List of longest-running American cable television series explained

This is a list of the longest-running United States cable television series, ordered by number of broadcast seasons.

To qualify for this list, the programming must originate in North America and shown nationally in the United States and be first-run (as opposed to a repackaging of previously aired material or material released in other media). For the purposes of this list, series that were available only on a local or regional basis will be excluded, along with hybrid broadcast/cable networks such as The WB 100+/The CW Plus. For series that originated on U.S. broadcast networks (or broadcast syndication) and then was picked up by a national cable network, only the amount aired nationally on cable as original programming is represented here.

A season for the purpose of this article is defined as a given year, not a production cycle (as in America's Next Top Model) which is defined as a season by the network or the program's distributor; for instance, multiple series on Food Network (e.g. Chopped) count each production cycle as a season rather than classing them by year.

List

Series shaded in light blue are currently in production.

25 or more seasons

Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes
	Inside the NFL	HBO
		Showtime
		Paramount+
		The CW		present
	SportsCenter	ESPN		present
	Washington Journal[1]	C-SPAN		present
	NASCAR on ESPN	ESPN / ESPN2
	Gilad's Bodies in Motion	ESPN
		Discovery Health
				present
	[2]	MTV		present
	National Geographic Explorer[3]
		WTBS / TBS
		MSNBC[4]
		National Geographic		present
	Grand Ole Opry Live[5]	TNN
		CMT
		GAC[6]
	Sunday NFL Countdown[7]	ESPN		present
	College GameDay	ESPN		present
	NFL Primetime	ESPN		present
	Biography[8]	A&E	[9]
		Biography Channel		present[10]
35	Bobby Jones Gospel	BET
	NBA on TNT	TNT		present
	[11]	MTV
		Facebook Watch
	WWE Raw	USA
		TNN/Spike TV
		USA		present
		Spike TV
		FX
		Fox Sports 1		present
	Baseball Tonight	ESPN		present
	Outside the Lines	ESPN		present
30	Power Rangers	Fox Kids			973
		ABC Kids
		Jetix (ABC Family)
		Jetix (Toon Disney)
		Jetix (ABC Family)
		Jetix (Toon Disney)
		Jetix (ABC Family)
		Jetix (Toon Disney)
		ABC Kids
		Nickelodeon
		Netflix
30	Moneyline[12]	CNN
	Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel	HBO
	Barefoot Contessa	Food Network
28		ESPN[13]
	Your World with Neil Cavuto	Fox News Channel		present
26	ESPN SpeedWorld	ESPN
	South Park	Comedy Central		present
	Fox & Friends	Fox News Channel		present
25	Larry King Live	CNN
25	Nick News[14]	Nickelodeon
			June 29, 2020	present

20–24 seasons

Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes
24	ESPN Major League Baseball[15]	ESPN / ESPN2[16]		present
24		Comedy Central		present
24	WCW Saturday Night[17]	WTCG/WTBS/TBS	[18]
23	Crossfire	CNN
	Inside the Actors Studio	Bravo
		Ovation
22	E! News[19]	News Live	E!		present
	Real Time with Bill Maher	HBO		present
22	Pawn Stars	History		present	646
21	Reliable Sources	CNN
	Modern Marvels	History
	[20]	Fox News Channel			5,321
	Around the Horn	ESPN	November 4, 2002	present
21	Style with Elsa Klensch	CNN
20	NFL Matchup	ESPN / ESPN2[21]		present
20	Monday Night Countdown	ESPN		present
20	Evans and Novak[22]	CNN
	Deadliest Catch	Discovery Channel		present
	Keeping Up with the Kardashians	E!
20	Total Request Live	MTV			2,254
				2019

15–19 seasons

Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes
19	Squawk Box	CNBC		present
19	ESPN Sunday Night Football[23]	ESPN	[24]
19	NASCAR on TBS	TBS
18	Golf Central	Golf Channel		present
	The Real Housewives of Orange County	Bravo		present
18	Showbiz Today[25]
17	E! True Hollywood Story	E!			501
17	Fox News Live	Fox News
				present
17	WNBA on ESPN	ESPN		present
17	MythBusters	Discovery Channel
		Science Channel
17	USA Tuesday Night Fights	USA
17	Capital Gang	CNN
16	NFL Films Game of the Week[26]	ESPN
16	Hardball with Chris Matthews[27]	America's Talking
		CNBC
		MSNBC
16	Booknotes	C-SPAN			801
16	MTV Unplugged	MTV		present
	Good Eats	Food Network
		Cooking Channel
		Food Network
		Discovery+
	It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia	FX
		FXX		present
	Ghost Hunters	Sci Fi Channel / Syfy
		A&E
		Discovery+
		Travel Channel		present
15	Monday Night Countdown	ESPN		present
	The Real Housewives of Atlanta	Bravo		present
	Ninjago[28]	Cartoon Network	January 14, 2011	October 25, 2020
		Netflix	March 7, 2021	October 1, 2022

12–14 seasons

Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes
	SpongeBob SquarePants	Nickelodeon	[29]	present
	Forensic Files[30]	TLC
		Court TV
		TruTV		[31]
	Gold Rush	Discovery Channel		present
14	An Evening at the Improv
14	SpeedWeek	ESPN
14	Video Soul	BET
14	Road Rules	MTV		[32]
14	Xplay[33]	ZDTV / TechTV
		G4techTV
		G4
14	NASCAR on TNT	TNT
13	Tim Russert	CNBC
13	Private Screenings	TCM
13	Hannity & Colmes[34]	Fox News Channel
13	Gardening by the Yard	HGTV
	Mystery Science Theater 3000	KTMA-TV
		The Comedy Channel
		Comedy Central
		Sci Fi Channel
		Netflix
		Gizmoplex	[35]	present
12	Monday Night Baseball	ESPN		present
12	30 Minute Meals	Food Network			445+
	Aqua Teen Hunger Force (alternate titles)	Adult Swim	[36]
				present
12	BET's Top 25	BET
12	NASCAR on Speed	Speed
12	American Sports Cavalcade	TNN
	Intimate Portrait	Lifetime

10–11 seasons

Number of seasons	Series	Network	First broadcast	Last broadcast	Number of episodes
11	Closing Bell	CNBC	February 4, 2002	present
	Shameless	Showtime	January 9, 2011	April 11, 2021
11	Shepard Smith Reporting	Fox News Channel	August 12, 2002	January 15, 2021
11	House of Style	MTV	May 1989	2000
			October 18, 2012
11	Talk Soup	E!	December 26, 1991	May 17, 2002
11		E!	June 18, 1994	July 8, 2005	1,550+
11	All That	Nickelodeon	January 21, 1995[37]	October 22, 2005	210
			June 15, 2019	December 17, 2020
11	Imus in the Morning[38]	MSNBC	September 2, 1996	April 11, 2007
11	Paula's Home Cooking	Food Network	2002	2013	135+
	Impractical Jokers	TruTV	December 15, 2011	February 9, 2023
		TBS	April 6, 2024	present
	When Calls the Heart	Hallmark Channel	October 19, 2013	present
11	On the Record	Fox News Channel	February 4, 2002	November 11, 2016
10	NFL Total Access	NFL Network	2003	May 17, 2024
10	American Morning	CNN	September 12, 2001	December 30, 2011
10	Emeril Live	Food Network	October 6, 1997	December 11, 2007
		Fine Living	July 7, 2008	December 14, 2010
	The Fairly OddParents	Nickelodeon	March 30, 2001	November 25, 2006	172
			February 18, 2008	September 16, 2016
		Nicktoons	January 18, 2017	July 26, 2017
10	Nashville Now	TNN	March 7, 1983	October 15, 1993
	PAW Patrol	Nickelodeon	August 12, 2013	present
10	NASCAR on TNN	TNN	March 3, 1991	November 5, 2000
10	Stargate SG-1[39]	Showtime	July 27, 1997	May 17, 2002	215[40]
		Sci Fi Channel	June 7, 2002	June 22, 2007[41]
10	USA Up All Night	USA Network	January 7, 1989	March 7, 1998	900+
10	Weather Center	The Weather Channel	March 10, 1998	March 1, 2009
10	Adventure Time	Cartoon Network	April 5, 2010	September 3, 2018	283

See also

• Lists of longest running U.S. shows by broadcast type:
  • List of longest-running United States 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. first-run syndicated television series
• Lists of longest running shows internationally:
  • List of longest-running television shows by category- international list
  • 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

Notes and References

1. Weekend editions are simulcast on the BBC Parliament channel with the name America This Week
2. Originally Road Rules: All Stars
3. Host: Tom Chapin (1985–1988), Robert Urich (1988–1995), Bob Ballard (1988–1995), Boyd Matson (1995–2003), Michael Fay (2001), Lisa Ling (2003-)
4. Show renamed National Geographic Ultimate Explorer 2003–2005
5. Oldest continuously running radio program, airing on WSM radio, Nashville, Tennessee; has aired on the digital over-the-air network Circle since January 4, 2020.
6. As Grand Ole Opry Live!
7. (not counting current Sunday evening version airing on ESPN+
8. Originated on CBS
9. Reran CBS originals, 1984–1987
10. Rebroadcast A&E originals, 1999–2006
11. Future seasons have aired on Paramount+
12. Became Lou Dobbs Moneyline in 2001, Lou Dobbs Tonight in 2003
13. Program rebroadcast later the same day on ESPNEWS
14. Originally Nick News W/5 and later Nick News with Linda Ellerbee
15. Includes Sunday Night Baseball, Wednesday Night Baseball, etc.
16. ESPN2 started broadcasting major league baseball games in 2002 in addition to those offered by ESPN
17. Previously Georgia Championship Wrestling (1972–1984), World Championship Wrestling (1984–1992)
18. Date when WTCG was distributed nationally via cable (WTCG evolved into TBS). Broadcast on WTCG started January 1972.
19. Previously E! News Daily and E
20. Originally The O'Reilly Report
21. Presently, each episode first airs on ESPN2 on Fridays, then is repeated on ESPN two days later
22. Other names: Evans, Novak, Hunt, and Shields (1998–2001), Novak, Hunt, and Shields (2001–2002)
23. Moved to NBC in 2006, at which time Monday Night Football moves from ABC to ESPN
24. Sunday Night Football shared with TNT, with TNT getting the first half of the season, ESPN the second half, 1990–1997
25. Also known as CNN Showbiz Today
26. First-run syndication 1965–1997
27. Originally Politics with Chris Matthews
28. Originally Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu
29. Sneak peek airing May 1, 1999
30. Originally Medical Detectives
31. Show is on hiatus and may return on a different network under the original title of "Medical Detectives". Old episodes were airing on Lifetime as of August 2011.
32. The start of Season 15 has been announced for January 2008
33. Previously GameSpot TV, Extended Play, and X-Play
34. Successor series Hannity debuted January 12, 2009.
35. Pre-release date, March 4, 2022
36. Sneak peek airing December 30, 2000 on Cartoon Network
37. Sneak peek airing April 16, 1994
38. Simulcast of live program at WFAN New York
39. Longest-running science fiction series in the United States.
40. http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=2&id=37607 According to Sci Fi Wire
41. Cancellation announced by Sci Fi Channel, August 21, 2006