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Pretty soon 'Ozzie and Harriet' may not be the longest-running sitcom in history

Image: The Everett Collection

Premiering in the fall of 1952, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet run for a whopping 14 seasons. It was a family affair for its stars, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, and their boys David and Ricky. Over that decade and a half, the Nelson family grew up before America's eyes. Ricky Nelson, in particular, became a teen idol and pop star. When the series wrapped in 1966, it became the longest-running live-action sitcom in television history.

That record has stood for more than half a century. But it may soon fall.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which has run on FX and FXX since 2005, will air its 14th season later this year. The irreverent sitcom has turned former Taxi star Danny DeVito into a comedic icon for Millennials, while co-stars Kaitlin Olson and Glenn Howerton have landed lead roles in other sitcoms and films. Fellow castmembers Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, who also created and developed the series, recently received glowing praise from FX Networks president John Landgraf.

"As long as they can still make episodes of Sunny that are as good as any that were ever made, I think the show has a chance of continuing. And I’d say there is a good chance it might go past Season 14, which is the last one we’ve currently ordered," Landgraf said TCA 2019, as reported by Cinema Blend.

Yep, it seems as if Sunny is going to hit season 15, as long as the cast and creators are up for it. That means it could become the longest-running sitcom in 2020.

That being said, Sunny has only made 144 episodes to date. Ozzie and Harriet churned out a mammoth 435 episodes. So there's still some catching up to do on that front.

Meanwhile, Fox just renewed The Simpsons for seasons 31 and 32. The animated titan sits at 654 episodes, recently passing Gunsmoke's record of 635. Good luck to any show hoping to catch up with that number.

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