Seinfeld
Hey, does anybody remember when I posted a list of my favorite TV dramas? You don’t?! It was in late August. Quite popular, really. Surprised you missed it. Anyway there’s been a great demand for a similar post listing my favorite all-time sitcoms. I’m not one to disappoint my public (other than by continuing to write). This isn't a list of the twenty greatest sitcoms ever made. It's a list of the twenty that have given me the most yuks. I've watched most of these shows all the way through more than once. You may note that they span over seventy years. Three of them debuted in the 1950s, five in the 1970s and five more in the 2010s. Only one aired at all in the Sixties when I was growing up (Benny). It was a terrible decade for the medium. I didn't include The Simpsons for two reasons: one, it's animated and two it's gone on way, way, way too long. Some of these shows faded a bit toward the end of their runs but all had great staying power. Seinfeld, for example, got funnier after a mediocre start and stayed hilarious until that last disastrous episode. Mary Tyler Moore also got better after its first season and stayed hilarious to the end. Meanwhile 30 Rock, Schitt's Creek and Fawlty Towers never missed a beat. One thing I've noted about virtually every successful sitcom is that there is a strong central character (Jerry, Liz, Mary etc.) with a strong supporting cast around them, many of whom are scene stealers. There are also terrific ensembles such as with Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
1. Seinfeld
2. 30 Rock
3. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
4. Schitt’s Creek
5. Fawlty Towers
6. Extras
7. Frasier
8. Men Behaving Badly (British version)
9. Taxi
10. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
11. Brockmire
12. The Bob Newhart Show
13. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
14. The Odd Couple
15. The Phil Silvers Show
16. The Jack Benny Program
17. Hacks
18. Only Murders in the Building
19. Burns and Allen
20. Derry Girls
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