What season do you think a show would start to be considered "long-running."
I think when it hits 6 or 7 seasons, it can be considered long-running.

Probably 5 seasons would be considered long running.

Since most people in Tv from my understanding sign 5 year contracts anything beyond that would qualify as long running IMO.

I would say 5 season.

1-2 = shortlived
3-5 = respectable but in many cases could've run a little longer
6- = long-running

Originally posted by BuffySlayer79
1-2 = shortlived
3-5 = respectable but in many cases could've run a little longer
6- = long-running

My feelings exactly. :)

I would say six or seven seasons as well. A "good" run would be about five, when you get past six things switch to "long-running."

i think once you get past 3 (meaning 5th season) it's easier to do other things because both the show's network and audience are familiar with the series

5 seasons I consider a success.

I'd say once the series hits 100 episodes. That's a huge milestone, and also when the show qualifies for syndication.

5 Seasons is long running to me.

Now like with Lois and Clark, it only had 4 seasons, but some people might consider it long running though :)

I think it sometimes depends on the Network , because admitidly if a show has a good 2 Season's they will likely want to keep it on longer (even to the cost of quality)

I would say

1 - 2 Poor
3-4 Not bad
5 - Good run
6+ Long Running
15 Years - Pathetic

Like everyone else says, I find five or more seasons qualifies a show as "long-running."

6 years

If you have more than 3 seasons,that would make it a success

A consider a show long-running on two things: the number of seasons and the number of episodes.

The Breakdown for Season:
1 to 3 - Short-Lived
4 to 5 - Average
6 or more - Long-Running

The Breakdown for Episode:
1 to 50 - Short-Lived
50 to 100 - Less Than Average
101 to 149 - Average
150 or more - Long-Running

Originally posted by Classic TV Fanatic
A consider a show long-running on two things: the number of seasons and the number of episodes.

The Breakdown for Season:
1 to 3 - Short-Lived
4 to 5 - Average
6 or more - Long-Running

The Breakdown for Episode:
1 to 50 - Short-Lived
50 to 100 - Less Than Average
101 to 149 - Average
150 or more - Long-Running

well, usually these days, you don't even get to the 100th episode until the fifth season, so I wouldn't so much say "less than average". For 149 episodes, that is like 7 seasons. 7 seasons is hardly average, if you've run that long, it's bonafide long-running.

season 6 or 7 is a long running show...

Successful shows tend to last longer on average than they used to, so now I would consider 8+ seasons a long run.

After 5 years

If I can't remember when it first debuted that's a sign to me that it's been on for a long time.

I'd say 7. 12+ years is TOO Long-Running!

I'd say 100 episodes or 5 seasons. That usually means syndication packages that will keep the show airing for many years. Some do that with fewer episodes since the TV landscape is changing. If a show does less than 20 episodes a season I'd say 100 is their benchmark.

I would recognise a "Long-running" show as one that has been on the air for five years/seasons or more.

Around season 7-8

1-2 = shortlived
3-5 = respectable but in many cases could've run a little longer
6- = long-running
That's my answer. 6 seasons is the magic number.