Taxi TV Series Year and Network History
Taxi premiered on ABC in the United States in 1978 and ran until 1983, spanning five seasons with 114 episodes Forbes entertainment history. The show then moved to NBC for its final season in 1983, where it concluded in 1983. Taxi was produced by Paramount Television and created by James L. Brooks and Stan Daniels, placing it among the longest-running sitcoms of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Ratings data shows Taxi consistently ranked in the Nielsen Top 20 during its first three seasons on ABC, peaking at number 7 in the 1979-1980 season Nielsen historical rankings. The series was a flagship sitcom for ABC's Thursday night lineup before the network shift to NBC, where it faced stiff competition from CBS's lineup.
Cast, Production Companies, and Broadcast Details
The main cast included Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Tony Danza, Andy Kaufman, and Marilu Henner, with Jeff Conaway and later Christopher Meloni joining the ensemble. Production was led by Paramount Television and the show was filmed at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California, using a multi-camera setup for the studio audience IMDb Taxi series page.
Each episode had a standard runtime of approximately 25 minutes for the half-hour sitcom format, with the pilot and select specials running longer. The series was distributed by CBS Media Ventures in syndication after its original run, and it remains available on streaming platforms today Paramount+ streaming.
Legacy, Awards, and Syndication Performance
Taxi won 18 Emmy Awards during its run, including Outstanding Comedy Series in 1979 and 1980, and it received multiple Golden Globe nominations Emmys Taxi page. The show was also recognized for launching the careers of several actors who later became major stars in film and television.
In syndication, Taxi has remained one of the most widely distributed sitcoms, airing in over 100 countries and generating significant revenue for Paramount Global Paramount Global corporate site. The series continues to be cited in industry analyses as a benchmark for ensemble sitcoms from the late 1970s and early 1980s.