What Sitcom ran the longest on Television
The situation comedy has been staple programming practically since televisions became a common household item. I was having a discussion with a colleague about which sitcoms have run the longest- we couldn’t agree, they claimed it was MASH while I insisted that it was Cheers. It got me to thinking, so I popped the question in to Google and was delivered to ANCHOR TEXT, http://www.itthing.com/10-longest-running-tv-sitcoms-of-all-time, where I was quite surprised with the result.
One thing that is usually the death knell for a sitcom is children- they tend to grow up. Unless there is a very strong set of adult characters, most shows that center around a precocious child have a limited shelf life. The Wonder Years and Diff’rent Strokes comes to mind. Some shows try to keep plugging away by bringing in another child late in its run (apologies to Robbie Rist, but remember Oliver?), which always signals that the sitcom is in its final season.
Cartoons don’t seem to have this problem. A child in a cartoon never has to grow up. South Park (14 seasons and counting) and the Simpsons (21 seasons and counting) are the two longest-running sitcoms to date, which undoubtedly irks those with an inflated sense of self-morality. As irreverent as these cartoons are, they are still hugely popular. Why? Because they are funny. Also, these cartoons poke fun at practically every element of society without playing favorites.
So, if this subject comes up in one of your discussions, you now know the answer and can move on without wasting anymore time with amusing banalities.