15 Longest Running Animated TV Shows Of All Time Ranked By Duration

15 Longest Running Animated TV Shows Of All Time, Ranked By Duration

Contents

1 15 Longest Running Animated TV Shows Of All Time, Ranked By Duration

From The Simpsons to South Park, these are the animated TV shows that have been gracing screens for the longest time.

Animation, or cartoons, as they are often called, were first created to accompany movies in the early days of Hollywood. Since then, animation has moved to the television landscape making quite an impact on audiences around the world. And while animated movies still remain heavily marketed towards children, animated television is quite the opposite. In fact, many of the longest-running animated shows of all time aren’t children’s shows in the slightest.

One of the many benefits of animated shows is that the characters don’t age which allows the series to stay on the air much longer than live-action shows would be able to. And they definitely take advantage of this with some animation shows spanning multiple decades and hundreds of episodes.

Updated May 15th, 2021 by Kristen Palamara: There are several classic shows that most fans will recognize and most likely grew up watching on Saturday mornings since these shows have been on the air for years. The shows follow animated animals, younger children in shows directed toward younger audiences, or older protagonists in more adult animated shows. Here are the longest-running animated TV shows, some of which are still on the air, according to how many episodes have aired so far in these longest-running cartoons.

Check out the original 15 Longest Running Animation Shows video on YouTube here.

15 Rugrats – 172 Episodes

Rugrats is an iconic Nickelodeon show that started in 1991 and ran for 9 seasons that followed a group of babies, led by Tommy Pickles, on their various fantastical adventures. The series also had multiple movies that followed the same characters and a spin-off show, All Grown Up!, that followed the babies as teenagers.

The animation style of the show was more hand-drawn which made the show unique and each episode saw the rugrat characters going on a new adventure which was always engaging and exciting.

14 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – 193 Episodes

The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series started in 1987 and ran for 7 seasons. It’s a classic series for any fan of the franchise as the crime-fighting turtles Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello have appeared in several other series and movies.

The series followed the four mutant turtles who are masters in martial arts as they try to protect anyone and everyone and defeat any villain they find.

13 Beavis And Butt-Head – 222 Episodes

Beavis and Butt-Head is an adult animated series from Mike Judge that started in 1993 and ran for 8 seasons with multiple spin-offs attributed to its original run on MTV including Daria and King of the Hill.

The series was purposefully crude as it followed the two titular characters going to school, causing adventurous mayhem, or would be sitting on the couch and make any type of commentary they wanted as they watched music videos.

12 Arthur – 249 Episodes

Arthur is an educational children’s show that has been on the air since 1996 and is one of the longest-running American children’s animated series.

The series follows a world of animated animal-human hybrids and centers on the main character, Arthur, as well as his family and friends. The series stayed one of the highest-rated shows, mostly due to its approachable yet important storylines that touched on series topics like cancer, autism, and dyslexia in a way that children could understand, airing on PBS and will have a total of 25 seasons.

11 King Of The Hill – 259 Episodes

King of the Hill is another long-running animated adult series from Mike Judge that started in 1997 and ran for 13 seasons.

The show follows the Hill family led by the conservative propane salesman Hank Hill (voiced by Judge himself), his family, and his friends as they navigate their personal and work lives in the fictional town of Arlen, Texas.

10 Regular Show – 261 Episodes

Regular Show made its debut on Cartoon Network in September 2010. The animated children’s show series follows two best friends Mordecai, a blue jay, and Rigby, a raccoon, as they go about their lives and try to solve simple problems in over-the-top ways.

These problems often go further awry forcing Mordecai and Rigby to ask for help from the various friends including Benson, Pops, Skips, Muscle Man, and Hi-Five Ghost. Regular Show ended its eight-season run in January 2017 with a total of 261 episodes aired on Cartoon Network.

9 SpongeBob SquarePants – 268 Episodes

SpongeBob SquarePants has earned its place in the animation hall of fame – if that was a thing. The animation children’s series first premiered on Nickelodeon in 1999 and is currently in its thirteenth season. The series revolves around its title character who lives in Bikini Bottom and works as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab.

SpongeBob SquarePants has been on the air for so long, the animation style has literally transformed as technology became more accessible moving from hand-drawn animation to CGI animation in its newest seasons. With over 286 episodes to date, the series is Nickelodeon’s longest-running series.

8 Adventure Time – 283 Episodes

Adventure Time got its start as a short produced for Nickelodeon’s Nicktoons which went viral on the internet. After becoming popular, Cartoon Network greenlit the show for a full-length series and the rest is history. The series centers around Finn and his adoptive brother Jake who are tasked with fighting evil in the Land of Ooo.

Adventure Time aired from April 2010 until September 2018 spanning ten seasons and 283 episodes. This was an impressive feat given the fact that one episode of the series could take 8 to 9 months to complete.

7 Teen Titans Go! – 313 Episodes

While Cartoon Network already had an animated series centered around the Teen Titans that didn’t stop them from rebooting the series with a different animation style in 2013. While the animation and tone of the show might be different, the voices of the main characters are the same as the prior animated series.

Teen Titans Go! premiered on Cartoon Network in April 2013 and is currently in its sixth season. With 296 aired episodes, Teen Titans Go is one of Cartoon Network’s longest-running shows in terms of episode count.

6 American Dad – 302 Episodes

American Dad first found a home on the broadcast network Fox in 2005. The series stayed there until 2014 before Fox canceled the adult animated series. Not ready to give up on their show, the writers found it a new home on TBS where the series continues to air today.

With both channels combined, American Dad has been on the air for 299 episodes. The adult animated series centers on Stan Smith, a homeland security CIA agent who is trying to juggle his job with his rambunctious family.

5 South Park – 309 Episodes

With twenty-three seasons under its belt, it might seem like 308 episodes is a bit low for the Comedy Central adult animated series South Park. And yet that number is accurate given the shows shorter seasons which average between 10 and 14 episodes a season.

Though South Park centers on four children characters, it is not a children’s animated show. What makes each episode of South Park interesting is the fact that when a season is airing, each episode is written in a week and usually comments on what is going on in the world in some way.

4 Family Guy – 366 Episodes

According to Fox’s line-up, Family Guy is set to air its 357th episode on December 6, 2020. The series is currently in its nineteenth season and has been renewed through its twenty-first season. The series centers on the Griffin family who regularly finds themselves dealing with issues in comedic and outlandish ways.

This is an impressive feat for any series but it’s especially impressive for Family Guy considering the series was once canceled by Fox before being brought back because of its popularity acquired through DVD sales.

3 Crusader Rabbit – 455 Episodes

Crusader Rabbit has an interesting history with the world of animation television considering it invented the genre. Though animated cartoons existed before they were exclusively made to premiere before films. Crusader Rabbit was the first to be made specifically for television.

The series premiered in August 1950 and centered on Crusader Rabbit and his sidekick Ragland T. Tiger as they went on adventures. Each episode was four minutes long and by the time the series ended, Crusader Rabbit had aired 455 episodes. Not bad for the pioneer of animated television shows.

2 The Simpsons – 703 Episodes

The Simpsons have long been a staple in the world of animation, especially the world of adult animated. By the end of 2020, The Simpsons will have aired 694 original episodes on its original broadcast network, Fox.

First premiering in December 1989, The Simpsons centers on the Simpson family who deals with ordinary life issues like raising kids and working a job one hates. The series is currently the longest-running American sitcom and the longest-running American scripted primetime TV series.

1 Looney Tunes – 1,041 Episodes

With 39 years of content, Looney Tunes ended its historic television run with 1,041 original episodes aired. While the series originally aired its episodes in front of movies, it eventually made the jump to television with new episodes being made to introduce a new generation to the world of Looney Tunes.

The series regularly featured an ensemble cast of animated characters including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig who would regularly get into mischief. The series is now a massive media franchise and one of Warner Brothers’ most successful franchises.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/longest-running-animated-tv-shows-ever/

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