The 40 Longest-Running American TV Shows of All Time

"Is that still on?" you'll hear people ask about one of your favorite shows. Amazingly enough, yes, some of the longest-running American TV shows of all time are still going strong, cranking out more episodes than the vast majority of series will ever come close to. Our list of these overachievers is comprised of shows like Grey's Anatomy that remain on the air, along with series that aired their final episode decades ago. Either way, you'll be blown away to discover just how many hours of television these iconic shows are responsible for.

To keep things from spinning too wildly out of control, we're focusing on primetime, scripted, non-anthology series—with apologies to the soap operas, news programs, and late-night shows that have redefined staying power. With that in mind, take a look at our ranking of the 40 longest-running American TV shows ever made, from least to most episodes. And for more television nostalgia, revisit these 20 Beloved TV Shows You Won't Believe Are 20 Years Old.

40 MA*SH (1972-1983)

256 episodes

And for more shows that came to a memorable conclusion, these are The 25 Best TV Series Finales of All Time.

39 Married… with Children (1987-1997)

259 episodes

38 King of the Hill (1997-2009)

259 episodes

And for some less enduring series, check out these 20 '90s TV Shows You've Completely Forgotten About.

37 The Jack Benny Program (1950-1965)

260 episodes

36 Murphy Brown (1988-2018)

260 episodes

And for more shows that came back to little fanfare, here are The 13 Most Disappointing TV Reboots of All Time.

35 Mama (1949-1956)

261 episodes

34 NYPD Blue (1993-2005)

261 episodes

33 Two and a Half Men (2003-2015)

262 episodes

And for more series that continued on without their leads, check out these 13 TV Shows That Lost Their Stars.

32 NCIS: Los Angeles (2009-)

262 episodes

31 Frasier (1993-2004)

still from frasier — CBS Television Distribution

264 episodes

And for more fun content delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.

30 Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996)

264 episodes

29 Perry Mason (1957-1966)

271 episodes

28 The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-1971)

274 episodes

27 The Donna Reed Show (1958-1966)

275 episodes

26 Cheers (1982-1993)

still from cheers — ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks

275 episodes

25 Dragnet (1951-1959)

276 episodes

24 The Big Bang Theory (2007-2019)

279 episodes

23 Hawaii Five-O (1968-1980)

279 episodes

22 Wagon Train (1957-1965)

still from wagon train — NBCUniversal Television Distribution

284 episodes

21 The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950-1958)

291 episodes

20 Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990-2000)

293 episodes

19 American Dad! (2005-)

still from american dad — Disney-ABC Domestic Television

297 episodes

18 Supernatural (2005-)

320 episodes

17 Criminal Minds (2005-2020)

still from criminal minds — CBS Television Distribution

324 episodes

16 ER (1994-2009)

still from er — Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution

331 episodes

15 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000-2015)

marg helgenberger on csi crime scene investigation — CBS Television Distribution

337 episodes

14 The Danny Thomas Show (1953-1964)

343 episodes

13 Knots Landing (1979-1993)

344 episodes

12 Family Guy (1999-)

349 episodes

11 Dallas (1978-1991)

still from dallas — Warner Bros. Television Distribution

357 episodes

10 Grey's Anatomy (2005-)

363 episodes

9 My Three Sons (1960-1972)

still from my three sons — CBS Television Distribution

380 episodes

8 NCIS (2003-)

still from NCIS — CBS Television Distribution

398 episodes

7 Bonanza (1959-1973)

still from bonanza — CBS Television Distribution

431 episodes

6 The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-1966)

435 episodes

5 Law & Order (1990-2010)

still from law and order — NBCUniversal Television Distribution

456 episodes

4 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999-)

stabler and benson in law and order special victims unit — NBC

478 episodes

3 Lassie (1954-1971)

still from lassie — NBCUniversal Television Distribution

591 episodes

2 Gunsmoke (1955-1975)

still from gunsmoke — CBS Television Distribution

635 episodes

1 The Simpsons (1989-)

684 episodes

Filed UnderEntertainmentRead This Next

The 20 Longest Netflix TV Marathons
These are the marathons to start when you have a lot of time to kill.April 30, 2020
20 TV Shows You Won't Believe Are 20 Years Old
These classic TV series first aired in the year 2000, and some of them are still airing!August 13, 2020
17 Shows You Can Stream in Just One Weekend
These are the best one- and two-season shows you can easily polish off before Monday morning.January 15, 2021
15 TV Shows That Lost Their Stars
These series lost their leads, sometimes abruptly, but still continued on.October 20, 2021
18 Old TV Shows Your Family Will Love
From The Honeymooners to The Brady Bunch, these wholesome classics will be a hit..May 23, 2024
20 '90s TV Shows You've Forgotten About
From the decade that brought you Friends and Seinfeld, some more obscure series...March 31, 2020
15 Hit TV Shows With Serious Haters
Hit series like The Big Bang Theory and Riverdale have some serious haters.November 24, 2019
23 Great TV Shows to Watch as a Family
We've rounded up some streaming series that adults and kids will love equally.April 28, 2020
10 Things You Didn't Know about Justin Trudeau
Athlete, nerd, hopeless romantic, thespian. Yes, there’s a lot more to Canada’s Prime Minister than just politics.March 21, 2017
Jon Hamm: The Best Life Interview
Jon Hamm, star of TV's Mad Men, reveals the secrets of manliness in a postmodern world.November 15, 2016