List of longest-running American television series

This is a list of the longest-running United States television series, ordered by number of years the show has been aired. This list includes only first-run series originating in North America and available throughout the United States via national broadcast networks, U.S. cable networks, or syndication. Series continuations (with name changes and/or changes in network) are noted, but series' revivals are treated as separate from the originals (see The People's Court and Jeopardy!). Series broadcast within the U.S. but produced in other countries, such as Coronation Street (50+ years) and Doctor Who are not included (see: List of longest-running UK television series).

Legend

Series shaded in light blue are currently in production.

60–69 years

Length	Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes	Notes
77 years	69	Meet the Press (NBC News)	NBC	November 6, 1947	present	5,048+	Longest-running show.
76 years	68	CBS Evening News (CBS News)	CBS	May 3, 1948	present	16,400+	Longest-running network newscast.
75 years	67	Music & the Spoken Word	Syndicated	October 1949	present	4,500+
72 years	65	Hallmark Hall of Fame	NBC	December 24, 1951*	December 17, 1978	243+	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 24, 2011
			ABC	November 27, 2011	April 20, 2014
			Hallmark Channel	November 30, 2014	present
72 years	65	Today (NBC News)	NBC	January 14, 1952	present	15,785+	Longest running morning show.
71 years	63	ABC World News Tonight (ABC News)	ABC	September 1953	present	15,722+
70 years	62	The Tonight Show	NBC	September 27, 1954	present	13,347	World's longest-running talk show
70 years	62	Face the Nation (CBS News)	CBS	November 7, 1954	present
68 years	61	It Is Written	Syndicated	March 1, 1956	present		First religious television program to broadcast in color.

50–59 years

Length	Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes	Notes
68 years	60	The Open Mind	Syndicated	May 1956	present
57 years	57	Guiding Light (CBS Daytime)	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 Light's first incarnation was as a radio show, which premiered on January 25, 1937.
55 years	56	NFL on CBS	CBS	September 30, 1956	January 23, 1994	5,000+
				September 6, 1998	present
63 years	55	It's Academic	NBC, CBS	October 7, 1961	present
62 years	55	Professional Bowlers Tour	ABC	January 27, 1962	June 21, 1997		ESPN airs some of the tours on ABC.
			CBS	1998	1999
			Fox Sports Net	1999	2000
			ESPN	2000	present
54 years	54	As the World Turns (CBS Daytime)	CBS	April 2, 1956	September 17, 2010	13,858
54 years	53	The Wonderful World of Disney	ABC	October 27, 1954	June 11, 1961	1,224
			NBC	September 24, 1961	August 16, 1981
			CBS	September 26, 1981	May 3, 1983
			ABC	February 2, 1986	May 22, 1988
			NBC	October 9, 1988	August 26, 1990
			Disney Channel	September 23, 1990	August 25, 1996
			ABC	September 28, 1997	December 24, 2008
61 years	53	General Hospital (ABC Daytime)	ABC	April 1, 1963	present	13,000+	As of February 24, 2014
59 years	51	Days of Our Lives (NBC Daytime)	NBC	November 8, 1965	present	12,818+	As of April 5, 2016

40–49 years

Length	Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes	Notes
57 years	50	Washington Week	NET, PBS	February 23, 1967	present	2,000+
57 years	48	NFL Films Presents	Syndicated	September 17, 1967	January 26, 1997
			ESPN	August 31, 1997	present
			NFL Network	November 4, 2003	present
56 years	48	Day of Discovery	Syndicated	May 5, 1968	present
56 years	48	60 Minutes (CBS News)	CBS	September 24, 1968	present
46 years	46	Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon	Syndicated	September 4, 1966	August 31, 2014	46	Annual broadcast
55 years	46	Sesame Street	NET	November 10, 1969	October 4, 1970	4,386	Longest-running children's show. While Sesame Street remains on the PBS schedule, new episodes now premiere on HBO and become available to PBS nine months later.
			PBS	October 5, 1970	June 8, 2015
			HBO	January 16, 2016	present
54 years	47	Hour of Power	Syndicated	February 1970	present	2,000+
54 years	46	Monday Night Football	ABC	September 21, 1970	December 26, 2005	641+
			ESPN	September 11, 2006	present
54 years	46	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.
53 years	46	Masterpiece Theatre	PBS	January 10, 1971	present
45 years	45	Wide World of Sports (ABC Sports)	ABC	April 29, 1961	August 2006
45 years	45	NASCAR on ABC	ABC	February 26, 1961	August 5, 2000
				March 10, 2007	October 11, 2014
45 years	45	Agronsky & Co./Inside Washington	Syndicated	1969	December 20, 2013
45 years	46	One Life to Live (ABC Daytime)	ABC	July 15, 1968	January 13, 2012	11,096	While the show had ceased airing as a television series it was still in production for a brief time after. On April 29, 2013 the show had resumed airing now as a web series on the internet and could be seen through Hulu, iTunes and YouTube until August 19, 2013 before being confirmed as being discontinued again on September 3, 2013.
52 years	44	The Price Is Right (CBS Daytime)	CBS	September 4, 1972	present	8,000+	Longest-running game show.
52 years	44	Great Performances	PBS	November 4, 1972	present
51 years	43	The Young and the Restless (CBS Daytime)	CBS	March 26, 1973	present	10,400+
41 years	41	Romper Room/Romper Room & Friends	Syndicated	February 9, 1953	September 1994
41 years	42	All My Children (ABC Daytime)	ABC	January 5, 1970	September 23, 2011	10,712	While the show had ceased airing as a television series it was still in production for a brief time after. On April 29, 2013 the show had resumed airing now as a web series on the internet and could be seen through Hulu, iTunes and YouTube until September 2, 2013 before being confirmed as being discontinued again on November 11, 2013.
50 years	43	Nova	PBS	March 3, 1974	present	698
49 years	41	The Victory Garden	PBS	April 16, 1975	present
49 years	41	Saturday Night Live	NBC	October 11, 1975	present	796	The longest-running sketch comedy show on American television, as well as the longest-running variety show in U.S. history.
49 years	41	PBS NewsHour	PBS	October 20, 1975	present
49 years	41	Good Morning America	ABC	November 3, 1975	present	9,914+
48 years	41	Austin City Limits	PBS	1976	present
48 years	41	Creative Living with Sheryl Borden	Syndicated	1976	present
48 years	41	Live from Lincoln Center	PBS	January 30, 1976	present
40 years	40	NASCAR on CBS	CBS	February 12, 1960	July 15, 2000

35–39 years

Length	Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes	Notes
37 years	38	The 700 Club	Syndicated	1966	present
			ABC Family	1977	present
37 years	38	Inside the NFL	HBO	1977	February 6, 2008
			Showtime	September 10, 2008	present
46 years	38	20/20	ABC	June 6, 1978	present
45 years	38	Nightly Business Report	PBS	January 22, 1979	present
45 years	38	CBS News Sunday Morning	CBS	January 28, 1979	present
37 years	38	This Old House	PBS	1979	present	900+
37 years	38	The Woodwright's Shop	PBS	1979	present	429+
45 years	37	SportsCenter	ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS	September 7, 1979	present	90,000+	More episodes than any other television series.
44 years	36	Nightline	ABC	March 24, 1980	present
44 years	36	Washington Journal	C-SPAN	October 7, 1980	present
35 years	35	Search for Tomorrow (CBS and NBC Daytime)	CBS	September 3, 1951	March 23, 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
35 years	35	Soul Train	Syndicated	October 2, 1971	March 25, 2006	1,117
35 years	35	Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser	PBS	November 20, 1970	June 24, 2005

30–34 years

Length	Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes	Notes
43 years	35	Noticiero Univision	Univision	June 1, 1981	present
43 years	35	Entertainment Tonight	Syndicated	September 14, 1981	present	10,211+	Longest-running entertainment news program.
43 years	35	This Week	ABC	November 15, 1981	present
34 years	34	Evening at Pops	PBS	July 12, 1970	August 29, 2004
33 years	34	Bobby Jones Gospel	BET	November 1980	present
42 years	34	Late Night	NBC	February 1, 1982	June 21, 1993	1,819	... with David Letterman
				September 13, 1993	February 20, 2009	2,725	... with Conan O'Brien
				March 2, 2009	February 7, 2014	977	... with Jimmy Fallon
				February 24, 2014	present	1,595	... with Seth Meyers
42 years	34	Nature	PBS	October 10, 1982	present	440+
41 years	34	Frontline	PBS	January 17, 1983	present	520+
33 years	33	Mister Rogers' Neighborhood	NET	February 19, 1968	October 4, 1970	895
			PBS	October 5, 1970	August 31, 2001
33 years	33	Firing Line	Syndicated	1966	1971	1,504	Longest-running television program to have a single host.
			PBS	1971	December 26, 1999
41 years	33	Wheel of Fortune (prime time)	Syndicated	September 19, 1983	present	6,000+
32 years	32	American Bandstand	ABC	August 5, 1957	November 5, 1987	4,134
			Syndicated	1987	1988
			USA	April 8, 1989	October 7, 1989
31 years	32	The McLaughlin Group	Syndicated	1982	present
31 years	32	MotorWeek	PBS	1982	present
40 years	32	Jeopardy! (revival)	Syndicated	September 10, 1984	present	6,600+
40 years	32	Real Videos	TBN, JCTV	October 4, 1984	present	900+
31 years	31	Faith for Today	ABC	May 21, 1950	1955
			Syndicated	1955	1981
31 years	31	Lamp Unto My Feet	CBS	1948	1979
30 years	31	Gilad's Bodies in Motion	ESPN	1983	1994
			Fox Sports Net	1994	1995
			Discovery Health	1995	2004
			FitTV	2004	2011
			Discovery Fit & Health	2011	present
39 years	31	Sunday NFL Countdown	ESPN	September 7, 1985	present
39 years	31	Grand Ole Opry Live	TNN	April 20, 1985	August 2001
			CMT	August 2001	2003
			GAC	2003	present
30 years	30	Live from the Met	PBS	1977	2007
30 years	30	NASCAR on ESPN	ESPN, ESPN2, ABC	1981	2002
				2007	2014

25–29 years

Length	Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes	Notes
38 years	30	Sábado Gigante	Univision	April 12, 1986	September 19, 2015
29 years	29	Captain Kangaroo	CBS	October 3, 1955	December 8, 1984
29 years	29	Lou Dobbs Tonight	CNN	June 1, 1980	November 11, 2009
28 years	29	National Geographic Explorer	Nickelodeon	1985	1986
			WTBS/TBS	1986	1999
			CNBC	1999	2001
			MSNBC	2001	2005
			National Geographic	2005	present
37 years	29	The Bold and the Beautiful	CBS	March 23, 1987	present	6,500+
37 years	29	Biography	A&E	April 6, 1987	August 2006
			Biography Channel	August 2006	present
38 years	29	Hometime	PBS	November 1, 1986	present
36 years	29	48 Hours	CBS	January 2, 1988	present
28 years	29	The Edge of Night	CBS	April 2, 1956	November 28, 1975	7,420
			ABC	December 1, 1975	December 28, 1984
28 years	29	Love of Life	CBS	September 24, 1951	February 1, 1980	7,316
36 years	28	Live! with Kelly and Michael	Syndicated	September 5, 1988	present	7,700+
28 years	28	ESPN SpeedWorld	ESPN	1979	2006
28 years	28	Mystery!	PBS	February 5, 1980	2008
27 years	27	The Lawrence Welk Show	ABC	July 2, 1955	September 4, 1971	1065
			Syndicated	1971	February 1982
27 years	27	The Phil Donahue Show	Syndicated	1969	1996	5,515
26 years	26	The David Susskind Show	Syndicated	1961	1987
26 years	27	College GameDay (football series)	ESPN	September 1987	present
26 years	27	NFL Primetime	ESPN	1987	present
26 years	27	Showtime at the Apollo	Syndicated	1987	present
35 years	27	Inside Edition	Syndicated	January 9, 1989	present
35 years	27	Cops	Fox	March 11, 1989	2013	903+
			Spike	2013	present
36 years	27	American Experience	PBS	October 1, 1988	present	230+
36 years	27	The Sports Reporters	ESPN	October 9, 1988	present
36 years	27	NBA on TNT	TNT	October 30, 1988	present
34 years	27	The Simpsons	Fox	December 17, 1989	present	This article is about the television series. For the franchise, see The Simpsons (franchise). For the titular family, see Simpson family. For other uses, see The Simpsons (disambiguation). "Simpsons" redirects here. For the defunct department store, see Simpsons (department store). For singular uses of the plural, see Simpson (disambiguation). List of longest-running American television series Genre Animated sitcom Satire Created by Matt Groening Based on The Simpsons shorts by Matt Groening Developed by James L. Brooks Matt Groening Sam Simon Showrunners James L. Brooks Matt Groening Sam Simon Al Jean Mike Reiss David Mirkin Bill Oakley Josh Weinstein Mike Scully Matt Selman Voices of Dan Castellaneta Julie Kavner Nancy Cartwright Yeardley Smith Hank Azaria Harry Shearer (Complete list) Theme music composer Danny Elfman Opening theme "The Simpsons Theme" Ending theme "The Simpsons Theme" (reprise) Composers Richard Gibbs Alf Clausen Bleeding Fingers Music Country of origin United States Original language English No. of seasons 36 No. of episodes 775 (list of episodes) Production Executive producer Various James L. Brooks Matt Groening Al Jean Matt Selman John Frink Sam Simon Mike Reiss David Mirkin Bill Oakley Josh Weinstein Mike Scully David X. Cohen George Meyer Carolyn Omine Tim Long Ian Maxtone-Graham Producers Bonita Pietila Richard Raynis Richard Sakai Denise Sirkot Editors Don Barrozo Michael Bridge Running time 21–24 minutes Production companies Gracie Films 20th Television (seasons 1–32) 20th Television Animation (season 33–present) Original release Network Fox Disney+ (from 2024, select episodes) Release December 17, 1989 (1989-12-17) – present The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Developed by Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon, the series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Set in the fictional town of Springfield, it caricatures society, Western culture, television, and the human condition. The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with producer Brooks. He created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after his own family members, substituting Bart for his own name; he thought Simpson was a funny name in that it sounded similar to "simpleton". The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After three seasons, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and became Fox's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990). Since its debut on December 17, 1989, 775 episodes of the show have been broadcast. It is the longest-running American animated series, longest-running American sitcom, and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series, both in seasons and individual episodes. A feature-length film, The Simpsons Movie, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, to critical and commercial success, with a sequel in development as of 2018. The series has also spawned numerous comic book series, video games, books, and other related media, as well as a billion-dollar merchandising industry. The Simpsons is a joint production by Gracie Films and 20th Television. On January 26, 2023, the series was renewed for its 35th and 36th seasons, taking the show through the 2024–25 television season. Both seasons contain a combined total of 51 episodes. Seven of these episodes are season 34 holdovers, while the other 44 will be produced in the production cycle of the upcoming seasons, bringing the show's overall episode total up to 801. Season 35 premiered on October 1, 2023. Season 36 premiered on September 29, 2024. The Simpsons received widespread acclaim throughout its early seasons in the 1990s, which are generally considered its "golden age". Since then, it has been criticized for a perceived decline in quality. Time named it the 20th century's best television series, and Erik Adams of The A.V. Club named it "television's crowning achievement regardless of format". On January 14, 2000, the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 37 Primetime Emmy Awards, 34 Annie Awards, and 2 Peabody Awards. Homer's exclamatory catchphrase of "D'oh!" has been adopted into the English language, while The Simpsons has influenced many other later adult-oriented animated sitcom television series. Premise Characters Main article: List of The Simpsons characters The main characters are the Simpson family, who live in the fictional "Middle America" town of Springfield. Homer, the father, works as a safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, a position at odds with his careless, buffoonish personality. He is married to Marge (née Bouvier), a stereotypical American housewife and mother. They have three children: Bart, a ten-year-old troublemaker and prankster; Lisa, a precocious eight-year-old activist; and Maggie (named by Bart), the baby of the family who rarely speaks, but communicates by sucking on a pacifier. Although the family is dysfunctional, many episodes examine their relationships and bonds with each other and they are often shown to care about one another. The family also owns a greyhound, Santa's Little Helper, (who first appeared in the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire") and a cat, Snowball II, who is replaced by a cat also called Snowball II in the fifteenth-season episode "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot". Extended members of the Simpson and Bouvier family in the main cast include Homer's father Abe and Marge's sisters Patty and Selma. Marge's mother Jacqueline and Homer's mother Mona appear less frequently. The Simpsons sports a vast array of secondary and tertiary characters. The show includes a vast array of quirky supporting characters, which include Homer's friends Barney Gumble, Lenny Leonard and Carl Carlson; the school principal Seymour Skinner and staff members such as Edna Krabappel and Groundskeeper Willie; students such as Milhouse Van Houten, Nelson Muntz and Ralph Wiggum; shopkeepers such as Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Comic Book Guy and Moe Szyslak; government figures Mayor "Diamond" Joe Quimby and Clancy Wiggum; next-door neighbor Ned Flanders; local celebrities such as Krusty the Clown and news reporter Kent Brockman; nuclear tycoon Montgomery Burns and his devoted assistant Waylon Smithers; and dozens more. The creators originally intended many of these characters as one-time jokes or for fulfilling needed functions in the town. A number of them have gained expanded roles and subsequently starred in their own episodes. According to Matt Groening, the show adopted the concept of a large supporting cast from the comedy show SCTV. Continuity and the floating timeline Despite the depiction of yearly milestones such as holidays or birthdays passing, the characters never age. The series uses a floating timeline in which episodes generally take place in the year the episode is produced. Flashbacks and flashforwards do occasionally depict the characters at other points in their lives, with the timeline of these depictions also generally floating relative to the year the episode is produced. For example, the 1991 episodes "The Way We Was" and "I Married Marge" depict Homer and Marge as high schoolers in the 1970s who had Bart (who is always 10 years old) in the early '80s, while the 2008 episode "That '90s Show" depicts Homer and Marge as a childless couple in the '90s, and the 2021 episode "Do Pizza Bots Dream of Electric Guitars" portrays Homer as an adolescent in the same period. The 1995 episode "Lisa's Wedding" takes place during Lisa's college years in the then-future year of 2010, the same year the show began airing its 22nd season, in which Lisa was still 8. Regarding the contradictory flashbacks, Selman stated that "they all kind of happened in their imaginary world." The show follows a loose and inconsistent continuity. For example, Krusty the Clown may be able to read in one episode, but not in another. However, it is consistently portrayed that he is Jewish, that his father was a rabbi, and that his career began in the 1960s. The latter point introduces another snag in the floating timeline: historical periods that are a core part of a character's backstory remain so even when their age makes it unlikely or impossible, such as Grampa Simpson and Principal Skinner's respective service in World War II and Vietnam. The only episodes not part of the series' main canon are the Treehouse of Horror episodes, which often feature the deaths of main characters. Characters who die in "regular" episodes, such as Maude Flanders, Mona Simpson and Edna Krabappel, however, stay dead. Most episodes end with the status quo being restored, though occasionally major changes will stick, such as Lisa's conversions to vegetarianism and Buddhism, the divorce of Milhouse van Houten's parents, and the marriage and subsequent parenthood of Apu and Manjula. Setting Main article: Springfield (The Simpsons) The Simpsons takes place in a fictional American town called Springfield. Although there are many real settlements in America named Springfield, the town the show is set in is fictional. The state it is in is not established. In fact, the show is intentionally evasive with regard to Springfield's location. Springfield's geography and that of its surroundings is inconsistent: from one episode to another, it may have coastlines, deserts, vast farmland, mountains, or whatever the story or joke requires. Groening has said that Springfield has much in common with Portland, Oregon, the city where he grew up. Groening has said that he named it after Springfield, Oregon, and the fictitious Springfield which was the setting of the series Father Knows Best. He "figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, 'This will be cool; everyone will think it's their Springfield.' And they do." Many landmarks, including street names, have connections to Portland. Production Development Main articles: History of The Simpsons and The Simpsons shorts James L. Brooks (pictured) asked Matt Groening to create a series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show. When producer James L. Brooks was working on the television variety show The Tracey Ullman Show, he decided to include small animated sketches before and after the commercial breaks. Having seen one of cartoonist Matt Groening's Life in Hell comic strips, Brooks asked Groening to pitch an idea for a series of animated shorts. Groening initially intended to present an animated version of his Life in Hell series. However, Groening later realized that animating Life in Hell would require the rescinding of publication rights for his life's work. He therefore chose another approach while waiting in the lobby of Brooks's office for the pitch meeting, hurriedly formulating his version of a dysfunctional family that became the Simpsons. He named the characters after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name, adopting an anagram of the word brat. The Simpson family first appeared as shorts in The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. Groening submitted only basic sketches to the animators and assumed that the figures would be cleaned up in production. However, the animators merely re-traced his drawings, which led to the crude appearance of the characters in the initial shorts. The animation was produced domestically at Klasky Csupo, with Wes Archer, David Silverman, and Bill Kopp being animators for the first season. The colorist, "Georgie" Gyorgyi Kovacs Peluce (Kovács Györgyike) made the characters yellow; as Bart, Lisa and Maggie have no hairlines, she felt they would look strange if they were flesh-colored. Groening supported the decision, saying: "Marge is yellow with blue hair? That's hilarious — let's do it!" In 1989, a team of production companies adapted The Simpsons into a half-hour series for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The team included the Klasky Csupo animation house. Brooks negotiated a provision in the contract with the Fox network that prevented Fox from interfering with the show's content. Groening said his goal in creating the show was to offer the audience an alternative to what he called "the mainstream trash" that they were watching. The half-hour series premiered on December 17, 1989, with "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". "Some Enchanted Evening" was the first full-length episode produced, but it did not broadcast until May 1990, as the last episode of the first season, because of animation problems. In 1992, Tracey Ullman filed a lawsuit against Fox, claiming that her show was the source of the series' success. The suit said she should receive a share of the profits of The Simpsons—a claim rejected by the courts. Executive producers and showrunners Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons List of showrunners throughout the series' run: Season 1–2: Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, & Sam Simon Season 3–4: Al Jean & Mike Reiss Season 5–6: David Mirkin Season 7–8: Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein Season 9–12: Mike Scully Season 13–31: Al Jean Season 32–present: Al Jean & Matt Selman Matt Groening and James L. Brooks have served as executive producers during the show's entire history, and also function as creative consultants. Sam Simon, described by former Simpsons director Brad Bird as "the unsung hero" of the show, served as creative supervisor for the first four seasons. He was constantly at odds with Groening, Brooks and the show's production company Gracie Films and left in 1993. Before leaving, he negotiated a deal that sees him receive a share of the profits every year, and an executive producer credit despite not having worked on the show since 1993, at least until his passing in 2015. A more involved position on the show is the showrunner, who acts as head writer and manages the show's production for an entire season. Writing Main article: List of The Simpsons writers The first team of writers, assembled by Sam Simon, consisted of John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti, George Meyer, Jeff Martin, Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky. Newer Simpsons' writing teams typically consist of sixteen writers who propose episode ideas at the beginning of each December. The main writer of each episode writes the first draft. Group rewriting sessions develop final scripts by adding or removing jokes, inserting scenes, and calling for re-readings of lines by the show's vocal performers. Until 2004, George Meyer, who had developed the show since the first season, was active in these sessions. According to long-time writer Jon Vitti, Meyer usually invented the best lines in a given episode, even though other writers may receive script credits. Each episode takes six months to produce so the show rarely comments on current events. Part of the writing staff of The Simpsons in 1992. Back row, left to right: Mike Mendel, Colin A. B. V. Lewis (partial), Jeff Goldstein, Al Jean (partial), Conan O'Brien, Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein, Mike Reiss, Ken Tsumura, George Meyer, John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti (partial), CJ Gibson, and David M. Stern. Front row, left to right: Dee Capelli, Lona Williams, and unknown. Credited with sixty episodes, John Swartzwelder is the most prolific writer on The Simpsons. One of the best-known former writers is Conan O'Brien, who contributed to several episodes in the early 1990s before replacing David Letterman as host of the talk show Late Night. English comedian Ricky Gervais wrote the episode "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife", becoming the first celebrity both to write and guest star in the same episode. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, writers of the film Superbad, wrote the episode "Homer the Whopper", with Rogen voicing a character in it. At the end of 2007, the writers of The Simpsons went on strike together with the other members of the Writers Guild of America, East. The show's writers had joined the guild in 1998. In May 2023, the writers of The Simpsons went on strike together with the other members of the Writers Guild of America, East. Voice actors Main articles: List of The Simpsons cast members, List of The Simpsons guest stars, and Non-English versions of The Simpsons Cast members Dan Castellaneta Julie Kavner Nancy Cartwright Yeardley Smith Hank Azaria Harry Shearer Homer Simpson, Abe Simpson, Krusty the Clown, various characters Marge Simpson, Patty and Selma Bouvier, additional voices Bart Simpson, Maggie Simpson, Nelson Muntz, various characters Lisa Simpson Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon (1990–2020), Lou (1990–2020), various characters Ned Flanders, Mr. Burns, Dr. Hibbert (1990–2021), Waylon Smithers, Principal Skinner, Reverend Lovejoy, various characters The Simpsons has six main cast members: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, and Harry Shearer. Castellaneta voices Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Quimby, Barney Gumble, and other adult male characters. Julie Kavner voices Marge Simpson and Patty and Selma, as well as several minor characters. Castellaneta and Kavner had been a part of The Tracey Ullman Show cast and were given the parts so that new actors would not be needed. Cartwright voices Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum and other children. Smith, the voice of Lisa Simpson, is the only cast member who regularly voices only one character, although she occasionally plays other episodic characters. The producers decided to hold casting for the roles of Bart and Lisa. Smith had initially been asked to audition for the role of Bart, but casting director Bonita Pietila believed her voice was too high, so she was given the role of Lisa instead. Cartwright was originally brought in to voice Lisa, but upon arriving at the audition, she found that Lisa was simply described as the "middle child" and at the time did not have much personality. Cartwright became more interested in the role of Bart, who was described as "devious, underachieving, school-hating, irreverent, [and] clever". Groening let her try out for the part instead, and upon hearing her read, gave her the job on the spot. Cartwright is the only one of the six main Simpsons cast members who had been professionally trained in voice acting prior to working on the show. Azaria and Shearer do not voice members of the title family, but play a majority of the male townspeople. Azaria, who has been a part of the main voice cast since the second season in one episode "Old Money" and then perpetually part of the regular main voice cast since the third season, voices recurring characters such as Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and Professor Frink. Shearer provides voices for Mr. Burns, Mr. Smithers, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy and formerly Dr. Hibbert. Every main cast member has won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance. With one exception, episode credits list only the voice actors, and not the characters they voice. Both Fox and the production crew wanted to keep their identities secret during the early seasons and, therefore, closed most of the recording sessions while refusing to publish photos of the recording artists. However, the network eventually revealed which roles each actor performed in the episode "Old Money", because the producers said the voice actors should receive credit for their work. In 2003, the cast appeared in an episode of Inside the Actors Studio, doing live performances of their characters' voices. The six main actors were paid $30,000 per episode, until 1998, when they were involved in a pay dispute with Fox. The company threatened to replace them with new actors, even going as far as preparing for casting of new voices, but series creator Groening supported the actors in their action. The issue was soon resolved and, from 1998 to 2004, they were paid $125,000 per episode. The show's revenue continued to rise through syndication and DVD sales, and in April 2004 the main cast stopped appearing for script readings, demanding they be paid $360,000 per episode. The strike was resolved a month later and their salaries were increased to something between $250,000 and $360,000 per episode. In 2008, production for the twentieth season was put on hold due to new contract negotiations with the voice actors, who wanted a "healthy bump" in salary to an amount close to $500,000 per episode. The negotiations were soon completed, and the actors' salary was raised to $400,000 per episode. Three years later, with Fox threatening to cancel the series unless production costs were cut, the cast members accepted a 30 percent pay cut, down to just over $300,000 per episode. In addition to the main cast, Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, Marcia Wallace, Maggie Roswell, and Russi Taylor voice supporting characters. From 1999 to 2002, Roswell's characters were voiced by Marcia Mitzman Gaven. Karl Wiedergott has also appeared in minor roles, but does not voice any recurring characters. Wiedergott left the show in 2010, and since then Chris Edgerly has appeared regularly to voice minor characters. Repeat "special guest" cast members include Albert Brooks, Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, Joe Mantegna, Maurice LaMarche, and Kelsey Grammer. Following Hartman's death in 1998, the characters he voiced (Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz) were retired; Wallace's character of Edna Krabappel was retired as well after her death in 2013. Following Taylor's death in 2019, her characters (including Sherri, Terri, and Martin Prince) are now voiced by Grey Griffin. Episodes will quite often feature guest voices from a wide range of professions, including actors, athletes, authors, bands, musicians and scientists. In the earlier seasons, most of the guest stars voiced characters, but eventually more started appearing as themselves. Tony Bennett was the first guest star to appear as himself, appearing briefly in the season two episode "Dancin' Homer". The Simpsons holds the world record for "Most Guest Stars Featured in a Television Series". The Simpsons has been dubbed into several other languages, including Japanese, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. It is also one of the few programs dubbed in both standard French and Quebec French. The show has been broadcast in Arabic, but due to Islamic customs, numerous aspects of the show have been changed. For example, Homer drinks soda instead of beer and eats Egyptian beef sausages instead of hot dogs. Because of such changes, the Arabized version of the series met with a negative reaction from the lifelong Simpsons fans in the area. Animation Animation director David Silverman, who helped define the look of the show Several different U.S. and international studios animate The Simpsons. Throughout the run of the animated shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, the animation was produced domestically at Klasky Csupo. With the debut of the series, because of an increased workload, Fox subcontracted production to several local and foreign studios. These are AKOM, Anivision, Rough Draft Studios, USAnimation, and Toonzone Entertainment. For the first three seasons, Klasky Csupo animated The Simpsons in the United States. In 1992, the show's production company, Gracie Films, switched domestic production to Film Roman, who continued to animate the show until 2016 when they were replaced by Fox Television Animation, which allowed the show to be made more in-house. In Season 14, production switched from traditional cel animation to digital ink and paint. The first episode to experiment with digital coloring was "Radioactive Man" in 1995. Animators used digital ink and paint during production of the season 12 episode "Tennis the Menace", but Gracie Films delayed the regular use of digital ink and paint until two seasons later. The already completed "Tennis the Menace" was broadcast as made. The production staff at the U.S. animation studio, Film Roman, draws storyboards, designs new characters, backgrounds, props and draws character and background layouts, which in turn become animatics to be screened for the writers at Gracie Films for any changes to be made before the work is shipped overseas. The overseas studios then draw the inbetweens, ink and paint, and render the animation to tape before it is shipped back to the United States to be delivered to Fox three to four months later. The series began high-definition production in season 20; the first episode, "Take My Life, Please", aired February 15, 2009. The move to HDTV included a new opening sequence. Matt Groening called it a complicated change because it affected the timing and composition of animation. Themes Main articles: Media in The Simpsons, Politics in The Simpsons, and Religion in The Simpsons The Simpsons uses the standard setup of a situational comedy, or sitcom, as its premise. The series centers on a family and their life in a typical American town, serving as a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle. However, because of its animated nature, The Simpsons' scope is larger than that of a regular sitcom. The town of Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. By having Homer work in a nuclear power plant, the show can comment on the state of the environment. Through Bart and Lisa's days at Springfield Elementary School, the show's writers illustrate pressing or controversial issues in the field of education. The town features a vast array of television channels, which enables the producers to make jokes about the entertainment industry and the press. Some commentators say the show is political in nature and susceptible to a left-wing bias. Al Jean acknowledged in an interview that "We [the show] are of liberal bent." The writers often evince an appreciation for progressive leanings, but the show makes jokes across the political spectrum. The show portrays government and large corporations as evil entities that take advantage of the common worker. Thus, the writers often portray authority figures in an unflattering or negative light. In The Simpsons, politicians are corrupt, ministers such as Reverend Lovejoy are dismissive to churchgoers, and the local police force is incompetent. Religion also figures as a recurring theme. In times of crisis, the family often turns to God, and the show has dealt with most of the major religions. Sexuality is often a source of jokes in the series or serves as the theme of certain episodes. Even though homosexuals are sometimes sources of gags, the series often comments on how American society treats them, with "Homer's Phobia" devoting an entire episode to the family making a gay friend and Homer's initial hostility to him. In 1990, The Simpsons became the first animated early evening show to depict a kiss between two men in "Simpson and Delilah". Hallmarks Opening sequence Main article: The Simpsons opening sequence The Simpsons' opening sequence is one of the show's most memorable hallmarks. The standard opening has gone through three iterations (a replacement of some shots at the start of the second season, and a brand new sequence when the show switched to high-definition in 2009). Each has the same basic sequence of events: the camera zooms through cumulus clouds, through the show's title towards the town of Springfield. The camera then follows the members of the family on their way home. Upon entering their house, the Simpsons settle down on their couch to watch television. The original opening was created by David Silverman, and was the first task he did when production began on the show. The series' distinctive theme song was composed by musician Danny Elfman in 1989, after Groening approached him requesting a retro-style piece. This piece has been noted by Elfman as the most popular of his career. One of the most distinctive aspects of the opening is that three of its elements change from episode to episode: Bart writes different things on the school chalkboard, Lisa plays different solos on her saxophone (or occasionally a different instrument), and different gags accompany the family as they enter their living room to sit on the couch. Halloween episodes Main article: Treehouse of Horror Bart Simpson introducing a segment of "Treehouse of Horror IV" in the manner of Rod Serling's Night Gallery The special Halloween episode has become an annual tradition. "Treehouse of Horror" first broadcast in 1990 as part of season two and established the pattern of three separate, self-contained stories in each Halloween episode. These pieces usually involve the family in some horror, science fiction, or supernatural setting and often parody or pay homage to a famous piece of work in those genres. They always take place outside the normal continuity of the show. Although the Treehouse series is meant to be seen on Halloween, this changed by the 2000s (and again in 2020), when new installments have premiered after Halloween due to Fox's current contract with Major League Baseball's World Series. Prior to 2020 (between 2011 and 2019), every Treehouse of Horror episode had aired in October. Humor The show's humor turns on cultural references that cover a wide spectrum of society so that viewers from all generations can enjoy the show. Such references, for example, come from movies, television, music, literature, science, and history. The animators also regularly add jokes or sight gags into the show's background via humorous or incongruous bits of text in signs, newspapers, billboards, and elsewhere. The audience may often not notice the visual jokes in a single viewing. Some are so fleeting that they become apparent only by pausing a video recording of the show or viewing it in slow motion. Kristin Thompson argues that The Simpsons uses a "flurry of cultural references, intentionally inconsistent characterization, and considerable self-reflexivity about television conventions and the status of the programme as a television show." One of Bart's early hallmarks was his prank calls to Moe's Tavern owner Moe Szyslak where he asks for a gag name. Moe tries to find that person in the bar, but soon realizes it is a prank call and angrily threatens Bart. These calls were apparently based on a series of prank calls known as the Tube Bar recordings, though Groening has denied any causal connection. Moe was based partly on Tube Bar owner Louis "Red" Deutsch, whose often profane responses inspired Moe's violent side. As the series progressed, it became more difficult for the writers to come up with a fake name and to write Moe's angry response, and the pranks were dropped as a regular joke during the fourth season. The Simpsons also often includes self-referential humor. The most common form is jokes about Fox Broadcasting. For example, the episode "She Used to Be My Girl" included a scene in which a Fox News Channel van drove down the street while displaying a large "Bush Cheney 2004" banner and playing Queen's "We Are the Champions", in reference to the 2004 U.S. presidential election and claims of conservative bias in Fox News. The show uses catchphrases, and most of the primary and secondary characters have at least one each. Notable expressions include Homer's annoyed grunt "D'oh!", Mr. Burns' "Excellent" and Nelson Muntz's "Ha-ha!" Some of Bart's catchphrases, such as "¡Ay, caramba!", "Don't have a cow, man!" and "Eat my shorts!" appeared on T-shirts in the show's early days. However, Bart rarely used the latter two phrases until after they became popular through the merchandising. The use of many of these catchphrases has declined in recent seasons. The episode "Bart Gets Famous" mocks catchphrase-based humor, as Bart achieves fame on the Krusty the Clown Show solely for saying "I didn't do it". Purported foreshadowing of actual events The Simpsons has gained notoriety for jokes that appeared to become reality. Perhaps the most famous example comes from the episode "Bart to the Future", which mentions billionaire Donald Trump having been president of the United States at one time and leaving the nation broke. The episode first aired in 2000, sixteen years before Trump (who at the time was exploring a presidential run) was elected. Another episode, "When You Dish Upon a Star", lampooned 20th Century Fox as a division of The Walt Disney Company. Nineteen years later, Disney purchased Fox. Other examples purported as The Simpsons predicting the future include the introduction of the smartwatch, video chat services, Richard Branson's spaceflight and Lady Gaga's acrobatic performance at the Super Bowl LI halftime show. Al Jean has commented on the show's purported ability to predict the future, explaining that they are really just "educated guesses" and stating that "if you throw enough darts, you're going to get some bullseyes." Producer Bill Oakley stated, "There are very few cases where The Simpsons predicted something. It's mainly just coincidence because the episodes are so old that history repeats itself." Fact-checking sources such as Snopes have debunked many of the claimed prophecies, explaining that the show's extensive run means "a lot of jokes, and a lot of opportunities for coincidences to appear" and "most of these 'predictions' have rather simple and mundane explanations". For example, the device shown on The Simpsons with autocorrection is an Apple Newton, a real 1993 device notorious for its poor handwriting recognition. Technologically advanced watches have appeared in numerous works of fiction, decades before The Simpsons. Influence and legacy Idioms A number of neologisms that originated on The Simpsons have entered popular vernacular. Mark Liberman, director of the Linguistic Data Consortium, remarked, "The Simpsons has apparently taken over from Shakespeare and the Bible as our culture's greatest source of idioms, catchphrases and sundry other textual allusions." The most famous catchphrase is Homer's annoyed grunt: "D'oh!" So ubiquitous is the expression that it is now listed in the Oxford English Dictionary, but without the apostrophe. Dan Castellaneta says he borrowed the phrase from James Finlayson, an actor in many Laurel and Hardy comedies, who pronounced it in a more elongated and whining tone. The staff of The Simpsons told Castellaneta to shorten the noise, and it went on to become the well-known exclamation in the television series. Groundskeeper Willie's description of the French as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" was used by National Review columnist Jonah Goldberg in 2003, after France's opposition to the proposed invasion of Iraq. The phrase quickly spread to other journalists. "Cromulent" and "embiggen", words used in "Lisa the Iconoclast", have since appeared in the Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon, and scientific journals respectively. "Kwyjibo", a fake Scrabble word invented by Bart in "Bart the Genius", was used as one of the aliases of the creator of the Melissa worm. "I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords", was used by Kent Brockman in "Deep Space Homer" and has become a snowclone, with variants of the utterance used to express obsequious submission. It has been used in media, such as New Scientist magazine. The dismissive term "Meh", believed to have been popularized by the show, entered the Collins English Dictionary in 2008. Other words credited as stemming from the show include "yoink" and "craptacular". The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations includes several quotations from the show. As well as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys", Homer's lines, "Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is never try", from "Burns' Heir" (season five, 1994) as well as "Kids are the best, Apu. You can teach them to hate the things you hate. And they practically raise themselves, what with the Internet and all", from "Eight Misbehavin'" (season 11, 1999), entered the dictionary in August 2007. Many quotes/scenes have become popular Internet memes, including Jasper Beardley's quote "That's a paddlin'" from "The PTA Disbands" (season 6, 1995) and "Steamed Hams" from "22 Short Films About Springfield" (season 7, 1996). Television The Simpsons was the first successful animated program in American prime time since Wait Till Your Father Gets Home in the 1970s. During most of the 1980s, US pundits considered animated shows as appropriate only for children, and animating a show was too expensive to achieve a quality suitable for prime-time television. The Simpsons changed this perception, initially leading to a short period where networks attempted to recreate prime-time cartoon success with shows like Capitol Critters, Fish Police, and Family Dog, which were expensive and unsuccessful. The Simpsons' use of Korean animation studios for tweening, coloring, and filming made the episodes cheaper. The success of The Simpsons and the lower production cost prompted US television networks to take chances on other adult animated series. This development led US producers to a 1990s boom in new, animated prime-time shows for adults, such as Beavis and Butt-Head, South Park, Family Guy, King of the Hill, Futurama (which was created by Matt Groening), and The Critic (which was also produced by Gracie Films). For Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, "The Simpsons created an audience for prime-time animation that had not been there for many, many years ... As far as I'm concerned, they basically re-invented the wheel. They created what is in many ways—you could classify it as—a wholly new medium." The Simpsons has had crossovers with four other shows. In the episode "A Star Is Burns", Marge invites Jay Sherman, the main character of The Critic, to be a judge for a film festival in Springfield. Matt Groening had his name removed from the episode since he had no involvement with The Critic. South Park later paid homage to The Simpsons with the episode "Simpsons Already Did It". In "Simpsorama", the Planet Express crew from Futurama come to Springfield in the present to prevent the Simpsons from destroying the future. In the Family Guy episode "The Simpsons Guy", the Griffins visit Springfield and meet the Simpsons. The Simpsons has also influenced live-action shows like Malcolm in the Middle, which featured the use of sight gags and did not use a laugh track unlike most sitcoms. Malcolm in the Middle debuted January 9, 2000, in the time slot after The Simpsons. Ricky Gervais called The Simpsons an influence on The Office, and fellow British sitcom Spaced was, according to its director Edgar Wright, "an attempt to do a live-action The Simpsons". In Georgia, the animated television sitcom The Samsonadzes, launched in November 2009, has been noted for its very strong resemblance with The Simpsons, which its creator Shalva Ramishvili has acknowledged. LGBT representation Main article: LGBT representation in The Simpsons The Simpsons has historically been open to portrayals of LGBT characters and settings, and it has routinely challenged heteronormativity. It was one of several animated television shows in the United States that began introducing characters that were LGBT, both openly and implied, in the 1990s. While early episodes involving LGBT characters primarily included them through the use of stereotypes, The Simpsons developed several prominent LGBT characters over its run. Producers of the show, such as Matt Groening and Al Jean, have expressed their opinion that LGBT representation in media is important, and that they seek to actively include it. Some characters, such as Julio, were created with their sexual orientation in mind, with it being central to their character. The show expanded its roster of openly LGBT characters through episodes in which prominent characters Patty Bouvier and Waylon Smithers came out in seasons 16 and 27, respectively. Release Broadcast Main article: List of The Simpsons episodes Season No. of episodes Originally aired Viewership Season premiere Season finale Time slot (ET) Avg. viewers (in millions) Most watched episode Viewers (millions) Episode title 1 1989–90 13 December 17, 1989 May 13, 1990 Sunday 8:30 pm 27.8 33.5 "Life on the Fast Lane" 2 1990–91 22 October 11, 1990 July 11, 1991 Thursday 8:00 pm 24.4 33.6 "Bart Gets an 'F'" 3 1991–92 24 September 19, 1991 August 27, 1992 21.8 25.5 "Colonel Homer" 4 1992–93 22 September 24, 1992 May 13, 1993 22.4 28.6 "Lisa's First Word" 5 1993–94 22 September 30, 1993 May 19, 1994 18.9 24.0 "Treehouse of Horror IV" 6 1994–95 25 September 4, 1994 May 21, 1995 Sunday 8:00 pm 15.6 22.2 "Treehouse of Horror V" 7 1995–96 25 September 17, 1995 May 19, 1996 Sunday 8:00 pm (Episodes 1–24) Sunday 8:30 pm (Episode 25) 15.1 22.6 "Who Shot Mr. Burns? – Part II" 8 1996–97 25 October 27, 1996 May 18, 1997 Sunday 8:30 pm (Episodes 1–3) Sunday 8:00 pm (Episodes 4–12, 14–25) Friday 8:00 pm (Episode 13) 14.5 20.41 "The Springfield Files" 9 1997–98 25 September 21, 1997 May 17, 1998 Sunday 8:00 pm 15.3 19.80 "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons" 10 1998–99 23 August 23, 1998 May 16, 1999 13.5 19.11 "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" 11 1999–2000 22 September 26, 1999 May 21, 2000 8.8 19.16 "Faith Off" 12 2000–01 21 November 1, 2000 May 20, 2001 15.5 18.52 "HOMR" 13 2001–02 22 November 6, 2001 May 22, 2002 Tuesday 8:30 pm (Episode 1) Sunday 8:00 pm (Episodes 2–20) Sunday 7:30 pm (Episode 21) Wednesday 8:00 pm (Episode 22) 12.5 14.91 "The Parent Rap" 14 2002–03 22 November 3, 2002 May 18, 2003 Sunday 8:00 pm (Episodes 1–11, 13–21) Sunday 8:30 pm (Episodes 12, 22) 14.4 22.04 "I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can" 15 2003–04 22 November 2, 2003 May 23, 2004 Sunday 8:00 pm 11.0 16.30 "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot" 16 2004–05 21 November 7, 2004 May 15, 2005 Sunday 8:00 pm (Episodes 1–7, 9–16, 18, 20) Sunday 10:30 pm (Episode 8) Sunday 8:30 pm (Episodes 17, 19, 21) 10.2 23.07 "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass" 17 2005–06 22 September 11, 2005 May 21, 2006 Sunday 8:00 pm 9.55 11.66 "Treehouse of Horror XVI" 18 2006–07 22 September 10, 2006 May 20, 2007 9.15 11.63 "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer" 19 2007–08 20 September 23, 2007 May 18, 2008 8.37 11.74 "Treehouse of Horror XVIII" 20 2008–09 21 September 28, 2008 May 17, 2009 Sunday 8:00 pm (Episodes 1–7, 9–21) Sunday 8:30 pm (Episode 8) 7.1 12.40 "Treehouse of Horror XIX" 21 2009–10 23 September 27, 2009 May 23, 2010 Sunday 8:00 pm 7.1 14.62 "Once Upon a Time in Springfield" 22 2010–11 22 September 26, 2010 May 22, 2011 7.09 12.55 "Moms I'd Like to Forget" 23 2011–12 22 September 25, 2011 May 20, 2012 6.15 11.48 "The D'oh-cial Network" 24 2012–13 22 September 30, 2012 May 19, 2013 Sunday 8:00 pm (Episodes 1–21) Sunday 8:30 pm (Episode 22) 5.41 8.97 "Homer Goes to Prep School" 25 2013–14 22 September 29, 2013 May 18, 2014 Sunday 8:00 pm (Episodes 1–11, 13–22) Sunday 7:30 pm (Episode 12) 5.02 12.04 "Steal This Episode" 26 2014–15 22 September 28, 2014 May 17, 2015 Sunday 8:00 pm 5.61 10.62 "The Man Who Came to Be Dinner" 27 2015–16 22 September 27, 2015 May 22, 2016 4.0 8.33 "Teenage Mutant Milk-Caused Hurdles" 28 2016–17 22 September 25, 2016 May 21, 2017 (2017-05-21) 4.80 8.19 "Pork and Burns" 29 2017–18 21 October 1, 2017 May 20, 2018 4.07 8.04 "Frink Gets Testy" 30 2018–19 23 September 30, 2018 May 12, 2019 3.10 8.20 "The Girl on the Bus" 31 2019–20 22 September 29, 2019 May 17, 2020 2.58 5.63 "Go Big or Go Homer" 32 2020–21 22 September 27, 2020 May 23, 2021 Sunday 8:00 pm (Episodes 1–10, 12–22) Sunday 9:00 pm (Episode 11) 2.32 4.93 "Treehouse of Horror XXXI" 33 2021–22 22 September 26, 2021 May 22, 2022 2.25 3.97 "Portrait of a Lackey on Fire" 34 2022–23 22 September 25, 2022 May 21, 2023 Sunday 8:00 pm (Episodes 1–8, 10–22) Sunday 8:30 pm (Episode 9) 1.83 4.77 "From Beer to Paternity" 35 2023–24 18 October 1, 2023 May 19, 2024 Sunday 8:00 pm (Episodes 1–5, 7, 10–18) Sunday 8:30 pm (Episodes 6, 8, 9) 1.99 5.41 "Do the Wrong Thing" 36 2024–25 TBA September 29, 2024 TBA Sunday 8:00PM TBA TBA TBA Syndication The cable television network FXX, a sibling of 20th Television and formerly the Fox network, has exclusive cable and digital syndication rights for The Simpsons. Original contracts had previously stated that syndication rights for The Simpsons would not be sold to cable until the series conclusion, at a time when cable syndication deals were highly rare. The series has been syndicated to local broadcast stations in nearly all markets throughout the United States since September 1994. FXX premiered The Simpsons on their network on August 21, 2014, by starting a twelve-day marathon which featured the first 552 episodes (every single episode that had already been released at the time) aired chronologically, including The Simpsons Movie, which FX Networks had already owned the rights to air. It was the longest continuous marathon in the history of television (until VH1 Classic aired a 433-hour, nineteen-day, marathon of Saturday Night Live in 2015; celebrating that program's 40th anniversary). The first day of the marathon was the highest rated broadcast day in the history of the network so far, the ratings more than tripled those of regular prime time programming for FXX. Ratings during the first six nights of the marathon grew night after night, with the network ranking within the top 5 networks in basic cable each night. In Australia, a marathon of every episode of the show (at the time) aired from December 16, 2019, to January 5, 2020, on Fox8 (a cable network operated on pay TV provider Foxtel and a corporate sibling to the American Fox network). After Disney acquired both 20th Television and FX Networks, it was announced that The Simpsons would air on the company's Freeform channel starting October 2, 2019. Streaming and digital sell-through "Simpsons World" redirects here. For the Treehouse of Horror segment, see Treehouse of Horror XXXIII. On October 21, 2014, a digital service courtesy of the FXNOW app, called Simpsons World, launched with every episode of the series accessible to authenticated FX subscribers, and is available on game consoles such as Xbox One, streaming devices such as Roku and Apple TV, and online via web browser. There was early criticism of both wrong aspect ratios for earlier episodes and the length of commercial breaks on the streaming service, but that problem was soon amended with fewer commercial breaks during individual episodes. Later it was announced that Simpsons World would now let users watch all of the SD episodes in their original format. Simpsons World was discontinued after the launch of Disney+ on November 12, 2019, where the series streams exclusively. Initially, the series was only available cropped to 16:9 without the option to view the original 4:3 versions, reigniting criticisms of cropping old episodes. In response, Disney announced that "in early 2020, Disney+ will make the first 19 seasons (and some episodes from season 20) of The Simpsons available in their original 4:3 aspect ratio, giving subscribers a choice of how they prefer to view the popular series." On May 28, 2020, Disney+ made the first 19 seasons, along with some episodes from season 20, of The Simpsons available in both 16:9 and the original 4:3 aspect ratio. Season 31 came to Disney+ on October 2, 2020, with Hulu streaming the latest episodes of season 32 the next day. Season 32 came to Disney+ on September 29, 2021. The season 3 premiere "Stark Raving Dad", which features Michael Jackson as the voice of Leon Kompowsky, was pulled out of rotation in 2019 by Matt Groening, James L. Brooks and Al Jean after HBO aired the documentary Leaving Neverland, in which two men share details into how Jackson allegedly abused them as children. It is therefore unavailable on Disney+. However, the episode is still available on The Complete Third Season DVD box set released on August 26, 2003. In July 2017, all episodes from seasons 4 to 19 were made available for purchase on the iTunes Store in Canada. On August 10, 2024, it was announced that four episodes of season 36 would air exclusively on Disney+. Reception and achievements Early success The Simpsons was the Fox network's first television series to rank among a season's top 30 highest-rated shows. In 1990, Bart quickly became one of the most popular characters on television in what was termed "Bartmania". He became the most prevalent Simpsons character on memorabilia, such as T-shirts. In the early 1990s, millions of T-shirts featuring Bart were sold; as many as one million were sold on some days. Believing Bart to be a bad role model, several American public schools banned T-shirts featuring Bart next to captions such as "I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?" and "Underachiever ('And proud of it, man!')". The Simpsons merchandise sold well and generated $2 billion in revenue during the first 14 months of sales. Because of his popularity, Bart was often the most promoted member of the Simpson family in advertisements for the show, even for episodes in which he was not involved in the main plot. Due to the show's success, over the summer of 1990 the Fox Network decided to switch The Simpsons' time slot from 8:00 p.m. ET on Sunday night to the same time on Thursday, where it competed with The Cosby Show on NBC, the number one show at the time. Through the summer, several news outlets published stories about the supposed "Bill vs. Bart" rivalry. "Bart Gets an 'F'" (season two, 1990) was the first episode to air against The Cosby Show, and it received a lower Nielsen rating, tying for eighth behind The Cosby Show, which had an 18.5 rating. The rating is based on the number of household televisions that were tuned into the show, but Nielsen Media Research estimated that 33.6 million viewers watched the episode, making it the number one show in terms of actual viewers that week. At the time, it was the most watched episode in the history of the Fox Network, and it is still the highest rated episode in the history of The Simpsons. The show moved back to its Sunday slot in 1994 and has remained there ever since. The Simpsons has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, and it has been noted for being described as "the most irreverent and unapologetic show on the air". In a 1990 review of the show, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly described it as "the American family at its most complicated, drawn as simple cartoons. It's this neat paradox that makes millions of people turn away from the three big networks on Sunday nights to concentrate on The Simpsons." Tucker also described the show as a "pop-cultural phenomenon, a prime-time cartoon show that appeals to the entire family." Run length achievements On February 9, 1997, The Simpsons surpassed The Flintstones with the episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" as the longest-running prime-time animated series in the United States. In 2004, The Simpsons replaced The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952 to 1966) as the longest-running sitcom (animated or live action) in the United States in terms of the number of years airing. In 2009, The Simpsons surpassed The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet's record of 435 episodes and is now recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's longest running sitcom (in terms of episode count). In October 2004, Scooby-Doo briefly overtook The Simpsons as the American animated show with the highest number of episodes (albeit under several different iterations). However, network executives in April 2005 again canceled Scooby-Doo, which finished with 371 episodes, and The Simpsons reclaimed the title with 378 episodes at the end of their seventeenth season. In May 2007, The Simpsons reached their 400th episode at the end of the eighteenth season. While The Simpsons has the record for the number of episodes by an American animated show, other animated series have surpassed The Simpsons. For example, the Japanese anime series Sazae-san has over 2,000 episodes (7,000+ segments) to its credit. In 2009, Fox began a year-long celebration of the show titled "Best. 20 Years. Ever." to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the premiere of The Simpsons. One of the first parts of the celebration is the "Unleash Your Yellow" contest in which entrants must design a poster for the show. The celebration ended on January 10, 2010 (almost 20 years after "Bart the Genius" aired on January 14, 1990), with The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice!, a documentary special by documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock that examines the "cultural phenomenon of The Simpsons". As of the twenty-first season (2009–2010), The Simpsons became the longest-running American scripted primetime television series, having surpassed the 1955–1975 run of Gunsmoke. On April 29, 2018, The Simpsons also surpassed Gunsmoke's 635-episode count with the episode "Forgive and Regret". The Simpsons is both the longest-running and the highest ranking animated series to feature on TV Time's top 50 most followed TV shows ever. On February 6, 2019, it was announced that The Simpsons has been renewed for seasons 31 and 32. On March 3, 2021, it was announced that The Simpsons was renewed for seasons 33 and 34. Awards and honors Main article: List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons The Simpsons has been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Simpsons has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 34 Primetime Emmy Awards, 34 Annie Awards and a Peabody Award. In a 1999 issue celebrating the 20th century's greatest achievements in arts and entertainment, Time named The Simpsons the century's best television series, writing: "Dazzlingly intelligent and unapologetically vulgar, the Simpsons have surpassed the humor, topicality and, yes, humanity of past TV greats." In that same issue, Time included Bart Simpson in the Time 100, the publication's list of the century's 100 most influential people. Bart was the only fictional character on the list. On January 14, 2000, the Simpsons were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Also in 2000, Entertainment Weekly magazine TV critic Ken Tucker named The Simpsons the greatest television show of the 1990s. Furthermore, viewers of the UK television channel Channel 4 have voted The Simpsons at the top of two polls: 2001's 100 Greatest Kids' TV shows (despite the show not being aimed at children), and 2005's The 100 Greatest Cartoons, with Homer Simpson voted into first place in 2001's 100 Greatest TV Characters. Homer also placed ninth on Entertainment Weekly's list of the "50 Greatest TV icons". In 2002, The Simpsons ranked No. 8 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, and was ranked the No. 6 cult show in 2004. In 2007, it moved to No. 8 on TV Guide's cult shows list and was included in Time's list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time". In 2008 the show was placed in first on Entertainment Weekly's "Top 100 Shows of the Past 25 Years". Empire named it the greatest TV show of all time. In 2010, Entertainment Weekly named Homer "the greatest character of the last 20 years", while in 2013 the Writers Guild of America listed The Simpsons as the 11th "best written" series in television history. In 2013, TV Guide ranked The Simpsons as the greatest TV cartoon of all time and the tenth greatest show of all time. A 2015 The Hollywood Reporter survey of 2,800 actors, producers, directors, and other industry people named it as their No. 10 favorite show. In 2015, British newspaper The Telegraph named The Simpsons as one of the 10 best TV sitcoms of all time. Television critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz ranked The Simpsons as the greatest American TV series of all time in their 2016 book TV (The Book). In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked The Simpsons as the second-greatest TV show of all time. In 2023, Variety ranked The Simpsons as the fourth-greatest TV show of all time. Criticism Controversy Bart's rebellious, bad boy nature, which underlies his misbehavior and rarely leads to any punishment, led some people to characterize him as a poor role model for children. In schools, educators claimed that Bart was a "threat to learning" because of his "underachiever and proud of it" attitude and negative attitude regarding his education. Others described him as "egotistical, aggressive and mean-spirited". In a 1991 interview, Bill Cosby described Bart as a bad role model for children, calling him "angry, confused, frustrated". In response, Matt Groening said, "That sums up Bart, all right. Most people are in a struggle to be normal [and] he thinks normal is very boring, and does things that others just wished they dare do." On January 27, 1992, then-President George H. W. Bush said, "We are going to keep on trying to strengthen the American family, to make American families a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons." The writers rushed out a tongue-in-cheek reply in the form of a short segment that aired three days later before a rerun of "Stark Raving Dad" in which Bart replied, "Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the Depression, too." The show also received criticism from the nuclear power industry in its early years, with its portrayal of the evil boss Mr. Burns and "bungling idiot" employees (including Homer Simpson himself) with their lack of safety and security. In a letter to the nuclear power-backed U.S. Council for Energy Awareness, producer Sam Simon apologized, stating, "I apologize that the Simpsons have offended a lot of people in the energy industry. I agree with you that in real life, Homer Simpson would not be employed at a nuclear power plant. On the other hand, he probably wouldn't be employed anywhere." Various episodes of the show have generated controversy. The Simpsons visit Australia in "Bart vs. Australia" (season six, 1995) and Brazil in "Blame It on Lisa" (season 13, 2002) and both episodes generated controversy and negative reaction in the visited countries. In the latter case, Rio de Janeiro's tourist board—which claimed that the city was portrayed as having rampant street crime, kidnappings, slums, and monkey and rat infestations—went so far as to threaten Fox with legal action. Groening was a fierce and vocal critic of the episode "A Star Is Burns" (season six, 1995), which featured a crossover with The Critic. He felt that it was just an advertisement for The Critic, and that people would incorrectly associate the show with him. When he was unsuccessful in getting the episode pulled, he had his name removed from the credits and went public with his concerns, openly criticizing James L. Brooks and saying the episode "violates the Simpsons' universe." In response, Brooks said, "I am furious with Matt, ... he's allowed his opinion, but airing this publicly in the press is going too far. ... his behavior right now is rotten." "The Principal and the Pauper" (season nine, 1997) is one of the most controversial episodes of The Simpsons. Many fans and critics reacted negatively to the revelation that Seymour Skinner, a recurring character since the first season, was an impostor. The episode has been criticized by Groening and by Harry Shearer, who provides the voice of Skinner. In a 2001 interview, Shearer recalled that after reading the script, he told the writers, "That's so wrong. You're taking something that an audience has built eight years or nine years of investment in and just tossed it in the trash can for no good reason, for a story we've done before with other characters. It's so arbitrary and gratuitous, and it's disrespectful to the audience." Bans The show has reportedly been taken off the air in several countries. China banned it from prime-time television in August 2006, "in an effort to protect China's struggling animation studios". In 2008, Venezuela barred the show from airing on morning television as it was deemed "unsuitable for children". The same year, several Russian Pentecostal churches demanded that The Simpsons, South Park and some other Western cartoons be removed from broadcast schedules "for propaganda of various vices" and the broadcaster's license to be revoked. However, a court decision later dismissed this request. Perceived decline in quality Further information: Reception of The Simpsons § Arguments for decline in quality Critics' reviews of early Simpsons episodes praised the show for its sassy humor, wit, realism, and intelligence. However, in the late 1990s, around the airing of season 9, the tone and emphasis of the show began to change. Some critics started calling the show "tired". By 2000, some long-term fans had become disillusioned with the show, and pointed to its shift from character-driven plots to what they perceived as an overemphasis on zany antics. Jim Schembri of The Sydney Morning Herald attributed the decline in quality to an abandonment of character-driven storylines in favor of celebrity cameo appearances and references to popular culture. Schembri wrote in 2011: "The central tragedy of The Simpsons is that it has gone from commanding attention to merely being attention-seeking. It began by proving that cartoon characters don't have to be caricatures; they can be invested with real emotions. Now the show has in essence fermented into a limp parody of itself. Memorable story arcs have been sacrificed for the sake of celebrity walk-ons and punchline-hungry dialogue." In 2010, the BBC noted "the common consensus is that The Simpsons' golden era ended after season nine", and Todd Leopold of CNN, in an article looking at its perceived decline, stated "for many fans ... the glory days are long past." Similarly, Tyler Wilson of Coeur d'Alene Press has referred to seasons one to nine as the show's "golden age", and Ian Nathan of Empire described the show's classic era as being "say, the first ten seasons". Jon Heacock of LucidWorks stated that "for the first ten years [seasons], the show was consistently at the top of its game", with "so many moments, quotations, and references – both epic and obscure – that helped turn the Simpson family into the cultural icons that they remain to this day". Mike Scully, who was showrunner during seasons nine through twelve, has been the subject of criticism. Chris Suellentrop of Slate wrote that "under Scully's tenure, The Simpsons became, well, a cartoon ... Episodes that once would have ended with Homer and Marge bicycling into the sunset now end with Homer blowing a tranquilizer dart into Marge's neck. The show's still funny, but it hasn't been touching in years." When asked in 2007 how the series' longevity is sustained, Scully joked: "Lower your quality standards. Once you've done that you can go on forever." Al Jean, who was showrunner during seasons thirteen through thirty-three, has also been the subject of criticism, with some arguing that the show has continued to decline in quality under his tenure. Former writers have complained that under Jean, the show is "on auto-pilot", "too sentimental", and the episodes are "just being cranked out". Some critics believe that the show has "entered a steady decline under Jean and is no longer really funny". John Ortved, author of The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History, characterized the Jean era as "toothless", and criticized what he perceived as the show's increase in social and political commentary. Jean responded: "Well, it's possible that we've declined. But honestly, I've been here the whole time and I do remember in season two people saying, 'It's gone downhill.' If we'd listened to that then we would have stopped after episode 13. I'm glad we didn't." In 2004, cast member Harry Shearer criticized what he perceived as the show's declining quality: "I rate the last three seasons as among the worst, so season four looks very good to me now." Cast member Dan Castellaneta responded: "I don't agree, ... I think Harry's issue is that the show isn't as grounded as it was in the first three or four seasons, that it's gotten crazy or a little more madcap. I think it organically changes to stay fresh." Also in 2004 author Douglas Coupland described claims of declining quality in the series as "hogwash", saying "The Simpsons hasn't fumbled the ball in fourteen years, it's hardly likely to fumble it now." In an April 2006 interview, Groening said: "I honestly don't see any end in sight. I think it's possible that the show will get too financially cumbersome ... but right now, the show is creatively, I think, as good or better than it's ever been. The animation is incredibly detailed and imaginative, the stories do things that we haven't done before, so creatively there's no reason to quit." In 2016, popular culture writer Anna Leszkiewicz suggested that even though The Simpsons still holds cultural relevance, "contemporary appeal" is only for the "first ten or so seasons", with recent episodes only garnering mainstream attention when a favorite character from the golden era is killed off, or when new information and shock twists are given for old characters. The series' ratings have also declined; while the first season enjoyed an average of 13.4 million viewing households per episode in the U.S., the twenty-first season had an average of 7.2 million viewers. Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz argued in their 2016 book titled TV (The Book) that the peak of The Simpsons are "roughly seasons 3–12", and that despite the decline, episodes from the later seasons such as "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" and "Holidays of Future Passed" could be considered on par with the earlier classic episodes, further stating that "even if you want to call the show today a thin shadow of its former self, think about how mind-boggingly great its former self had to be for so-diminished a version to be watchable at all." In 2020, Uproxx writer Josh Kurp stated that while he agrees with the sentiment that The Simpsons is not as good as it used to be, it is because "it was working at a level of comedy and characterization that no show ever has." He felt there were still many reasons to watch the series, as it was "still capable of quality television, and even the occasional new classic" and the fact that the show was willing to experiment, giving examples such as bringing on guest animators like Don Hertzfeldt and Sylvain Chomet to produce couch gags, and guest writers like Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Pete Holmes and Megan Amram to write episodes. In the season 32 episode "I, Carumbus", the show itself makes a nod to these concerns in its credits gag where the god Jupiter notes that "It definitely feels like they're wrapping it up ... any day now." In a 2021 interview with NME, Jean was quoted as saying, "To people who say The Simpsons isn't as good as it used to be, I would say I think the world isn't as good as it used to be. But we're declining at a slower rate." Race controversy Further information: Apu Nahasapeemapetilon § Accusations of racial stereotyping The stereotypical nature of the character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon has been the subject of controversy. Indian-American comedian Hari Kondabolu stated in his 2017 documentary The Problem with Apu that as a child he was a fan of The Simpsons and liked Apu, but he now finds the character's stereotypical nature troublesome. Defenders of the character responded that the show is built on comical stereotypes, with creator Matt Groening saying, "that's the nature of cartooning." He added that he was "proud of what we do on the show", and "it's a time in our culture where people love to pretend they're offended". In response to the controversy, Apu's voice actor, Hank Azaria, said he was willing to step aside from his role as Apu: "The most important thing is to listen to South Asian people, Indian people in this country when they talk about what they feel and how they think about this character." In February 2020, he confirmed that he would no longer voice Apu. Groening stated at the same time that the character would remain in the show. The criticisms were referenced in the season 29 episode "No Good Read Goes Unpunished", when Lisa breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience by saying, "Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?" to which Marge replies, "Some things will be addressed at a later date." Lisa adds, "If at all." This reference was clarified by the fact that there was a framed photo of Apu with the caption on the photo saying "Don't have a cow, Apu", a play on Bart's catchphrase "Don't have a cow, man," as well as the fact that many Hindus do not eat cows as they are considered sacred. In October 2018, it was reported that Apu would be written out of the show, which Groening denied. On June 26, 2020, in light of the various Black Lives Matter protests, Fox announced that recurring characters of color (Carl Carlson and Dr. Hibbert, among others) would no longer be voiced by white actors. Beginning with season 32, Carl, a black character originally voiced by Azaria, is now voiced by black actor Alex Désert. In addition, Bumblebee Man, a Spanish-speaking Latino character also originally voiced by Azaria, is now voiced by Mexican-American actor Eric Lopez, and Dr. Hibbert, a black character originally voiced by Harry Shearer, is now voiced by black actor Kevin Michael Richardson. Other media Main article: The Simpsons (franchise) Comic books Main article: List of The Simpsons comics Numerous Simpson-related comic books have been released over the years. The first comic strips based on The Simpsons appeared in 1991 in the magazine Simpsons Illustrated, which was a companion magazine to the show. The comic strips were popular and a one-shot comic book titled Simpsons Comics and Stories, containing four different stories, was released in 1993 for the fans. The book was a success and due to this, Groening and his companions Bill Morrison, Mike Rote, and Steve and Cindy Vance created the publishing company Bongo Comics. A total of nine comic book series were published by Bongo Comics between 1993 and the company's dissolution in 2018. Issues of Simpsons Comics, Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror and Bart Simpson have been collected and reprinted in trade paperbacks in the United States by HarperCollins. Film Main article: The Simpsons Movie A Seattle 7-Eleven store transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart as part of a promotion for The Simpsons Movie 20th Century Fox and Gracie Films produced The Simpsons Movie, an animated film that was released on July 27, 2007. The film was directed by long-time Simpsons producer David Silverman and written by a team of Simpsons writers comprising Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, Al Jean, George Meyer, Mike Reiss, John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti, David Mirkin, Mike Scully, Matt Selman, and Ian Maxtone-Graham. Production of the film occurred alongside continued writing of the series despite long-time claims by those involved in the show that a film would enter production only after the series had concluded. There had been talk of a possible feature-length Simpsons film ever since the early seasons of the series. James L. Brooks originally thought that the story of the episode "Kamp Krusty" was suitable for a film, but he encountered difficulties in trying to expand the script to feature-length. For a long time, difficulties such as lack of a suitable story and an already fully engaged crew of writers delayed the project. On August 10, 2018, 20th Century Fox announced that a sequel is in development. Music Main article: The Simpsons discography Collections of original music featured in the series have been released on the albums Songs in the Key of Springfield, Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons and The Simpsons: Testify. Several songs have been recorded with the purpose of a single or album release and have not been featured on the show. The album The Simpsons Sing the Blues was released in September 1990 and was a success, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and becoming certified 2× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The first single from the album was the pop rap song "Do the Bartman", performed by Nancy Cartwright and released on November 20, 1990. The song was written by Michael Jackson, although he did not receive any credit. The Yellow Album was released in 1998, but received poor reception and did not chart in any country. The Simpsons Ride Main article: The Simpsons Ride The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios Florida In 2007, it was officially announced that The Simpsons Ride, a simulator ride, would be implemented into the Universal Studios Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood. It officially opened May 15, 2008, in Florida and May 19, 2008, in Hollywood. In the ride, patrons are introduced to a cartoon theme park called Krustyland built by Krusty the Clown. However, Sideshow Bob is loose from prison to get revenge on Krusty and the Simpson family. It features more than 24 regular characters from The Simpsons and features the voices of the regular cast members, as well as Pamela Hayden, Russi Taylor and Kelsey Grammer. Harry Shearer did not participate in the ride, so none of his characters have vocal parts. The ride also features clips from the show in the waiting line. Video games Further information: List of The Simpsons video games Numerous video games based on the show have been produced. Some of the early games include Konami's arcade game The Simpsons (1991) and Acclaim Entertainment's The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants (1991). More modern games include The Simpsons: Road Rage (2001), The Simpsons: Hit & Run (2003) and The Simpsons Game (2007). Electronic Arts, which produced The Simpsons Game, has owned the exclusive rights to create video games based on the show since 2005. In 2010, they released a game called The Simpsons Arcade for iOS. Another EA-produced mobile game, Tapped Out, was released in 2012 for iOS users, then in 2013 for Android and Kindle users. Two Simpsons pinball machines have been produced: one that was available briefly after the first season, and another in 2007, both out of production. Merchandise See also: List of The Simpsons books and List of The Simpsons home video releases The popularity of The Simpsons has made it a billion-dollar merchandising industry. The title family and supporting characters appear on everything from T-shirts to posters. The Simpsons has been used as a theme for special editions of well-known board games, including Clue, Scrabble, Monopoly, Operation, and The Game of Life, as well as the trivia games What Would Homer Do? and Simpsons Jeopardy!. Several card games such as trump cards and The Simpsons Trading Card Game have also been released. Many official or unofficial Simpsons books such as episode guides have been published. Many episodes of the show have been released on DVD and VHS over the years. When the first season DVD was released in 2001, it quickly became the best-selling television DVD in history, although it was later overtaken by the first season of Chappelle's Show. In particular, seasons one through seventeen were released on DVD for 13 years between September 2001 to December 2014 in the U.S./Canada (Region 1), Europe (Region 2), and Australia/New Zealand/Latin America (Region 4). However, on April 8, 2015, Al Jean announced that the season 17 DVD would be the last one ever produced, leaving the collection from seasons 1 to 17, season 20 (released out of order in 2010), with seasons 18, 19, and 21 onwards unreleased. Jean also stated that the deleted scenes and commentaries would try to be released to the Simpsons World app, and that they were pushing for Simpsons World to be expanded outside of the U.S. Two years later, however, on July 22, 2017, it was announced that season 18 would be released on December 5, 2017, on DVD. Another two years later, on July 20, 2019, it was announced that season 19 would be released on December 3, 2019, on DVD. In 2003, about 500 companies around the world were licensed to use Simpsons characters in their advertising. As a promotion for The Simpsons Movie, twelve 7-Eleven stores were transformed into Kwik-E-Marts and sold The Simpsons related products. These included "Buzz Cola", "Krusty-O" cereal, pink doughnuts with sprinkles, and "Squishees". In 2008, consumers around the world spent $750 million on merchandise related to The Simpsons, with half of the amount originating from the United States. By 2009, 20th Century Fox had greatly increased merchandising efforts. On April 9, 2009, the United States Postal Service unveiled a series of five 44-cent stamps featuring Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, to commemorate the show's twentieth anniversary. The Simpsons is the first television series still in production to receive this recognition. The stamps, designed by Matt Groening, were made available for purchase on May 7, 2009. Approximately one billion were printed, but only 318 million were sold, costing the Postal Service $1.2 million. Notes References Bibliography Alberti, John (2003). Leaving Springfield: The Simpsons and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-2849-1. McCann, Jesse L.; Groening, Matt (2002). The Simpsons Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ... Still Continued. Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 978-0-06-050592-9. Beck, Jerry (2005). The Animated Movie Guide. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-55652-591-9. Cartwright, Nancy (2000). My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy. New York City: Hyperion Books. ISBN 978-0-7868-8600-5. Folkard, Claire (2006). Guinness World Records 2006. Bantam USA. ISBN 978-0-553-58906-1. Groening, Matt (1997). Richmond, Ray; Coffman, Antonia (eds.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1st ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. ISBN 978-0-06-095252-5. LCCN 98141857. OCLC 37796735. OL 433519M. King, Geoff (2002). New Hollywood Cinema: An Introduction. I B Tauris & Co. ISBN 978-1-86064-750-5. Ortved, John (2009). The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History. Greystone Books. ISBN 978-1-55365-503-9. Turner, Chris (2004). Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation. Foreword by Douglas Coupland. (1st ed.). Toronto: Random House Canada. ISBN 978-0-679-31318-2. OCLC 55682258. Further reading Brown, Alan; Logan, Chris (2006). The Psychology of The Simpsons. Benbella Books. ISBN 978-1-932100-70-9. Gray, Jonathan (2006). Watching with The Simpsons: Television, Parody, and Intertextuality. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-36202-3. Hoffmann, Frank W.; Bailey, William G. (1994). Fashion and Merchandising Fads. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-56024-376-2. Irwin, William; Conrad, Mark T.; Skoble, Aeon (1999). The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer. Open Court. ISBN 978-0-8126-9433-8. Keller, Beth L. (1992). The Gospel According to Bart: Examining the Religious Elements of The Simpsons. Regent University. ISBN 978-0-8126-9433-8. Keslowitz, Steven (2003). The Simpsons And Society: An Analysis Of Our Favorite Family And Its Influence In Contemporary Society. Hats Off Books. ISBN 978-1-58736-253-8. Pinsky, Mark I (2001). The Gospel According to The Simpsons: The Spiritual Life of the World's Most Animated Family. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-22419-6. Pinsky, Mark I.; Parvin, Samuel F. (2002). The Gospel According to the Simpsons: Leaders Guide for Group Study. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-22590-2. Singh, Simon (2013). The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-62040-277-1. External links Official website The Simpsons Archive List of longest-running American television series at IMDb List of longest-running American television series at epguides.com The Simpsons on Metacritic The Simpsons on Rotten Tomatoes The Simpsons at Don Markstein's Toonopedia Archived from the original on June 4, 2017.	Longest-running animated American series, longest running American sitcom and longest running scripted prime-time series.
35 years	27	America's Funniest Home Videos	ABC	November 26, 1989	present	500
34 years	27	ESPN Major League Baseball	ESPN, ESPN2	April 15, 1990	present
25 years	26	Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito	PBS	October 1989	present		Longest-running cooking program.
25 years	25	What's My Line?	CBS	February 16, 1950	September 3, 1967	2,191
			Syndicated	September 1968	September 1975
25 years	25	Insight	Syndicated	October 2, 1960	January 21, 1985
25 years	25	Camera Three	CBS	January 22, 1956	1979
			PBS	1979	July 1, 1980
25 years	25	Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom	NBC	January 6, 1963	April 11, 1971
			Syndicated	1971	1988
25 years	25	Larry King Live	CNN	June 3, 1985	December 16, 2010
25 years	25	The Oprah Winfrey Show	Syndicated	September 8, 1986	May 25, 2011	4,561

20–24 years

Length	Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes	Notes
33 years	25	E! News	E!	September 1, 1991	present
33 years	25	The Jerry Springer Show	Syndicated	September 20, 1991	present	5,084+
33 years	25	Investigative Reports	A&E	September 27, 1991	present
33 years	25	Charlie Rose	PBS	September 30, 1991	present
24 years	24	CBS Morning News	CBS	September 2, 1963	January 9, 1987
24 years	24	Hee Haw	CBS	June 15, 1969	July 17, 1971
			Syndicated	1971	1992
24 years	24	Truth or Consequences	CBS	September 7, 1950	May 1951
			NBC	1952	1952
			NBC	May 18, 1954	September 24, 1965
			Syndicated	1966	1974
24 years	24	At the Movies	Syndicated	September 18, 1986	August 14, 2010
			PBS	January 2011	December 2011
23 years	24	Crossfire	CNN	1982	June 3, 2005
			CNN	September 9, 2013	October 15, 2014
23 years	24	Baseball Tonight	ESPN	March 19, 1990	present
23 years	24	NBA Inside Stuff	NBC	1990	2002
			ABC	2002	present
23 years	24	Outside the Lines	ESPN	1990	present
32 years	24	Dateline NBC	NBC	March 31, 1992	present	1,700+
32 years	24	Reliable Sources	CNN	March 7, 1992	present
32 years	31	The Real World	MTV	May 21, 1992	present	532+	Longest-running MTV reality series.
31 years	24	WWE Raw	USA Network	January 11, 1993	September 18, 2000	1,103+
			TNN/Spike TV	September 25, 2000	September 26, 2005
			USA Network	October 3, 2005	present
23 years	24	Nick News with Linda Ellerbee	Nickelodeon	April 18, 1992	December 15, 2015	178
31 years	23	Power Rangers	FOX	August 28, 1993	September 7, 2002	809	Longest-running United States Tokusatsu series.
			ABC Family	March 3, 2002	August 31, 2006
			Toon Disney	February 14, 2004	February 12, 2009
			ABC	September 14, 2002	August 28, 2010
			The CW	August 25, 2012	January 12, 2013
			Nickelodeon	February 7, 2011	present
			Nicktoons	February 11, 2011	present
31 years	23	Monday Night Countdown	ESPN	September 6, 1993	present
31 years	23	NFL Matchup	ESPN, ESPN2	September 5, 1993	present
23 years	23	Death Valley Days	Syndicated	March 1, 1952	August 1, 1975	558
23 years	23	The Ed Sullivan Show	CBS	June 20, 1948	June 6, 1971	1,087
23 years	23	The George Michael Sports Machine	NBC	September 2, 1984	September 8, 1991
			Syndicated	September 15, 1991	March 25, 2007
23 years	23	America's Most Wanted	Fox	February 7, 1988	April 21, 2012	1149
			Lifetime	December 2, 2011	October 12, 2012
23 years	23	Lilias, Yoga and You	PBS	1976	1999
23 years	23	Reading Rainbow	PBS	June 6, 1983	November 10, 2006	155
22 years	22	The Original Amateur Hour	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	The Merv Griffin Show	NBC	October 1962	March 1963
			Syndicated	1965	1969
			CBS	August 18, 1969	February 11, 1972
			Syndicated	1972	September 1986
22 years	22	Late Show with David Letterman	CBS	August 30, 1993	May 20, 2015	4,263
22 years	22	NFL on NBC	NBC	1975	1997
30 years	22	Inside the Actors Studio	Bravo	August 14, 1994	present
21 years	22	Kickin' It with Byron Allen	Syndicated	1994	present
30 years	22	Extra	Syndicated	September 5, 1994	present	4,000+
30 years	22	Fox NFL Sunday	Fox	September 18, 1994	present
21 years	22	Entertainers with Byron Allen	Syndicated	September 1994	present
29 years	22	Modern Marvels	History Channel	January 1, 1995	present	529+
29 years	22	The Late Late Show	CBS	January 9, 1995	present	3,468+
29 years	22	Golf Talk	Golf Channel	January 17, 1995	present
29 years	22	Golf Central	Golf Channel	January 18, 1995	present
21 years	21	Issues and Answers	ABC	1960	1981
21 years	21	Mike Douglas Show	Syndicated	1961	1982	6,000+
21 years	21	Sneak Previews	PBS	1975	1996
21 years	21	This Week in Baseball	Syndicated	1977	1998
21 years	21	Style with Elsa Klensch	CNN	June 1, 1980	January 2001
21 years	21	Cookin' Cheap	PBS	1981	2002
21 years	21	The New Yankee Workshop	PBS	January 1988	June 27, 2009
29 years	21	Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel	HBO	April 2, 1995	present
29 years	21	Squawk Box	CNBC	August 7, 1995	present
28 years	21	Private Screenings	TCM	January 1, 1996	present
20 years	20	The Red Skelton Show	NBC	September 30, 1951	June 21, 1953
			CBS	September 22, 1953	June 23, 1970
			NBC	September 14, 1970	August 29, 1971
20 years	20	Gunsmoke	CBS	September 10, 1955	September 1, 1975	635	Longest-running prime-time drama. (tie)
20 years	20	Law & Order	NBC	September 13, 1990	May 24, 2010	456	Longest-running prime-time drama. (tie)
20 years	20	The Secret Storm	CBS	February 1, 1954	February 8, 1974	5,195
20 years	20	Evans and Novak	CNN	September 1982	November 9, 2002
20 years	20	My Classic Car	Velocity, MAVTV	1997	present	390+
20 years	20	The Doctors	NBC	April 1, 1963	December 31, 1982	5,280

15–19 years

Length	Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes	Notes
28 years	20	The Daily Show	Comedy Central	July 22, 1996	present	3,873
28 years	20	Arthur	PBS	September 2, 1996	present	211	Longest-running animated series on PBS. Second longest on U.S. television.
28 years	20	Access Hollywood	Syndicated	September 9, 1996	present	3,265+
28 years	20	Judge Judy	Syndicated	September 16, 1996	present		Longest-running reality courtroom show.
28 years	20	MoneyTV with Donald Baillargeon	Syndicated	October 1, 1996	present	850+
28 years	20	Your World with Neil Cavuto	Fox News Channel	October 6, 1996	present
28 years	20	The O'Reilly Factor	Fox News Channel	October 6, 1996	present
18 years	19	Gardening by the Yard	HGTV	1996	present
18 years	19	E! True Hollywood Story	E!	1996	present	500+
18 years	19	Fox News Sunday	Fox	1996	present
18 years	19	A Wedding Story	TLC	1996	present
18 years	19	Denise Austin's Daily Workout	Lifetime	1997	present
18 years	19	Hardball with Chris Matthews	CNBC	1997	1999
			MSNBC	1999	present
18 years	19	WNBA on ESPN	ESPN	1997	present
27 years	19	Antiques Roadshow	PBS	January 9, 1997	present
27 years	19	¡Despierta América!	Univision	April 14, 1997	present
27 years	19	The View	ABC	August 11, 1997	present	3,953+
27 years	19	South Park	Comedy Central	August 13, 1997	present	328
27 years	19	The People's Court (revival)	Syndicated	September 8, 1997	present	1,500+
19 years	19	Lassie	CBS	September 12, 1954	May 1971	571
			Syndicated	September 1971	March 24, 1973
19 years	19	Barney & Friends	PBS	April 5, 1992	November 2, 2010	248
19 years	19	The Porter Wagoner Show	Syndicated	1960	1979
19 years	19	The NFL Today (original series)	CBS	1975	January 23, 1994
19 years	19	Computer Chronicles	PBS	1983	June 25, 2002
19 years	19	Friday Night Videos	NBC	July 29, 1983	May 24, 2002
19 years	19	ESPN Sunday Night Football	ESPN	November 8, 1987	January 1, 2006
26 years	18	Fox & Friends	Fox News Channel	February 1, 1998	present
26 years	27	Real World/Road Rules Challenge	MTV	June 1, 1998	present
18 years	18	Art Linkletter's House Party	CBS	September 1, 1952	September 5, 1969
			NBC	December 29, 1969	September 25, 1970
18 years	18	NASCAR on TBS	TBS	1983	2000
18 years	18	WWF Superstars	syndication	1984	1996	924
			USA	1996	2000
			TNN	2000	2001
16 years	17	Family Guy	Fox	January 31, 1999	August 1, 2000	266
				July 11, 2001	November 9, 2003
				May 1, 2005	present
25 years	9	SpongeBob SquarePants	Nickelodeon	May 1, 1999	present	SpongeBob SquarePants	Longest-running Nickelodeon series, longest-running Nicktoon, and the only remaining '90s series on Nickelodeon currently on the air and in production.
Template:Age years	17	Divorce Court (revival reality show)	Syndicated/Fox Twentieth Television	September 15, 1999	Present	2,076
Template:Age years	17	Family Feud	Syndicated	September 20, 1999	present	2,390+
Template:Age years	17	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	NBC	September 20, 1999	present	385	The longest running currently-running scripted non-animated U.S. prime-time television series, longest running television spinoff.
Template:Age years	17	Cheaters	Syndicated/ The CW	November 26, 1999	present	264
Template:Age years	17	WWE SmackDown	UPN	April 29, 1999	September 15, 2006	860+
			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	present
17 years	17	NBA on CBS	CBS	October 20, 1973	June 14, 1990
17 years	17	Showbiz Today	CNN	October 29, 1984	2001
17 years	17	USA Tuesday Night Fights	USA	March 30, 1982	1998
17 years	17	The Capital Gang	CNN	September 7, 1988	2005
17 years	17	The Montel Williams Show	Syndicated	June 24, 1991	May 16, 2008	3,000+
16 years	16	MTV Unplugged	MTV	November 26, 1989	March 2, 2007	108
16 years	16	Booknotes	C-SPAN	April 2, 1989	December 5, 2004
16 years	16	Wheel of Fortune (daytime)	NBC	January 6, 1975	June 30, 1989
			CBS	July 17, 1989	January 11, 1991
			NBC	January 14, 1991	September 20, 1991
16 years	16	Fight Back! with David Horowitz	Syndicated	1976	1992
16 years	16	Forensic Files	TruTV	April 21, 1996	June 17, 2011	410+
Template:Age years	16	Big Brother (U.S.)	CBS	July 5, 2000	present	500+	Although Big Brother has multiple versions known around the world, the U.S. version is the longest running.
Template:Age years	16	America's Test Kitchen	PBS	January 4, 2001	present
Template:Age years	31	Survivor (U.S. series)	CBS	May 31, 2000	present	459	Features two seasons per year.
Template:Age years	16	NASCAR on Fox	FOX	February 18, 2001	present
15 years	15	Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures	Syndicated	September 1, 1993	May 24, 2008
15 years	15	Sportsworld	NBC	1978	1992
15 years	11	Aqua Teen Hunger Force	Adult Swim	December 30, 2000	August 30, 2015	139	The episode "Boston" was never released.
15 years	15	For Your Home	PBS	1996	2011
15 years	15	I've Got a Secret	CBS	June 19, 1952	April 3, 1967	350+
15 years	15	Concentration	NBC	August 25, 1958	March 23, 1973	3,770
15 years	15	The Jack Benny Program	CBS	October 29, 1950	September 15, 1964	343
			NBC	September 25, 1964	September 10, 1965
15 years	15	That Good Ole Nashville Music	Syndicated	1970	1985
15 years	15	Scientific American Frontiers	PBS	October 1, 1990	October 19, 2005	97
15 years	15	Newton's Apple	PBS	1983	1998
15 years	15	ER	NBC	September 19, 1994	April 2, 2009	331
15 years	16	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	CBS	October 6, 2000	September 27, 2015	337

10–14 years

Length	Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes	Notes
14 years	10	The Fairly OddParents	Nickelodeon	March 30, 2001	November 25, 2006	156 (aired)	Second longest-running Nickelodeon animated series.
				February 18, 2008	August 5, 2012
				March 23, 2013	present
14 years	15	CBS This Morning	CBS	November 30, 1987	October 29, 1999	3,110
			CBS	January 9, 2012	present	620+
14 years	15	Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?	ABC	August 16, 1999	June 27, 2002	2,300+
			Syndicated	September 16, 2002	present
Template:Age years	15	BET's Top 25	BET	September 22, 2001	present
Template:Age years	15	Don Francisco Presenta	Univision	October 10, 2001	present
Template:Age years	15	30 Minute Meals	Food Network	November 17, 2001	present	445+
Template:Age years	24	The Amazing Race (U.S. series)	CBS	September 5, 2001	present	270	Two seasons per year
Template:Age years	15	Last Call with Carson Daly	NBC	January 8, 2002	present	1,700+
Template:Age years	15	Closing Bell	CNBC	February 4, 2002	present
Template:Age years	15	On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren	Fox News Channel	February 12, 2002	present
14 years	15	Ryan's Hope	ABC	July 7, 1975	January 13, 1989	3,515
14 years	15	An Evening at the Improv	A&E	February 3, 1982	January 1, 1996
14 years	15	MythBusters	Discovery Channel, TLC	January 23, 2003	March 5, 2016	282
14 years	14	Dora the Explorer	Nickelodeon	August 14, 2000	January 26, 2015	172	Longest-running Nick Jr. series, cancelled due to possibly high ratings of Disney Channel and Adult Swim.
14 years	14	Watch Mr. Wizard (original series)	NBC	May 26, 1951	June 27, 1965	547
16 years	14	The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet	ABC	October 10, 1952	September 3, 1966	435	The longest running U.S. live-action sitcom.
14 years	14	The Jack LaLanne Show	Syndicated	1956	1970
14 years	14	Bonanza	NBC	September 12, 1959	January 16, 1973	430
14 years	14	Hollywood Squares	NBC	October 17, 1966	June 20, 1980	3,536
14 years	14	Knots Landing	CBS	December 27, 1979	May 13, 1993	344
14 years	14	The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show	ABC	September 13, 1986	September 2, 2000	387+
14 years	14	Marty Stouffer's Wild America	PBS	1982	1996	120
14 years	14	Speed Week	ESPN	1983	1997
14 years	14	Video Soul	BET	June 26, 1983	1997
14 years	14	MADtv	FOX	October 14, 1995	May 16, 2009	321	Longest running rival sketch show to Saturday Night Live; longest-running FOX sketch show.
14 years	14	X-Play	G4	July 4, 1998	January 23, 2013	1,000+
14 years	14	NASCAR on TNT	TNT	July 22, 2001	July 13, 2014
Template:Age years	14	Illegal Knowledge	Access Tucson	March 24, 2002	present	66+
Template:Age years	14	Barefoot Contessa	Food Network	March 25, 2002	present	111+
Template:Age years	14	Monday Night Baseball	ESPN	April 7, 2002	present
Template:Age years	15	American Idol	FOX	June 11, 2002	April 7, 2016	557
Template:Age years	14	The Daily Buzz	Syndicated, The CW Plus	September 16, 2002	present
Template:Age years	14	Dr. Phil	Syndicated	September 16, 2002	present	1,671
Template:Age years	14	Around the Horn	ESPN	November 4, 2002	present	2,310+
Template:Age years	14	NBA Countdown	ESPN	December 25, 2002	present
Template:Age years	14	NBA Shootaround	ESPN	October 25, 2002	present
Template:Age years	14	ESPN's coverage of the NBA on ABC	ABC	December 25, 2002	present		Originally known as NBA on ABC
Template:Age years	14	NBA on ESPN	ESPN and ESPN2	December 25, 2002	present
Template:Age years	14	Recipe TV Featuring the World's Greatest Chefs	Syndicated	September 30, 2002	present
13 years	14	Good Eats	Food Network	July 7, 1999	April 29, 2010	220
			Cooking Channel	May 27, 2010	February 10, 2012	23
13 years	13	Let's Make a Deal	NBC	December 30, 1963	December 27, 1968
			ABC	December 30, 1968	July 9, 1976
13 years	13	Howdy Doody	NBC	December 27, 1947	September 24, 1960
13 years	13	Armstrong Circle Theatre	NBC	June 6, 1950	June 1957
			CBS	October 1957	August 28, 1963
13 years	13	The 20th Century	CBS	October 20, 1957	January 4, 1970
13 years	13	Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids	CBS	September 9, 1972	August 25, 1984
			Syndicated	1984	1985
13 years	14	Dallas	CBS	April 2, 1978	May 3, 1991	357
13 years	13	PM Magazine	Syndicated	September 1978	January 1, 1991
13 years	13	Later	NBC	August 22, 1988	February 1, 2001
13 years	13	Unsolved Mysteries (original series)	NBC	January 20, 1987	September 5, 1997	560+
			CBS	November 13, 1997	June 11, 1999
			Lifetime	July 2, 2001	September 20, 2002
13 years	13	Tim Russert	CNBC	1994	2008
13 years	13	King of the Hill	FOX	January 12, 1997	May 6, 2010	259
13 years	13	Hannity & Colmes	Fox News Channel	October 6, 1996	January 9, 2009
Template:Age years	13	NCIS	CBS	September 23, 2003	present	304
12 years	13	Shepard Smith Reporting	Fox News Channel	August 2002	present		Originally titled Studio B with Shepard Smith
Template:Age years	13	The Ellen DeGeneres Show	Syndicated	September 8, 2003	present	1,666
12 years	13	Road Rules	MTV	July 19, 1995	May 9, 2007
12 years	12	NASCAR on Speed	Speed	February 11, 2002	August 16, 2013
12 years	12	The Joker's Wild	CBS	September 3, 1962	June 13, 1975	3,026
			Syndicated	September 1977	May 23, 1986
12 years	12	Star Search	Syndicated	September 10, 1983	May 20, 1995
12 years	12	American Sports Cavalcade	TNN	1983	1995
12 years	12	To Tell the Truth	CBS	December 18, 1956	September 6, 1968
12 years	12	The Joy of Painting	PBS	1983	1995
12 years	12	Divorce Court (original series)	Syndicated	1957	1969
12 years	12	CBS Reports	CBS	October 27, 1959	September 7, 1971
12 years	12	The People's Court (original series)	Syndicated	September 1981	1993	2,484
12 years	12	My Three Sons	ABC	September 29, 1960	September 2, 1965
			CBS	September 16, 1965	August 24, 1972
12 years	12	NYPD Blue	ABC	September 21, 1993	March 1, 2005	261
12 years	12	Murder, She Wrote	CBS	September 30, 1984	May 19, 1996	264
12 years	12	Hawaii Five-O (original series)	CBS	September 26, 1968	April 26, 1980	284
12 years	12	Loving	ABC	June 27, 1983	November 10, 1995	3,169
12 years	12	Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous	Syndicated	January 1984	September 1996
12 years	12	House of Style	MTV	January 1, 1989	2000
12 years	12	The Jenny Jones Show	Syndicated	September 16, 1991	September 12, 2003	1,500
12 years	12	Room by Room	HGTV	December 31, 1994	2006
12 years	12	NBA on NBC	NBC	1990	2002
11 years	5	Scared!	Staten Island Community Television	September 12, 2002	present	19
11 years	12	Grey's Anatomy	ABC	March 27, 2005	present	266
11 years	12	Two and a Half Men	CBS	September 22, 2003	February 19, 2015	262
11 years	11	The Chris Matthews Show	Syndicated	September 22, 2002	July 21, 2013
11 years	11	Kraft Television Theatre	NBC	May 7, 1947	October 1, 1958	650
11 years	11	Homes Across America	HGTV	December 1994	October 12, 2005
11 years	11	The Voice of Firestone	NBC	September 5, 1949	June 1954
			ABC	June 1954	June 1959
			ABC	September 1962	June 16, 1963
11 years	11	You Bet Your Life	NBC	October 5, 1950	June 29, 1961	429
11 years	11	The Andy Williams Show	CBS	1957	1959
			NBC	1962	1971
11 years	11	Beat the Clock (original series)	CBS	March 23, 1950	September 12, 1958
			ABC	October 13, 1958	January 30, 1961
11 years	11	Jeopardy! (original NBC series)	NBC	March 30, 1964	January 3, 1975	2,753
11 years	11	The General Electric College Bowl	CBS	January 4, 1959	1963
			NBC	1963	June 14, 1970
11 years	11	The Wilburn Brothers Show	Syndicated	1987	1998	354
11 years	11	The Carol Burnett Show	CBS	September 11, 1967	March 29, 1978	278
11 years	11	M*A*S*H	CBS	September 17, 1972	February 28, 1983	251
11 years	11	The Howard Stern Show	E!	June 18, 1994	July 8, 2005
11 years	11	Geraldo	Syndicated	1987	1998
11 years	11	Love Connection	Syndicated	September 12, 1983	July 1, 1994	2,425
11 years	11	The Danny Thomas Show	ABC	September 29, 1953	July 1957
			CBS	September 1957	September 14, 1964
11 years	11	Talk Soup	E!	December 26, 1991	May 17, 2002
11 years	11	Martha Stewart Living	Syndicated	1993	2004
11 years	11	Ricki Lake	Syndicated	September 13, 1993	August 27, 2004
11 years	11	Good Eats	Food Network	July 7, 1999	2011	235
11 years	11	All That	Nickelodeon	April 16, 1994	October 22, 2005	184
11 years	11	7th Heaven	The WB	August 26, 1996	September 18, 2006	243
			The CW	September 25, 2006	May 13, 2007
11 years	11	Imus in the Morning	MSNBC	September 2, 1996	April 11, 2007
11 years	11	Fox News Live	Fox News Channel	October 6, 1996	2008
11 years	11	The Jeffersons	CBS	January 18, 1975	July 23, 1985	255
11 years	11	Paula's Home Cooking	Food Network	2002	2013	129+
11 years	11	Married... with Children	Fox	April 5, 1987	June 9, 1997	259
11 years	12	Happy Days	ABC	January 15, 1974	May 26, 1984	255
Template:Age years	11	Supernatural	The WB	September 13, 2005	May 4, 2006	238	As of Template:Start date
			The CW	September 28, 2006	present
10 years	11	NFL Total Access	NFL Network	2003	present
10 years	11	Bones	Fox	September 13, 2005	present	222
Template:Age years	22	Dancing with the Stars	ABC	June 1, 2005	present	364	As of Template:Start date
Template:Age years	14	Hell's Kitchen	Fox	May 30, 2005	present	218
10 years	11	It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia	FX	August 4, 2005	2012	124	As of March 9, 2016
			FXX	2013	present
10 years	10	Space Ghost: Coast to Coast	Cartoon Network	April 15, 1994	May 30, 2004	93	Longest-running Cartoon Network series and second longest-running Adult Swim series.
			GameTap	April 12, 2006	May 31, 2008	17
10 years	11	Intimate Portrait	Lifetime	January 1995	October 2005
10 years	10	American Morning	CNN	September 12, 2001	December 30, 2011	1,000+
10 years	10	Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts	CBS	December 6, 1948	July 21, 1958
10 years	10	Arthur Godfrey and His Friends	CBS	January 12, 1949	April 28, 1959
10 years	10	Total Request Live	MTV	September 14, 1998	November 16, 2008	2,247
10 Years	6	Ed, Edd n' Eddy	Cartoon Network	January 4, 1999	November 8, 2009	69	Longest-running Cartoon Network series.
10 Years	7	Blue's Clues	Nickelodeon	September 8, 1996	August 6, 2006	143	Second longest-running Nick Jr. series.
10 years	10	Studio One	CBS	November 7, 1948	September 29, 1958
10 years	10	Pantomime Quiz	CBS	October 4, 1949	August 28, 1951
			NBC	January 2, 1952	March 26, 1952
			CBS	July 4, 1952	September 1952
			CBS	July 1953	August 28, 1953
			DuMont	October 20, 1953	April 13, 1954
			CBS	July 9, 1954	August 27, 1954
			ABC	January 1955	March 1955
			CBS	July 8, 1955	September 6, 1957
			ABC	April 1958	September 1958
			ABC	January 1959	September 1959
10 years	10	The Arthur Murray Party	ABC	July 20, 1950	September 1950		The first series to be shown on four U.S. broadcasting networks
			DuMont	October 1950	March 1951
			ABC	April 1951	May 1952
			CBS	July 1952	August 1952
			DuMont	October 1952	April 1953
			CBS	June 1953	October 1953
			NBC	October 1953	September 1955
			CBS	April 1956	September 1956
			NBC	July 1957	September 6, 1960
10 years	10	Smilin' Ed's Gang	NBC	August 26, 1950	May 19, 1951
			CBS	August 11, 1951	April 11, 1953
			ABC	August 22, 1953	April 23, 1955
			CBS	August 20, 1955	December 31, 1960
10 years	10	A Current Affair	Syndicated	July 28, 1986	1996
11 years	11	Cheers	NBC	September 30, 1982	May 20, 1993	273
11 years	10	Frasier	NBC	September 16, 1993	May 13, 2004	264
10 years	10	Getting Fit	ESPN	1987	1997
10 years	10	American Chopper	Discovery Channel, TLC	September 29, 2002	December 17, 2012	233
10 years	10	Friends	NBC	September 22, 1994	May 6, 2004	236
10 years	10	Beverly Hills, 90210	Fox	October 4, 1990	May 17, 2000	293
10 years	10	NASCAR on TNN	TNN	1991	2000
10 years	10	Stargate SG-1	Showtime, Syfy	1997	2007	211	Spawned two direct-to-dvd movies, Stargate: Continuum and Stargate: The Ark of Truth.
10 years	10	The French Chef	PBS	February 11, 1963	February 11, 1973	201
10 years	10	Smallville	The WB	October 16, 2001	May 11, 2006	218
			The CW	September 28, 2006	May 13, 2011
10 years	9	Rugrats	Nickelodeon	August 11, 1991	Template:End date	172	Third longest-running Nickelodeon animated series.

See also

• Lists of longest-running U.S. shows by broadcast type:
  • List of longest-running U.S. cable television series
  • List of longest-running U.S. broadcast network television series
  • List of longest-running U.S. primetime television series
  • List of longest-running U.S. syndicated television series
• Lists of longest-running shows internationally:
  • List of longest-running TV shows by category - international list
  • List of longest-running Indian television series
  • List of longest-running UK television series
  • List of longest-running Australian television series
• List of shortest running shows:
  • List of television series canceled after one episode
  • List of television series canceled before airing an episode

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

• Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–present. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
• TV Guide Guide to TV (2006). ISBN 0-7607-7572-9.

DEFAULTSORT:Longest-running United States television series