The show with the most episodes depends on the category, but for scripted TV, U.S. soap operas like Guiding Light (over 18,000 total including radio) and anime like Japan's Sazae-san (over 7,000) dominate, while in scripted primetime, The Simpsons leads U.S. animation with over 850 episodes, but daily shows like General Hospital and news programs like Meet the Press have even more.
At over 7000 episodes and counting, this is the longest Japanese animation series in history (and has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for being the longest running animated television series in the world).
The longest-running TV shows depend on the category (scripted, news, soap opera), but globally, shows like Doctor Who, Sazae-san (Japan), and Guiding Light (US Soap Opera) hold records, while in primetime, The Simpsons, Law & Order, and Grey's Anatomy are huge, but the absolute longest-running are often news/children's shows like Meet the Press (US) or The Tonight Show.
Chic-a-Go-Go. May 1996 - Present (approximately 1,000 episodes and counting!)
10,000 episodes!!! Today is a big day for television's longest-running game show. Here's a portion of my interview with Drew Carey, who has served as host of “The Price is Right” for the last 18 years.
There's no single "world #1" series, as rankings vary by criteria (ratings, popularity, genre), but IMDb users consistently rank Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones as top contenders, often swapping the top spots, with The Sopranos, The Wire, and Stranger Things also frequently cited among the best of all time. Breaking Bad often leads for critical acclaim (Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb ratings), while Game of Thrones was a massive cultural phenomenon, notes IMDb and IMDb, says IMDb.
The Young and the Restless (50 Seasons)
Another classic American soap, “TYTR” has aired for 50 seasons on CBS. Created by Lee and William Bells in 1973, the serial has gone on to win 77 Daytime Emmys and in 1987 got a CBS sister show, “The Bold and the Beautiful.” It has been renewed for the 2023-2024 season.
Late night: The Tonight Show, 70 seasons
Late-night programming lends itself to cultural commentary like no other type of television.
In terms of primetime scripted series, “The Simpsons” is often touted as one of the longest-lasting comedies out there; however, it doesn't hold a candle when compared to daytime soap operas like “Guiding Light,” which ran for an astonishing 72 years before concluding its run in 2009.
Only 3 anime episodes in 2025 managed to hit a 9.9 rating with over 4,000 reviews: • One Piece Episode 1136 • Solo Leveling Season 2 Episode 12 • My Hero Academia Season 8 Episode 8 Some of these ratings, like Solo Leveling and One Piece, dropped a bit after a few months, but all three episodes still remain among the ...
She is the titular character of her own manga series by Machiko Hasegawa titled Sazae-san, which began as a comic strip all the way back in 1946 and lasted for nearly thirty years, ending in 1974! If that's not impressive enough for you, the anime adaptation began in 1969, and is still ongoing to this day!
Top 100 most watched tv shows of all time
Turn-On is an American surreal sketch comedy series created by Digby Wolfe and George Schlatter that aired once on ABC on Wednesday, February 5, 1969. Only one episode was shown partially before being pulled from ABC's airing schedule, leaving another episode unaired.
00:49You are the first four contestants as we celebrate the 9,000th episode of The Price is Right!
Series with most episodes
The Licensing Game: Why Shows Come and Go
Okay, so the biggest reason for Netflix missing seasons boils down to one word: licensing. It's the whole ball game, really.
The "most popular" series vary by platform and time, but consistently high-ranking shows include Netflix's Stranger Things, Wednesday, and Bridgerton, alongside critically acclaimed hits like Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, and mini-series like Chernobyl, based on viewership, ratings, and all-time popularity lists from Netflix, IMDb, and Wikipedia.
As of January 10-11, 2026, the #1 show on Netflix globally is the new murder mystery series His & Hers, which quickly rose to the top, while in the US, the latest season of Stranger Things and the limited series Run Away are dominating the TV charts, and Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story is the top movie.
What is the minimum age for Episode? The app store rating is 12+. However, there are stories that reference sex, dating, censored nudity, alcohol, drugs and other suggested themes. In Episode's terms and conditions, readers must be at least 13 to play the game.
Episode comes from the Greek word epeisodion which refers to the spoken words between two songs in a Greek tragedy. The word was first used in English in 1773 to mean an "outstanding incident, experience." By the 1930s, the word was used to refer to each broadcast of a radio program that was part of a series.
The 12 Best Bottle Episodes of Television Ever