No television season would be complete without at least a handful of sitcoms. One of the most enduring TV genres, sitcoms have been a staple of the television landscape for basically all of TV history. Sure, most of the time, they’re flash-in-the-pan comedies that disappear from popular memory almost as soon as they appeared, but every once in a while, we get a sitcom that totally revolutionizes the industry and becomes a major cultural landmark.
Though their subject matter may be light and easy to digest, sitcoms have an undeniable influence on our lives, shaping our thoughts, values, and even our everyday speech in subtle yet profound ways. That’s why the best sitcoms remain perennial favorites, revisited and rewatched by their fans for years and years. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that they’re experiences everybody ought to have, no matter who you are or where you’re from. Read on to discover our handpicked selection of the most essential sitcoms that everybody should watch at least once in their lives, including some of the greatest masterpieces to ever appear on our screens.
8
‘How I Met Your Mother’ (2005 – 2014)
Created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas
A cult classic sitcom with a huge international fan base, How I Met Your Mother follows Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor), a New York City architect who narrates the story of his love life to his teenage son and daughter. The show explores Ted’s life as a young man in New York, recounting his adventures and experiences with his friends Marshall (Jason Segel), Lily (Alyson Hannigan), Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), and Robin (Cobie Smulders), all leading up to the moment when he would meet his future wife. Besides its talented lead cast, the show has also featured a number of notable stars in guest and recurring roles, including Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Bryan Cranston, Joe Manganiello, and more.
Easily one of the most iconic sitcoms of the late 2000s and early 2010s, How I Met Your Mother is a wonderful and hilarious story of friendship and romance. With endearing characters and relatable life situations, the series is a fun comedy that also explores some of the more painful aspects of life, including grief, unemployment, and the search for one’s true identity. While the series has more than its fair share of plot holes and narrative inconsistencies, its wacky one-liners, memorable music, set designs, and realistic characterizations have helped How I Met Your Mother become one of the most popular comedy series of its time and a pop culture landmark.
7
‘Two and a Half Men’ (2003 – 2015)
Created by Chuck Lorre
A bawdy and ridiculous sitcom centered on a highly dysfunctional family, Two and a Half Men stars Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper, a washed-up, hedonistic jingle writer who reluctantly lets his recently divorced brother Alan (Jon Cryer) move into his Malibu beach house with his young son, Jake (Angus T. Jones). Alan and Jake’s presence quickly throws off Charlie’s wildly self-indulgent lifestyle, a situation that’s made significantly worse by the constant interference of their mother, Evelyn (Holland Taylor). After Sheen’s unceremonious exit from the show, he was replaced in later seasons by Ashton Kutcher as the beach house’s new billionaire owner, Walden Schmidt.
Two and a Half Men may not have aged well, but its deliciously dark comedy, sharp satire, brazen dialogue, and twisted characters make it one of the boldest sitcoms ever to grace TV screens. Though the show was quite polarizing with audiences even during its broadcast, the series still earned several awards and nominations, receiving special praise for Jon Cryer’s brilliant performance. Despite all the criticism it has faced for problematic gags and dialogues, Two and a Half Men still managed to become one of the longest-running sitcoms of all time and continues to enjoy a dedicated international fan following.
6
‘The Big Bang Theory’ (2007 – 2019)
Created by Chuck Lorre
Another acclaimed Chuck Lorre sitcom, The Big Bang Theory follows the everyday lives of socially awkward scientific geniuses Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons). Along with their friends, Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and Rajesh Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar), and their neighbor and Leonard’s love interest, Penny (Kaley Cuoco), Leonard and Sheldon navigate life, work, relationships, and more on the mean streets of Pasadena, getting into various hilarious situations. Later seasons also include new characters like neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik), microbiologist Bernadette Rostenkowski (Melissa Rauch), and comic book store owner Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman).
The Big Bang Theory is a wildly funny and nerdy comedy about two physicists, an engineer, an astrophysicist, a struggling actor, a microbiologist, and a neuroscientist, exploring the distinct ways in which they deal with friendship, love, and work while also discovering themselves. Deeply rooted in geek culture, the show is an entertaining and relatable watch for those who love comics, movies, video games, and debating the relative merits of Star Trek vs. Star Wars. With a talented ensemble cast delivering award-winning performances, the show is a major pop culture landmark, and it has inspired numerous spin-offs and sequels (with varying levels of success).
5
‘That ‘70s Show’ (1998 – 2006)
Created by Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner, and Mark Brazill
A landmark period teen sitcom, That ’70s Show follows the lives of five friends in ’70s Wisconsin, Eric (Topher Grace), Michael (Ashton Kutcher), Jackie (Mila Kunis), Donna (Laura Prepon), Fez (Wilmer Valderamma), and Hyde (Danny Masterson). The show follows their everyday lives, spent mostly in Eric’s basement, where they’re a constant source of annoyance for his parents, Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) and Red (Kurtwood Smith). One of the biggest sitcom hits of the late ’90s, That ‘70s Show is notable for launching the careers of many of its stars and is a surprisingly accurate representation of 1970s pop culture.
Following the struggles of adolescence and self-discovery in small-town America, That ‘70s Show is a timeless coming-of-age sitcom that’s further elevated by its sharp writing and breakout performances. The show earned several accolades during its initial broadcast, receiving 16 Emmy nominations and multiple Teen Choice Awards. The show’s success has inspired multiple adaptations and sequels, most recently the Netflix sequel sitcom That ’90s Show, which follows a new generation of teens discovering life in the Forman family basement.
4
‘Modern Family’ (2009 – 2020)
Created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan
An acclaimed, multi-award-winning sitcom, Modern Family is a mockumentary comedy that follows the lives of three diverse families in suburban Los Angeles, all of whom are interrelated through the wealthy patriarch, Jay Pritchett (Ed O’Neill), and his adult son and daughter. As the title suggests, the series explores what family life is like in the modern context, following nuclear, blended, and same-sex family units as they each navigate comical representations of real-life situations and conflicts. Besides O’Neill, the show features Sofía Vergara, Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter, Nolan Gould, Rico Rodriguez, and more in lead roles.
Modern Family was one of the most popular and successful sitcoms during its initial broadcast, winning a whopping 22 Emmy Awards. Though it certainly wasn’t the first TV comedy to use the mockumentary style, the series uses the technique very effectively to deliver hilarious insights into its quirky subjects. The show has earned praise from critics and fans for its progressive writing, lovable characters, endlessly rewatchable storylines, and solid performances, especially by Vergara, Burrell, Ferguson, and Bowen.
3
‘The Office’ (2005 – 2013)
Developed by Greg Daniels
Adapted from the hit UK sitcom of the same name, The Office is a mockumentary series that follows the employees at a small, regional branch of a paper company, exploring their personal and professional lives over the course of many years. Steve Carell leads the ensemble cast as the eccentric regional manager Michael Scott, with John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, Mindy Kaling, B. J. Novak, and more in key roles. The show is widely credited with popularizing the single-camera mockumentary format, paving the way for subsequent shows like Modern Family and Abbott Elementary.
The Office is a quirky and highly relatable show that draws endless laughs from the antics and dynamics of its everyday characters. With a highly talented ensemble cast, the show features some truly entertaining performances and storylines that make you laugh, cringe, and occasionally break your heart. Every season of the show is genuinely engaging, even the weaker ones, and it has appropriately garnered a ton of major awards and developed a dedicated following that’s still going strong over a decade since its end.
2
‘30 Rock’ (2006 – 2013)
Created by Tina Fey
Created by and starring Saturday Night Live alum Tina Fey, 30 Rock is a satirical sitcom inspired by Fey’s personal experiences on the legendary sketch comedy show. Following the day-to-day madness behind the scenes of a fictional sketch show on NBC, the series explores office politics, eccentric staff, and corporate meddling, all of which lead to hilarious results. Besides Fey, the series also stars Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit, Judah Friedlander, Katrina Bowden, and more in lead roles.
Part surrealist comedy, part workplace sitcom, 30 Rock is easily one of the most unique, meta sitcoms of all time. Anchored by Fey and Baldwin’s stellar performances and chemistry, the series presents a raw and unfiltered look at the production of the shows you know and love, with layered jokes and sharp writing that genuinely make you laugh out loud. The show is widely regarded as one of the greatest TV sitcoms ever made and has won a host of major awards, including multiple Golden Globes and Emmys.
1
‘Friends’ (1994 – 2004)
Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman
One of the most iconic TV shows of all time, Friends revolves around the lives of six friends in their 20s and 30s who all live in Manhattan, exploring their various misadventures. As they navigate love, life, and work in the big city, they meet all sorts of eccentric characters and get into hilarious situations, which are often made worse by the actions of their friends. The series features an ensemble cast that includes Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer.
Friends is the rare example of a sitcom that achieved consistent acclaim and ratings throughout its time on the air, ranking within the top 10 of TV season ratings with every single season. The series is easily one of the most popular sitcoms ever produced, enjoying an international fan base, and it’s often ranked among the best TV shows of all time. The series finale was the most-watched television episode of the 2000s (not just the year, but the decade as a whole), and its enduring popularity led to the creation of a short-lived spin-off, Joey, and a 2021 reunion special, Friends: The Reunion.
