Last of the Summer Wine Barry trying to better himself (at the insistence of Glenda), and Tom trying to stay one step ahead of the repo man. "Last of the Summer Wine" is the longest-running comedy programme in Britain, and the longest running situation comedy in the world. Each series has between six and twelve episodes; most were thirty minutes in length, with some specials running longer. There were 295 episodes and 31 series between 1973 and 2010, counting the pilot, all episodes of the series, specials, and two films. In 1978, the BBC commissioned a "Last of the Summer Wine" Christmas special instead of
History of The Simpsons into a film. The script was re-written over a hundred times, and this creativity continued after animation had begun in 2006. The film was a box office success, and received overwhelmingly positive reviews. "The Simpsons" eventually became the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed "Gunsmoke" as the longest-running American primetime, scripted television series. Since its debut on December 17, 1989, the show has broadcast episodes and its 30th season started airing on September 30, 2018. When producer James L. Brooks was working on the television variety show "The Tracey Ullman Show" for the