Summary
“One hundred episodes"is a milestone that not many television shows ever reach. Even if a popular TV show has a solid fanbase, it might not have the budget, cast, a willing distributor, or producer support to get that far.
For those viewers who enjoy long-running shows, either for their endearing characters, gripping stories, or mysterious plots, there are several shows inthe HBO Max librarythat extend past the 100-episode mark. Their genres are usually sitcoms and cartoons, and they often ran on multiple networks during their lengthy time on the air.
This wacky show started as a joke on another equally weird show with a similar premise calledSpace Ghost Coast to Coast,which was a sleeper hit on Comedy Central and Adult Swim.Aqua Teen Hunger Forcelater grew into its own successful franchise that also includes a couple of movies.
The superhero satire themethat defined both shows was way ahead of its time, and it’s still funny and relevant even if it doesn’t have a linear storyline. The main characters are the remnants of an unfinished fast-food combo that consisted of a shake, a burger, and an order of fries that somehow gained sentience. It’s a great example of absurdist humor, but it features some surprisingly profound messages beneath the gross-out jokes and bizarre characters.
It was partly the talent of the cast that madeThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Airsuch a hit and made it stick around for six seasons, a 2020 reunion special, and a more serious version of the series calledBel-Airthat was released in 2022. This was Will Smith’s breakthrough role, and his adjacent rap career was part of the publicity for the show, which is still famous for its opening theme song.
A show based on a classic “fish out of water” premise,Fresh Princedidn’t shy away from the finer details of Will’s background and upbringing, and was supported by James Avery as family patriarch Philip Banks, who represented a bonafide rags-to-riches story.
There are quite a few more episodes of this classic show if viewers want to go back to the 1960s, with the count at 884 as of 2024.Doctor Whois the longest-running science fiction series in the world. The Revival series that started in 2005 consists of 15 seasons so far, with 13 of them available currently on Max and the next scheduled to air in 2025. Season 14 is currently only available on Disney+.
In keeping with the aesthetic and lore of the franchise, the seriesfeatures a different Doctorevery few seasons, along with a different sidekick who works with them. Some of the episodes stand alone, but more recent seasons have featured multi-episode story arcs with the Doctor positioned as a more pivotal narrative force.
It’s hard to believe this now-iconic show started as a simple network comedy with little or no concept past hanging out and drinking coffee. It might have been a product of its time, but that’s a big part of its charm and one of the reasons why viewers keep returning to it.
The catchy theme song that became part ofFriends’identity, “I’ll Be There for You” by The Rembrandts, prompted a resurgence of the band’s music, and the stars of the show enjoyed lasting fame and adoration usually reserved for movie stars. Everyone wanted Jennifer Aniston’s haircut, Phoebe was secretly the smartest person on the show, and nobody cared that every character came from money and their daily trials were mostly performative.
The debate about how realisticallyThe Big Bang Theorydepicts nerd culture gets lost in the great acting, funny characters, andquirky ways a “science geek"handles daily life. A classic sitcom in every sense of the word, it’s got all the details of a 1980s concept comedy, right down to the props, costumes, and live studio audience.
Part of the reason this show is currently airing on Max is for publicity for a variety of currently running and upcoming spinoffs and prequels.Young Sheldon,based on the popular character of Sheldon Cooper, aired from 2017 to 2024, and another prequel,Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, premiered in October and tells the story of Sheldon’s brother. Yet another spin-off series featuring the characters Stuart, Denise, and Bert is currently in development.
Adventure Timeis a show that was rejected by Nickelodeon because it wasn’t appropriate for kids, but then was picked up by Cartoon Network for the same reason. The show is a satirical take on role-playing games, with most of its inspiration coming from theDungeons & Dragonsfranchise. TheAdventure Timeuniverse includes comic books, video games, and graphic novels in addition to the long-running TV series.
The main character is Finn the Human, a play on the character-building practice that’s present in virtually all RPGs, and he’s got an animal sidekick named Jake the Dog. The setting of this “adventure module” is an apocalyptic world left over from the time of the Mushroom War. The other characters include an ice wizard, a vampire, and a sentient piece of gum, just to name a few.
One of the longest-running shows in television history,South Parkalso includes movie, TV special, and video game spin-offs. There’s a whole section reserved for all of it on HBO Max (excluding the video games) along with the classic show that started with a company Christmas card in the late 1990s.
With a rocking intro performed by Primus, a stereotypical middle-America aesthetic, and characters who are endearing and memorable as much as they are horrible and disgusting,South Parkhas become afixture in media culture worldwide. The show has a lot of whimsy and absurdity when it comes to its storylines and settings, but it also takes on serious issues that revolve around society and politics that are able to consistently keep it relevant.
