We laughed, we cried, we raged against the dying of the light which sought to snuff out our personal favorite shows. Putting together a list like this is always equal parts painful and enjoyable for editors and writers, but I can't think of a better time to look back on the greatest sitcoms of all time. We have arrived at a glorious point in history, where watching an excellent TV show might finally be intellectually on par with reading a great book. Indeed, it still feels blasphemous to utter such a statement, but the Mad Mens, True Detectives (Season One, ahem), Transparents and Undergrounds of the world have forever changed things. And as we celebrate such fare, it's important to remember that these shows are all the descendants, in some way or another, of the good ol' sitcom. Families and relationships (and the dysfunctional and/or loving ties that bind them), workplace drama, compelling historical settings and characters who made even the mundane seem worthy of our attention-- these things are at the core of good storytelling. And Peak TV did not invent good storytelling in episodic form. The sitcom did that, and though it has evolved and morphed into the stuff of dreams, it always had those high-brow, cinematic qualities in its fiber. Some of our favorites managed to weave the high-brow with the low-brow; many of them seemed unconcerned with either brow, as long they made us happy.
So, with a focus on quality over nostalgia-- no matter how much it hurt-- the Paste editors and writers have chosen the 100 best sitcoms of all time. We apologize in advance that one (or more) of your favorites did not make the list. You can rest assured that many of our favorites didn't either (including some great British sitcoms we'll save for another list), which means we can all leave angry, but respectful, remarks in the comments section below, together. You know-- like one big, happy, dysfunctional family.-- Shannon M. Houston, TV Editor
It's odd to think that there are people living today who are only familiar with "born-again Christian" Kirk Cameron and not "hunky teen dreamboat" Kirk Cameron, but it's true. In truth, there's not much that sets Growing Pains apart from any other family sitcom of its day, but it somehow manages to be one of the most fondly remembered sitcoms of the '80s regardless, from its homey opening sequence of family photos to the classic theme song, "As Long As We've Got Each Other." It's perhaps most interesting for the sudden conversion of its star, Cameron, to born-again Christianity, which made working with him a challenge, considering his ladies' man character could suddenly no longer exhibit most of the behaviors that were expected of him.
Three's Company's best years were in the '70s, before the Ropers got their own ill-fated spin-off. But John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt remained until the series ended in 1984, three years after Suzanne Somers was replaced by Jenilee Harrison. If prime time wasn't ready for a gay character, it got around that taboo with Ritter's womanizing Jack Tripper pretending he was gay so that their stuffy landlord would allow him to stay. At its best, it was a slapstick hit, spinning silly misunderstandings into sitcom gold.