these are the timeless shows that keep
us glued to the tube no matter what the
era welcome to watchmojo.com and today
we’re counting down our picks for the
top ten sitcoms of all time the moment
we were waiting for that table in a
Chinese restaurant that time that could
be a condition for this list we’ve
incorporated live-action shows that
continued for more than one season on an
American network which unfortunately
means we’ve excluded long-running
animated sitcoms like The Simpsons
we’ve also decided our picks must
include an ensemble recurring cast of
four or more actors number ten Modern
Family
a fresh spin on documentary style
sitcoms this comedy plays up the family
angle by following the lives of each
separate unit as part of the larger
whole with the family comprised of three
very different couples and their
offspring Modern Family has a
far-reaching perspective of very
different people from all ages sexes and
orientations redheaded aunt it’s angry
daddy no I’m not yes you are but it
still manages to balance the situational
humor of each person’s individual
interactions Oh a beautiful dress I
thank you fear okay it was Phil so she
says Phil not feel huh yeah number nine
Roseanne the Connors were the royal
family of blue-collar nobility hey Rosie
husband nothing as a lower middle class
household their on-screen struggles
resonated with a wide demographic Jackie
you’re only three days overdue I have a
three-day-old child inside of me
watching the family persevere through
hardships or revel in small triumphs it
was easy to see why the show was so
popular freeze right there when I tell
you about killing your brother in the
living room but underneath all the
sarcasm and in spite of their various
hardships they displayed a bond that can
only come from surviving and enduring in
the face of adversity it may not have
been highbrow but Roseanne was
definitely well-written and always edgy
what are you gonna tell Krystle what I
always tell her to give up on romance
and get married
work for us
number eight The Mary Tyler Moore Show
single self-sufficient and not searching
for a man the character of Mary Richards
became a symbol for women’s liberation
yes Mr Man I will but it does seem that
you’ve been asking a lot of very
personal questions that don’t have a
thing to do with my qualifications for
this job instead of focusing on her
struggle to find love the show
concentrated on Mary’s relationships
with friends and co-workers some of whom
became so beloved they earned their own
spin-off series you got spunk
well I hate spunk societal issues were
facts of life and not causes to be
championed and the series even found
humor in death not only was Mary Tyler
Moore a favorite with critics and
audiences it also influenced sitcoms
that followed it including friends go
ahead feel bad if you want feel bad if
you want number 7 friends
six friends living and loving in New
York but friends was groundbreaking when
it debuted and it truly became a
cultural phenomenon from the hairdos and
giant coffee mugs to Joey’s are you dude
to Ross and Rachel’s break we were on a
break this series was packed with
memories and quotables and helped shape
a generation of 20-somethings with sharp
writing and unparalleled cast chemistry
it was a consistent winner at the award
shows and in the ratings that refreshed
the sitcom format once again good
friends be any more of a hit huh Nate
this is not your fault just because you
guys had a fight does not justify her
sleeping with someone well if if she
thought they were on a break
number six match
adapted from the 1970 movie of the same
name mash was an offbeat comedy satire
about the highs and lows of war play a
little darker at the finish though it
was set in Korea it began during and
paralleled the Vietnam War carefully
walking the line between observing war
and protesting it throw away all the
guns and invite all the Joker’s from the
north and the south in here to a
cocktail party last man standing on his
feet at the end wins the war mash
followed a mobile medical unit and all
the flamboyant characters who worked in
it and it was the show’s brains candor
and pitch perfect cast that won over its
loyal following he did it again screwed
up in Reverse after 11 Award winning
seasons that cast packed their bags and
what remains the most watched US TV
finale of all time I’ll miss you a lot
I can’t imagine what this place would
have been like if I hadn’t found you
here
number five Cheers
though it was nearly axed by NBC in its
first season due to low ratings cheers
is now considered one of the greatest
sitcoms ever taking place in the
eponymous Boston pub where everybody
knows your name
Cheers chronicles the lives of staff and
patrons alike with many colorful
characters pulling up a stool at the bar
will you marry me no what the hell is
happening after 11 seasons on the air 28
Emmy wins and an equally successful
spin-off in Frasier Sam alone and
Friends closed up shop with one of the
most watched TV finales in US history
you know what I think the most important
thing in life is it’s love you want to
know what I love dear Don yeah number
four I Love Lucy after working on stage
and in radio Lucille Ball and her
husband Desi Arnaz took their signature
comedy style and pioneered sitcom
standards in the 1950s oh hey I’m glad
you’re home how’s about a great thing
I’ll see you later their craziness knew
no bounds but they always kept things in
good taste and that probably helped I
Love Lucy regularly topped the ratings
and win five Emmys but what made it
popular was its star whether she was
trying to join Ricky’s act raising her
son or working a new job this naive and
ambitious woman was always in trouble
which is why we love Lucy genus is a
sensational breakfast my gosh but you’re
a good cook close out on the phone with
the drugstore you left your hat down
there when you picked up these two
breakfast order number three all in the
family
this is the controversial norman lear
show the challenged bigotry
discrimination and the status quo Archie
Bunker was a symbol of bad middle-class
attitudes and political incorrectness
there was no target that Archie was
afraid to upset he actually thinks
because their Jewishness they’re smarter
their shrewder well you actually believe
that chunk when you listen to this guy
in it I agree with him that this modern
shrewd it he’s making out like I don’t
like the heaps in the show’s theme
archie longs for the good old days when
– what girls in my hormone but despite
his outdated philosophy and bigotry
edith Gloria and her man Mike stood by
him and tolerated his outrageous
behavior audiences did too as it was
number one for five years won awards and
had multiple successful spin-offs but
most importantly it brought real life to
the sitcom format ain’t you got nothing
better to do than ridicule your own
present you gotta admit he does lend
themselves to it nah nah watch watches
number two The Cosby Show
after sitcoms had seemingly run their
course
Bill Cosby stepped in with his signature
comedic style and renewed the genre Oh
your face your face your face I mean
it’s only one half of your face is made
up now are you going someplace else and
do the other side are you planning on
walking sideways all night
as dr. Heathcliff Huxtable Cosby and his
on-screen wife Claire are a happily
married couple raising their children in
an upper-middle-class neighborhood of
Brooklyn breaking ground not only for
sitcoms but also for african-americans
on TV The Cosby Show was a family comedy
that also dealt with serious issues you
are afraid to try because you’re afraid
that your brain is going to explode and
it’s gonna lose out of your hair but
always with lots of love respect and
laughs between its characters yeah man I
got married you know hide the nut hunt
it down yeah uh before we unveil our
pick for the top sitcom of all time here
are some honorable mentions cat cookies
what do you need cat cookies for
get that mangy thing at here if some
poor woman’s gonna pin her hopes on my
sperm what if she winds up with a
toddler who doesn’t know if he should
use an integral or a differential to
solve for the area under a curve
I’m sure she’ll still love him
I wouldn’t Lebanese girls are the new
half Asians hey you want to do something
tonight okay meet me at the bar in 15
minutes and suit up well the fact is I
play chess you play with her chest no
chess Fonzie did a game chess we didn’t
do anything I lied I am NOT your uncle
Phillip oh my fault mana must got the
wrong crib but yeah I know so many
brothers living in this neighborhood
we’re doing all right huh yes of course
we are moving up there’s no reason why
we have to look down on people I’m not
telling you to look down on nobody I’m
just saying to shift your angle and let
them start looking up to you number one
Seinfeld
taking the top spot on our list is the
show about nothing they say what’s your
show about I say nothing I think you may
have something here without any real
unifying plot this show made 90s TV with
its stars observational humor and the
chemistry between its characters
Seinfeld may not have won all the awards
but it’s the 90s sitcom we continue to
quote on a daily basis nothing for you I
come home and find my son treating his
body like it was an amusement park
serenity now Bernadine is you know the
show also crushes it in syndication and
spawned co-creator Larry David’s even
more meta sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm
and it’s all those reasons combined that
makes Seinfeld master of its domain
so you’re still master your domain yes
yes I am master of my domain do you
agree with our list
you guys make us look good
what do you think is the greatest sitcom
of all time for more TV top 10s
published every day be sure to subscribe
to watchmojo.com you know what I think
we can just leave it at that
you
us glued to the tube no matter what the
era welcome to watchmojo.com and today
we’re counting down our picks for the
top ten sitcoms of all time the moment
we were waiting for that table in a
Chinese restaurant that time that could
be a condition for this list we’ve
incorporated live-action shows that
continued for more than one season on an
American network which unfortunately
means we’ve excluded long-running
animated sitcoms like The Simpsons
we’ve also decided our picks must
include an ensemble recurring cast of
four or more actors number ten Modern
Family
a fresh spin on documentary style
sitcoms this comedy plays up the family
angle by following the lives of each
separate unit as part of the larger
whole with the family comprised of three
very different couples and their
offspring Modern Family has a
far-reaching perspective of very
different people from all ages sexes and
orientations redheaded aunt it’s angry
daddy no I’m not yes you are but it
still manages to balance the situational
humor of each person’s individual
interactions Oh a beautiful dress I
thank you fear okay it was Phil so she
says Phil not feel huh yeah number nine
Roseanne the Connors were the royal
family of blue-collar nobility hey Rosie
husband nothing as a lower middle class
household their on-screen struggles
resonated with a wide demographic Jackie
you’re only three days overdue I have a
three-day-old child inside of me
watching the family persevere through
hardships or revel in small triumphs it
was easy to see why the show was so
popular freeze right there when I tell
you about killing your brother in the
living room but underneath all the
sarcasm and in spite of their various
hardships they displayed a bond that can
only come from surviving and enduring in
the face of adversity it may not have
been highbrow but Roseanne was
definitely well-written and always edgy
what are you gonna tell Krystle what I
always tell her to give up on romance
and get married
work for us
number eight The Mary Tyler Moore Show
single self-sufficient and not searching
for a man the character of Mary Richards
became a symbol for women’s liberation
yes Mr Man I will but it does seem that
you’ve been asking a lot of very
personal questions that don’t have a
thing to do with my qualifications for
this job instead of focusing on her
struggle to find love the show
concentrated on Mary’s relationships
with friends and co-workers some of whom
became so beloved they earned their own
spin-off series you got spunk
well I hate spunk societal issues were
facts of life and not causes to be
championed and the series even found
humor in death not only was Mary Tyler
Moore a favorite with critics and
audiences it also influenced sitcoms
that followed it including friends go
ahead feel bad if you want feel bad if
you want number 7 friends
six friends living and loving in New
York but friends was groundbreaking when
it debuted and it truly became a
cultural phenomenon from the hairdos and
giant coffee mugs to Joey’s are you dude
to Ross and Rachel’s break we were on a
break this series was packed with
memories and quotables and helped shape
a generation of 20-somethings with sharp
writing and unparalleled cast chemistry
it was a consistent winner at the award
shows and in the ratings that refreshed
the sitcom format once again good
friends be any more of a hit huh Nate
this is not your fault just because you
guys had a fight does not justify her
sleeping with someone well if if she
thought they were on a break
number six match
adapted from the 1970 movie of the same
name mash was an offbeat comedy satire
about the highs and lows of war play a
little darker at the finish though it
was set in Korea it began during and
paralleled the Vietnam War carefully
walking the line between observing war
and protesting it throw away all the
guns and invite all the Joker’s from the
north and the south in here to a
cocktail party last man standing on his
feet at the end wins the war mash
followed a mobile medical unit and all
the flamboyant characters who worked in
it and it was the show’s brains candor
and pitch perfect cast that won over its
loyal following he did it again screwed
up in Reverse after 11 Award winning
seasons that cast packed their bags and
what remains the most watched US TV
finale of all time I’ll miss you a lot
I can’t imagine what this place would
have been like if I hadn’t found you
here
number five Cheers
though it was nearly axed by NBC in its
first season due to low ratings cheers
is now considered one of the greatest
sitcoms ever taking place in the
eponymous Boston pub where everybody
knows your name
Cheers chronicles the lives of staff and
patrons alike with many colorful
characters pulling up a stool at the bar
will you marry me no what the hell is
happening after 11 seasons on the air 28
Emmy wins and an equally successful
spin-off in Frasier Sam alone and
Friends closed up shop with one of the
most watched TV finales in US history
you know what I think the most important
thing in life is it’s love you want to
know what I love dear Don yeah number
four I Love Lucy after working on stage
and in radio Lucille Ball and her
husband Desi Arnaz took their signature
comedy style and pioneered sitcom
standards in the 1950s oh hey I’m glad
you’re home how’s about a great thing
I’ll see you later their craziness knew
no bounds but they always kept things in
good taste and that probably helped I
Love Lucy regularly topped the ratings
and win five Emmys but what made it
popular was its star whether she was
trying to join Ricky’s act raising her
son or working a new job this naive and
ambitious woman was always in trouble
which is why we love Lucy genus is a
sensational breakfast my gosh but you’re
a good cook close out on the phone with
the drugstore you left your hat down
there when you picked up these two
breakfast order number three all in the
family
this is the controversial norman lear
show the challenged bigotry
discrimination and the status quo Archie
Bunker was a symbol of bad middle-class
attitudes and political incorrectness
there was no target that Archie was
afraid to upset he actually thinks
because their Jewishness they’re smarter
their shrewder well you actually believe
that chunk when you listen to this guy
in it I agree with him that this modern
shrewd it he’s making out like I don’t
like the heaps in the show’s theme
archie longs for the good old days when
– what girls in my hormone but despite
his outdated philosophy and bigotry
edith Gloria and her man Mike stood by
him and tolerated his outrageous
behavior audiences did too as it was
number one for five years won awards and
had multiple successful spin-offs but
most importantly it brought real life to
the sitcom format ain’t you got nothing
better to do than ridicule your own
present you gotta admit he does lend
themselves to it nah nah watch watches
number two The Cosby Show
after sitcoms had seemingly run their
course
Bill Cosby stepped in with his signature
comedic style and renewed the genre Oh
your face your face your face I mean
it’s only one half of your face is made
up now are you going someplace else and
do the other side are you planning on
walking sideways all night
as dr. Heathcliff Huxtable Cosby and his
on-screen wife Claire are a happily
married couple raising their children in
an upper-middle-class neighborhood of
Brooklyn breaking ground not only for
sitcoms but also for african-americans
on TV The Cosby Show was a family comedy
that also dealt with serious issues you
are afraid to try because you’re afraid
that your brain is going to explode and
it’s gonna lose out of your hair but
always with lots of love respect and
laughs between its characters yeah man I
got married you know hide the nut hunt
it down yeah uh before we unveil our
pick for the top sitcom of all time here
are some honorable mentions cat cookies
what do you need cat cookies for
get that mangy thing at here if some
poor woman’s gonna pin her hopes on my
sperm what if she winds up with a
toddler who doesn’t know if he should
use an integral or a differential to
solve for the area under a curve
I’m sure she’ll still love him
I wouldn’t Lebanese girls are the new
half Asians hey you want to do something
tonight okay meet me at the bar in 15
minutes and suit up well the fact is I
play chess you play with her chest no
chess Fonzie did a game chess we didn’t
do anything I lied I am NOT your uncle
Phillip oh my fault mana must got the
wrong crib but yeah I know so many
brothers living in this neighborhood
we’re doing all right huh yes of course
we are moving up there’s no reason why
we have to look down on people I’m not
telling you to look down on nobody I’m
just saying to shift your angle and let
them start looking up to you number one
Seinfeld
taking the top spot on our list is the
show about nothing they say what’s your
show about I say nothing I think you may
have something here without any real
unifying plot this show made 90s TV with
its stars observational humor and the
chemistry between its characters
Seinfeld may not have won all the awards
but it’s the 90s sitcom we continue to
quote on a daily basis nothing for you I
come home and find my son treating his
body like it was an amusement park
serenity now Bernadine is you know the
show also crushes it in syndication and
spawned co-creator Larry David’s even
more meta sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm
and it’s all those reasons combined that
makes Seinfeld master of its domain
so you’re still master your domain yes
yes I am master of my domain do you
agree with our list
you guys make us look good
what do you think is the greatest sitcom
of all time for more TV top 10s
published every day be sure to subscribe
to watchmojo.com you know what I think
we can just leave it at that
you
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