Thursday, April 23, 2009

What TV soap opera has the most episodes ever?


Search
: longest running soap operas

Why: This website lists the Longest Running TV Shows, but the criteria include: US production, Fictional content, and No more than 1 new episode aired per week.

The top 5 are:
  1. WWE Raw (1997-present, 642 episodes)
  2. Gunsmoke (1955-1975, 633 eps)
  3. Lassie (1954-1973, 588 eps)
  4. WWE Smackdown! (1999-present, 505 eps)
  5. The Simpsons (1989-present, 441 eps)
Answer: All these generally air[ed] 5 days a week (and never have reruns!):
  1. Guiding Light (1952-present; 15,638 episodes)
  2. As the World Turns (1956-present; 13,494 eps)
  3. General Hospital (1963-present; 11,792 eps)
  4. Days of Our Lives (1965-present; 11,066 eps)
  5. One Life to Live (1968-present; 10,405 eps)
  6. All My Children (1970-present; 10,108 eps)
  7. The Young and the Restless (1973-present; 9,131 eps)
  8. Search for Tomorrow (1951-1986; 9,130 eps)
  9. Another World (1954-1999; 8,891 eps)
  10. Love of Life (1951-1980; 7,500 eps)
Source: HowStuffWorks

The More You Know: WWE Raw had a different format when it first aired between 1993 and 1997. Since 1993, it has aired 830 total episodes.