How many episodes in the average TV show? (1 Viewer)

[Stan]

Was shocked to see the Absolutely Fabulous listing show up on my DVR and it's only up to episode 52? This thing has been running since the early nineties, become very famous and that's all because of 50 something episodes? I know British shows run diferently as far as seasons and number of episodes, but 52 shows over 20 years. Am I mistaken and there is more, just a different numbering system. Also watching Mad Men, they show several episodes every Sunday morning. In one of the more recent ones they mentioned a show being picked up for 39 episodes. That would be unheard of today, but did shows really run 39 episodes back in the early 60s? We're so used to seeing an entire series be 10-20 episodes if we're lucky today. Understandably the production values, location shooting and special effects greatly affect schedules. Just curious if anybody knows the episode counts of some of the more popular shows, past and present.

 

[Paul D G]

Network shows are typically 22-24 episodes. Cable shows typically run 12 episodes.


British television shows typically run 6 episodes a season, give or take.


For AbFab, Series 1 - 4 had six episodes each, Series 5 had eight. Plus there was a two part special after Series 1, a special after Series 4, and three new episodes airing this year. That's only 38 episodes!


The UK version of The Office ran only 14 episodes.


Not sure about 60s TV, but I know Season 1 of I Love Lucy ran for 35 episodes.... I just did a Wiki search for Bewitched. It's seasons ran from 30 - 38 episodes in the 60s!

 

[Matt Hough]

Yes, 30-40 episodes per season was the norm for shows during the 1950s and 1960s. There were fewer reruns during those years. The Andy Griffith Show produced 32 episodes during its first season 1960-61. The Twilight Zone produced 36 episodes during its first season 1959-60.

 

[MishaLauenstein]

I use this site almost daily: www.epguides.com

 

[Stan]

Great site Misha, thanks for the link. Will definitely answer a lot of questions.