Lifestyle of a Fashionista

10/25/24

Do you enjoy a good laugh? Would you like to escape from the headlines? If so, it might be time to watch (or rewatch) a sitcom. I’ve rewatched a few this past month and find it relaxing and entertaining.

What makes a good sitcom? Just like all other forms of entertainment, this is a subjective question. A sitcom should make you laugh, comfort you, provide water cooler chat, and highlight sensitive topics while making us laugh.

If you want to know more about sitcoms, watch The History of Sitcoms on Max.

The Best Sitcoms

I grew up in the ’70s and ’80s. I watched new sitcoms where episodes were released weekly, and I watched reruns of shows that aired in the ’60s and early ’70s. I enjoyed putting this post together, and as I researched this topic, I was reminded of the many sitcoms I have watched over the years. I love sitcoms!

Thanks to the many streaming services, you can watch or rewatch some of the best sitcoms.

Here are some best lists:

From RollingStone: The Best TV Sitcom of All Time

From Backstage: The 22 Best Sitcoms of All Time

From AARP: This Is the All-Time Best Sitcom in TV History — Can You Guess What It Is?​

My favorites, broken down into categories:

This was difficult to do, there are so many entertaining sitcoms that have aired over the years. Not all of these are available to stream.

Sitcoms centered around family, friends, work, and fitting in. These shows allowed us to laugh at things we experienced, and we could relate to the characters and their problems.

Families

The family sitcom has changed a lot over the years to reflect the changing world and the different types of families. The Ozzy and Harriet days turned into Modern Family and Schitt’s Creek.

1. Modern Family
2. Life in Pieces
3. Schitt’s Creek
4. Family Ties
5. The Brady Bunch
6. The Fresh Prince of Bell Air
7. American Housewife
8. Full House
9. Malcom in the Middle
10. Frasier

Honorable mentions:

• Black-ish
• The Jeffersons
• One Day at a Time
• Different Strokes
• Good Times
• Family Matters
• The Cosby Show (unfortunately problematic now)
• Growing Pains
• Who’s the Boss
• I Love Lucy
• Happy Days
• George Lopez
• The Goldbergs
• Fresh off the Boat
• Everybody Loves Raymond
• The Simpsons
• Bob’s Burgers

Friends

Sometimes, your friends feel like members of your family. Television shows reflected that bond.

From The Yardbarker: The 25 best TV sitcom neighbors

From CB: 10 Best Sitcoms About Friendship

1. Friends
2. Seinfeld
3. Happy Endings
4. Cougar Town
5. Will & Grace
6. How I Met Your Mother
7. The Big Bang Theory
8. Community
9. Martin
10. New Girl
11. Grand Crew

The Workplace

Laughing at workplace mishaps can be theraputic.

1. Cheers
2. Superstore
3. Abott Elementary
4. Just Shoot Me
5. Wings
6. The Office
7. Scrubs
8. Parks and Recs
9. Night Court
10. Taxi

Honorable mentions:

• WKRP in Cincinnati
• Murphy Brown
• Newhart
• Alice
• News Radio
• Brooklyn 99

Fitting In

It is fun to laugh at someone trying to fit in, including nerds and aliens.

• Perfect Strangers
• Mork & Mindy
• The Munsters
• The Adams Family
• Bewitched
• I Dream of Jeanie
• Sabrina the Teenage Witch
• Blossom

Women Leads and Friends

Mary Tyler Moore blazed the path for women to take the lead in sitcoms.

• The Golden Girls
• Designing Women
• The Facts of Life
• Laverene and Shirley
• 2 Broke Girls
• The Mindy Project
• The Mary Tyler Moore Show
• Maude
• Living Single

Flawed Characters

• Always Sunny in Philadelphia
• The Good Place
• Curb Your Enthusiasm
• Veep
• Mom
• Arrested Development
• All in the Family
• Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23
• Married with Children

Things we love about sitcoms:

The Laughs

Life can be rough and upsetting; sometimes, we need comic relief. Sitcoms are great for laugh-out-loud moments. One of the things I look for in a sitcom is laugh-out-loud moments.

From BuzzFeed: 20 Hilarious Sitcom Scenes That Should Be Experienced At Least Once

My top laugh out loud episodes:

Friends: There are a lot of funny moments on this show, it is one of my comfort shows that I can rewatch many times and quote. Three of my favorites involve Ross: The One with the Cop, Season 5, Episode 16 when Ross tries to get his couch home (“Pivot”), The O)ne With all the Resolutions, Season 5, Episode 11 (“The lotion and the powder mixed together and formed some sort of paste.”, and The One with Ross’s Tan, Season 10, Episode 3 ( Did you count Mississippi-ly?).

The Office: I have to admit I never watched all of The Office but I can think of one that made me laugh the most – Stress Relief, Season 5, Episode 14, where Dwight sets a fire in the office to test everyone’s fire drill response. Famous quote: “It’s happening!”

WKRP in Cincinnati: Turkeys Away, Season 1, Episode 7, Feeling left out by all the recent changes, Mr. Carlson decides to launch his own Thanksgiving promotion. With the aid of Herb and Les, the Big Guy turns a routine turkey give-away into a comic catastrophe. Quote: “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!“

Frasier: Three Valentines, Season 6, Episode 14. Niles gets ready for a date

The Good Place: The Trolley Problem, Season 2, Episode 6

Schitt’s Creek: Family Dinner, Season 2, Episode 2. “Fold in the Cheese”

The Escape from Our Problems

For 30 minutes we can laugh at the misfortunes of the characters.

The Quotes and Memes

From Complex: The Best One-Liners In Sitcom History

From Screenrant: 10 Quotes From I Love Lucy That Are Still Hilarious Today

From Reader’s Digest: 65 Favorite Friends Quotes That Couldn’t BE Any Funnier

Social media is filled with memes and quotes from our favorite shows. Here are a few memorable ones:

• “Hello, Newman.”
• “Kiss my grits.”
• “Norm!”

The Fashion and Trends

From InStyle: The Golden Girls Are Still the Best-Dressed TV Characters in History

Read more about sitcom styles: Menswear pundit Derek Guy draws lessons from classic sitcom characters’ style