And on Ian Hislop's team...

[JayzusB.Christ]

I recently realised I've been watching Have I Got News For You for over 30 years, and it's as good as it ever was.   Is there any other TV comedy series that has lasted as long, let alone remained funny, for so long?

[The Legendary Shark]

Not that I can think of. Radio, however, has a few such as I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and The news Quiz.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Just finished the latest News Quiz this morning. If I'm not mistaken,  it's the precursor to HIGNFY, and it's always worth a listen, but I believe the student has long since become the master.

[The Legendary Shark]

I haven't seen an episode of HIGNFY for donkey's years - it's one of the few BBC things I actually miss.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Just got back into it lately myself, after discovering the episodes move to YouTube very soon after they're broadcast.

Wonder if QI will have that kind of longevity? I expect I'll keep watching it as long as it's shown.

[Richard]

QI is already 20 years old.

[nxylas]

I believe the plan has always been to end QI after series Z, assuming it runs that long (and I can't see any reason why it wouldn't, though it would have seemed a lot less certain back when series A was being filmed).

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

Yeah, but at that point it'll move to the Greek alphabet and rename itself Ϙι.

[Richard]

[JayzusB.Christ]

QI is already 20 years old.

Feck! Where does the time go? I didn't watch it at first, believing that the title referred to IQ and it was some kind of highbrow quiz for intellectuals.  Not saying I'm thick or anything, but I'm definitely far thicker than I thought I was when I was a bloody student, and I was pleased to find it was about one of my favourite things: useless trivia. 

[The Legendary Shark]

Yeah, but at that point it'll move to the Greek alphabet and rename itself Ϙι.

Or maybe they'll move production to Spain and call it Que?

[rogue69]

Radio seems to be the place for longevity as there's Just a Minute running since 1967, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue since 1972, The News quiz since 1977 and the youngster the Now Show starting in 1998

[IndigoPrime]

QI only has U through to Z to run. I imagine they'll probably do some short series for a few of those. Assuming it gets recommissioned at its current rate and everyone is healthy enough to be in the show, the last series would air from autumn 2028 to spring 2029. But that date could be nearer if they, say, did U and V as eight-episode runs vs the usual 16.

I still really rate that show. I actually prefer Toksvig over Fry as chair, and hope she sticks around until the show's conclusion. (She'd be around 70 by that point.)

Elsewhere, I don't really watch panel shows anymore. I'm ageing myself, but I went off HIGNFY during the whole Angus Deayton thing, and although I continued watching for a time, Merton mostly appeared to be bored, and Hislop was quite often rude and up himself. I assume it improved again? (That said, this is also the show that normalised Boris Johnson and Julia Hartley-Brewer, and so it has a lot to answer for.)

[sheridan]

I don't see why later series should be any shorter than previous - the title of the episodes are just a bit of a gimmick in general anyway!

[IndigoPrime]

True. I just wonder how many jokes they can wring out of the letter X. I just hope it makes it through to Z and then stops. That'd be quite the set of shows, and most of them have been very good.

Qi isn't always successful, but it has way less showboating than other panel shows. It's more of a chat between really sharp, quick-witted people than the scrap to be noticed most of the others turn into. Or Mock the Week's cut-and-paste from everyone's stand-up routines.

Mind you, despite my modern distaste for more panel shows, I'd love to see Whose Line? resurrected in the UK. (Very, very unlikely, from what I've unearthed in the past, mind.)