What Are The Best Sitcoms To Watch?

What are the best sitcoms to binge-watch that have impressed the audiences with their hilarity and wit for decades? Viewers have started to relate to the endearing characters of these sitcoms, who have now become a part of their lives.

Here is a list of some of the most iconic sitcoms of the past three decades (not necessarily in that order), and the list is far from complete. These are the best sitcoms to watch for people of all age groups.

1) Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013 – 2021)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the American police procedural sitcom, definitely merits the top place in the list of the best sitcoms to binge-watch. It is one of those shows that always keeps the audience excited, never having a dull moment. The show also deals with several social issues without being too preachy. Brooklyn Nine-Nine has recently released its eighth and final season, with only two episodes remaining.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine follows a stern Commanding officer, Captain Raymond Holt, played by Andre Braugher and his quirky team of detectives in Brooklyn’s fictitious 99th Precinct.

The protagonist is the fun and lovable Detective Jake Peralta, played by Andy Samberg, who was initially always at loggerheads with his boss, but later develops a father-son bond with him.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine also has a brilliant supporting cast that includes Melissa Fumero as Amy Santiago, Stephanie Beatriz as Rosa Diaz, Terry Crews as Terry Jeffords, Joe Lo Truglio as Charles Boyle, Dirk Blocker as Michael Hitchcock, and Joel McKinnon Miller as Norm Scully. Chelsea Peretti also featured as Gina Linetti in seasons 1 to 6. Michael Schur and Dan Goor are the creators of the show.

After Season 5, Fox canceled the show, which prompted its worldwide fans to demand its revival, including some prominent celebrities like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Hamill, Dalai Lama, and Paul Manafort. This support encouraged NBC to renew it from Season 6.

You can watch the first seven seasons of Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Netflix and Hulu. All the seasons, including season 8, are available on NBC, Hulu+ Live TV, and Peacock TV.

2) Schitt’s Creek (2015 – 2020)

Schitt’s Creek will be the best choice if you are looking for a heartwarming show that will make your heart smile and fill it with love. The show created history by winning the most number of awards in a single season of the Emmys. Other than the awards, Schitt’s Creek has also won the hearts of millions of people.

This Canadian show holds the distinction of one of the best portrayals of the LGBTQ+ community by far. In fact, the show’s creators even received several letters from fans, saying that the show has created an enormous impact on the lives of the people of the LGBTQ+ community. In the materialistic world that we live in, Schitt’s Creek shows us how important love and family are for us.

For all these reasons, Schitt’s Creek should definitely be on your list of the best sitcoms to binge-watch. The father-son duo, Eugene Levy and Dan Levy, have created and starred in this series.

Schitt’s Creek shows the story of an extremely wealthy family being forced to move to a small town called Schitt’s Creek after losing all of their money. The family consists of Johny Rose (played by Eugene Levy), Moira Rose (played by Catherine O’Hara), and their adult children, David Rose (played by Dan Levy) and Alexis Rose (played by Annie Murphy).

Though they initially face several challenges adjusting to this new life, the Rose family gradually realizes that they received something way more precious after losing their fortune. The people of the town teach the initially distant family how to love. The gradual development of all the characters is shown beautifully.

Though the show did not gain popularity during its first few seasons as the first season does not properly showcase the series’s beauty, it gradually received its well-deserved popularity in the later seasons as viewers finally started to realize how wonderful it is, making it one of the best sitcoms to binge-watch.

Schitt’s Creek is available on Netflix, CW Seed, Pop TV in the USA, and CBC Gem in Canada. You can buy it on YouTube TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play.

3) F.R.I.E.N.D.S. (1994 – 2004)

There is hardly any doubt that F.R.I.E.N.D.S. tops the list of the best sitcoms to watch, at least on the popularity front. It has also won many awards, including the Outstanding Comedy Series award in 2002. The series revolutionized how television sitcoms were presented, breaking many taboos of that time and becoming a torchbearer of pop culture. It is certainly one of the best sitcoms to watch.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S. follows the day-to-day lives of six adult friends who are almost always together, living in Manhattan, New York City. It focuses on the phase of the six friends’ lives when they have just started earning and have come out of their parents’ shadows, with their friends becoming their family.

The fans find the characters to be very relatable, and the way the friends stick with one another through all the ups and downs of their personal and professional lives has touched the hearts of millions of fans.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S. is a show that you can watch a million times without getting bored as watching the reruns of the fun-filled episodes of this timeless show still evokes the same feeling of fun and nostalgia amongst all the fans. It explains why it is considered one of the best sitcoms to binge-watch by the enormous number of fans that it has earned.

The sitcom has a total of ten seasons, consisting of 236 episodes that David Crane and Marta Kauffman have created for NBC. The ensemble cast includes Rachel Green (played by Jennifer Aniston), Monica Geller (played Courtney Cox), Phoebe Buffay (played by Lisa Kudrow), Ross Geller (played David Schwimmer), Chandler Bing (played by Mathew Perry), Joey Tribbiani (played Matt LeBlanc), who returned for a Reunion Special on HBO Max on May 27, 2021. The Reunion Special also had several fans joining the show, including some massive names like David Beckham, Malala Yousafzai, Lady Gaga, BTS, Cara Delevingne, Justin Bieber, Cindy Crawford, and James Corden (who was the host).

F.R.I.E.N.D.S. is available on Netflix and HBO Max. You can also buy the sitcom episodes from Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, Google Play, and Vudu.

4) The Office (2005 – 2013)

The Office is a workplace comedy television show that narrates the life and hilarious misadventures of some people working in a mid-size paper company named Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, Pennsylvania. This mockumentary is the American version of its BBC original, adapted for American viewers by Greg Daniels.

This popular TV show is one of the highest-rated sitcoms of this century, being the most streamed show of 2020 and included by Rolling Stone on its “Hundred Greatest TV Shows of All Time.” So, The Office definitely deserves a place in the best sitcoms to binge-watch.

Though many viewers did not like the first season of the series, The Office redeemed itself from its second season, making the viewers fall in love with the show’s witty writing. The Office contains several heartwarming moments, and the fans love the quirky friendship between Jim Halpert and Dwight Schrute, making it one of the best sitcoms to watch.

Its cast includes Steve Carell as Michael Scott, John Krasinski as Jim Halpert, Jenna Fischer as Pam Beesly, Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute, Angela Kinsey as Angela Martin, Ellie Kemper as Erin Hannon, Ed Helms as Andy Bernard, and Creed Bratton as Creed Bratton. Some other cast members, including Mindy Kaling (who plays Kelly Kapoor), B. J. Novak (who plays Ryan Howard), and Paul Lieberstein (who plays Toby Flenderson), have also directed, produced, and written numerous episodes of The Office.

You can watch The Office on Amazon Prime Video and Peacock.

5) The Big Bang Theory (2007 – 2019)

The Big Bang Theory depicts the tales of a group of introverted friends, including brilliant but socially awkward physicists Dr. Leonard Hofstadter (played by Johnny Galecki) and Dr. Sheldon Cooper (played by Jim Parsons). They are accompanied by their similarly geeky and awkward friends and coworkers, aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz (played by Simon Helberg), and astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali (played by Kunar Nayyar). They all work at Caltech University in California.

Leonard and Sheldon share an apartment. Their lives completely change when a classically beautiful Penny (played by Kaley Cuoco), an aspiring actress and works as a waitress, becomes their neighbor.

Filmed in front of a live audience, The Big Bang Theory is the longest-running multi-camera sitcom of all time. The show has twelve seasons in all, having 279 episodes, and was created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, while Mark Cendrowski directed it.

Though some fans complained that some parts of the series were a bit stretched, and some fans can’t seem to understand why everyone tolerates the annoying Sheldon Cooper, The Big Bang Theory has managed to make its viewers laugh throughout the series, and is one of the highest rated sitcoms in America. It also ends on a beautiful note, making the show one of the best sitcoms to watch.

The Big Bang Theory is available on HBO Max. It is also available for purchase on iTunes, Vudu, Google Play, and Amazon Prime Video.

6) Rick and Morty (2013 – Present day)

Rick and Morty is an American science fiction animation sitcom keeping in mind the adult audience. The series follows the grandfather-grandson duo of Rick and Morty, where the grandfather, Rick, is a cynical scientist, and Morty is his grandson. The latter accompanies him in his crazy interdimensional adventures. Every episode of the series is known to be raising some relevant social issues in its own unique, quirky way.

Rick and Morty always seems to amaze the audience with its out-of-the-box thinking and creativity. Due to this, it has its way to the list of the best sitcoms to watch for many viewers. The show has been conceptualized by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, while the voiceovers are by Justin Roiland, Chris Parnell, Spencer Gammer, and Sarah Chalke.

Rick and Morty is available on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim and Hulu.

7) Modern Family (2009 – 2020)

Modern Family is a sitcom about three modern and unconventional families in suburban Los Angeles who remain united despite their many differences. The families are related to one another, and how they deal with their everyday situations makes it an exciting and hilarious watch. The characters speaking directly into the camera in the confessional segments make the series even more epic. The sitcom is presented in a mockumentary style, having been conceived by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan.

In the course of eleven seasons and 250 episodes, Modern Family has won 22 Emmy awards, including five for the Outstanding Comedy Series. It also holds the honor of being ABC’s longest-running comedy series. So, a lot of fans consider it to be one of the best sitcoms to watch.

The cast includes Sofia Vergara as Gloria, Ed O’Neill as Jay Pritchett, Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy, Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell Pritchett, Eric Stonestreet as Cameron Tucker, Aubrey Anderson as Lily Tucker Pritchett, Sarah Hyland as Haley Dunphy, Ariel Winter as Alex Dunphy, Nolan Gould as Luke Dunphy, and Rico Rodriguez as Manny Delgado.

You can watch Modern Family on Hulu and Peacock Premium.

8) How I Met Your Mother (2005 – 2014)

A group of friends living in Manhattan, New York City, is the focus of this sitcom. As the title suggests, the protagonist, Ted Mosby, an architect, recounts to his children, Luke and Penny, the events spread across a period of eight years that led him to meet their mother. This romantic drama sitcom has been very popular and has won many awards as well. So, it scores among the list of the best sitcoms to binge-watch.

How I Met Your Mother has 208 episodes spread over nine seasons. Though some fans are upset with the ending of the series, How I Met Your Mother is a highly fun-filled sitcom to watch, with each character bringing something exciting and unique to the table.

The show stars Josh Radnor as Ted Mosby, Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson, Cobie Smulders as Robin Scherbatsky, Jason Segel as Marshall Eriksen, and Alyson Hannigan as Lily Aldrin.

You can now stream How I Met Your Mother on Hulu, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video.

9) The Simpsons (1989 – Present day)

The Simpsons holds the record of longest-running scripted prime time American series, spanning over 30 seasons. Having won countless awards as well, The Simpsons definitely merits the list of the best sitcoms to watch.

The series revolves around the dysfunctional Simpsons family living in Springfield town. The family includes Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie, their dog named Santa’s little helper, and their cat, Snowball II. The hilariously depicted ups and downs that the family faces actually parodies American lifestyle, society, and culture.

Besides being one of the greatest animation sitcoms ever, The Simpsons has done what no other show can imagine doing. Several times, it has been eerily accurate at imaging the future.

Some of the mind-blowing predictions are Donald Trump’s presidency in Season 11 Episode 7, Disney owning Fox in Season 5 Episode 10, and the discovery of Higgs Boson particle in Season 10 Episode 2. These are some of the reasons why the series is considered one of the best sitcoms to watch.

The Simpsons is currently on air on Disney+.

10) Parks and Recreation (2009 – 2015)

Parks and Recreation is another workplace comedy series after The Office. The sitcom is about the employees of the Government’s Parks department in the fictional city of Pawnee, Indiana.

This mockumentary sitcom is a political satire showing the red-tapism in the bureaucracy. In Parks and Recreation, Leslie Knope, played by Amy Poehler, is a bureaucrat working in the Parks department who wishes to convert a construction site into a community park but faces numerous hurdles.

Greg Daniels and Michael Schur have created the 126 episodes and seven seasons. The cast includes Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins, Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford, Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer, Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate, Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt, and Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson. As it shares its creators with The Office, the format of both the shows is very similar.

After the series ended in 2015, the cast reunited in 2020 for Specials to benefit Covid-19 Relief Funds.

You can watch Parks and Recreation on Peacock and Hulu to find out why it is one of the best sitcoms to watch.

11) Two and a Half Men (2003 – 2015)

Spread across twelve seasons and 262 episodes, Two and a Half Men has been a laughter ride right from its beginning. This sitcom follows a bachelor jingle writer, Charlie Harper, whose carefree life turns upside down when his divorced and good for nothing brother, Alan, along with his ten-year-old nephew, Jake, come to stay with him at his Malibu beach house. Charlie Harper’s character dies after Charlie Sheen had trouble with the producers, and Ashton Kutcher replaced him as Walden Schmidt, a billionaire who buys the beach house.

Though a lot of fans claim that the series started to go downhill after the death of its main character, Charlie, it is still one of the best sitcoms to binge-watch for a lot of its viewers.

Created by Lee Aronsohn and Chuck Lorre, Two and a Half Men, for its hilarity, definitely ranks in the list of the best sitcoms to watch. The main cast includes Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper, Jon Cryer as Alan Harper, and Angus T. Jones as Jake Harper.

Initially made for CBS, Two and a Half Men is now available on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

12) Seinfeld (1989 – 1998)

Often compared to another popular sitcom, F.R.I.E.N.D.S., Seinfeld, too, revolves around a group of friends living life together in New York City. It consists of 180 episodes over a period of nine years and nine seasons. Seinfeld has also been described as a show about nothing but has still managed to be remembered as one of the best sitcoms to watch to date. Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld have created the show.

Seinfeld focuses on Jerry Seinfeld, the stand-up comedian who plays a fictionalized version of himself, along with his three friends. George Costanza (played by Jason Alexander), his former girlfriend, Elaine Benes (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Cosmo Kramer (played by Michael Richards), his neighbor.

Seinfeld will be available on Netflix from October 1, 2021.

13) BoJack Horseman (2014 – 2020)

BoJack Horseman (Image Credit Netflix)

BoJack Horseman is an American animated sitcom that shows the struggles of a horse named BoJack Horseman trying to return to the world of fame several years after starring in a 1990s sitcom.

BoJack is appointed a ghostwriter named Diane Nguyen to write his autobiography after he failed to write it himself. He deals with addiction and depression because of feeling worthless after failing to find work following the end of his sitcom.

The series also shows how his roommate, Todd Chavez, agent, Princess Carolyn, and former rival, Mr. Peanutbutter affect his life.

The critically acclaimed show has gained massive popularity for talking about issues like depression, sexuality, addiction, racism, and self-destructive behavior. It has also won several awards.

You can watch BoJack Horseman on Netflix.

14) Never Have I Ever (2020 – Present day)

Premiered on April 27, 2020, Never Have I Ever is an American teen drama sitcom. Its main character is an Indian American overachiever student, Devi Vishwakumar, played by the promising debutant Maitreya Ramakrishnan, who aspires to be the coolest kid in her school and to date the hottest guy in school. At the same time, she has to deal with the sudden death of her dad and the high-handedness of her mother.

The supporting cast includes Poorna Jagannathan as Devi’s mother, Dr. Nalini Vishwakumar, Richa Moorjani as Devi’s cousin, Kamala Nandiwada, Daren Barnet as Paxton Hall-Yoshida, Jaren Lewison as Ben Gross, Ramona Young as Eleanor Wong, and Lee Rodriguez as Fabiola Torres.

The tennis legend, John McEnroe, is the narrator of the series. Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher have created it, and the show is based on Mindy Kaling’s personal life experiences while growing up.

Never Have I Ever has brought a revolution in Hollywood by being the first series to represent the Indian and South Asian communities accurately. Most of the shows in the USA that show people of color are created and directed by white people, making them lose the authenticity of the culture. However, this series consists of several people of color as part of the cast and crew to make it as authentic as possible. If you want to watch a sitcom full of drama, this is one of the best sitcoms to binge-watch.

Never Have I Ever is streaming on Netflix.

15) Sex Education (2019 – Present day)

Sex Education is a British comedy-drama that deals with all kinds of sexual issues in a humorous way. The series educates people about various sexualities in a fun way.

It follows the lives of the socially awkward teenager, Otis Milburn (played by Asa Butterfield), his mother, Jean Milburn (played by Gillian Anderson), who is a sex therapist, and the various students, parents, and staff members of the fictional Moordale Secondary School.

Otis finds it very difficult to deal with the fact that his mother is a sex therapist. However, soon, he finds himself acting as the secret sex therapist of the school after a fellow student, Maeve Wiley (played by Emma Mackey), offers to become his partner in the business. Meanwhile, Otis’ best friend, Eric Effiong (played by Ncuti Gatwa), coming to terms with his sexuality and gradually learning to own it with pride, makes Sex Education even more special and one of the best sitcoms to binge-watch.

You can watch Sex Education on Netflix.

16) The Thick of It (2005 – 2012)

The Thick of It is a sitcom by BBC depicting the inner workings of the British Government and is held as a 21st-century answer to the 1980s epic political satire, Yes Minister.

This series is also a political satire, taking place in the fictitious Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship. The DOSAC is headed by a bumbling minister who is out of touch with reality.

Along with his team of advisors and public relations personnel, he is shown to be constantly in conflict with the bureaucracy and the media in a comical sort of way.

Created and directed by Armando Iannucci, who is also on the writing team, the main cast includes Peter Capaldi, Chris Addison, Joanna Scanlan, Polly Kemp, Chris Langham, and Will Smith. The Thick of It humorously shows several serious topics, making it a contender for one of the best sitcoms to watch.

The Thick of It by BBC is available on iPlayer, Netflix, Sky, Google Play, and Amazon Prime Video.

17) The Good Place (2016 – 2020)

The Good Place is an American sitcom created by Michael Schur. The show’s plot keeps evolving, which keeps the viewers excited all the time, making it worthy of being one of the best sitcoms to binge-watch. It is full of humor and surprises, which makes it one of the best sitcoms to binge-watch.

The Good Place deals with the afterlife. The fantasy sitcom shows four people named Eleanor Shellstrop (played by Kristen Bell), Chidi Anagonye (played by William Jackson Harper), Tahani Al-Jamil (played by Jameela Jamil), and Jason Mendoza (played by Manny Jacinto) finding themselves in “The Good Place” after their deaths. Things begin to get interesting when Eleanor realizes that she got there by mistake and was actually meant to be in “The Bad Place.” The sitcom hilariously shows how she tries to adjust to there and prevent anyone from suspecting that she does not belong there.

You can watch The Good Place on the NBC website and app and Netflix.

18) Mr. Bean (1990 – 1995)

Mr. Bean is easily one of the most popular, humorous and one of the best sitcoms to watch. Mr. Bean’s Rowan Atkinson is undisputedly one of the best-known comic characters in the world. The episodes of Mr. Bean are all outright hilarious, with Mr. Bean being the quirky person that he is, bringing in sheer chaos and utter misunderstandings even in simple everyday situations.

Though beyond this facade of mindless comedy, one can hardly miss the loneliness of Mr. Bean, who has nobody but his worn-out teddy for his company in his tiny apartment.

The show has received phenomenal success worldwide, leading to the production of two blockbuster Bean movies and an animated series after the end of the series.

This British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson himself, along with Richard Curtis, merits a mention in the best sitcoms to watch. Almost every kid of every generation has grown up watching Mr. Bean, making it worthy of being called one of the best sitcoms to watch.

Mr. Bean is available on Tubi, Pluto TV, and Vudu.

Stay connected with MediaScrolls to know about more of the best sitcoms to binge-watch, and let us know if there are any more contenders to be on the list of the best sitcoms to watch.