The television series M*A*S*H ran for 11 seasons. It premiered on CBS in September 1972 and concluded in February 1983 with the two-and-a-half-hour finale “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen.”
The show was adapted from the 1970 film M*A*S*H, which in turn was based on Richard Hooker’s 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. Although the story was set during the Korean War, the television series used its wartime setting to explore issues that resonated strongly during the Vietnam era, including military authority, trauma, and the human cost of war.
Across its 11-season run, M*A*S*H produced 251 regular episodes, plus its finale. The series changed substantially over time: several original characters departed, new commanding officers arrived, and the tone gradually moved from broad comedy toward more dramatic storytelling.
The show’s 11-season total is sometimes confused with its episode count or with the length of the Korean War itself. The war lasted about three years, while the television production remained a major CBS series for more than a decade.