# Long-running TV shows that have retained their entire cast

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-running-tv-shows-that-have-retained-their-entire-cast/509545>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 10, 2009, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-running-tv-shows-that-have-retained-their-entire-cast/509545 "2009-09-10T12:01:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-running-tv-shows-that-have-retained-their-entire-cast/509545/21 "2009-09-12T16:38:25Z")

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> [@Wheelz](#):
>
> As for _Seinfeld_, Julia Louis-Dreyfus was not in the pilot, and Michael Richards was not in the Chinese Restaurant episode. Though all 4 of the main cast did last through every season, so I suppose they belong in the conversation.

Michael Richards & Jason Alexander were also not in “The Pen.” This caused Jason to approach the producers and he told them that if they produced another episode without George, they’d be producing all future episodes without him too. All he asks is for a scene, or a small b-story to remind everyone involved that this was an ensemble. From that point forward, all 4 characters appeared in every episode, even if they didn’t get a story (one which comes to mind for me is The Busboy, where Jerry appeared in the episode, even though he wasn’t involved in either the A or B story, except for the first scene when they’re eating at the restaurant, and the very last scene when the busboy and Elaine’s boyfriend meet on the staircase)

The problem with Kramer in the first 2 seasons is that he was a character who never leaves the apartment building, which caused him to have to sit out of any episode that didn’t take place there. This is why they did the multiple episode arc of him moving to LA after being liberated from Jerry’s apartment when his key was taken back.

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**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-running-tv-shows-that-have-retained-their-entire-cast/509545/22 "2009-09-14T15:31:22Z")

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_Married With Children_ kept the Bundy’s for all 11 seasons. According to imdb, Bud missed 2 episodes, Kelly missed 3, and Peg missed 11, probably most of them when she was pregnant. They did have one major cast change though, when Steve Rhoades was replaced by Jefferson D’Arcy, in what was probably Ted McGinley’s only non-series killing role.

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**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/long-running-tv-shows-that-have-retained-their-entire-cast/509545/23 "2009-09-14T18:36:48Z")

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As far as I know, John Cryer, Charlie Sheen and Angus T. Jones have been in every episode of _Two and a Half Men_.

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