60 Minutes is an American investigative television newsmagazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by long time producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation. It has been among the top-rated TV programs for much of its life, and has garnered numerous awards over the years. It is considered by many to be the preeminent investigative television program in the United States.

The autumn of 2008 saw the program's 40th anniversary, and it currently holds the record for the longest continuously running program of any genre scheduled during American network prime time; it has aired at 7 p.m. Eastern Time Sundays since December 7, 1975. The 42nd season premiere took place on September 27, 2009. The longer-running Meet the Press has also aired in prime time, but currently airs during the daytime, as it has for most of its history. The Walt Disney anthology television series, which premiered in 1954, and the Hallmark Hall of Fame, which has aired since 1951, have aired longer, but none of them has aired in prime time continually, as 60 Minutes has done.