Special Report

50 Longest Running Primetime TV Shows

Popular TV catchphrases such as “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”, “Heeeeere’s Johnny!”, and “D’oh!” are likely recognizable to a majority of Americans — whether they’ve watched “Saturday Night Live,” “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” and “The Simpsons” or not.

In its short history, television has come to dominate the American lifestyle and cultural landscape. Approximately 99% of households own at least one television set, and the average American watches more than four hours of TV every day. There are a handful of television programs that have spanned multiple generations, and have had an outsized influence on the American public.

To determine the longest running TV shows of all time, 24/7 Wall St. developed a list of primetime television shows using the Internet Movie Database and other sources. To be considered for this list, a show must have aired in the primetime slot at one point during its original broadcast run.

Click here to see the full list of the longest running TV shows of all time.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.

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