15 Shows Celebrating Milestones and Anniversaries in May
They grow up so fast, don’t they? Two long-running broadcast dramas are hitting milestone episodes this month, while many other TV shows mark anniversaries of their series finales. (And one pioneering reality series will celebrate its 30th birthday!) In the gallery below, see some of the biggest May milestones and anniversaries from the past three decades of small-screen entertainment.
‘NCIS: Los Angeles’ reached its 300th episode.
The installment “Work & Family” marked Episode 300 for the CBS procedural. “It was just amazing to have gotten there,” showrunner R. Scott Gemmill told Entertainment Tonight last month. “The first time you hit a hundred you feel so fortunate, then two hundred and three hundred is unheard of.”
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ celebrated its 400th episode.
The Season 18 finale on May 26 will be Episode 400 for the ABC medical drama, and the cast and crew celebrated with a party and a soundstage dedication on May 2.
‘Martin’ ended 25 years ago on May 1.
Starring Martin Lawrence as the titular disc jockey, this five-season Fox comedy got an unexpected tribute in 2015: Big Sean paid homage to it in his music video for “Play No Games” with a cameo from Lawrence and other cast members.
‘In Plain Sight’ ended 10 years ago on May 4.
Costars Mary McCormack and Fred Weller bonded even before this witness-protection drama began its five-season run on USA: She became the godmother of his daughter before the show premiered, as he told reporters in 2008.
‘The Golden Girls’ ended 30 years ago on May 9.
This seven-season NBC series about female friendship is one of only four comedies in which all the principal cast members earned Emmys for their performances. The other three are All in the Family, Will & Grace, and Schitt’s Creek
‘Desperate Housewives’ ended 10 years ago on May 13.
ABC’s hit suburban soap ranked as the most-watched comedy in the world at the time its eight-season run ended, according to Eurodata TV Worldwide metrics collected across five continents.
‘7th Heaven’ ended 15 years ago on May 13.
‘The King of Queens’ ended 15 years ago on May 14.
This CBS sitcom aired 207 episodes over nine seasons—and star Kevin James’ real-life wife, Steffiana de la Cruz, appeared in four of those episodes in four different roles.
‘Roswell’ ended 20 years ago on May 14.
Two years before Smallville, The WB introduced this other teen drama about aliens in human bodies. The show was rebooted with 2019’s Roswell, New Mexico, but it also spawned a series of 11 novels.
‘Coach’ ended 25 years ago on May 14.
ABC often used this nine-season comedy, starring Craig T. Nelson as a college football coach, as a lead-in for live Monday Night Football broadcasts. But that tactic resulted in a scheduling headache for affiliates on the West Coast, where the NFL coverage started at 6pm local time.
‘Crossing Jordan’ ended 15 years ago on May 16.
After NBC canceled this procedural—which starred Jill Hennessy as a medical examiner—super-fans plotted to write an unofficial seventh season, with scripts posted online each Sunday night at 10pm ET.
‘House’ ended 10 years ago on May 21.
Fox’s eight-season medical drama earned Emmys, Golden Globes, People’s Choice Awards, and a Peabody Award…and in 2008, star Hugh Laurie was voted the second-sexiest TV doctor ever, behind ER’s George Clooney. “Of course. George Clooney. The governor,” the actor told Daily Mail at the time. “Naturally, I myself spend all of my time thinking about being a sex symbol.”
‘Wings’ ended 25 years ago on May 21.
Lasting eight seasons on NBC, this high-flying sitcom starring Tim Daly and Steven Weber was set at the fictional Tom Nevers Field in Nantucket, Massachusetts. There actually is a Tom Nevers Field in Nantucket…but it’s a park and not an airport.
‘The Real World’ premiered 30 years ago on May 21.
This month is typically when shows end their seasons, but it was May 1992 when MTV ushered in the modern reality TV genre with this groundbreaking series. The cast of that first, Big Apple-set season reunited last year for the Paramount+ series The Real World Homecoming: New York.
‘The Rosie O’Donnell Show’ ended 20 years ago on May 22.
Rosie O’Donnell’s syndicated talk show wrapped up its six-season run with a pretaped gag of Tom Cruise serving as the host’s lawn boy.
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"7th Heaven" was considered such a family-friendly program but after star Stephen Collins' off-screen scandal, I doubt that show will be seen anywhere on TV now...maybe somewhere online...