# Who has starred in the most successful TV series? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 6, 2020, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007 "2020-01-06T02:31:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/41 "2020-01-06T19:14:20Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Nathan Fillion starred in **Castle** , **The Rookie** , and **Firefly** , the last doesn’t meet the criteria since it didn’t last long enough. He did play a supporting character in 60 episodes of **Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place** He also starred on the soap One Life to Live. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/42 "2020-01-06T20:18:48Z")
If we were including TV miniseries, Richard Chamberlain would have to be somewhere near the top. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/43 "2020-01-06T20:49:45Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > If you’re going to include _Rescue 911_ (18 episodes over 7 seasons), then you need to include _TekWar_ (18 episodes over three years but ONE season 😕😕) > > Or, maybe not. > > Shatner rules TV! Per Wikipedia, _Rescue 911_ had 186 episodes and two specials over seven seasons. _Tek War_ ran for 22 episodes and two seasons. So _Rescue 911_ more than qualifies for the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/44 "2020-01-06T21:11:16Z")
Since three series’ is enough to get a mention in this thread I think we need to give a shoutout to Dame Judi Dench who was lead in the 80’s _A Fine Romance_ and then later _As Time Goes By_ which went on for bloody ever, plus something called _Cranford_ which I’ve never watched but does have the requisite three (British) seasons. All while keeping up a decades-long A-list movie career Fun fact: Dame J first starred in a series in **1959** and has been playing leads ever since ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/45 "2020-01-06T22:00:19Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Per Wikipedia, _Rescue 911_ had 186 episodes and two specials over seven seasons. _Tek War_ ran for 22 episodes and two seasons. So _Rescue 911_ more than qualifies for the OP. So, is Wikipedia the reliable source over IMDb? ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/46 "2020-01-06T22:31:51Z")
While not the star, Richard Broder had an impressive run as the same character on 3 different, very successful series as Dt. Munch on Homicide, Law & Order, and L & O SVU. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/47 "2020-01-06T22:36:49Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > While not the star, Richard Broder had an impressive run as the same character on 3 different, very successful series as Dt. Munch on Homicide, Law & Order, and L & O SVU. Richard _Belzer_, and he was only a regular on two series, _Homicide: Life on the Streets_ and _Law & Order: SVU_. He also appeared as Det. Munch as a guest star in individual episodes of several other shows, including _Law & Order_, and _The X-Files_ (!). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/48 "2020-01-06T22:40:06Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > So, is Wikipedia the reliable source over IMDb? I’m not sure what you are arguing. IMDB is obviously wrong. Shatner was the host and there were a hell of a lot more than 18 episodes. If you start looking at the individual episodes on IMDB you’ll notice that many have no cast listed. IMDB is only accurate with old shows if someone bothered to index it. Honorable mention to Tom Selleck. Magnum P.I. and Bluebloods. He also did 9 or 10 Jesse Stone made for TV movies. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/49 "2020-01-06T22:43:01Z")
Yes Belzer. Stupid autocorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/50 "2020-01-06T22:54:42Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Since three series’ is enough to get a mention in this thread I think we need to give a shoutout to Dame Judi Dench who was lead in the 80’s _A Fine Romance_ and then later _As Time Goes By_ which went on for bloody ever, plus something called _Cranford_ which I’ve never watched but does have the requisite three (British) seasons. All while keeping up a decades-long A-list movie career > > Fun fact: Dame J first starred in a series in **1959** and has been playing leads ever since Cranford is worth watching. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/51 "2020-01-06T22:57:45Z")
> [@Rick Kitchen](#): > > I don’t see Harry Morgan as starring in December Bride, nor Bea Benaderet as a star of Burns and Allen. > [@TonySinclair](#): > > OK, Mr. Smartie Pants, who did have the top billing in Burns and Allen? On the one hand, I look at the title of the show… but then I check IMDB, and I see it described as “Neighbor Blanche Morton frequently joined Gracie in escapades which annoy hubby Harry and provides George with an opportunity to offer a humorous soliloquy.” Bea played Blanche, and I’ll call that top billing. She was also in all 292 episodes. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/52 "2020-01-06T23:04:01Z")
By the way, some of the cites listed so far are for work as a host/presenter or for voice work on an animated series. If we’re counting those, we’re going to wind up with a very different list. For example, Frank Welker has provided voices for dozens of animated series. While most of them only lasted a single season, he voiced one or more main characters in quite a few that lasted at least three seasons. The various iterations of Scooby-Doo alone are going to out-do any live action actor by a mile, and even if we count all iterations of Scooby-Doo as a single show, he’s also got _Gargoyles, The Transformers, The Smurfs, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Inspector Gadget, Dungeons & Dragons, Muppet Babies, Snorks, The Real Ghostbusters, Adventures From the Book of Virtues, Curious George, The Garfield Show,_ and about as many 3+ season shows where he provided voices for “various characters and animals.” ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2020, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/53 "2020-01-06T23:52:07Z")
> [@Personal](#): > > Cranford is worth watching. It does look it! And she’s on my personal list of ‘actors who can pick a good project’ too ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/54 "2020-01-07T01:01:01Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Bob Newhart deserves a mention for starring in three shows which were named after him, though only the first two were hits by the definition given in the OP. > [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Actually Bob Newhart had four shows named after him! [He was host of a variety show in the 1960s that only lasted one season](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054522/). (He was also co-host of a different variety show that didn’t have his name in the title.) > > And while it doesn’t really count for this thread, Newhart also guest-hosted The Tonight Show more than 80 times. Try five. There was also George and Leo (His full name is George Robert Newhart). ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/55 "2020-01-07T02:10:14Z")
Gene Barry starred in _Bat Masterson, Burke’s Law, and The Name of the Game_, and had a bunch of other roles that don’t qualify as being the star for two years. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/56 "2020-01-07T02:56:58Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Per Wikipedia, _Rescue 911_ had 186 episodes and two specials over seven seasons. _Tek War_ ran for 22 episodes and two seasons. So _Rescue 911_ more than qualifies for the OP. > [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > So, is Wikipedia the reliable source over IMDb? I tend to trust Wiki. And _Rescue 911_ airs every weekday on GetTV. I’ve watched way more than 18 episodes. It wouldn’t be worth stripping it on weekdays if 18 episodes were all there were. A show needs at least 100 episodes to make daily syndication worthwhile. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/57 "2020-01-07T03:32:37Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > If you’re going to include _Rescue 911_ (18 episodes over 7 seasons), then you need to include _TekWar_ (18 episodes over three years but ONE season 😕😕) > > Or, maybe not. > > Shatner rules TV! > [@cochrane](#): > > I tend to trust Wiki. And _Rescue 911_ airs every weekday on GetTV. I’ve watched way more than 18 episodes. It wouldn’t be worth stripping it on weekdays if 18 episodes were all there were. A show needs at least 100 episodes to make daily syndication worthwhile. IMDB lists 186 episodes of Rescue 911 - some of them have only one or two people listed in the “cast” and don’t include any host. It seems pretty clear that the 18 episodes that Shatner is credited with on his IMDB page are just the ones that someone bothered to update the episode page for. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/58 "2020-01-07T03:35:09Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > [Julia Louis-Dreyfus](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000506/?ref_=tt_cl_t1) has Seinfeld, New Adventures or Old Christine, and Veep. And won Emmys for each. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/59 "2020-01-07T03:42:32Z")
Betty White had genuine lead roles on Hot In Cleveland and Golden Girls, as well as four other series that didn’t last the required three years. But she did four years on _Mary Tyler Moore_ and literally hundreds of episodes of _Match Game_. I think that should count if only because she’s Betty White. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/60 "2020-01-07T04:05:41Z")
If we expand this to something other than sitcoms and dramas, Barbara Walters has headlined a bunch of very highly rated and long-lasting shows (_The Today Show from 1963-76, Not For Women Only, The View_, 20/20, Entertainment Tonight). Rosie O’Donnell has headlined many highly rated shows (_Stand Up/Stand Up, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, The View, The Talk_) and quite a few less popular ones that might squeak by to qualify. Tom Snyder had at least three late night talk shows, but realistically they were all the same show with some long interruptions. Ditto Dick Cavett. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007.md?page=4)