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America is a nation powered by its television sets. By extension, then, it would be hard to overstate the cultural significance of the American sitcom. Ever since the 1960s, television has been indispensable to the average American family, but back then, the programming was mostly depressing news (JFK assassination, the Civil Rights era, the Vietnam war), variety shows (see: The Ed Sullivan Show), and talk shows (see: The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson). Sitcoms in this period of TV’s infancy looked like Leave it to Beaver or Gilligan’s Island: in other words, sanitized, wholesome situations intended to please a large and diverse group of people. But outside the living room, the culture of the '60s was changing. Young people in particular were interested in sexual, religious, and economic freedom from what they felt was an oppressive society.
Amidst these cultural changes, television began to change accordingly. During the '70s, television started getting socially conscious: Good Times showed the first complete black family on television living normal lives, paving the way for The Jeffersons and, later in the decade, the groundbreaking Roots; M*A*S*H was a hit mostly because it was filled to the brim with sharp criticisms against war and aired during the height of the Vietnam War; Three’s Company starred two single women and a single man living together (scandalous!).
But the '70s was also the decade that birthed HBO, and along with cable television came regulation-free content. HBO changed the entire game: Throughout the '80s, television dramas (Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere) were more highly regarded than sitcoms. While some all-time, feel-good classics such as Cheers, The Cosby Show, and Full House also came out of the '80s, television sitcoms in general got more outspoken (Roseanne) and provocative (Moonlighting) as the years went on, and popular culture followed suit alongside the advent of MTV and talk shows like Oprah.
All of this is to say that television in general, but sitcoms in particular, tend to act as a reflection of our society. Nowadays, with the advent of Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, and the myriad other ways of streaming original content, we have more television than ever before, and sitcoms tends to skew more adventurous and groundbreaking (see: black-ish, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Married...with Children). That means ranking the best sitcoms of all time is a difficult task: There’s more stuff to choose from, and more people watching them just waiting to fight someone in the comments...but, we tried anyway.
Related: Best TV Shows of 2017
30 Rock (2006-2013)
Network: NBC
Stars: Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Alec Baldwin, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer
There are very few sitcoms that are on the same level as 30 Rock. The series offers a behind the scenes look at a comedy show on NBC, which is a very effective way to satirize Tina Fey’s time on Saturday Night Live. 30 Rock owes most of its excellence to its talented ensemble cast and top-notch writing, but it also benefits from being completely bonkers and unafraid to push the boundaries. There were entirely live shows, elaborate musical set pieces, and they broke the fourth wall more times than one could count. Alec Baldwin’s portrayal of Jack Donaghy in particular—easily one of the most iconic sitcom performances of modern times—coupled with Tina Fey’s unparalleled talent for writing cutting satire, plus some of the most quotable lines of the decade (I mean, the woman also wrote Mean Girls) equals absolute greatness.
Seinfeld (1989-1998)
Network: NBC
Stars: Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, Jason Alexander
One of the most ironic things about Seinfeld is that while it more than earned its place on any top sitcom list, it’s hard to really say why. Any objective description would have to admit that it’s a show that stars four self-obsessed, unsuccessful, unethical, and otherwise horrible New Yorkers who do absolutely nothing for nine seasons. And yet...it somehow worked well enough that the history of Seinfeld has irreversibly stained popular culture, and mostly for the better. I’m thinking here of the Soup Nazi, the man fur, the man hands, and Jerry’s stand-up shows that bookend each episode and are just so easy to make fun of. Because what is the deal with airplane food, anyway?
Arrested Development (2003-Present)
Network: Fox, then Netflix
Stars: Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross, Jessica Walter, Jeffrey Tambor
The humor on Arrested Development is unlike the humor on any other show. The dysfunctional Bluth family is a television sitcom masterpiece, what with their general lack of respect for one another and society as a whole. It might sound hyperbolic, but the comedy gods shined a light on the writing and casting of this show, blessing the perfect ensemble cast with perfect timing, just the right amount of irony, and a healthy pinch of wit. It's a clever, self-referential brand of humor that is interested in playing the long game, consistently upping the ante so that when the punchline does come, it lands in the most satisfying way. Netflix revived the show for a fourth season in 2013 after it was very rudely canceled by Fox back in 2006, and although reception was somewhat divided, a fifth season, which will reportedly be set up like a murder mystery, is set to premiere in 2018.
The Office (2005-2013)
Network: NBC
Stars: Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, Mindy Kaling
The Office’s mockumentary style was crucial to its ironic humor: How could a failing paper company office in Scranton, Pennsylvania with a tactless, attention-seeking boss and a host of bizarre workers have been so funny for nine seasons without those fake interviews and Jim’s classic direct-to-camera glances? In fact, the style was so successful for The Office that it started a mockumentary trend that made so many other workplace sitcoms so enjoyable (Parks and Recreation, Workaholics). And even though the show’s length made it so the structure became entirely ridiculous (who shoots a documentary about Dunder Mifflin for nine years?), Steve Carell’s hysterical performance carried the show through whatever insane situation the writers could come up with. Add Jim and Pam’s will-they-or-won’t-they love story to the mix—which, at this point, is almost as iconic and recognizable as Ross and Rachel or goddamn Romeo and Juliet—and you’ve got yourself a classic modern sitcom.
Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-Present)
Network: HBO
Stars: Larry David, Jeff Garlin, Cheryl Hines, Susie Essman
It can hard to draw the line between Larry David’s quintessential curmudgeonly writer-type character on the show and his real life personality, but that’s part of the magic of a sitcom like Curb Your Enthusiasm. This dark comedy takes a sick pleasure in devoting all of its time lobbing incredibly cynical and biting (yet relatable) insults at anyone and everyone as a way of criticizing accepted social conventions and everyday life. Larry David is selfish, snarky, nasty, and impossible not to binge watch. After going six years without a new season, it’s FINALLY returning for season 9 in October 2018 on HBO.
The Cosby Show (1984-1992)
Network: NBC
Stars: Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Lisa Bonet, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keshia Knight-Pulliam
It’s hard to grapple with the magnitude of The Cosby Show and its significant cultural impact both for television and for black culture in light of the many serious sexual misconduct allegations against Bill Cosby. But it’s possible to celebrate the legacy of an important sitcom while also standing in stark opposition to the actions of its headliner; the legacy of The Cosby Show is a spectacular one. The Cosby Show wasn’t always interested in tackling big issues head-on like All in the Family, but it was radical in its own right in its depiction of a happy, upper middle class black family living a “normal” life in the '80s. It was impossible not to love the Cosby family: They were relatable, funny, and wholesome. And audiences showed that love: For five straight seasons (the show was on the air for eight), the sitcom was number one in the Nielsen ratings, an accolade the sitcom only shares with All in the Family. In this way, by demonstrating that black life is not a monolith, The Cosby Show paved the way for modern shows like black-ish, Insecure, and Atlanta, which each depict different facets of the African American community.
All in the Family (1971-1979)
Network: CBS
Stars: Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner, Sally Struthers, Danielle Brisebois
“I never said a guy who wears glasses is a queer. A guy who wears glasses is a four eyes, a guy who’s a fag is a queer,” said Archie Bunker on an episode of All in the Family, in a perfect representation of the show’s thorny tone. The show took shots at bigotry by placing its racist, sexist, and all around “politically incorrect” Archie Bunker center stage as the family’s patriarch, thereby shining a harsh light on the short-sighted hypocrisy of his opinions. It was a landmark show for the time and remains eerily relevant, especially in #TrumpsAmerica. Bonus fun fact: The Jeffersons, another excellent sitcom, started as an All in the Family spin-off show that focused on what would happen when a black family moved in next door to the Bunkers.
Louie (2010-Present)
Network: FX
Stars: Louis C.K., Pamela Adlon
If you’ve ever seen a Louis C.K. stand-up show (and you should), you’re familiar with his ability to find the humor in the most inappropriate of situations. His eponymous sitcom, which he writes, directs, and stars in, carries the same slightly absurd tone of his stand-up while putting the comedian, who plays a slightly fictionalized version of himself in situations that range from banal, like taking care of his daughters, to utterly bizarre, as when Louis goes on live television to defend masturbation. It’s purposefully not always laugh-out-loud funny, and episodes are actually often tinged with hints of sadness or terror, but that’s exactly why it works as a sitcom. It’s a slice of life seen from the eyes of a brilliant guy who knows how to tell a good story, which makes Louie a rare gem in a sea of predictable, lukewarm television.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-1996)
Network: NBC
Stars: Will Smith, James Avery, Alfonso Ribiero, Karyn Parsons, Tatyana M. Ali
First of all: Name a more memorable opening theme song. Yeah, I’ll wait.
On its surface, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air feels like lighthearted, feel-good sitcom that is only interested in profiting off of Will Smith’s sky-high charisma and giving him beautiful female guest stars with whom he could flirt. But even if you’ve only heard the first few lines of the previously mentioned fire theme song, you already know that, at some point, the show is going to have to deal with two of America’s thorniest issues: race and class. Will Smith is the outsider from a rough neighborhood who learns to live within his rich uncle’s house and his new family’s (pretty white) world, even though memories of his past haunt him at every turn. That subtle cultural criticism is the undercurrent that drives Fresh Prince and makes it one of the '90s most remarkable and important stories.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977)
Network: CBS
Stars: Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Asner, Valerie Harper, Gavin MacLeod, Ted Knight
The Mary Tyler Moore Show was the first show on television to have a single, independent, working woman as its protagonist. Mary was a representation of the modern woman, and the show was pleasantly self-aware: It took every opportunity to illustrate the spectrum of casual and overt sexism Mary faced on the job and it gladly explored the reality of being a happy single woman (casual sex and all), but it also was a genuinely funny and often heartwarming depiction of life during a period of extreme cultural change in America. The show is also a seminal example of what a sitcom can do. On paper, it was about Mary’s job as an associate producer at a news channel, but in reality, it was about the relationships Mary fostered and how the characters developed, thereby creating a realistic and believable world that hadn’t been showed on TV before and paving the way for future workplace sitcoms to come.