While some television shows come to an untimely end, others just seem to go on forever.
It's impressive when a show lasts more than 10 years, but that doesn't come close to how long some hit shows have lasted. "The Bachelor" has been on for 16 years, while "The Simpsons" has been on the air for 29 years. Even longer? A few soap operas have been on TV for more than half a century.
Excluding British shows like "Doctor Who" and news and talk shows, we've come up with the shows that have been around for more than 15 years.
Here are 49 of America's longest-running shows.
"Guiding Light" (57 years)
If you count the soap opera's radio run, "Guiding Light" was on for 72 years, but the soap only aired on TV for 57. Its final episode aired in 2009.
"General Hospital" (55 years)
The medical soap opera started back in 1963 and is still going strong.
"As the World Turns" (54 years)
More than 13,000 episodes of "As the World Turns" aired on TV during its 54-year run. It was on from 1956 until 2010.
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