These sitcoms never fail to bring the laughs. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the funniest sitcoms of all-time.
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00:00 A lot of people in the room, you need more space, voila, right into the wall.
00:05 Wow.
00:05 Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the funniest sitcoms of
00:10 all time.
00:11 For this list, we're only including live action shows, so no animated series.
00:16 I got a big flow and I move a lot of things.
00:18 I got one.
00:19 I'd like your call if you have one.
00:20 Please.
00:21 Number 10, Community.
00:24 To follow this metaminded sitcom was to live in a constant state of dread.
00:28 You guys, can we put a pin in the B story and focus on the A story?
00:32 I don't trust A stories.
00:33 Never have, never will.
00:34 I had a set up about a story that was so placeholder, the punchline came five words early.
00:38 Ratings weren't great, and several times, it seemed like it was on the chopping block,
00:42 but this is a show that was always reinventing itself.
00:46 I don't want to stop.
00:47 We're airing out all this dirty laundry.
00:49 After that, we'll stop fighting forever.
00:50 Am I the only one that remembers our horrible camping trip?
00:54 It went from being about a sturdy group of misfits at a community college, to a surreal
00:58 pop culture pastiche filled with quirky non-sequiturs.
01:03 Unafraid to be completely nonsensical and blisteringly self-aware, Community more than
01:08 earned its cult status.
01:10 Okay, starting on my left with one, your number comes up, you go.
01:14 Just so you know, Jeff, you are now creating six different timelines.
01:16 Of course I am, Abed.
01:17 With its mix of showbiz veterans, seasoned pros, and a few new faces, the talent on display
01:23 is something truly special.
01:26 Number 9.
01:27 The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
01:29 Even forgetting its groundbreaking premise about a single career woman whose primary
01:33 goal wasn't to get married, The Mary Tyler Moore Show is still must-see TV.
01:38 Mary, the party's going great.
01:40 I know, I can't believe it.
01:42 Just great.
01:43 It's the best party you ever gave.
01:44 I mean, it's 9 o'clock and everybody's still here.
01:46 Part workplace sitcom, part buddy comedy, it followed Mary Richards, an associate producer
01:52 on the country's zaniest evening newscast.
01:56 The cast turned out to be so likable that three of them went on to start their own successful
02:01 spin-offs.
02:02 For seven seasons, the flagship show was one of the funniest ever,
02:05 "You feel like laughing, don't you?"
02:10 "Don't try to hold it back.
02:15 Go ahead, laugh out loud."
02:17 pushing past boundaries of feminism that previous shows merely tapped at.
02:22 Mary and company showed that being an absolute goofball could be revolutionary.
02:26 "And I'm afraid I'm going to have to let the rest of you guys go.
02:31 See, now, I'm not a guy.
02:35 Well, I'm not, I'm not."
02:38 Number 8.
02:39 Arrested Development.
02:40 The Bluths are a family who lost everything, and watching them flail while their previously
02:45 cushy life is systematically stripped away from them is comedy gold.
02:50 "So, I'm going to go see Dad, because this is my business to run now."
02:53 "Your business?"
02:54 "Hey!"
02:59 What Arrested Development did so well was create these climactic set pieces, where all
03:04 of its impossibly convoluted and unhinged subplots would suddenly connect.
03:09 "That's why you wanted me to give T-Bone a job to pay him back for burning down the
03:12 storage unit?"
03:13 "Michael, Michael, that's ridiculous."
03:15 "Well, I'm not hiring him.
03:17 We don't have the money, Pop."
03:18 "There's always money in the banana stand."
03:20 Coincidences, callbacks, and unexpected references to previous jokes and events were this show's
03:26 bread and butter.
03:28 Watching it was almost like a game of I Spy, as visual gags could be happening in the background
03:33 at any moment, and any single frame had more meme potential than any other show.
03:38 "And the hand chair!
03:39 I had one in my room!
03:40 I wonder where that went."
03:41 "It went right there."
03:42 "Well, I never thought I'd miss a hand so much."
03:46 Number 7.
03:47 The Jeffersons.
03:48 Norman Lear developed this all-in-the-family spin-off after members of the Black Panthers
03:53 expressed their displeasure at the way black families were depicted on TV.
03:58 The Jeffersons followed the recurring characters from Queens to a luxurious high-rise in Manhattan's
04:03 Upper East Side.
04:04 "And I'll just say, of course we are moving up.
04:08 There's no reason why we have to look down on people.
04:11 I'm not telling you to look down on nobody, I'm just saying to shift your angle and let
04:14 them start looking up to you."
04:16 Much of the show's humor is based on the unique class situation its main characters find themselves
04:21 in.
04:22 "Don't mind me, go right ahead.
04:23 What are you doing here?"
04:24 "I'm on your side."
04:25 "I'm behind you 100 percent."
04:30 George Jefferson's judgmental posturing and strutting was perfectly counterbalanced by
04:35 his sensible and grounding wife Louise, affectionately known as "Wheezy."
04:41 Many episodes find George contending with his own self-importance, which his wife, son,
04:46 in-laws, and housekeeper Florence are constantly keeping in check.
04:51 "Florence doesn't look too good."
04:52 "She never looks good.
04:55 I mean, I hope she's watching the dinner."
04:58 "Oh, damn.
04:59 Florence, what about the turkey?"
05:00 "Don't worry, turkey, that's plenty for you."
05:02 6.
05:03 Parks and Recreation
05:05 Talk to a lot of fans, and they will tell you this satirical mockumentary needed some
05:09 time to find its footing.
05:12 After a lackluster first season, the artists behind Parks and Recreation took some feedback
05:17 and retooled the tone.
05:19 It became warmer and far more funny as a result.
05:21 "What's 5,000 times better than a candle in the wind?"
05:25 "This song is called 5,000 Candles in the Wind."
05:30 By the end of its run, it was rare if you could get through an episode without crying
05:33 with laughter.
05:34 "Now I'm hot.
05:35 Now it's really hot in here."
05:36 "Okay, well that's your fever.
05:37 Leslie, I typed your symptoms into the thing up here and it says you could have network
05:42 connectivity problems."
05:44 Characters like Ron Swanson had entered the public lexicon, and Leslie Knope's irrepressible
05:49 optimism was almost aspirational.
05:52 As far as its popularity, even if you've never seen it, you've seen memes from it.
06:00 "Get up and make it happen."
06:07 Number 5.
06:08 The Golden Girls.
06:09 Before there was Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte, there was Dorothy, Blanche,
06:14 Rose, and Sophia.
06:15 "One over."
06:16 "And I'm a bag?"
06:17 "To the right."
06:18 "Didn't you grip?"
06:19 "Condoms, Rose!
06:20 Condoms, condoms, condoms!"
06:21 It's hard to overstate just how out of place a show about four women, over the age of 50,
06:31 was in the mid-1980s.
06:33 What was truly remarkable about The Golden Girls, though, was just how reliably and gut-bustingly
06:38 funny it was.
06:39 "I saw Blanche give Kendall Nesbit her keys.
06:42 She was furious.
06:44 She dropped a steak knife into her purse."
06:46 "Big deal.
06:47 I took a whole place in it."
06:48 "Not now, Blanche!"
06:49 The four characters shot off one-liners at a bracing pace, and its writers consistently
06:54 found new and surprising ways of playing off the ladies' established traits.
06:59 You always knew what flavor of joke was coming, and sometimes it was the anticipation of the
07:04 joke about Rose's stupidity or Blanche's popularity with men that made it even funnier.
07:09 "Oh, come on now.
07:10 We may be from different generations, but some things never change.
07:15 Love is love, period."
07:16 Number 4.
07:17 The Office.
07:18 In a modern mockumentary style, The Office revolves around a particularly insane group
07:23 of co-workers at Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, Inc.
07:26 "It was only a simulation."
07:28 "What?"
07:29 "Fire.
07:30 Not real.
07:31 This was merely a training exercise.
07:32 So, what have we learned?"
07:33 "Oh, come on.
07:34 It's not real, Stanley."
07:35 "Oh my god."
07:39 Through office pranks, ridiculous meetings, and heart-attack-inducing fire drills, we
07:44 get to know the dysfunctional staff and their somewhat incompetent supervisor, Michael Scott.
07:50 "Dundee!
07:51 The waitress tripped on the cord."
07:53 "All right.
07:54 All right.
07:55 Joke landed.
07:56 So we are here.
07:57 Thank you all for coming to the 2005 Dundee Awards."
08:01 Even the characters who act like they're above the antics are often revealed to be just as
08:05 down to clown.
08:07 It's so funny that even common sitcom subplots like "Will They" or "Won't They" romances
08:13 and disastrous dinner parties seem like they've never been done before.
08:17 "You just sit down.
08:18 Seriously."
08:19 "No, I was making people laugh."
08:20 "No."
08:21 "Yes, I was watching Jim's face."
08:22 "I was watching Jim."
08:23 "And he was laughing."
08:24 "No."
08:25 "Look, he's..."
08:26 "You smile."
08:27 "Look at him.
08:28 He's laughing."
08:29 Although never quite as dark as the British show it was based on, it has plenty of offensive
08:34 moments to go around.
08:36 3.
08:37 All in the Family
08:38 When we think of shows that wouldn't be made today, this Norman Lear classic usually tops
08:43 the list.
08:44 Despite its leading character's apparent bigotry, the show is written with a left wing bent
08:49 that always managed to make him look like a fool.
08:52 "And if you were prejudiced, you would, like some people, close their eyes to what's going
08:56 on in this great country that we live in.
08:58 But not you, Archie.
08:59 Your eyes are wide open.
09:00 You can tell the difference between black and white."
09:02 Adapted from a British sitcom, All in the Family is a distinctly American show.
09:08 Facing off against the most pressing issues of 1970s America, viewers might be shocked
09:13 at just how prescient and relevant it still is.
09:16 What made it work was that the makers' desire to educate us never overpowered their duty
09:21 to entertain us.
09:22 "I didn't have no million people out there marching and protesting to get me my job."
09:25 "No, his uncle got it for him."
09:28 Watching the working-class Bunker family stumble their way through sticky ideological territory
09:34 made it seem possible to confront the same issues in our own homes.
09:38 "Are you waiting for a special invitation?
09:41 I said breakfast is on the table."
09:43 "I heard you.
09:44 So did every moose up in Canada."
09:47 2.
09:48 Seinfeld
09:49 Rather than concentrating on social issues, or even the relationships of its characters,
09:54 Seinfeld was like a stand-up comedy bit taken to its extreme.
09:57 "There's too much urinary freedom in this society.
09:59 I'm proud to hold it in.
10:00 It builds character."
10:01 Inducted by Seinfeld's in-universe stand-up routines, the episodes focused on the quirks
10:06 of everyday social interactions and conventions.
10:10 Its cast of hilarious yet morally bankrupt characters were like the original poster children
10:15 of letting the intrusive thoughts win.
10:17 "You eat it, say thank you very much, wipe your mouth, walk away, I give you 50 bucks."
10:26 They acted out our worst impulses, and made us laugh precisely because they would do and
10:31 say the things we feel guilty for even thinking.
10:34 The creation of star Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, the show's ethos and aesthetic still
10:41 live on in memes and many of the shows that came after.
10:44 "The question is, are you still master of your domain?"
10:49 "I'm queen of the castle."
10:52 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:56 Friends
10:57 They made being in your 20s look so fun.
11:00 "His name was…"
11:01 "Lawrence."
11:02 "Correct, his profession was…"
11:03 "Space cowboy."
11:04 "Correct.
11:05 What is Chandler Bing's job?"
11:11 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
11:13 This long-running sitcom seems to set a new bar for unhinged comedy with every season.
11:18 "You're a master of karate and friendship for everyone.
11:24 Day man."
11:26 "Stage freeze."
11:27 "Don't say stage freeze, just do it."
11:30 30 Rock
11:31 A weekly celebration of eccentric characters and bad TV from the mind of Tina Fey.
11:36 "Well, it's almost Thanksgiving, everybody, and I know what this crowd's giving thanks
11:41 for.
11:42 Estate tax reform."
11:44 Abbott Elementary
11:45 Impeccable casting and chemistry make this workplace comedy a new classic.
11:50 "We need to get to the bottom of this."
11:52 "You know what?
11:53 I bet you I could get a shoe print.
11:54 Did you clean your desks off yet?"
11:56 "No."
11:57 "Nasty."
11:58 "Okay, does anybody know shoes?"
11:59 Schitt's Creek
12:00 You'll remember the experience, and you'll remember the name.
12:04 "Nobody knew where you were, and your phone was off!"
12:11 "I texted Alexis!"
12:12 "I'm sorry for not responding to like one text, David!"
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12:31 1.
12:33 I Love Lucy
12:34 It's not just that it literally was the blueprint for half-hour television comedy.
12:39 "Fine, you're doing splendidly.
12:41 Speed it up for her!"
12:48 It's that even after all these years, Lucy Ricardo is still one of the funniest characters
12:53 ever created.
12:55 From her increasingly desperate attempts to get into her husband Ricky's nightclub act,
13:00 to her attempts to strike out on her own, Lucy lived more fully than most people could
13:05 in a lifetime.
13:06 "I'll tell you what you have to do.
13:07 You have to take a whole table full after every meal."
13:13 Even the things Lucille Ball couldn't do well herself became great comedy.
13:17 She was always helped along by a group of stunning and game co-stars who could level
13:22 up the chaos, madness, and confusion at the drop of a hat.
13:33 What sitcom made you laugh the hardest?
13:35 Let us know in the comments.
13:45 Do you agree with our picks?
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