Has any sitcom needed more than five seasons?

[king of comedy]

The longest running sitcom right now is It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It's now 15 years old. If I was on a sitcom, I say 6 or 7 years is enough if it hit its' stride on the fifth year.

[Yong Fang]

The Andy Griffith Show was the first five seasons. The three color seasons don’t count.

[torcan]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

I look at my favorites, and it seems a pretty firm rule: Lucy spent season 6 in Connecticut; Honeymooner's didn't come close to five. Dick van Dyke sensibly stopped at five. Andy Griffith went to color after five. Green Acres stumbled through Season 6. That Girl and The Odd Couple stopped at 5. Mary Tyler Moore and Bob Newhart both got new apartments in season 6. WKRP, Taxi, and Soap never made it to 6. Frank, Henry, and Trapper were gone from MASH by the end of 5. Diane left Cheers after five. Frasier starts focusing on Niles and Daphne in 6. Ross and Rachel threaten to go on forever by 6 on Friends, ditto Leonard and Penny and Ted and Robin. The Office started stunt casting in Season 6, and it's first season was only 6 episodes. Seinfeld only had five episodes in it first season, it's Season 7 has a lot good stuff in it, but I think it was starting downward generally. Barney Miller's about the same, and taking on a gloomier tone in 7.

Several of the shows you mentioned were cancelled after season 5 due to low ratings.

I personally think that 7 should be the limit. I know this has been discussed before, but shows like Happy Days, MASH and The Jeffersons just went on way too long. I know it's all ratings and money for the networks, but all of those shows started to go way downhill after season 7, if not before.

[torcan]

Originally Posted by merlinjones

Don't forget Bewitched changed Darrins after season 5 and should have stopped with the loss of Dick York to injury.

I think season 6 of Bewitched is a very strong season. There are lots of very enjoyable episodes that season. I also really like the Salem episodes of season 7, plus the Christmas episode Sisters at Heart. The rest of season 7 was kind of weak.

I do agree that season 8 maybe could have been done without. There were so many almost word-for-word remakes it was obvious they were out of ideas. There were some cool episodes there too though.

[torcan]

Originally Posted by king of comedy

The only sitcom I know that lasted exactly 5 years was I Dream of Jeannie. It could have gone 1 more year with Jeannie pregnant.

In reading through old TV Guides, it was announced in the TV Teletype section early in the fifth season that I Dream of Jeannie would be renewed for the sixth season. I guess sometime between that announcement and the end of season five, they changed their minds.