10 Hilarious Sitcoms That Are Bangers From Start to Finish

Sitcoms are an underrated form of television because people don’t often take them seriously. Thinking they’re just some unserious show trying to be funny can apply to some, but not all sitcoms; in fact, there are TV sitcoms that are bangers from start to finish and have made it to legendary ranks over time. New or old, they make proper great television.

Currently running sitcoms like It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and Abbott Elementary are bangers, but we can’t place them here since they’re not finished; narrowing down the category doesn’t help, as there are numerous sitcoms that have ended and are brilliant, like The Golden Girls, the gold standard (pun intended) or Frasier, a legendary sitcom that’s as underrated as it is loved. Besides these two honorable mentions, the following ten really are near-perfect masterpieces.

10

‘New Girl’ (2011–2018)

Created by Elizabeth Meriwether

Endlessly rewatchable, New Girl is one of those sitcoms where every character is relatable at a different phase in one’s life. Relating to each of them feels normal, from the ambitious and pedantic Schmidt (Max Greenfield) to the frugal and messy Nick Miller (Jake Johnson); it’s possible to love two wildly different characters equally. New Girl is a wholesome ensemble sitcom that lasted for seven seasons. OK, so it got rocky at times, but it definitely held up well over time, wrapping up all of its sparked relationships and narratives into fairly satisfying conclusions.

New Girl follows teacher Jessica Day (Zooey Deschanel), who breaks up with her boyfriend and answers a roommate ad for a loft in LA. There, she meets her three potential roommates: Schmidt, Nick, and Coach (Damon Wayans Jr.), who is later replaced by Winston (Lamorne Morris). Apprehensive about living with three men at first, Jess becomes fast friends with the trio and the show continues to follow their personal lives and relationships as they grow older together. It’s an endearing show full of beautiful life lessons and laugh-out-loud moments that can comfort you over the weekend.

New Girl

Release Date

2011 – 2017

Network

FOX

9

‘Derry Girls’ (2018–2022)

Created by Lisa McGee

Only three seasons long, Derry Girls is one of the best modern sitcoms and a series that’s as hilarious as it is heartfelt from start to finish. The show depicts the life of a group of high school girls in Derry, Northern Ireland, widely based on creator Lisa McGee‘s own life while she attended a Catholic school. The characters are wholesome, the jokes land perfectly every time, and there are some interesting things to learn about Northern Ireland in general (since the show includes some real-life events from the 1990s).

The protagonists are Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), Orla (Louisa Harland), Clare (Nicola Coughlan), Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell), and Michelle’s English cousin, James (Dylan Llewelyn). The show follows their adventures through high school as they struggle with personal identity, love, success, and growing up in general. Some of the most prominent events during the final years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland are also depicted, weaving together historical importance with a wholesome teen comedy.

8

‘The IT Crowd’ (2006–2013)

Created by Graham Linehan

One of the most quotable and memorable sitcoms of all time is Channel 4‘s The IT Crowd. People use one-liners from this series to this day, from “Did you see that ludicrous display last night?” to “Fire, exclamation mark,” reminiscing and revising one of the funniest shows ever made. It’s not the first show Matt Berry has made that ranks as legendary, but it is the one that made global audiences a lot more aware of his irresistible comedic appeal. Let’s not forget the trio—Richard Ayoade, Chris O’Dowd, and Katherine Parkinson—who prove to be comedy legends themselves throughout the show.

The IT Crowd follows the IT department of a large company located in London. Maurice (Ayoade) and Roy (O’Dowd) work in the basement as tech support, though they’re rarely summoned. One day, they get a department manager, Jen (Parkinson), who is placed as their supervisor, though she knows nothing about IT. The show is clever, continuously entertaining and fun, and all four seasons of the show are rewatchable, without any misses. Some of its jokes also deserve a second look.

7

‘The Good Place’ (2016–2020)

Created by Michael Schur

Many wouldn’t call The Good Place a sitcom, but, technically, it is. Its episode runtime and single-camera setup say it is, though it often flirts with being a regular comedy series due to a lack of a laugh track and analysis of deep topics, like ethics and philosophy. It’s one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, continuously praised by both audiences and critics for its brilliant storytelling, performances, and direction. It has exceptional character development that never feels forced, and it was perfectly structured throughout its four-season run.

The Good Place follows the residents of “the Good Place,” a place in the afterlife that accommodates people whose moral scores were high during their mortal lives. Eleanor (Kristen Bell), rude and amoral, and Jason (Manny Jacinto), a small-time criminal, believe they’ve been sent to the Good Place by mistake. Their assigned soulmates, ethics professor Chidi (William Jackson Harper) and wealthy socialite Tahani (Jameela Jamil), help them cope with the possible mistake. The first season’s plot twist is one of the coolest of any series, but the rest of the show successfully follows the events.

6

‘Schitt’s Creek’ (2015–2020)

Created by Dan Levy and Eugene Levy

The father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy gave us one of the most wholesome and funniest sitcoms of the 2010s, Schitt’s Creek. Including a great glow-up arc for an entire ensemble, the show stands the test of time as a brilliantly funny sitcom that stays good to the very end. Schitt’s Creek has plenty of accolades to boast about, having won all the award categories they were nominated for in 2020, when the final season aired. The Levys also star in the series, besides the brilliant Catherine O’Hara and Annie Murphy.

Schitt’s Creek follows the Rose family, whose business tanks after Johnny Rose’s (Eugene Levy) business manager takes all of his money and runs away with it. With nothing left, but a small town called Schitt’s Creek in Canada, which he once purchased for his son David (Dan Levy) as a birthday present, Johnny and his family move there to start anew. Living in a rundown motel, Johnny, David, the mother/wife, Moira Rose (O’Hara) and the sister/daughter, Alexis (Murphy), go through the trials and tribulations of a poor life. The characters are ridiculous but often relatable in their struggle to adapt; the show is perfect throughout all six seasons.

5

‘What We Do in the Shadows’ (2019–2024)

Created by Jemaine Clement

Inspired by their very underrated vampire movie What We Do in the Shadows, Jemaine Clement got some help from Taika Waititi to create a sitcom of the same name for the American market, though only two of the core cast members are American — the rest are British. The chemistry between the cast members is fantastic, and they’re obviously very particular comedians in their own respect. The show is funny, often very emotional, and full of hidden sparks of genius and creativity that require a rewatch or even a rewind. You can easily turn on any episode of What We Do in the Shadows out of context and enjoy it as a brilliantly unique piece of television.

What We Do In the Shadows follows a group of vampires living in one house on Staten Island—the Greek vampiress Nadja (Natasia Dimitriou); her English husband, Laszlo (Matt Berry); the Persian warrior and conqueror Nandor (Kayvan Novak); the energy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch); and Nandor’s familiar, Guillermo (Harvey Guillen). The vampires are shown through the lens of a film crew in a mockumentary style, and their task is to conquer New York, though it’s proving harder than they thought. With beautiful execution and even better performances, the series outshone the feature film, becoming canon in the modern sitcom world.

4

‘Parks and Recreation’ (2009–2015)

Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur

Another Michael Schur sitcom, Parks and Recreation, often finds its way to the best of the best lists, and for good reason. A broad net of brilliant comedic talents stars on the show, often stealing scenes with their presence and character; from the grumpy, cynical department director Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) to the underrated and often misplaced Jerry Gergich (Jim O’Heir), there’s rarely been a huge ensemble that functions like a family like this. Led by Amy Poehler as the ambitious and forever optimistic Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation is often celebrated for its greatness.

Parks and Recreation is set in Pawnee, Indiana, and follows the government employees of the Parks and Recreation department. Leslie Knope is the lead as an ambitious wannabe politician, but the show depicts her day-to-day duties at the office, where plenty of her coworkers are up to no good of their own. A show with iconic side characters, Parks and Rec had an awkward beginning that ended with flawless execution, becoming the equivalent of both a warm hug and a pep talk.

3

‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ (2013–2021)

Created by Dan Goor and Michael Schur

The undisputed king of sitcoms, Schur co-wrote Brooklyn Nine-Nine with Dan Goor and created one of the best-written sitcoms of our time. It has snappy jokes, running gags, and brilliant slapstick moments, and they all happen with zero dip in quality across eight beautiful seasons. There are some personal development moments for each character, but we watch and witness them open up to each other, reach their full potential, and become their best selves over time. The ensemble cast is brilliant, led by Andy Samberg, though the comedic standout is the show’s only non-comedian, Andre Braugher.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine follows the police squadron of Brooklyn’s 99th precinct in NYC. Detectives Jake Peralta (Samberg) and Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) are best friends and frequent partners, while Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) and Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) often pair up, too, despite being very different. The precinct gets a new Captain in the first few episodes, Raymond Holt (Braugher), and the detectives are forced to adapt to his no-nonsense attitude and pragmatic personality. There are other iconic side characters and episodic appearances, making Brooklyn Nine-Nine one of the greatest ensemble shows ever made.

2

‘The Office’ (2005–2013)

Created by Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Greg Daniels

The Office is the television icon no sitcom-based list can go without. The ultimate mockumentary series has many seasons, and each is great in its own way, making the entirety of the show a banger from start to finish. Whether you prefer the earlier or later seasons, the series’ entirety is often met with adoration from loyal fans (though critics disagreed with some of its latter seasons). The show was technically created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who starred in the original British version of The Office, but Greg Daniels, co-creator of Parks and Rec, was the series’ showrunner in America for its first four seasons.

The Office follows the employees of a fictional company called Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The office’s regional manager is Michael Scott (Steve Carell), and he oversees a group of bored and often misaligned employees, from the ambitious and sometimes smug Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) to the over-it-already Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling). The characters stand out with their antics and personalities over time, with people finding a favorite in each one; it’s one of the most loved and most quoted sitcoms of all time.

The Office

Release Date

2005 – 2013-00-00

Network

NBC

1

‘Malcolm in the Middle’ (2000–2006)

Created by Linwood Boomer

Many would protest over this, but true fans know Malcolm in the Middle is a banger sitcom, often underrated and misunderstood, but still perfect from beginning to end. The show is a classic dysfunctional family story, but it aged superbly well (considering it was made in the 2000s, the wildest era for 21st-century television). Malcolm in the Middle shows the struggles of imperfect parents, though it is shown mainly from the perspective of their kids, but as we grow older and some of us become parents ourselves, rewatching the show makes us find the parents a lot more relatable, which gives it a whole new life in a way.

Malcolm in the Middle follows the titular Malcolm (Frankie Muniz), the third of four (later five) boys in his family; his older brother Francis (Chris Masterson) is sent to military school due to a lack of discipline, and Malcolm becomes the middle child, between his brothers Reese (Justin Berfield) and Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan). Malcolm is a gifted child, with an IQ of 165, and his cognition is often more advanced than the rest of his family’s; the show depicts his adaptation within a middle-class family, as well as their relationships with other family members. Bryan Cranston portrays the father, Hal, and despite him being Heisenberg in Breaking Bad, Hal is his most memorable character to anyone who grew up watching this brilliant sitcom.

NEXT: 10 Underrated Sitcoms That Secretly Slap