TV shows come and TV shows go, but sometimes fans help to boost a series so much that it sticks around for a looooong time. It may seem that our favorite dramas and comedies are always gone way too soon, but there are an impressive number of popular shows that actually stuck around for the long haul. Here now is a list of 32 shows that incredibly ran for more than 250 episodes.
Grey's Anatomy
It was in 2019 that the popular and formerly Ellen Pompeo-led drama, Grey’s Anatomy, celebrated a big milestone when it officially became the longest-running medical show by surpassing the 331-episode record of another series you may have heard of, ER.
Family Guy
For every immediate success, there’s also at least one long-running series that got off to a bumpy start, and Fox’s hit comedy Family Guy fits that bill. Originally canceled after the third season finished airing in 2002, network execs changed their minds after strong DVD sales and syndicated rerun ratings proved the series still had legs. It’s gone on to become one of the best-animated TV shows of all time.
Frasier
No series survives 11 seasons on network TV for nothing, and Frasier’s many accolades during its run certainly prove that rule. Of course, the series had a very solid jumping-off point, with Kelsey Grammer’s fussy academic lead, Frasier Crane, having been a strong and beloved part of the Cheers cast since 1984 by the time his spinoff kicked off in 1993. Frasier is one of the longest-running live-action characters on prime-time television.
Lassie
You can be forgiven if you’ve never heard of Lassie, seeing as how the series ended over 50 years ago, but it made quite the impact when it was on. The show, a drama about the adventures of the titular heroic collie and her friends/owners, began in 1954 and remarkably lasted through 1973, racking up 19 seasons and 591 episodes.
NCIS
You’ve likely heard of NCIS, considering that long dominated viewership on a regular basis, and has been known to top the ratings for a year more than once since its debut in 2003. The procedural crime drama about a team that investigates naval crimes has been so successful that it’s spawned multiple spinoffs (most of them also long-running) over the years.
Supernatural
Fantasy/horror series don’t usually get much time to shine, but that cannot be said for Supernatural. The CW show that followed brothers Dean and Sam Winchester as they hunted the United States to stop supernatural beings like vampires, werewolves, witches and demons from hurting people and destroying the world ran for a whopping 15 seasons and became the longest-running live-action fantasy in America by its eleventh season.
Hawaii Five-0
In 2010, we got a reboot of this classic series that was a success story in its own right. But, it was the original Hawaii Five-0 starring Jack Lord that aired from 1968 through 1980 that actually passed the 250-episode mark. We never would have gotten that iconic theme song otherwise, and may never have casually begun calling all police in the U.S. the “five-0” without it.
Bob's Burgers
We certainly haven’t forgotten about the impact that animation has had on primetime TV, and one hit that beat the odds is Bob’s Burgers. The series focuses on the Belcher family (parents Bob and Linda, their kids Tina, Gene and Louise), their struggling mom-and-pop burger joint, and their many friends and family, who reside in a quirky seaside town. It’s been a hit ever since its 2011 premiere and even has a theatrically released movie from 2022 to its name.
Dallas
Nighttime soap operas used to be big business, and one that ruled for over a decade was Dallas. Focused on the scheming, rich Ewing family and their oil business in the titular city, the drama ran for 14 seasons from 1978 through 1991, spawned a popular spinoff we’ll talk about later, and even led to a revival that began in 2012 and ran for three seasons.
Blue Bloods
Of all the shows canceled in 2024, Blue Bloods hurt the most for fans and cast members alike. The police drama that brought Tom Selleck back to weekly television focuses on cases of the week and how they affect a family of cops in New York City, the Reagans.
The Simpsons
If you know anything about TV for the past 30 or so years, you must have known that The Simpsons would be on here. The animated comedy about the eponymously named family and their many friends, family, allies and foes in Springfield, USA is an institution at this point. It stands as the longest-running American scripted primetime show, American sitcom and animated show in the States.
Criminal Minds
As we’ve seen, viewers love crime solvers, and they embraced another team of them with the FBI agents of Criminal Minds. The criminal profilers we watched traveled the country to catch unsubs who’d committed some heinous acts, and the show was so popular that after it ended in 2020 with Season 15, it was brought back a mere two years later with Criminal Minds: Evolution on Paramount+.
ER
Do you know what other genre of series seems to have enduring popularity? Medical shows. And, for a long time, there was none more famed than NBC’s ER. The drama that made George Clooney, Julianna Margulies, Eriq La Salle and many others household names started in 1994 and ran for 15 seasons with a total of 331 episodes, lasting through a number of cast changes. For many, it’s still the benchmark of what a medical drama should be.
American Dad!
A lot of the credit to our love of primetime animation over the past few decades goes to Fox, which was also home to another of Seth MacFarlane’s notable wacky comedies: American Dad! The series ran for 11 seasons there, and then moved to TBS.
Law & Order: SVU
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is a spinoff. A spinoff that went on to surpass it's original show, Law & Order both in the number of seasons and in the number of episodes. It's just remarkable.
Gunsmoke
So, what shows could have beaten SVU when it comes to episode numbers, aside from The Simpsons and Lassie? You guessed it: Gunsmoke! The Western series following U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon and friends ran for two decades, from 1955 through 1975, and racked up 635 episodes.
King Of The Hill
It seems we just never get enough of our animated families, and the same was true of Hank, Peggy and Bobby Hill on Fox’s King of the Hill. The comedy was a hit for 13 seasons and makes the list with 259 episodes.
Knots Landing
You’ll remember what a big deal Dallas was, managing to air 357 episodes. Well, its fellow nighttime soap spinoff, Knots Landing, was also a big hit. It ran for 14 seasons and 344 episodes.
Murder, She Wrote
Cozy mysteries have never really gone out of style, but they used to be all over TV, and Murder, She Wrote is still the favorite of many despite it having been off the air for nearly 30 years as of this writing. The Angela Lansbury-led drama about a mystery writer who solves crimes in her small, murder-prone community of Cabot Cove, Maine had a great run from 1984 through 1996.
The Jeffersons
If you’d like to talk about some of the longest-running sitcoms, The Jeffersons lands squarely in that category. Going for 11 seasons from 1975 through 1985, this Norman Lear hit that followed an upwardly mobile Black couple after they moved from Queens to Manhattan to begin a fancier life was a spinoff of All in the Family that surpassed its parent show by netting 253 episodes, compared with the earlier series’ 205.
Cheers
Sometimes it takes a bit for a show to really catch on, and that was the case with Cheers. The comedy, set largely in the eponymous Boston bar, was so close to ranking last during its inaugural 1982-83 season that it was nearly canceled. As we know, however, things did pick up, and enough that the show would last for 11 seasons and launch the careers of Ted Danson, Woody Harrelson, Kirstie Alley, Kelsey Grammer and more.
Married...With Children
Fox hit pay dirt again in 1987 with Married…with Children. Seen as the first risqué sitcom to air on American network TV, the show that followed the Bundy family rode all of its controversies through 11 successful seasons and ended as the longest-running live-action sitcom from the network.
The Big Bang Theory
After a slow start in the first two seasons, Season 3 saw The Big Bang Theory (about a group of scientists and their pretty neighbor) begin to take off, eventually becoming one of the most-watched comedies of its time. The series ran for 12 seasons, until 2019, and spawned multiple spinoffs.
Law & Order
DUNH DUNH. Those serious, gavel-esque tones are still familiar to everyone who’s paid any attention to television crime dramas over the past few years, as even though Law & Order (which began in 1990 and led to numerous spinoffs, including the previously mentioned SVU) originally ended its run after 20 seasons in 2010, not only has it been in syndication for decades, but in 2021 it was revived and added more to its episode count.
CSI
We got a very different kind of crime procedural in 2000 when CSI premiered, and we adored it. The Vegas-set drama that liked to zoom in on wounds not only began a franchise that led to a number of spinoffs, but the original show ran for 15 seasons and had a three-season revival that meant it wrapped with 378 episodes.
The Adventures Of Ozzie & Harriet
Here’s another series you can be forgiven for not realizing it had a long run. The Adventures Of Ozzie & Harriet (which focused on the titular married couple and their family) began way back in 1952 and ended in 1966. While it’s not our longest-running live-action sitcom (that honor goes to It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), it does still have more episodes than any other at 435.
Two And A Half Men
From powerhouse sitcom creator Chuck Lorre (who was also behind The Big Bang Theory), Two and a Half Men was yet another megahit. The series followed down-on-his-luck divorced dad Alan and his son after having to move in with Alan’s rich, partying bachelor brother, Charlie. The comedy ran from 2003 through 2015.
My Three Sons
Don’t remember My Three Sons? That’s OK, because it ended its 12-season run in 1972. The comedy that followed a widower and, yes, his three young sons, was clearly beloved and racked up an impressive 380 episodes.
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue quickly became one of our most acclaimed (and controversial) police dramas, which meant big business and a long run. Lasting for 12 seasons, from 1993-2005, it was ABC’s longest-running hour-long drama until Grey’s Anatomy left it in the dust in 2016.
Beverly Hills, 90210
This is our last nighttime soap, but it was a doozy. Beverly Hills, 90210 was the first primetime teen drama to become a pop culture touchstone, launching the careers of stars like Jenny Garth, Luke Perry, and the late Shannen Doherty. With 10 seasons (1990-2000), it led to a franchise of five spinoffs/revivals, though most were short-lived, with the exception of Melrose Place.
Perry Mason
Series about those in the legal profession can give thanks to Perry Mason, one of the first such shows to garner both critical acclaim and mass popularity. The drama followed the title character, an L.A. criminal defense attorney, as he attempts to prove his clients' innocence (usually after they’re accused of murder). After nine successful seasons, which ended in 1966, the show eventually led to a short-lived revival and a long run of 30 made-for-TV films.
NCIS: Los Angeles
And here we have another of the uber-popular NCIS franchises, this one focusing on Naval investigators in Los Angeles. For a spinoff, 14 seasons (2009-2023) and 323 episodes is nothing to sneeze at.
As you can see, TV fans have helped to keep many of their favorite shows on the air for well over 250 episodes, and there’s no doubt that this list will continue to grow!
