The 50 Greatest Sitcoms of All Time

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20. Scrubs

Running from 2001-2010, Scrubs took place in the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital. Narrated by Dr. John “J.D.” Dorian (Zach Braff), the cast of memorable characters is vast, from his best friend, surgeon Christopher “Chocolate Bear” Turk (Donald Faison) to J.D.’s nemesis The Janitor (Neil Flynn).

I still want a drill-fork, a knife-wrench, and a scooter named Sasha. And Hooch is still crazy.

19. Family Guy

The concept of Family Guy is funny by itself: a baby with an odd accent hell-bent on killing his mother, a talking dog, pedophile neighbor, dumb dad, and a comically-neglected daughter.

The real prize, however, is the flashbacks and spot on pop culture references geared towards children of the 80s… not to mention spontaneous marathon fisticuffs with a life sized chicken.

18. Modern Family

Billed upon arrival as ‘the next Arrested Development‘, this critically-acclaimed story of the new nuclear family blew past the hype and has delivered in each of its first 3 seasons.

The triumphant return of Ed O’Neill and Julie Bowen to the sitcom realm combined with the American sitcom debut of Sofia Vergara and an excellent cast of relative newcomers has Modern Family poised to make a long run and possibly enter Top 10 sitcom history if they continue to evolve.

17. The Jeffersons

This All in the Family spinoff was an incredibly funny show. George Jefferson was funny by himself- the walk and the talking alone was entertaining enough; the back and forth sparring with Florence was incredible, adding Tom, Bentley, and Helen it’s no wonder The Jeffersons was such a television success.

16. All in the Family

A truly groundbreaking show that featured an oxymoron as its main character. Archie Bunker was a “lovable bigot” that represented the Greatest Generation’s struggle with coming to terms with the changes that were occurring in 1970s America. All in the Family was also highly influential in its impact on television, spawning The Jeffersons and paving the way for the “offensive” television of today.

15. The Office (U.S.)

Being a huge fan of the UK version I was a bit hesitant when they said it was going to be remade for an American audience. Now in its final run I can safely say that this was one of my favorite shows. The Office has a cast of characters that I have grown to love and will never forget once the lights in the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch are turned off.

14. M*A*S*H

Irreverant, insightful, hysterical, moving, often times all within the same episode. M*A*S*H was the rare show that could balance many moods. It credited its audience for their intelligence and allowed its stories to explore the tragedy of war right alongside with the gallows humor. Great cast. The finale is still one of the most watched television programs in history.

13. The Simpsons

Twenty plus seasons, five hundred plus episodes! It might not be the same quality show we grew up with, but it’s still better than half the shows out there today. The pop culture landscape was changed because of The Simpsons. It has one of the ten greatest characters in television show history. Bumblebee man we salute… Gotcha. Homer Simpson! Way to Doh!

12. I Love Lucy

The most classic sitcom of them all, and probably still to this day the greatest female character in sitcom history. The adventures of Lucy and Ricky can still make people laugh half a century later. I Love Lucy ran for six seasons and was the number one show on television for four of them. It has been hailed as one of the greatest shows of all time by just about every authoritative poll there is.

11. Night Court

Set during the late shift in a Manhattan court room, Night Court ran from 1984-1992 and remains criminally underrated.

Presided over by the Mel Torme-loving Judge Harold T. Stone (Harry Anderson), this particular courtroom also introduced us to the sex-obsessed narcissist  Dan Fielding (John Larroquette), the lovable giant Bull Shannon (Richard Moll) and the ever sexy Christine Sullivan (Markie Post).

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