If you were to count up the hours of my life and the activities I have occupied them with, I believe a shockingly large portion would be dedicated to sitcom watching and rewatching.
However, this is not something I regret. Obviously, I could’ve spent this time with loved ones, learning something, or sitting outside, but I genuinely love watching my favorite TV shows. Consuming media is not always a negative thing; for example, books don’t carry the negative connotation of being time-wasters.
If you don’t like sitcoms, I hardly doubt I can change that, but if you haven’t given them a fair chance, I wholly recommend doing so. Their humor and lightheartedness draw you in, but the relationships and character arcs are always what makes me stay.
This may be the most self-representative piece of writing I ever put on the site, a tribute to the hours of my life spent analyzing and thinking about these shows: a guide to finding the perfect sitcom for you.
I believe the best place to start is The Office. A cult classic. Memorable characters, situational and verbal comedy, one of the greatest TV romances of all time. For most, this is the sitcom of all time, and its skillful balance of many different key aspects of a sitcom makes it great for diving right in. A lot of people consider the first season to be a little slow and hard to get through, but it’s only six episodes, so try to be patient—season two is my personal favorite. Also, there’s a pretty noticeable dip in quality once the main character, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) leaves the show, but the last seasons are still worth watching.
If your favorite part of The Office was watching Jim and Pam’s slow-burn romance develop through workplace games and moments of everyday monotony, then turn to Brooklyn 99 (B99).
B99 follows a squad of police detectives in New York City, with the exigence being Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher) taking charge of the 99th precinct. This show is a hit-or-miss for people, and some of the jokes can come across as cringy or plain unfunny. For me, it comes across as charming; additionally, this show tackles various issues like feminism, police brutality, and racism with grace, adding depth to otherwise shallow storylines. Yes, Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) is a predictable character, but that’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes, I want to turn on a show that isn’t laugh-out-loud hilarious but provides nostalgia for a time when the jokes would’ve made me laugh. I sound critical, but I honestly do love this show.
B99 aired from 2013 to 2021, and if the more modernized pieces of the show and the current issues appealed to you, Superstore is a great watch. It falls lower on my ranking when compared to the other iconic shows on this list, but I enjoyed it nonetheless, and it covers serious issues in the same way B99 does.
Staying on the theme of workplace sitcoms, Parks and Recreation is the most overall similar to The Office. Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) is a passionate civil servant trying to make positive change in her community in Pawnee, Indiana. Although not a great selling point, it took me a few tries to get into the series and start bingeing, but once I did, I couldn’t remember why. The first season is the weakest; I felt truly drawn in when Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott) entered the show in season two, and so began Ben and Leslie.
Switching gears, if the soulmate-like quality of Ben and Leslie’s relationship stood out to you, I present The Good Place. Watching this show for the first time was an experience unlike any other for me. This was the first sitcom I watched, so it will always have a special place in my heart, and nothing surpassed it on my ranking until the next show that I’ll cover in a moment. The Good Place follows four humans who died and went to the afterlife, with several plot twists that I wasn’t smart enough to guess and genuinely deep philosophical points being made from season to season. The philosophy aspect really stands out to me, from my first-ever viewing to my latest rewatch a couple of months ago, all while incorporating the “com” of a sitcom (comedy). Another thing this show does well is ending. It’s only four seasons, which is sad, but I can’t imagine the story any other way: lengthened or shortened.
If you enjoyed the thought-provoking nature of The Good Place, I recommend to you my all-time favorite TV show: Community.
Community is the most well-written show you will come across, with characters that change and develop across six seasons (and maybe, someday, a movie). It’s not as philosophical as The Good Place, but the writing can be very deep at times. Additionally, it’s really funny. Community is an homage to the sitcom genre and is jam-packed with movie and TV references throughout, taking first place in my sitcom ranking. The intricate writing is akin to Arrested Development, another sitcom embedded with references and jokes that require you to pay attention in order to pick up on them.
Going back to the romantic theme present in Jim and Pam, and Amy and Jake, New Girl ranks high in making me laugh out loud and also frustrating me beyond words in certain seasons. Nick and Jess, portrayed by Jake Johnson and Zooey Deschanel respectively, have incredible chemistry, and watching their ups and downs was torturous at times; when I originally watched it, I had to look up if they ended up together because I could not handle it and just needed to know. During the lows, however, there were other happy relationships to find solace in. I just recently watched the whole show for the second time, and despite knowing how everything works out, I still considered skipping ahead at points. All of that is a reflection of my impatience and desire for them to be together, though, and not the fault of the show or its quality during those seasons.
New Girl and How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) share a couple of oddly specific characteristics. One, they’re constantly at the bar. Two, one of the main characters is a teacher. Three, both have a charming but womanizing character in the main friend group. Four, which is more general but what ties them together, the show is generally based around this group of friends as they go through a variety of different relationships, and the main character ends up with one of the other main characters who they’ve been in an on-and-off-again relationship with for most of the show. The main character in HIMYM, Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor), can be insufferable at times, with his hopeless romantic disposition coming off as whiny and desperate. Also, the ending is notoriously dissatisfying, but I will resist the urge to spoil and just tell you this: pretend the official ending didn’t actually happen. It essentially takes away the purpose of all nine seasons.
If I lost my memory, these sitcoms would be the first thing I would re-experience. Although I’ve spent too much time watching and rewatching, each and every last minute of it has been relaxing, amusing, and worthwhile; hopefully, with this article, you can find the sitcom for you.
