whether it is assault, murder, or predatory. Many episodes are influenced by real-life cases, and they are mostly more disturbing thanks to the sexual aspects. However, what made the show so popular was the cast, with Mariska Hargitay as the lead through every season, Christopher Meloni as her partner for the first half, and names like Ice-T and Richard Belzer providing great ing runs.

33 The Edge Of Night - 28 Years

1956-1984

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.

32 Love Of Life - 29 Years

1951-1980

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.

31 The Phil Donahue Show - 29 Years

1967-1996

Today, daytime talk shows are often about controversy or celebrity discussions. However, at one time, the daytime talk show hosts took the time to discuss serious issues without over-the-top arguments and fights between the guests. Before shows with hosts like Sally Jessy Raphel and Oprah Winfrey shook things up, The Phil Donahue Show was a staple of daytime television offering a serious look at issues people deal with every day. This is because Donahue was a news reporter who wanted to do something bigger.

He even helped introduce hip-hop culture to the nation on daytime television for the first time

The Phil Donahue Show started airing in 1967 on limited television stations before becoming nationally syndicated in 1970. Donahue focused on one guest or topic for the show's entire hour and offered the audience a chance to ask questions. He brought an atheist onto the show, a rarity for that era (he was a practicing Catholic), a doctor who talked about body language on TV for the first time, and he even helped introduce hip-hop culture to the nation on daytime television for the first time. After 29 years, he ended his show in 1996.