Five of the Longest Running TV Shows You’ve Never Heard Of
Obviously, this boils down to the longest-running TV shows I’ve never heard of. But I like to think I’m kind of the Lorax for highly-online dorks: I speak for the dweebs.
You’ve definitely heard of the longest-running show of all time — NFL on NBC, which ran for 85 years — and of course you know General Hospital (61 years) and Jeopardy! (60 years). But there was something in the water around 70 years ago (probably lead) that made Americans with niche interests create some of the most enduring entertainment in human history.
‘It’s Academic’: 63 Years
Started in 1961, this is kind of an academic Hunger Games for high schools in the D.C. metro area. Over 100 schools compete in different regions, with the winners facing off in the legally dubious “Super Bowl.” It was modeled off a British show that had been airing since the 1940s, but It’s Academic stuck around long enough to be crowned the longest-running quiz show in history.
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Wanna talk star power? Chuck Schumer, George Stephanopoulos and Merrick Garland competed as teens. Hillary Clinton was an alternate for the Chicago competition in 1965. It’s bankrolled by billionaire David Rubenstein, so as long as they never dunk on the Baltimore Orioles or private equity firm The Carlyle Group, they should have another few decades in ‘em.
‘The Open Mind’: 68 Years
This one holds the distinction of being the longest-running program on public television. Its host, Richard Heffner, falls on the opposite end of the Heffner Spectrum from Hugh. He was a founding manager of New York City’s PBS affiliate station, chaired the Motion Picture Association of America and its entire apparatus for rating movies.
The Open Mind makes Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood look like Zoom, in public television parlance. But slow and steady wins the race — Heffner was a thoughtful interviewer and a skilled journalist, teasing out big ideas from folks like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Isaac Asimov and Thurgood Marshall. They even got frickin’ Moby! Richard passed away in 2013, and his grandson Alexander has been at the helm ever since.
‘Backyard Farmer’: 71 Years
If you’re looking for compelling discussion and debate about Nebraska-native flora and fauna, then buddy, I’ve got over 1,380 hours of content for you. Backyard Farmer was the result of an unholy union between the University of Nebraska’s PR director and the founder of its TV department in 1953. They thought: what better way to turbocharge the school’s reputation and visibility than with 60 straight minutes of lawn and gardening advice? And they were so extremely right!
The host leads a panel of four extremely niche experts in answering audience questions, harvested from over 200 calls and 100 emails per episode. It’s all as dry as it sounds, but segments will occasionally blow up on YouTube, like Clover Pros and Cons (148k views), Bag or Mulch? (192k views) and Controlling Woodchucks/Groundhogs (419k views).
‘Hallmark Hall of Fame’: 73 Years
Though each “episode” (feature-length film) only comes out every few months, it’s technically the longest-running primetime series of all time. The fact that there’s a Hallmark Channel seems like a groan-worthy attempt by a modern corporation to elbow into the entertainment space, but Hallmark is a pioneer in shameless marketing. They were one of the first companies to adapt their ridiculous branded radio show into a ridiculous branded TV show in 1951, livestreaming operas and dramatic plays.
As other networks started producing cheap-o made-for-TV-movies, Hallmark, ironically, remained dedicated to higher production value, with double the budgets and production times of their competitors. The show bounced around to different broadcast channels for a few decades, then finally found itself back on the Hallmark Channel in 2014. Since then, its overtly saccharine and punny titles (Happy Howlidays, To Have and To Holiday, Never Been Chris’d) have led to renewed popularity among the irony-pilled chronically online. And also unironic Christian conservatives.
‘Music & the Spoken Word’: 75 Years
Straight outta the Salt Lake Tabernacle, Music & the Spoken Word is a variety show that’s exactly what it says on the tin. Each episode features choir, orchestra and organ performances, then an inspirational spoken-word message, all connected by a specific theme. That theme is usually biblical and patriotic in nature.
It began as a humble radio show in 1929, with all musicians and speakers sharing one microphone dangling from the ceiling. The host had to stand on a ladder and yell his lines into the air. The radio version is still going strong, and they added the television element in 1949, when Lorne Michaels was still toddling around Canadian kindergarten, making it the longest-running entertainment, religious and variety show in American history.
