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.
12 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 panelists. The show lasted for seven years and when it returned in 1973, it picked up more celebrity panelists 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 panelist 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 panelist who answered. The show came back for one season in the 1990s and then relaunched in 2016, with Alec Baldwin as the host.
11 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.
10 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.
9 Password
(1961-1975, 2022): 24 years
Password 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, Password's heyday was between 1961 and 1982. The face of the show was host Allen Ludden, who was active on Password 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 Password ran from 1961 to 1967 and again from 1971 to 1975. After that, Password began getting revamps, the first being Password Plus from 1979 to 1982. Super Password aired from 1984 to 1989, and the most recent edition called Million Dollar Password had a short stint from 2008 to 2009. Altogether, Password ran for a total of 23 years with 2,855 episodes. It returned to add one more season to its total in 2022.
8 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. The game involved a panel 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.
Where to Watch What's My Line?
7 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.
Where to Watch The $100,000 Pyramid
6 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 members 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.
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 members, Wayne Brady, is the host of the upbeat game show.
Where to Watch Let's Make a Deal
5 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.
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.
4 Wheel Of Fortune
(1975-Present): 48 years +
While Wheel Of Fortune isn't quite the longest-running game show of all time, its co-hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White hold the record for longest-running television show hosts of all time, game show or not, at 39 years. With Wheel Of Fortune still on the air, these two will likely continue to increase their record in the near future.
Wheel Of Fortune currently sits at over 7,000 episodes and counting which is the most episodes any game show has ever seen. The show debuted in 1975, but it took off in 1982 when Sajak and White joined the team. Wheel Of Fortune is one of the easiest game shows to play along with at home, likely contributing to its continual success. Pat Sajak will retire in 2024, and Ryan Seacrest will take over after that.
Where to Watch Wheel of Fortune
3 Jeopardy!
(1964-1979, 1984-Present): 54 years +
Jeopardy! is still one of the most adored and longest-running game shows of all time. A trivia game for the smartest of people, it also saw one of the longest-running hosts in television history with the beloved Alex Trebek, who was the star of the show until his death in 2020.
Jeopardy! originally ran from 1964 to 1979, but it wasn't until the 1984 revival that the show started making an impact on audiences, likely thanks to Trebek's debut with the revamp. The show has featured new hosts since Trebek's passing including Blossom star Mayim Bialik and former champion Ken Jennings, as the two split the duties that Trebek held for so long.
2 Des Chiffres Et Des Lettres
(1965-1970, 1972-Present): 56 years +
What is almost the longest-running game show of all time, the French show Des Chiffres et des Lettres has been on the air consistently since 1965. Translating to "Numbers and Letters," Des Chiffres et des Lettres puts contestants' knowledge of both subjects to the test. The show consists of multiple rounds that involve various challenges in mathematics and spelling.
Most likely unknown to American audiences, Des Chiffres et des Lettres is a smash hit in France. It has seen multiple international versions since its creation, including a failed US iteration from 1990 that never aired.
1 The Price Is Right
(1956-1965, 1971-Present): 60 years +
At more than six decades on air, The Price Is Right currently holds the record for the longest-running game show of all time. It had an original 9-year run from 1956 to 1965. Add that to the current version of the show that has been airing since 1972, The Price Is Right has been on the air far longer than most television shows, regardless of genre.
The Price Is Right is always full of overly enthusiastic contestants who play a wide variety of mini-games revolving around modern-day commerce. The most notable Price Is Right was Bob Barker, the face of The Price Is Right since the 1972 revival until his retirement in 2007. He was replaced by Drew Carey, who still hosts the show today. Of all the longest-running game shows of all time, The Price Is Right has outlasted them all.