Most popular TV shows hit their peak, slip off and are eventually canceled. Take Fox’s “Glee,” for instance. It once drew 12 million viewers a week but earlier this year was lucky to haul a quarter of that audience. The kids on that show will finally sing their last song next spring.
Yet some shows keep on going long after they have fallen off the pop culture zeitgeist, courtesy of a smaller but stubbornly loyal group of viewers. Here is a sampling of shows that are amazingly still airing new episodes after all these years:
"America's Funniest Home Videos," ABC (year debuted: 1989; 25 seasons)
This was a very early example of cheap, “reality” programming using user-generated content that has since been replicated on shows such as Comedy Central’s “Tosh.O” and MTV’s “Ridiculousness.” First hosted by Bob Saget, and now Tom Bergeron, the videos of people pratfalling and cats doing impossibly cute things used to come by mail on VHS tape but today are mostly uploaded. Even the advent of YouTube hasn’t killed the show. Oddly, the prize has always been $10,000, a dollar amount far more valuable a quarter century ago than today. It continues to air at 7 p.m. on Sundays, where it’s been anchored much of its time on air.
"The Real World," MTV (year debuted: 1992; 30 seasons)
This is the first show to ever stick a bunch of disparate folks into a house and then let things “get real.” It was controversial and compelling in its early years as people from different religious, political and socio-economic backgrounds clashed in a “social experiment” of sorts. But the show has taken a more conventional turn as the focus has become more about hookups and relationship drama. What’s shocking is that it’s still around. It’s even stranger considering the fact the show is older than most of its target audience. Another oddity: The show has never been set in Atlanta. The next season is in Chicago and debuts at 10 p.m. Dec. 16.
"CSI," CBS (year debuted: 2000; 15 seasons)
“CSI” was the No. 1 show in America as recently as 2003, bringing in 25 to 30 million viewers a week. Now it draws about 10 million, enough to stay on the CBS lineup. It outlasted two spinoffs (Miami, New York) and a new one is on the way (“CSI: Cyber”). The show brought forensics into the national forefront. To this day, “CSI” influences juries with unrealistic expectations of investigators’ abilities to solve crimes with DNA and other “foolproof” criteria. A few original cast members remain, most notably George Eads (Nick Stokes) and Jorja Fox (Sara Sidle). “CSI” airs at 10 p.m. Sundays and sometimes at 10:30 p.m. during football season.
'The Jerry Springer Show," syndicated (year debuted: 1991; 24 seasons)
In the late 1990s, this show was often considered the sign of a cultural apocalypse. There were the absurd subjects such as a man who cut off his own penis or a dude who wanted to marry his horse. Then there are fights, leading the audience to chant “Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!” Springer says he keeps doing the show because it’s easy fluff and readily admits he does it for the paycheck. The show airs at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays on WATL-TV.
"The McLaughlin Group," PBS (year debuted: 1982; 33 seasons)
Hosted by 87-year-old John McLaughlin, this political debate show was the precursor to many shows where commentators argue over each other. It preceded and outlived two versions of CNN’s “Crossfire.” Its greatest exposure happened when “Saturday Night Live” spoofed the show in the late 1980s and early 1990s with Dana Carvey playing a hilarious, barking McLaughlin. (It’s not available on TV in Atlanta but can be seen on YouTube every week.)
"Cops," Spike (year debuted: 1989; 27 seasons)
Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? The whole cops-and-robbers cinema verite concept has been parodied and snarked about for years. Fox aired the show 25 years until 2012. Last year, Spike took over and airs episodes frequently, often six to 10 episodes a day.
"America's Next Top Model," the CW (year debuted: 2003; 22 seasons)
The CW just renewed this show for an incredible 22nd season. Early on, critics carped that the show was shallow and focused on physical appearances, but isn’t that the whole point of modeling? The show, with Tyra Banks as the constant, used to regularly draw 5 to 6 million viewers a week. Its most recent overnight haul? 1.2 million this past Friday night. It now includes both male and female models.
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