15 Best Sitcoms of all Time
#14 Friends
Refreshingly different then many sitcoms of it's time, this comedy gave young people the idealized people and settings to hang out in. While the life style of these New Yorkers was not realistic for their income, the show has been very influential and helped spawn the urban coffee shop hangout fad of the 90s.
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15:
Married with Children
This black comedy gave us some of the first irredeemable characters and the most crass and amoral situations aired on TV at the time. It helped launch and sustain the early Fox Network, to whom we must show gratitude for putting Christina Applegate on prime time TV.
14:
Friends
Refreshingly different then many sitcoms of it's time, this comedy gave young people the idealized people and settings to hang out in. While the life style of these New Yorkers was not realistic for their income, the show has been very influential and helped spawn the urban coffee shop hangout fad of the 90s.
13:
The Office UK
While the longer running US adaptation is undeniably funny, Ricky Gervais's David Brent is really one of the best cringe inducing portrayals of a deluded idiot on TV. Although the romance between Tim and Dawn is not epic, the sense that their should be more to life for these two than the office is funny and tragic.
12:
All in the Family
Based on a British comedy "Till Death Us Do Part", AITF was pioneering in building great comedy out of divisive social issues. It made both the bigoted conservative and goofy liberal views the subject of its jokes. President Nixon is heard discussing the show on his secret Oval Office tape recordings.
11:
Cheers
The original king of the "hang out" comedy, Cheers eschewed the standard family or workplace formula to focus on a bar where regulars and guests could relax and soak up some suds. Unlike other shows that needed to create circumstances to confine characters to one setting, the entire first season of cheers never left the confines of the bar, and rarely strayed too far in subsequent seasons.
10:
The Larry Sanders Show
This HBO series held a fun house mirror up to television talk shows and provided constant comedy from having celebrities make fun of their own public image. Although the main character was mostly funny as a tired and pampered entertainment veteran, the cast and guest stars could elevate behind the scenes crassness and careerism to comedy highs.
9:
I Love Lucy
This classic black and white sitcom was the pioneer of the shift from live TV to multi-camera filming, which allowed for a less blurry image and the ability to play reruns. Getting an interracial couple onto tv in the 50s was no small triumph and says a lot about the talent and loyalty of the shows creators.
8:
30 Rock
Taking us inside the writer's room and executive offices of a tv network, 30 rock makes the inanity of the entertainment business extremely funny. Tina Fey deserved mad props for creating and starring as the hot mess Liz Lemon, a great contrast to previous female sitcom characters like Mary Richards or Murphy Brown.
7:
Taxi
This blue collar workplace comedy racked up 18 Emmy awards over five seasons. Building on the socially relevant comedies of the 70s, this show combines zany black comedy with issues such as addiction, abuse, and divorce, and other bumps in the road of life.
6:
Spaced
This British series launched the movie careers of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and their frequent collaborator, director Edgar Wright. Obsessed with pop culture and setting up genre homages, Spaced is a heavy influence on many of the funny sitcoms launched since.
5:
Modern Family
Many shows on this list do sentimental and funny well, but this sprawling ensemble really hits the mark. Among a number of standout performances, Nolan Gould, a member of Mensa with a 150 IQ, has made his character Luke the funniest kid on TV of all time.
4:
Community
No current show better represents how critics and fans can be fanatically obsessed with a show that barely registers in the rating. This show combines intense meta-sitcom references and brilliant genre parodies that all fit in to the reality of a community collage where people get a second chance to improve themselves.
3:
How I Met Your Mother
Having wrapped up its seventh season, HIMYM is one of the funniest on-going series on television. While the flashback structure around Ted Mosby's love life is rarely that compelling, it is the constant meandering side stories and amazing supporting cast that fans tune in for.
2:
Seinfeld
A show about neurotic New Yorkers shot on a studio lot in Los Angeles. Like Jerry's stand up routines this show heightened the humor found in daily annoyances and avoided the conventions of family and work based comedies that predominate TV programming.
1:
Arrested Development
This influential show was so unique and ambitious in its self-reflectiveness and complexity that it was a miracle the dysfunctional Bluth family were able to stay on the air for three seasons. Recently resurrected by Netflix for a new season next year, this show will get another chance to make an impact on the world of TV comedy.
