Most people would find it unbelievable that a sitcom like The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet ended up running for fourteen (14) seasons on U.S. television. That is the longest run of any live-action/on-camera sitcom on U.S. TV. That would be impressive considering the fact that most live-action sitcoms' original runs wouldn't get past 10 seasons. Also, ABC was the third-place network during most of its original run, and The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet was in the Nielsen Top 30 for only one season (1963-64, its 12th season), when it ranked 29th (a 21.6 rating).

Another factor was Rick's enormous popularity as a rock and roll star between 1957 (the year that he made his singing debut on the "Ricky the Drummer" episode) through 1964, the year that the Beatles and the rest of the British invasion ended his run at the top of the best-seller charts. Ozzie later said that he believed that Rick's popularity as a singer kept the show on the air for several extra years. It probably was not coincidental that, once Rick's popularity as a singer fell sharply, right around the time that season 13 (1964-'65) began, the ratings began to slip, falling enough during season 14 (1965-66) that ABC pulled the plug.

It was a combination of things: the family was pleasant if not knock down funny; the show grew out of a radio show that had been on a long time, so ABC made a long-term commitment to it; ABC was a youngish network, so you didn't have to be in the Top 20 to stay on the air with them, and Ozzie was a natural money guy, watched costs carefully and kept sponsors very happy. It all adds up.

Very nicely put; the show hit all the right bases...and talented singer teen idol Ricky was the icing on the cake!

Also I tend to think, we didn't have as many tv shows as today so people tuned in.