Starting a show that has dozens of seasons is always difficult, and certain series are so great that you will regret not having watched them sooner. One of the biggest advantages that television has over film is its ability to dive into more of a long-form narrative throughout multiple seasons. Some of the longest-running shows of all time have been allowed to tell stories over the course of decades.
In the age of streaming and waiting several years between each eight-episode season of a new show, only for it to get cancelled after two seasons, there is comfort in finding a series that has 10-plus seasons and hundreds of episodes to watch. It is never too late to start a show, but when it comes to series that have hundreds of episodes, one might regret not having started them sooner.
10
Supernatural
(15 Seasons, 327 Episodes, 2005-2020)
Supernatural
8/10
- Release Date
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2005 – 2020
- Showrunner
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Eric Kripke
For over a decade, Supernatural was the crown jewel of The CW and is the longest-running series in the network’s history. Running for 15 seasons with over 300 episodes, Supernatural explores the lives of Sam and Dean Winchester, two brothers who spend their time hunting various monsters, demons, and other supernatural entities. It’s a fantastic premise that lends itself well to the episodic nature of television, and while it might have peaked with the original planned ending, all Supernatural seasons were great on their own.
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The best part of Supernatural is the Winchester brothers and the often tragic journey that they go on over the course of 15 seasons. Both Dean and Sam were immediately likable from the very first season, so getting to follow them for so long was a real treat for fans of the show, and is one of the best reasons to get into it even after it ended in 2020.
9
ER
(15 Seasons, 331 Episodes, 1994-2009)
ER
8/10
- Release Date
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1994 – 2009-00-00
- Showrunner
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Michael Crichton
ER is one of the best medical dramas of all time, following the workings of Cook County General Hospital’s emergency room, both professionally and personally, with its robust cast of characters. It’s another 15-season series that helped pioneer the rise in popularity of medical dramas in the 1990s, telling engaging, often tense stories revolving around patients coming in and out of the emergency room and the staff that treat them.
The cast of ER was incredibly impressive during its run, with George Clooney playing a significant role as Dr. Doug Ross for the first chunk of its seasons. A young Noah Wyle (who many might know now from HBO’s The Pitt) appears as Dr. John Carter for most of ER. While you shouldn’t expect ER to be exactly like The Pitt, it is a must-watch for television and medical drama fans.
8
King Of The Hill
(13 Seasons, 259 Episodes, 1997-2009)
King of the Hill
7/10
- Release Date
-
1997 – 2010-00-00
- Network
-
FOX
- Showrunner
-
Greg Daniels
The 1990s featured quite a few adult-oriented animated shows that went on to have long, successful runs, and King of the Hill is easily one of the best among them. Running for 13 seasons from 1997 through 2009, King of the Hill followed the Hills family in Arlen, Texas, as well as an assortment of memorable side characters. The series thrived in its ability to find humor in the everyday mundane of the Hills’ lives as a blue-collar American family, something that doesn’t seem represented enough, especially in animation.
Co-creator Mike Judge also created Beavis and Butt-Head.
King of the Hill utilizes its Texas setting tremendously, and there really wasn’t anything like it on television when it was airing. It’s a staple of the adult-oriented animated genre, and it is the perfect time to start it for the first time, given that a brand-new King of the Hill revival is set to be released on August 4, 2025.
7
One Piece
(21+ Seasons, 1,100+ Episodes, 1999-Present)
One Piece
- Release Date
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October 20, 1999
- Network
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Fuji TV
- Directors
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Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
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Mayumi Tanaka
Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
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Kazuya Nakai
Roronoa Zoro (voice)
While shows with at least 10 seasons and several hundred episodes are impressive in their own right, there are some other long-running series that make them look like a weekend binge-watch. The One Piece anime is one of those series that might feel impossible to get into, but it is absolutely worth it to see the wacky, hilarious, and often tragic events the characters get themselves into.
At the heart of One Piece is Monkey D. Luffy, a carefree, kind-hearted teenager who has rubber-like abilities that allow him to stretch his body in wild ways. Eiichiro Oda’s masterpiece is known for its memorable characters, fantastic world-building, and emotional storytelling that can hook even the most anime-adverse viewers. Though it has been running since 1999, and 1,100-plus episodes might seem like a monumental task, the journey that it has taken so far is definitely worth seeing.
6
Doctor Who
(26 Seasons, 695 Episodes, 1963-1989 + 15 Seasons, 196 Episodes, 2005-2025)
- Created by
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Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber, Donald Wilson
- Upcoming TV Shows
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The War Between the Land and the Sea
The Whoniverse is the expansive science fiction universe encompassing the British television series Doctor Who and its numerous spin-offs across various media. Originating in 1963, Doctor Who follows the adventures of the Doctor, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who travels through time and space in the TARDIS, a time-traveling spaceship resembling a British police box. Over the decades, the franchise has grown to include films, audio dramas, novels, comics, and multiple television spin-offs, creating a rich and diverse narrative universe.
There is nothing else quite like Doctor Who, the long-running British TV series/franchise that revolves around the Doctor, an extra-terrestrial being that continuously reincarnates into different-looking people, often signaling a new direction the series will take. Doctor Who‘s original series ran from 1963-1989 and became something of a cult classic, while the 2005 revival (and then eventual Disney partnership) helped make it more popular than ever, as it is often considered one of the best science-fiction shows of all time.
With wacky creatures, a time-traveling spaceship disguised as a police box, and a healthy dose of British humor, Doctor Who is a joyous series to sink some time into.
It might seem like a daunting task to get into Doctor Who for the first time, especially when taking into consideration which series to start. While the original run is a classic in its own right, it’s perfectly acceptable to start with the 2005 revival, which is largely considered the better series. With wacky creatures, a time-traveling spaceship disguised as a police box, and a healthy dose of British humor, Doctor Who is a joyous series to sink some time into.
5
The Blacklist
(10 Seasons, 218 Episodes, 2013-2023)
The Blacklist
7/10
- Release Date
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2013 – 2023
- Showrunner
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Jon Bokenkamp
-
-
Diego Klattenhoff
Donald Ressler
Though it ran for 10 seasons and featured arguably the best performance of James Spader’s career, it often doesn’t feel like The Blacklist gets the respect it deserves as one of the best crime thriller shows during its run. Spader stars in The Blacklist as Raymond Reddington, one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives, who he actually works with to hunt down other criminals on his “Blacklist.” He’s quick-witted, charismatic, and ruthless, with James Spader’s unique sensibility as an actor making him fascinating to watch.
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The crime thriller genre is always fun to binge-watch and The Blacklist is the perfect series to do just that, with its often tense atmosphere and the numerous twists and turns the narrative takes throughout. The cat and mouse game Raymond Reddington partakes in with the FBI, and its ever-evolving stakes, is something special. It’s thrilling television from start to finish.
4
Curb Your Enthusiasm
(12 Seasons, 120 Episodes, 2000-2024)
Despite running for 10 seasons, Curb Your Enthusiasm is incredibly easy to get into due to it only having 10 episodes per season, and the stellar performance from series creator Larry David. David plays a fictionalized version of himself, where he remains the co-creator of Seinfeld, one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. The charm of Curb Your Enthusiasm comes from the improvisation at the forefront of the script, really allowing the actors to flex their comedic chops in the process.
Though it is a sitcom, Curb Your Enthusiasm ranks alongside prestigious dramas when it comes to the best HBO shows of all time, a testament to its quality and the legacy it left for the network. It’s simply a masterpiece across all 10 seasons and is a must-watch for not only fans of sitcoms but television in general. It’s also relentlessly funny, with its own unique sense of humor that helps set it apart.
3
The X-Files
(11 Seasons, 218 Episodes, 1993-2002 & 2016-2018)
The X-Files
8/10
- Release Date
-
1993 – 2018-00-00
- Network
-
FOX
- Showrunner
-
Chris Carter
- Directors
-
Chris Carter
Part science-fiction, part drama, part horror, and more, The X-Files is the perfect type of television series, following two FBI agents who are tasked with investigating “X-Files,” which are unsolved cases often involving paranormal phenomena. The X-Files grew a cult following before being recognized as an essential ’90s television show, and the series initially ended after nine seasons in 2001 before being revived for two more seasons in 2016. It’s one of the best science fiction shows of all time.
The X-Files received two movies alongside the series: The X-Files in 1998, which takes place between seasons 5 and six, as well as The X-Files: I Want to Believe in 2008, after the show had been off the air for several years.
David Duchovny as Fox Mulder and Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully are the stars of The X-Files, with some of the best chemistry between lead actors ever seen on television. They are a treat to watch perform together as they fully embody their characters and the arcs they go on. Even if the surrounding show was bad (it isn’t), the pair’s performance is something special.
2
Modern Family
(11 Seasons, 250 Episodes, 2009-2020)
Few modern sitcoms have been as good and as consistent as Modern Family was, especially when the show ran for over a decade while still finding hilarious stories to tell. Shot in the mockumentary style that was popularized by shows like The Office, the premise of Modern Family lives up to its name, telling the story of three different families that are related through their father, Jay Pritchett (Ed O’Neill). The show follows their lives and the funny hijinks they get up to in the day-to-day.
The best mockumentary sitcoms often have well-developed characters with their own distinct quirks, and Modern Family excels at this, with each member of the cast doing an incredible job playing their characters. At the time of its release in 2009, Modern Family was one of the most progressive sitcoms out there and helped build the foundation for modern-day comedies in a lot of ways. While those late to the party might be weary of the show’s 250 episodes, Modern Family is an incredibly easy and rewarding watch.
1
Archer
(14 Seasons, 145 Episodes, 2009-2023)
Archer
- Release Date
-
2009 – 2023-00-00
- Directors
-
Casey Willis, Matt Thompson, Justin Wagner, Pierre Cerrato, Adam Reed, Megan Johnson, Chi Duong Sato, Omaka Schultz, Kim Feigenbaum, Stephen Slesinski, Marcus Rosentrater
-
-
Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds (voice)
While shows like Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers, Rick and Morty, and more dominated the popular culture of the adult animated landscape, Archer was quietly one of the best animated shows to run at the same time, premiering in 2009 with its final season ending in 2023. The series revolves around the eponymous character, Sterling Archer, a bumbling secret agent who has to navigate global crises alongside his own personal life. From the very beginning, it was clear that Archer was going to be amazing.
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It’s impressive that a show like Archer was able to run for 14 seasons, and it never felt like the series was running out of steam. Its offbeat brand of humor is relentlessly funny, with its rapid-fire dialogue and plethora of references. H. Jon Benjamin as Archer puts in the best performance of his career as well. It sits high atop the rankings of best adult animated shows, and is worth watching, even if some people might have missed out on it while it was airing.
