Summary
- Some of the longest-running game shows of all time have managed to stay entertaining due to their unique formats or charismatic hosts.
- Shows like Jeopardy! and Family Feud have successfully transitioned to new hosts without losing their popularity.
- The longest-running game show of all time had an impressive run spanning several decades on air.
The longest-running game shows of all time have one important thing in common. Not only do they offer contestants a chance to win great prizes, with the audience living vicariously through them, but they also remain entertaining for a variety of reasons. This comes from either the format of the shows or the hosts who run the show. Jeopardy! is a great example of a show that offers challenging questions that keep viewers glued to their TVs, but the charisma of former host Alex Trebek added to the appeal, which is why it has lasted for over 50 years.
The best game shows are the ones that are so fun to watch that the new hosts can still successfully carry them. No one could have thought Bob Barker could be replaced on The Price is Right or Richard Dawson on The Family Feud, but both were replaced and the shows are as popular now as ever. Wheel of Fortune will have the same challenge, but when it comes to the longest-running game shows of all time, there is a mountain of series that have lasted well over 20 years, with many being on air for half a century.
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17 Match Game
(1962–69, 1973–1982, 1990–1991, 2016–2021): 22 years
Match Game was a classic television game show, and at 22 seasons is one of the longest-running game shows of all time. The first season was in 1962, with Gene Rayburn hosting it, with two celebrity ists. The show lasted for seven years and when it returned in 1973, it picked up more celebrity ists and a bigger prize fund. This was one of the shows that introduced five-figure winnings since the quiz show scandals of the 1950s.
The first main ist was Richard Dawson before he started hosting The Family Feud, and other familiar faces included Jack Klugman, Vicki Lawrence, and Michael Landon. The show saw two contestants try to match fill-in-the-blank questions and answers with the ist who answered. The show came back for one season in the 1990s and then relaunched in 2016, with Alec Baldwin as the host.
16 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
(1999-2021): 22 years
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is a game show that made quite a ripple in pop culture since its American debut in 1999. There have been many international versions of the show, such as the Indian version that is the subject of the 2009 Best Picture Winner Slumdog Millionaire. The show is originally from the United Kingdom, but no version has found as much success as the American iteration of Millionaire.
Though sometimes there can be an exciting win, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire often sees big failures due to the major stakes involved, making for some intense entertainment. The show has been on the air fairly consistently since its 1999 debut and has gone through a series of hosts including Regis Philbin, Terry Crews, and Jimmy Kimmel. The last episode aired in March 2021, and it is still unclear if ABC will continue the show after the most recent season.
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15 Hollywood Squares
(1966-1981, 1983-1984, 1986-1989, 1998-2004): 24 years
One of the longest-running game shows of all time was Hollywood Squares, which featured nine celebrities positioned on a tic-tac-toe board. The two contestants who competed for the prizes watched as the host asked the celebs a question. The contestants then had to figure out if the celeb gave the right answer or not. One thing that made the show fun to watch was the celebrities often included comedians who would give the most off-the-wall answers possible before throwing out their guesses to the actual question.
Examples of celebrities who took part in the game included Rich Little, Roddy McDowall, Buddy Hackett, Florence Henderson, Vincent Price, Weird Al Yankovic, Charo, Sandy Duncan, Jonathan Winters, Joan Rivers, and more. The show came back twice in the 1980s after cancelation and then one last time in 1998 with future Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron as the host.
14
(1961-1975, 2022): 24 years
is one of the longest-running game shows of all time that has seen a plethora of revivals and remakes. A word association game in which contestants are paired with celebrities, 's heyday was between 1961 and 1982. The face of the show was host Allen Ludden, who was active on for the majority of its most successful run. Ludden's wife, the beloved actress Betty White, was often a featured player on the show as well.
Two separate installments of the original ran from 1961 to 1967 and again from 1971 to 1975. After that, began getting revamps, the first being Plus from 1979 to 1982. Super aired from 1984 to 1989, and the most recent edition called Million Dollar had a short stint from 2008 to 2009. Altogether, ran for a total of 23 years with 2,855 episodes. It returned to add one more season to its total in 2022.
13 What's My Line?
(1950-1975): 24 years
One of the earliest televised American game shows, What's My Line? is also one of the longest-running game shows of all time despite being off the air for close to 50 years now. It helped to establish the format that many shows use today. The game involved a of celebrities who had to guess the job occupations of contestants through a series of questions, clearly a predecessor to other popular game shows such as To Tell The Truth and Figure It Out.
The game show has 196 episodes in total, spanning over 24 years. What's My Line? had a nearly consecutive run, but two separate iterations; one from 1950 to 1967, and another from 1968 to 1975. The original iteration is an Emmy and Golden Globe winner and a pioneer in incorporating celebrities into the game show format.
12 Pyramid
(1973-1988, 1991, 2002-2004, 2012, 2016-Present): 27 years +
Two contestants are paired with celebrities in Pyramid, a word association game based on various categories that are shown in the shape of a pyramid. There have been many versions of Pyramid since its debut, each one with a different amount of grand prize money that has increased over time.
The show originally ran from 1973 until 1988 and was initially called The $10,000 Pyramid, which was usually hosted by the iconic Dick Clark. Throughout its initial 15-year run, the show ran many versions all at once, with prizes varying from $20,000, to $25,000, to $50,000, all the way up to $100,000. Other installments came in 1991, 2002, and 2012, and the most recent in 2016 is still airing today. Pyramid has aired over 1,000 episodes and is currently hosted by the funny and multi-talented Michael Strahan.
11 Noot Vir Noot
(1991-): 33 Years
This South African game show began its run in 1991, only gaining a new host in 2019. Original host Johan Stemmet retired from hosting duties when musician Emo Adams took over the role. Stemmet remained on board as a producer though. Noot vir Noot, which translates from Afrikaans to a music note for a cash note, is a musical game show.
The show involves four contestants being given musical clues by the host and DJ. The series used to feature a house band that would provide those musical clues, but a DJ was brought on in 2012. Interestingly, the series also acts as more than just a game show as it frequently features musical acts who perform for the contestant and the audience. The show, like many popular trivia-based game shows, also brings winners back to participate in semi-finals and grand finals to find the ultimate winner.
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10 Let's Make A Deal
(1963-1977, 1980-1981, 1984-1986, 1990-1991, 2003, 2009-Present): 37 years +
One of the longest-running game shows of all time is Let's Make a Deal. Audience arrive dressed in wild costumes in hopes of being called onto the stage where they can make deals to win a variety of prizes. The show has been canceled and revived many times over the years, but in total, Let's Make a Deal has collected over 6,000 episodes throughout its 35-year lifespan, and the format has remained relatively the same.
The original Let's Make a Deal was wildly popular from 1963 to 1977. After that, the show saw several short-lived revivals between 1981 and 2003 until 2009, when it got its footing on air once again. Today, one of the funniest Whose Line Is It Anyway? cast , Wayne Brady, is the host of the upbeat game show.
9 Family Feud
(1976-1985, 1988-1995, 1999-Present): 38 years +
Family Feud is one of the most well-known longest-running game shows of all time. Since its debut in 1976, the show has managed to stay consistently popular with audiences despite it being off-air for a handful of years. The original run went on until 1985, was revived again in 1988, and lasted until 1995, then was finally revived again in 1999 and has been airing ever since.
The aim of the show is for one family, or team, to guess the most commonly given responses to survey questions. The team that gets the most answers corrects them enters a final round to win prize money.
Richard Dawson was the first beloved host of Family Feud and his presence was surely a major contributor to the show's initial success. Today though, ratings have never been higher with Steve Harvey as the host. The show even has an acclaimed celebrity version that sees various stars go head to head in the trivia game rather than everyday American families.
8 Countdown
(1982-): 42 Years
While many game shows around the world air in a “prime time” block, that is in the evening, presumably when families can gather after eating dinner, Countdown does not. It’s often thought of as an after-school classic for British adults who grew up in the 1980s and 90s. The show has been running consistently since 1982, making it the third longest-running British game show.
Every episode features two contestants competing in three different games. Each game only lasts 30 seconds, hence the name of the show. The first game involves creating a word out of nine letters, the second involves using a set of numbers of get to a particular sum, and the final round sees the contests solving an anagram. Each round is a distinct and difficult puzzle, but the contestant that wins keeps coming back until they are defeated.