Longest-Running U.S. Sitcoms

Hm, The Simpsons... imo they kind of deserve their place for all their previous episodes, but since 1-3 seasons the quality and originality of the episodes is decreasing intensely :(

how could they not deserve their place? Even if the show was terrible, and it's never been terrible, they still have a commanding lead over everybody else in terms of the number of episodes produced. Quite an accomplishment, especially given that it's an animated show.

We tend to remember the good things and forget the bad, boring things. Then we compare the new episodes with the idealized pictures we have in our head.

I don't know. I'm not a huge fan. Sister's husband is and he still watches and loves the show. I never watched it regularly but every time I see an episode it's at least fairly funny. Never terrible. Same with Futurama. I'm surprised that one's not on here.

140 episodes, just 19 short

Simpsons doesn't have the edge and relevance that it once had, but, it's still never been as bad as, say... 2 1/2 Men, or The Big Bang Theory, or other laugh-track shows that are like them.

I'm a pretty hardcore Simpsons fan, and you are definitely the first person I've ever heard suggest that Seasons 1-3 are the best. It's a largely settled question that Seasons 3-9 are the prime years, and if you're the kind of fan who really gets into it (which, admittedly, I am), the first "great" episode is generally agreed to be "Homer at the Bat" from Season 3 (when Mr. Burns hires the ringers for the company softball team), and the end of the Golden Age was "the Principal and the Pauper" (when we discover, bizarrely, that Principal Skinner is not really Principal Skinner). Nonetheless, I think people are too hard on everything post-Season 9. There were some down years, but it's still reliably funny and clever, and it's still better than most comedy currently on TV.

Agreed. The ones I usually hear are seasons 2-8, though 9 and 1 still have some pretty great moments. Anyone who thinks they were better in season one than 4, 5 or 8 isn't paying attention.

I just can't forgive The Simpsons for having Baby Shark in one of their episodes. (Somewhere in the last season)

I love the Simpsons, but season 1 was downright bad. "Primitive" is the most accurate term for it. They're still churning out great episodes, but the high point was probably in around season 8.

South Park peaked around the same time. Season 1 was brilliant. Seasons 3-6 were brillianter. But seasons 7-11 or so were simply some of the best stuff that's ever been on TV. They still do good work sometimes and I know there are people who think it's better than ever but last season was probably the weakest in the show's history IMO.

I sort of wish they had ended the show with the poignant and bittersweet two-parter "You're Getting Old" and "Assburgers"... which felt so much like an ending that many fans after watching it thought that the show was over and Matt & Trey had decided to pull the plug without warning us. They could have gone out while they were still near the top of their game back then. In the five years since they've only made 6 or 7 brilliant episodes and it often feels like they're just phoning it in.

Yeah, the Simpsons isn't very good now.

I think it's just really hard to think of them with only the dates. The slightest clue would trigger 80% of these with me (like a single character name) but it's tough with a blank slate.

Try this one. http://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/114622/old-sitcoms-by-lead-character

No, it just means that much tv has rotted your mind. But take heart--there will always be more soma.

Awesome quiz! I'm kind of kicking myself for forgetting the Beverly Hillbillies, M*A*S*H, and That 70's Show... I only got 28. And just an idea, but if you make it to be the longest running NORTH American sitcoms, The Red Green Show (300 episodes, 1990-2005) could also be included!

I LOVE Red Green, but I'm not sure it's a "sitcom". More like a themed sketch comedy show.

I typed in 'The Danny Thomas Show' several times, not believing that it wasn't on the list. After I finished the quiz I went and looked it up. If 11 seasons and 351 episodes over 11 years (1953-1964) doesn't make the grade there's something wrong here! I remembered afterward that it was also known as 'Make Room for Daddy' but I don't see that on the list either.

no Taxi?

That surprises me.

I know, for some reason I thought it was on longer than five years. Looking it up, though, it apparently only had 114 episodes.

I tried running through the gamut of show from ABC's "TGIF" line up. I'm shocked how few of them made this list.

The Flintstones is a sitcom???

I got all of the animated ones first. Those are easiest.

It had canned laughter.

Spongebob should be on here, it had 178 episodes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpongeBob_SquarePants

Are children's shows considered "sitcoms"? I don't think so.

The Flintstones?

The Flintstones were a prime-time show, and deliberately designed to appeal to adult audiences. I grew up watching it in the 70s as an after-school show, so I thought for a long time that it was a kids show, but it really is suitable to consider it a sitcom.

The Flintstones was on prime time. Though I like Spongebob. It's got a lot of jokes in it that surely go over the head of the average child.

Number of episodes has no correlation whatsoever to quality of viewing experience. Some of these were just AWFUL.

You ought to change the thumbnail to one of dan castellaneta

He's not exactly recognisable to the average person.

So?

If not him, at least do Harry Shearer from This Is Spinal Tap. Real life version or Simpsons version doesn't matter.

Actually looking at the main cast of the Simpsons, Hank Azaria's been in a lot more live-action stuff than I realized and probably has the most recognizable face out of all of them.

I was gonna say the same thing. Dan Castellaneta is actually in a ton of stuff, but his natural voice sounds nothing like his cartoon voices, so I doubt most people realize they're watching the voice of Homer Simpson. A lot more people can probably recognize Hank Azaria when they see him.

I remember what a landmark it was (even in the UK) for the 200th episodes of M*A*S*H, Cheers, The Simpsons and Frasier. What? They made more than 200 of King of Queens?!

I missed Ozzie and Harriet because I tried to use an ampersand...

no you didn't

"Loading results"....let the facepalming begin! Gargh!

Its always sunny in philedelphia???? they're on season 10 right now

But only 114 episodes per Wikipedia.

They only have a small number of episodes per season compared to most American shows.

I think it's time to update this quiz. Some of the shows that are still running would be further up the list now and Two and a Half Men has since been cancelled.

This is picky, but Frasier ran from 1993-2004, not 1994-2005.

"Sabrina" should work for "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch".

I was really disappointed with only getting 21, but somehow still beat 73.7%???

Not enough time.

Like a lot of people before me, I missed a lot of shows that I knew and have watched. Also, for 'Mary Tyler Moore', I wrote 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' and it wasn't accepted, but this is the correct full title. Maybe this can be changed?

When I watched The Bob Cummings Show in the early '60s it was called "Love That Bob" but it was the same show.

So I missed Seinfeld...

The Middle has now cracked its way onto this list.

Only 158 episodes

Part of me is pleased I don't know this much about TV.

Was hoping to score with 'Alf', 'Third rock from the sun' and 'Saved by the bell' but apparently they never made it into that high a number of episodes... #ninetiesteenager

Friends might be the worst show on TV...so overrated

I'll never forget walking the streets of Killarney in 2007 while on my honeymoon. It was about 3 o'clock and the high school let out as we were walking by.Nothing like hundreds of teenagers speaking with an Irish accent and then hearing someone say "How you doing" in a Joey Tribiani voice that Matt LeBlanc would have a hard time telling from his.

I never cared for the show and I'd agree that it's overrated, and I've never once quoted it, but it's far from the worst.

I mean, have you ever seen Small Wonder, Last Man Standing, or the later seasons of Family Matters? And that's only when considering scripted sit-coms. There's also "reality" TV, 90% of which is worse than the worst scripted shows.

The first season of Friends was very good. Then it got steadily worse, and once Chandler and Monica paired up (maybe Season Four?), it turned into an outright dumpster fire.

The Middle ended at 215 and still isn't on the list. With all the reboots, its going to be an ugly update.

Also what about Donna Reed, Burns and Gracie. Both well over 200 and Burns and Gracie was definitely a sitcom.

The Big Bang Theory needs to be updated to 2007-2019 with 279 episodes and moved up below South Park. Also, Two and a Half Men is out of order, needs to be moved up below Frasier.

Postponed due to COVID. Can it be updated in early 2021?

The Donna Reed show had 275 episodes. It should be on this list.

You forgot The Middle

Modern Family ended in April of this year.

Also, the dates for Frasier are wrong, it started in 1993 and ended in 2004.

I have every season on DVD, and I have watched every episode of this show at least 5 times, and I can't believe I forgot "Hogan's Heroes"!

This quiz needs to be updated. Some of these shows are no longer on for example and others may have surpassed them.

Again, please update this quiz.

Is South Park not considered a sitcom? I'm pretty sure they have over 300 episodes now.

What's the reason for excluding cable shows?

Damang... if I had to guess it might be the extreme overgrowth of media lately with the proliferation of all these streaming services and online content providers. It would get confusing trying to figure out what counted and what didn't. The biggest home entertainment provider in the world right now is probably Netflix and they produce shows now all over the world not just in the USA. And then you've got other services like Hulu, Acorn, etc which have picked up tons of old American and international shows and packaged them all together. The enormous number of cable and satellite TV channels, now coupled with YouTube, Disney +, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, and so on and so on.... plus the blending of genres that often takes place in shows on these more non-traditional media platforms where more quirky stuff that never would have been on network TV is given a chance. Limiting what's included to four American TV networks I guess makes it much simpler.

147 more episodes, and Mel Brooks' "When Things Were Rotten" would've made the cut. Hilarious Robin Hood spoof from the mid-70s.

I tried those, and also 30 rock which apparently had 149 episodes.

Always Sunny only does like ten episodes a season, so it has fewer episodes than you'd probably expect, given that it has been on the air for like 15 years.

IASIP will be at over 160 once season 15 airs this year.

As a Brit who took this quiz not expecting to do very well, I was still surprised at how many of the shows I had never heard of. Over 40 are new to me, and some like “I love Lucy” I had never heard of before coming on Jetpunk. I guess we don’t get as much American TV as I thought.

Also some programmes on here that are as funny as a root canal, but I guess comedy is like beauty.

If something didn't take place inside the living room of the house you grew up in you seem to not know about it and claim that it's impossible for anyone to know. This is pretty much what 80% of your comments on the site are.

Agreed that many of these shows are terrible. American network TV sitcoms usually are. Americans produce more quality TV than anyone, and on the networks some good stuff occasionally slips through, but most of it is aired different places.

Dude, maybe that's true, but Algernon didn't "claim that it's impossible for anyone to know" in this comment so there's no need to bring it up here.

He brings it up on every quiz that he comments on so why are we not allowed to?

South Park is still going strong after nearly 25 years... was this recently changed to only count network TV shows? I thought I remembered them being on here before.

P.S. my dad was binge watching every season of Ozzie and Harriet for several months... as blinded by nostalgia as he often is, even he eventually got tired of it. My god that show was awful. And not just because shows in general have gotten so, so much better over the years, but even for its time it just was completely terrible. I Love Lucy and Andy Griffith, for instance, were far superior. At least they had scripts.

You think Ozzie and Harriet was a better show than Breaking Bad, Dexter, Game of Thrones, Chernobyl, Westworld, The Spy, WandaVision, South Park, The Wire, The Boys, etc etc? What are you even talking about...

or was the only time you turned on the television in the past 20 years a day when they had scheduled a Jersey Shore marathon?

Even if you're only just talking about sitcoms in the past 20 years you've got The Simpsons (didn't premiere, but still going), Arrested Development, The Office (both versions, take your pick), etc on the networks, and quirkier stuff other places like Jean Claude van Johnson, Living With Yourself, and the Santa Clarita Diet... I do lament the extreme proliferation of extremely bad "reality" television the past couple of decades, but, just flat out saying everything since 2000 is bad makes you sound like Mickey Rooney.

and I'd have to respectfully disagree that sitcoms reached their peak in the 70s and 80s. What was even good in the 70s? Three's Company and the Brady Bunch? ugh. I don't think I could even sit through a full show anymore. I used to watch stuff like Saved by the Bell and Full House or reruns of the Beverly Hillbillies or The Golden Girls when I got home from school in the 90s, and I remember our family used to love ALF, but I tried rewatching some of those shows on Hulu recently and they are just terrible. Not Ozzie and Harriet bad, but, still, terrible... I don't know how I ever could stand it.

I think Happy Days was from the 70s. That show was pretty sweet. But I agree, the sophistication of some more recent comedy sets it far above its predecessors. After Seinfeld, which is the consensus #1, I'd submit Arrested Development and 30 Rock are the next two best sitcoms ever. Parks & Rec, the Office, It's Always Sunny, You're the Worst were all just much more interesting than the rote fare being produced in the 70s and 80s. It's hard to gauge "sitcoms" now because everything is scattered among so many different platforms. Network TV sitcoms are mostly unwatchable, but there is a lot of great stuff elsewhere. I just watched Frank From Ireland on Amazon Prime. Funniest show I have discovered in years.

Sitcoms without laugh track are better than those with it (usually, there are some exceptions)

What about South Park?? It's been on since the 90's.

Damn, no Malcolm in the Middle. That makes me sad. Loved that show

Seems like this site does not respect your authoritah. I'd say being on Comedy Central for 20 years is less impressive than being on network TV for 20 years because Comedy Central has so few major properties. They pretty much have the Daily Show and South Park, then a revolving door of weird sketch shows and vehicles for offbeat comedians that get canceled after a few seasons (with the notable and brilliant exceptions of Key & Peele and Chappelle's Show). Comedy Central will never let South Park or the Daily Show go. Season 42 of South Park would draw probably twice as many viewers as whatever the network would replace it with. That's not a knock on the show. It's one of my favorites ever. I think it's brilliant.

Chappelle's Show was canceled after a few seasons, too... but only because Dave had a crisis of conscience and ran off to Africa...

South Park was initially on the list for this quiz but removed when the quiz was updated. Too bad.

The Middle is still missing 5 years after the fact it was brought up.

In a previous version of this quiz, South Park was there. I wonder if they took it off as it is a paid cable show not regular network? It has run longer than many other shows listed here.

well what are the majority of television viewers if not ordinary?