Googling for the info and checking Wikipedia from Google (don’t bother with either, I already did), I came up with these six claims as to the most successful show in tv history:
Dallas
ER
Star Trek
Baywatch
60 Minutes
Simpsons
Of course, Seinfeld comes to mind (Larry David made a reported 100 or 200 million depending what you read), as do shows such as Frasier, Friends, etc. Meet the Press is the longest running show in history, which is certainly a type of success. Matt Groening has made a reported 150 million off of Simpsons, and seeing as how long that’s run (and will continue running until the fans all call it quits), that seems like a good guess. Star Trek wasn’t successful in the initial run, but became a cult hit in syndication, and the franchise has been epic- however, that doesn’t make it the most succesful show ever, so you can disregard the site that made a passing mention of it as such in a non-expert way. And let’s all pray Baywatch isn’t really the answer :rolleyes:.
Anyone know for sure?
How about syndication? Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy are supposed to be the top one and two (resp.) Nielsen-rated shows in syndication, but how can that be true- how can they beat Oprah? Or does she not count as such?
I recall being under the impression that when Baywatch was on and airing new episodes weekly, it aired on the most stations around the world for any currently running syndicated show. I don’t recall where I heard it from at the time – probably David Hasselhoff on some talk show, so I can’t offer any factual proof. And this was somewhere in the middle of its run.
If we’re talking longevity, these shows from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, respectively, that are still being aired somewhere, no doubt, obviously have it over most of the shows in the OP. And you can hardly deny the influence Lucy and Dick Van Dyke have had on subsequent sitcoms.
Earnings? Well, some of the more recent shows may have an advantage there, what with inflation and DVDs and the Internets, and all that. But I don’t know where you would get reliable figures for any of that.
From a longetivity standpoint, I once would have said I Love Lucy. I think there probably wasn’t a day that went by when this show didn’t appear somewhere for about 40 years after it ended its network run. Lately, it seems to have disappeared, at least around here. The Andy Griffith Show appears to have replaced it. I somehow doubt that you’ll be seeing Friends or Frasier very much in the year 2040.
It’s where probably 90% of the money comes from. (Slightly less for newer syndicated shows, since casts get paid more in the first place and newer contracts don’t limit cast residuals to three reshowings as they did up through the 60s, but still syndication brings in hundreds of millions for Friends and Seinfeld and others.)
That’s why the answer, if there is one, has to be Star Trek. Reruns plus the movies. Of course, the vast bulk of this money goes to the creators, not the cast, but that is always true, for every show on the list.
I believe Gunsmoke still holds the record for longest running hour-long drama (1955-75, plus bonus points for its years as a radio show before that). No idea how much it earned in today’s $.
Prior to Baywatch, which is the indisputed champion of first run syndication in terms of money, viewers, etc., I would guess that Hee Haw was the most successful. It ran for 24 years, had tens of millions of viewers, made Buck Owens & Roy Clark both mountains of money while also making or enhancing the careers of many country stars, etc., and I read that the recent DVD release is one of the most popular in the history of TV DVDs.
I thought I read somewhere that The Simpsons was the most profitable show in TV history. It’s been on the air for a long, long time, it’s huge in syndication, has very low production costs, and until recently didn’t have to pay the voice talent all that much money.
Plus the merchandising (T-shirts, dolls, action figures, thermoses, books, everything) is just on a par with Star Wars. There are stores that sell Simsons merchandise that would never touch South Park products (including grocery stores and some toy stores- isn’t it ironic how controversial they were when they premiered in the 80s?).
Your list only includes American shows. In a previous similar thread I brought up Sazae-san (which is also mentioned in Wikipedia), which was already in its 20th season when The Simpson premiered. Not only is the show still running new episodes, it regularly gets the highest ratings of any animated show in Japan.
