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There are just too many sitcoms to watch on television. But if audiences had to pick and choose, it would be the ones that either laid the foundation for the genre, showed how to turn the mundane into something hilarious, or struck the perfect balance between humor and heart without becoming overly sentimental.
Although comedy is subjective, making people laugh is a skill. It takes sharp writing, memorable characters, and plenty of creativity to remain relevant and funny for years on end. Whether they’re workplace comedies, family sitcoms, or stories about a quirky group of friends, the best sitcoms know how to keep viewers coming back for more. Without further ado, here are some great sitcoms you’ll wish you had watched sooner.
10
‘Seinfeld’ (1989–1998)
Popularizing the “show about nothing” format, Seinfeld is a hodgepodge of situations, ranging from the ordinary to the absurd, all seen through the eyes of aspiring comedian Jerry Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld). Whether it’s trying to get through New York traffic during Puerto Rican Day celebrations or celebrating an anti-capitalist version of Christmas called Festivus, each episode delivers a fresh surprise.
It’s a risky premise for a sitcom to launch without an overarching narrative, but Seinfeld succeeds because of its ensemble’s great chemistry. Jerry and his friends aren’t exactly model citizens, and each has a knack for stumbling into hilariously self-sabotaging situations. But if there’s one thing funnier than being a mess on your own, it’s being a mess together.
9
‘Friends’ (1994–2004)
There’s nothing cooler than having a support system you can count on, like the one in Friends. These late-twenties New Yorkers don’t exactly have their lives figured out. Whether it’s dating a software millionaire, working with dinosaur fossils, or trying to make amends with an estranged father, no matter what challenges they face, they always have each other to lean on.
The reason Friends became a global phenomenon is that friendship is a universal language everyone understands. Each of the six leads has a striking, memorable personality, and not a single one of them fades into the background. Whether you’re a perfectionist like Monica or fun-loving and free-spirited like Phoebe, we all know someone like these characters in our own lives.
8
‘St. Denis Medical’ (2024–Present)
In St. Denis Medical, the highly optimistic executive director Joyce Henderson (Wendi McLendon-Covey) is determined to shake things up at St. Denis Regional Medical Center. Still, with the staff already overwhelmed by the nonstop demands of hospital life, the last thing they need is another initiative piling onto their workload.
Hospitals are some of the most unforgiving places to work, and St. Denis Medical never shies away from that reality. Rather than glossing over the stress, exhaustion, and emotional toll of the job, the series finds humor in the chaos that healthcare workers face every day. There’s a unique camaraderie that comes with people being pushed to their limits, and St. Denis Medical delivers that workplace frustration with laugh-out-loud gags.
7
‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ (2013–2021)
Crime never sleeps in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The tenacious yet highly immature Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) solves cases as if they’re games. But when the stern Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher) arrives at the precinct, Peralta’s in for some disciplining. Across eight seasons, however, Brooklyn Nine-Nine proves that having fun on the job doesn’t mean taking the work any less seriously.
Considering Samberg’s background on Saturday Night Live, it’s no surprise that the same energetic comedy fuels Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Every running gag feels like a comedic sketch, and the series is packed with memorable inside jokes that have become internet-famous memes. Yet what elevates the show, apart from the humor, is that they don’t reduce the nature of police work to a mere joke.
6
‘Schitt’s Creek’ (2015–2020)
Schitt’s Creek follows the wealthy Rose family after they lose their fortune to a fraudulent accountant and are forced to relocate to Schitt’s Creek, a tiny town Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy) once bought as a joke. Stripped of their lavish lifestyle, Johnny, Moira (Catherine O’Hara), David (Dan Levy), and Alexis (Annie Murphy) must adapt to life in a rundown motel while adjusting to the quirks of their new small-town neighbors.
Part of the fun of Schitt’s Creek is watching the hilariously out-of-touch Roses struggle with ordinary life. Audiences will find themselves laughing — or simply baffled — by just how disconnected the family is from reality. But what makes the show truly special is that it never treats its characters as hopeless. Their steady growth turns this comedy about losing everything into a fervent story about finding where you belong.
5
‘One Day at a Time’ (2017–2020)
With three generations sharing one home, One Day at a Time shows the highs and lows of a Cuban-American family living in Los Angeles. Single mother Penelope Alvarez (Justina Machado) doesn’t quite have parenting in the bag. And with outspoken children like Elena (Isabella Gomez) and Alex (Marcel Ruiz), she’s going to need a lot of help from her fiercely traditional mother, Lydia (Rita Moreno).
While packed with lively family banter, One Day at a Time tackles heavy issues such as absent parents, substance abuse, and American citizenship. The Alvarez family isn’t afraid to call each other out, but they do so not to demean one another, but to uplift each other. They’re not the white-picket-fence family that’s supposedly the ideal, but they’re real, flawed, and genuine — making the show’s humor all the more earnest.
4
‘Modern Family’ (2009–2020)
There are nuclear families, and then there’s Modern Family. Following three different households under the same Pritchett family umbrella, the series takes audiences on a front-row journey through the joys, challenges, and growing pains of family life. As the children mature into adults, their parents discover that raising kids doesn’t come with a manual — and that they’re still figuring out their own lives along the way.
Modern Family dismantles the idea of the “picture-perfect” family. There’s often an unspoken expectation that families should look and function a certain way, but the show proves otherwise through its hilarious misunderstandings, heartfelt moments, and wonderfully chaotic scenarios. The likable sitcom family’s imperfections make the show all the more relatable, showing that families aren’t defined by perfection but by their ability to learn, adapt, and grow together.
3
‘Parks and Recreation’ (2009–2015)
Similar to The Office, Parks and Recreation initially struggled to find its footing in its first season. But by Season 2, the show fully embraces its identity, largely thanks to Leslie Knope’s (Amy Poehler) unwavering optimism — a trait rarely found in the often cynical world of government offices.
Like most workplace sitcoms, Parks and Recreation finds humor in the mundane, but its greatest strength is in its belief that people can genuinely make a difference. The best part is that these colleagues aren’t even trying to be funny — yet even the most deadpan characters are capable of kindness, growth, and lasting friendship. Rather than relying solely on sarcasm or dysfunction, the show celebrates community in public service.
2
‘Kim’s Convenience’ (2016–2021)
Kim’s Convenience follows the Kim family, first-generation Korean immigrants who run a small convenience store in Toronto’s Moss Park neighborhood. Appa (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) and Umma (Jean Yoon) regularly find themselves in awkward yet laughable situations, often misunderstanding social norms despite having lived in the country for years. But their cluelessness is part of the charm.
Family comes first in Kim’s Convenience. Appa and Umma genuinely want to understand a changing world, even when they struggle to connect with their Canadian-born children, Jung (Simu Liu) and Janet (Andrea Bang). While generational and cultural clashes are inevitable, Kim’s Convenience shows that a little humor can bridge even the widest family divides.
1
‘Ghosts’ (2021–Present)
Haunted mansions aren’t all that scary in Ghosts. When Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay Arondekar (Utkarsh Ambudkar) inherit the sprawling Woodstone Manor, they decide to turn it into a charming bed-and-breakfast. Their renovation plans hit an unexpected snag, however, when they discover the property is already occupied by eccentric spirits.
The spirits in Ghosts are unironically full of life. While they generate plenty of laughs by constantly meddling in Sam and Jay’s plans, they also bring depth to the series. Each ghost is carrying unresolved regrets that keep them tied to the manor, and watching the Arondekars help them work through those issues — within their limited, Earthly capacity — is both hilarious and heartwarming.
- Release Date
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October 7, 2021
- Directors
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Christine Gernon, Jaime Eliezer Karas, Katie Locke O’Brien, Nick Wong, Jude Weng, Pete Chatmon, Richie Keen, Alex Hardcastle, Kimmy Gatewood, Matthew A. Cherry, Cortney Carrillo
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Rose McIver
Samantha Arondekar
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Utkarsh Ambudkar
Jay Arondekar
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https://collider.com/best-sitcoms-wish-you-watched-sooner/
Dyah Ayu Larasati
Almontather Rassoul
