The 20 greatest TV shows that ran for 10 or more seasons

The works of Agatha Christie have been adapted for the screen many times, and many actors have played her beloved private detective, Hercule Poirot. For many, though, the definitive Poirot is that played by actor David Suchet, who starred in the series Agatha Christie’s Poirot for its entire thirteen-season run. He just seemed to understand the character in a way that no other actor really could. While the various seasons sometimes took liberties with Christie’s original works, the show as a whole remained remarkably true to her vision and ethos.

The late Angela Lansbury became a household name thanks to her starring role in Murder, She Wrote, in which she played writer and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher. The series would ultimately last twelve seasons, and Lansbury would become a beloved icon of the 1980s and 1990s. The show was the very epitome of the cozy mystery. Whether she was solving murders in her hometown of Cabot Cove, Maine, or somewhere else, Jessica showed that she was one of the most formidable sleuths to ever grace the small screen.

Are You Being Served is one of those series that was (and is) just as popular in America as it was/is in its native UK. In large part, this is because of its steady presence on PBS throughout the 1990s, but it’s also very funny and risque in its own right. Taking place at the fictional department store known as Brothers, it focuses on the various members of the staff and their relationships with one another. It ultimately ran for ten seasons and featured a number of cast changes, but it never lost its essential character. 

One of the best things about British TV shows is that they often go on for several seasons. Even so, The Last of the Summer Wine is a remarkable achievement, having gone on for thirty-one total seasons, from 1973 to 2010. Though it endured its fair share of cast changes — several of the original main cast passed away before its conclusion — it still managed to maintain both its sense of humor and its uniquely northern English charm. It’s the kind of show that welcomes the viewer in, and it remains as comforting now as it did when it first premiered half a century ago.

King of the Hill was one of those series that emerged in the 1990s, when adult animated sitcoms were coming into their maturity. It focuses on Hank Hill as he contends not just with his wife and son and their various foibles but also with a world that is sometimes very confusing. It lasted for thirteen seasons in its original run and then, like so many other series of the 1990s, it managed to get a new lease on life when it was brought back by Hulu in 2025.

The oddball Belcher family is the focus of Bob’s Burgers, which is now heading into its sixteenth season. It’s one of those shows that really leans in and revels in its own eccentricities and those of its various characters, both the members of the Belcher family and those who live in their community. It’s a show that is both deeply funny and also strangely poignant, and it invites the audience to laugh with rather than at its characters. It’s a show with a good heart, which helps to explain its extraordinary longevity. 

There’s never been a variety show quite like Saturday Night Live. It’s gone through numerous cast changes over the years and, while it’s had its fair share of weak seasons and sub-par writing, somehow it always manages to return better and stronger than ever. Just as importantly, it’s also one of those shows that manages to remain remarkably topical, and it continues to demonstrate the extent to which there is remarkable, and sometimes very subversive, power in the act of laughing.

Friends was in many ways the epitome of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s sitcom, but it has proven to be remarkably enduring. Perhaps it is the fact that it has such a simple premise that has allowed it to stay popular, not just with Gen Xers and millennials who grew up with it, but also with subsequent generations. It managed to stay consistently funny and entertaining throughout its ten seasons, and it allowed the audience to get to know and fall in love with its characters, in all of their sometimes frustrating complexity. 

MASH is a special show, not least because it’s one of those rare shows that manages to seamlessly weave together comedy and drama. Though set during the Korean War, it is very much a commentary on the then-raging Vietnam War. It’s also one of those rare shows that managed to be of remarkably good quality right up until the end. It’s thus not surprising that its finale managed to be one of the most-watched TV events in the history of the medium.

Kelsey Grammer is one of those actors who has the distinction of appearing in not just one but two hugely successful series, both times as the same character. Frasier ran for a total of eleven seasons, and it started and ended strong. In addition to its other numerous accolades, it also managed to accrue no fewer than thirty-seven Emmy Awards, including five wins for Outstanding Comedy Series. It’s also one of those shows that continues to be popular, with its sharp, witty writing and top-notch performances continuing to entertain.

The hit sitcom Cheers more than deserves its reputation for being one of the best TV shows ever made. After all, it was on the air for a total of eleven seasons and, though it had a few major cast changes, it remained consistently funny throughout its run. The show’s brilliance stems in large part from the tremendous talent of its main cast. Watching the show, one can easily believe this is a group of folks who’ve managed to find a strange community in a bar in Boston.

During its run, Modern Family was a true ratings and critical juggernaut, becoming one of the most popular sitcoms of the 21st century. It’s easy to see why this would be the case, since it managed to be both quite funny and also touching. Furthermore, it also offered a fascinating window into the changing nature of the American family. Combined with its enormously talented cast — child and adult alike — it had the makings of a truly great sitcom, and so it’s not surprising that it remains remarkably popular.

Family Guy is a good example of a show that, despite being canceled early in its run, nevertheless managed to make a comeback and thrive. Indeed, it’s already been renewed for several more seasons, and it remains a key pillar of Fox’s animated programming block. It might not have the same sense of cultural relevancy as, say, The Simpsons, but there’s still something oddly endearing about the fact that its earthy humor and cutaway gags have managed to remain popular after over two decades on the air.

There’s never been an animated series quite like The Simpsons. At this point, it’s almost impossible to imagine an America in which it’s not on the air. Its golden age might be far behind it, but it still manages to entertain week after week. It is, in some ways, a true institution, and it always manages to put its finger right on the pulse of what makes American culture tick. The fact that it still manages to have most of its original cast is another demonstration of just how special this show remains.

Through the course of fifteen seasons, Supernatural focused on the Winchester brothers, Sam and Dean, and their pursuit of various supernatural entities. The series certainly took more than a few detours over the course of its run, gradually becoming something much more complex and layered than a monster-of-the-week procedural. Indeed, by the time of its conclusion, it had become a true cultural touchstone and juggernaut, and, just as importantly, it had grappled with weighty issues of morality and heroism, making it something of a contemporary myth.

Ryan Murphy has been at the helm of several successful series, but American Horror Story might be his greatest success. This show, after all, has already been renewed all the way through its thirteenth season. It certainly helps that it’s an anthology series, but even so, it has remained remarkably consistent. Some seasons are certainly less terrifying than others, but all of them manage to be unsettling and thought-provoking in some measure, and even its weakest seasons still manage to be highly entertaining.

When It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiered in 2005, few could have predicted that it would still be going twenty years later. However, the show has managed to keep its quality for most of its run and, as if that weren’t enough, it also retains its irreverent and sometimes iconoclastic sense of humor. The Gang remains as deeply dysfunctional and borderline sociopathic as ever, and It’s Always Sunny manages to be both timeless and deeply timely simultaneously.

Few series have managed to be as enduringly popular as Gunsmoke, the western TV series that ran from 1955 to 1975. It had its origins in radio but soon became a hugely popular television series, and, unlike many other similarly enduring shows, it actually managed to keep mostly the same central cast for almost all of its run. Though it was canceled rather abruptly — despite still being popular — it has proven to have quite an afterlife, and it is a key part of the programming of many cable channels.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit builds on the success of its parent series’ formula to explore even darker thematic territory. Among other things, the series raised significant awareness of the issue of sexual assault and abuse, subjects that many other series were (and are) afraid to touch or engage with in a meaningful way. Moreover, it also features a very strong cast, including Mariska Hargitay, who, in many ways, has been and remains the beating heart of the show. It may make for difficult watching at times, but there’s no denying its cultural impact.

The original Law & Order was one of those series that managed to become something of an American institution. This was due to its ripped-from-the-headlines storytelling and the fact that it was able to survive several notable cast changes. Though it left the air in the early 2010s, it was canceled, but like so many other shows, it was given a new lease on life in the 2020s. It manages to be as timely as ever and, now preparing for its twenty-fifth season, it shows no signs of slowing down.