# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/61 "2020-01-07T04:35:55Z")
Surprised that **Andy Griffith** hasn’t been mentioned - but then when I went and looked him up to find the third (past Mayberry and Matlock) - I cant find any other series that fit the bill - lots of roles - just the 2 series. Then I went to look up **John Ritter** - he seems to fit the bill quite nicely - Three’s Company Hearts Afire HooperMan 8 Simple Rules - would have gone on longer had he not passed mid second season. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/62 "2020-01-07T06:35:00Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > Why doesn’t Lucille Ball count? The four shows I listed are _not_ the same show, they just have similar names. Yes. They do have similar names. But they are also very similar in their subject matter and content. They all are shows that invite us to laugh at Lucy the clown. But I really don’t want to say much in the negative about Lucille Ball. Before she became one of TV’s greatest stars ever, she made a whole bunch of movies - most of which would be called “B” films. But I’d like to recommend one of these to you in particular. It is “The Dark Corner” 1946 and stars Lucy and Mark Stevens. I found this film to be extremely enjoyable and Lucy played a character who was nothing like the Lucy in her TV shows. That character was completely unrecognizable as Lucille Ball. She did a great job in that film and for those of you who may be interested, I would strongly recommend you see that movie. It was really good. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/63 "2020-01-07T17:22:34Z")
Katey Sagal [ul] [li]Married With Children - 10 seasons[/li][li]8 Simple Rules - 3 seasons[/li][li]Futurama - 7 seasons[/li][li]Sons of Anarchy - 7 seasons[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/64 "2020-01-07T17:31:53Z")
Judd Hirsch [ul] [li]Taxi - 4 seasons[/li][li]Dear John - 3 seasons[/li][li]Numb3rs - 4 seasons (major supporting role)[/li][/ul] Plus starring roles in shorter lived series [ul] [li]Superior Donuts - 2 seasons[/li][li]Delvecchio - 1 season[/li][li]Detective in the House - 1 season[/li][li]George & Leo - 1 season[/li][li]Small Miracles - 1 season[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/65 "2020-01-07T17:36:47Z")
Hank Azaria [ul] [li]Herman’s Head - 3 seasons[/li][li]The Simpsons - too many seasons to count[/li][li]Brockmire - 3 seasons[/li][li]Huff - 2 seasons[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/66 "2020-01-07T17:45:02Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > [Julia Louis-Dreyfus](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000506/?ref_=tt_cl_t1) has Seinfeld, New Adventures or Old Christine, and Veep. She was a repertory player on SNL, too, for three seasons. That has to count; “Repertory player” is the highest rank of cast member, essentially a starring role. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/67 "2020-01-07T17:47:08Z")
Azaria was also in 16 episodes of Mad About You as Murray’s dog walker Nat Ostertag. Did a damn fine job. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/68 "2020-01-07T17:52:23Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Judd Hirsch > …Numb3rs - 4 seasons (major supporting role) There were 6 seasons, and as far as I know, his role was equally large in all of them. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/69 "2020-01-07T17:59:30Z")
Dick Van Dyke - The Dick Van Dyke show THe New Dick Van Dyke Show The Carol Burnett show Diagnoses Murder ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/70 "2020-01-07T17:59:47Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > 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_ (!). From Wikipedia: “Munch has become the only fictional character, played by a single actor, to physically appear on 10 different television series. These shows were on five different networks: NBC (Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, and 30 Rock); Fox (The X-Files and Arrested Development); UPN (The Beat); HBO (The Wire) and ABC (Jimmy Kimmel Live!). Munch has been one of the few television characters to cross genres, appearing not only in crime drama series, but sitcom (Arrested Development), late night comedy (Jimmy Kimmel Live!) and horror and science fiction (The X-Files).” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/71 "2020-01-07T18:03:02Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Then I went to look up **John Ritter** - he seems to fit the bill quite nicely - > > Three’s Company > Hearts Afire > HooperMan > 8 Simple Rules - would have gone on longer had he not passed mid second season. You left out _ **Three’s a Crowd** _, which ran only one season. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/72 "2020-01-07T18:15:25Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Dick Van Dyke - > > The Dick Van Dyke show > THe New Dick Van Dyke Show > The Carol Burnett show > Diagnoses Murder Slight hijack about Dick Van Dyke. My uncle by marriage was a Van Dyke and apparently was second cousins with him (maybe even first cousins because they looked a lot alike). They both were working at Universal Studios decades ago but didn’t know each other. They met because one day they were sitting next to each other at the Studio cafeteria counter and the waitress came over and said: “Well, it’s the Van Dyke boys!” ---
**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, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/73 "2020-01-07T19:01:41Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Judd Hirsch > > Taxi - 4 seasons _Taxi_ ran for five seasons, four on ABC, and one on NBC. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/74 "2020-01-07T19:10:03Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Judd Hirsch > [ul] > [li]Taxi - 4 seasons[/li][li]Dear John - 3 seasons[/li][li]Numb3rs - 4 seasons (major supporting role)[/li][/ul] > > Plus starring roles in shorter lived series > [ul] > [li]Superior Donuts - 2 seasons[/li][li]Delvecchio - 1 season[/li][li]Detective in the House - 1 season[/li][li]George & Leo - 1 season[/li][li]Small Miracles - 1 season[/li][/ul] And he was also in “Forever”, which only lasted one season. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/75 "2020-01-07T19:46:10Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > And he was also in “Forever”, which only lasted one season. I didn’t think he was the star of Forever, but he was the lead in all the others listed there. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/76 "2020-01-07T20:08:36Z")
James Spader He did one season on **The Practice** , then 5 seasons of **Boston Legal**. The character’s name in both are the same. Same character? I never saw **The Practice**. His did 2 seasons of **The Office** in a guest starring role before starring in **The Blackist**. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/77 "2020-01-07T20:23:36Z")
> [@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! Rescue 911 was 188 episodes, not 18. I had to double check, but when I read this I was wondering how in the hell it was only 188 seasons when that show was the bane of my existence when I was a kid. With no cable it seemed like the only show that was ever on my TV. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/78 "2020-01-07T21:33:31Z")
Courtney Thorne-Smith [ul] [li]According to Jim - 8 seasons[/li][li]Ally McBeal - 5 seasons[/li][li]Melrose Place - 7 seasons[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/79 "2020-01-07T21:38:20Z")
Would voice talent for cartoon series count? Kevin Conroy’s voiced Batman for the last 20 years on multiple series. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007/80 "2020-01-07T21:44:37Z")
Jane Curtin [ul] [li]Saturday Night Live - 5 seasons[/li][li]3rd Rock from the Sun - 6 seasons[/li][li]Kate & Allie - 6 seasons[/li][/ul] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-has-starred-in-the-most-successful-tv-series/846007.md?page=5)