The Simpsons

The longest-running animated series and scripted prime-time television show, the Simpsons tells the story of the titular family and their town of Springfield. The brainchild of cartoonist Matt Groening, previously known for his work on the weekly comic strip Life Is Hell, the beloved family -- lovable goof of a father and husband Homer, blue-haired matriarch Marge, troublemaking son Bart, overachieving daughter Lisa, and pacifier-loving baby Maggie -- first appeared in brief "bumper" segments on the Fox network variety series The Tracey Ullman Show, later graduating to a 1989 Christmas special and finally, in 1990, their own weekly series, which broke records as it extended its run into the 2020s and beyond.