8 Animated TV Shows That Have Earned the Right to Run Forever

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Cartman wearing a bow on his head and yelling at Stan in front of the lockers in South Park episode The Cissy

Published May 3, 2026, 5:59 AM EDT

Diego Pineda has been a devout storyteller his whole life. He has self-published a fantasy novel and a book of short stories, and is actively working on publishing his second novel.

A lifelong fan of watching movies and talking about them endlessly, he writes reviews and analyses on his Instagram page dedicated to cinema, and occasionally on his blog. His favorite filmmakers are Andrei Tarkovsky and Charlie Chaplin. He loves modern Mexican cinema and thinks it's tragically underappreciated.

Other interests of Diego's include reading, gaming, roller coasters, writing reviews on his Letterboxd account (username: DPP_reviews), and going down rabbit holes of whatever topic he's interested in at any given point.

If there's one kind of show that lends itself perfectly to running for several decades, it's animated shows. After all, when you don't have to worry about your actors physically aging out of their roles, production costs getting astronomically higher as time goes on, or being outpaced by evolving technology if you're a genre show, you can get away with pretty much anything. Indeed, over the course of the last few decades, we've gotten animated series that have been running for what seems like forever, and give no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Sometimes, this longevity results in declining quality, but even then, many of these long-running shows have earned the right to run forever if they so desire. Whether that's because of the indelible legacy they've left in the field of TV animation, because they're still high-quality today, or because they operate on a premise that leaves the door open for literally infinite ideas and episode concepts, these are shows that might still be on the air long, very far in the future.

8 'Futurama' (1999–Present)

Bender with his eyes zoomed in at a bar with Leela and Fry in Futurama.

After Fox asked Matt Groening to start working on a new series in the mid-'90s, following the success of a certain other show of his, he started developing ideas for Futurama. The sci-fi sitcom finally aired for the first time in 1999, and it's still on the air. This space adventure is essentially a workplace sitcom about the employees of the Planet Express interplanetary delivery company, and that premise still hasn't run out of steam after nearly three decades.

Throughout the entirety of its run and over the course of several changes that might have defeated any other kind of show, starting with the series' cancellation by Fox and eventual revival, Futurama has remained consistently fresh, funny, inventive, and remarkably intelligent. Through its clever satire, its endearing ensemble of characters (few of whom have ever fallen victim to flanderization), and its nerdy and fast-paced sense of humor, this gem has remained one of the best sci-fi sitcoms on television for 27 years.

7 'Love, Death & Robots' (2019–Present)

"400 Boys" from Love, Death + Robots Vol. 4

Ever since they started producing original shows, Netflix has constantly proven themselves masters of science fiction in the streaming game. Some of their best sci-fi content comes in Love, Death & Robots, perfect for those who like their sci-fi with some variety. After all, this is an anthology series—and one of the anthology shows that have aged the best, at that. Each one of its episodes tells a different story in a different animation style, often blended with elements of horror, fantasy, and/or comedy.

The series has only produced four seasons over the course of a 7-year run, but that has nevertheless given us dozens of the best anthology show episodes of the 2010s and 2020s. From "Zima Blue" to "Bad Travelling," Love, Death & Robots' episodes may not always hit, but when they do, they hit hard. This modern masterpiece is giving no signs of having run out of wild ideas to turn into awesome, often hardcore stories; so, even if seasons take a while to come together, it'll still be worth it decades from now.

6 'Bob's Burgers' (2011–Present)

Mixing the specialty of Fox's animation branch in family shows with creator Loren Bouchard's wish to dabble in workplace comedy, Bob's Burgers came together. Sixteen seasons, one feature film, and one comic book series later, here we are, still looking at one of the best animated comedies on television. Long gone are the days of the show's first season, which received mixed reviews upon release. Nowadays, Bob's Burgers has one of the happiest and most loyal followings of any animated show on television.

This was never a show defined by its transgressiveness, but it has definitely gotten less edgy over the years. Even then, though, it has remained a delightful comfort watch that's impossible to dislike if you've stuck by its side for all these years. Bob's Burgers has remained hilarious and emotionally compelling over the years, and as long as the Belchers keep up the same chemistry that they've had for the past 15 years—and there's no reason to imagine why they wouldn't—, Bob's Burgers has every right to last forever.

5 'Detective Conan' (1996–Present)

Conan asking Kaito Kid to disguise as Shinichi Kudo because they look alike in Detective Conan movie 14.

In terms of the years that it's been on the air, Detective Conan (also known as Case Closed) is one of the longest-running anime shows in history. With the manga series it's based on still ongoing, this anime adaptation has remained equally fresh and entertaining over the course of its 30-year run. Balancing fun episodic murder mysteries with a slow-burning, high-stakes overarching narrative, it has remained one of the most endearing anime series on the air for all this time.

There's a reason why detective tales have remained equally popular since the days of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories: Audiences simply never get bored with them. That classic formula: a fun mystery, a set of interesting suspects, and a satisfying solution—is a bottomless well of entertainment that has kept Detective Conan timely and fun for as long as it has. And since viewers also get the long-term arc of the Black Organization, it's like getting the best of both worlds, and that's something that never gets old.

Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars

Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive.

💊The Matrix

🔥Mad Max

🌧️Blade Runner

🏜️Dune

🚀Star Wars

TEST YOUR SURVIVAL →

You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.

APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it. BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don't keep you alive. CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who's pulling the strings. DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it. EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can't fix a broken galaxy alone.

NEXT QUESTION →

In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.

AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources — you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely.

NEXT QUESTION →

What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of.

AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant. BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left. CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you're a problem, you're already out of time. DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn't even know I was playing. EThe Empire tightening its grip until there's nowhere left to run.

NEXT QUESTION →

How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.

ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it. BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better. CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy. DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can't beat a system you refuse to understand. EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen.

NEXT QUESTION →

Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.

AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters. BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest. CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions. DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand. EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire's attention rarely reaches.

NEXT QUESTION →

Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.

AA tight crew of believers who've seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose. BOne or two people I'd trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks. CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice. DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last. EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts.

NEXT QUESTION →

Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of.

AI won't harm the innocent — even the ones who'd report me without hesitation. BI do what I have to to protect the people I've chosen. Everything else is negotiable. CThe line shifts depending on who's asking and what's at stake. DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people's future, even if it'd help now. ESome lines, once crossed, can't be uncrossed. I know which ones they are.

NEXT QUESTION →

What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.

AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it. BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving. CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out. DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations. EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else's boot.

REVEAL MY WORLD →

Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In…

Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.

The Matrix

You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things.

You're drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines' worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door.

Mad Max

The wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you.

You don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you're good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.

Blade Runner

You'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.

You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either.
In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything.

Dune

Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.

Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they're survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn't just survive Arrakis — you'd begin to reshape it.

Star Wars

The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way.

You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn't something you're capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

4 'Family Guy' (1999–Present)

The entire cast of characters posing together inside a house and smiling on Family Guy.

Nowadays, Seth MacFarlane is a household name, one of the leading creatives in the field of television comedy, but that wasn't always the case. Back in the mid-'90s, The Life of Larry (MacFarlane's thesis short film for his animation degree) and Larry and Steve (which he produced for Hanna-Barbera) were a pair of shorts that Fox executives saw and were impressed by. They contracted MacFarlane to create a series, titled Family Guy, based on the characters. The rest is history.

Nowadays, Family Guy's ensemble is among those animated TV characters so iconic that everyone knows them, even if they've never seen the show. Though not all fans love the way the show has evolved into something far wackier and more meta in later seasons, it's undeniable that the show's cut-away gag humor keeps it utterly timeless. It doesn't need any narrative consistency, nor does it need to stick to any kind of discernible logic, and that's precisely how its charm has kept it running for 27 years. It's not for everyone, but those who enjoy it will likely keep getting more material to laugh at for many, many more years.

3 'Rick and Morty' (2013–Present)

A worried Rick holding an angry Morty down in Rick and Morty Season 9

Rick and Morty is the highest-rated comedy show on IMDb, and that's for good reason. Highly meta, witty, and edgy in equal measure, and remarkably intelligent (most of the time, at least), the show still has enough gas left in the tank to run for another 12 years. It's definitely true that the show has seen increasingly drastic dips in quality from time to time as its run has progressed, but it's nevertheless still one of the funniest and most enjoyable animated comedies on television.

Anyone who has seen enough of Rick and Morty will know that its zany world-building, endless character arcs, and infinite creativity could theoretically provide enough material for it to run forever. With the show's latest three-or-so seasons being a strong return to form, there's no reason for sci-fi fans not to jump into it at this point. It's visually impressive, it's consistently smart and clever, and it has kept its punk rock energy intact over the course of its eight-season run.

2 'South Park' (1997–Present)

The '90s saw the release of many great animated shows, but there's a solid argument to be made that the strongest and most iconic of them all is South Park. Movies, video games, music videos; what started as a stop-motion animated short inspired by Monty Python, made by university friends Trey Parker and Matt Stone, is now a hyper-successful multi-media franchise that's somehow found ways to stay relevant over the course of nearly three decades.

Since its satirical nature allows it to feed off of current events, as long as the world stays more chaotic and crazy the fiction—which, it's likely to say, will be for the rest of humanity's existence, South Park will have fuel to remain timely, endearing, and absolutely hilarious. Its sense of humor isn't for everyone, and there are definitely fans who think it has gotten significantly worse since its early days, but for the most part, people tend to agree that this is one of the long-running animated shows from the 20th century that have remained mostly consistent in their high quality.

1 'The Simpsons' (1989–Present)

There are many must-watch shows from the '80s, but few are as iconic or essential as The Simpsons. At this point, this show is far more than a household title: It's a vital pillar of modern pop culture that transcends all boundaries of television animation, and although people tend to agree that the series has been on a slow decline since its '90s Golden Days, there's still a good reason why it has remained on the air up until this day. It's a truly timeless sitcom with a truly bottomless setting that provides truly endless ideas.

But even if its best days are decades behind it, if we're strictly talking about a show that has earned the right to run forever, there is perhaps no better or more noteworthy example than The Simpsons. And who knows? If it does keep running for another 37 years, there is always the chance that at some point during that very long span of time, it'll start picking up in quality again. That may or may not be purely a pipe dream, but one thing is certain: If The Simpsons wants to be on the air when the 2060s come around, no one will be able to say that it didn't earn the privilege.

The Simpsons

Release Date December 17, 1989

Network FOX

Directors Steven Dean Moore, Mark Kirkland, Rob Oliver, Michael Polcino, Mike B. Anderson, Chris Clements, Wes Archer, Timothy Bailey, Lance Kramer, Nancy Kruse, Matthew Faughnan, Chuck Sheetz, Rich Moore, Jeffrey Lynch, Pete Michels, Susie Dietter, Raymond S. Persi, Carlos Baeza, Dominic Polcino, Lauren MacMullan, Michael Marcantel, Neil Affleck, Swinton O. Scott III, Jennifer Moeller