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Longest-Running U.S. Sitcoms

Updated! Name the American sitcoms that have run at least 160 episodes on network TV.
Animated shows marked in orange
Through April 2023
Quiz by Quizmaster
Rate:
Last updated: April 13, 2023
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First submittedSeptember 4, 2011
Times taken66,104
Average score22.2%
Rating4.16
12:00
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#
Years
Sitcom
745
1989–
The Simpsons
435
1952–1966
Ozzie and Harriet
404
1999–
Family Guy
380
1960–1972
My Three Sons
347
2005–
American Dad!
343
1953–1964
The Danny Thomas Show
279
2007–2019
The Big Bang Theory
275
1982–1993
Cheers
275
1956–1966
The Donna Reed Show
274
1962–1971
The Beverly Hillbillies
264
1994–2005
Frasier
262
2003–2015
Two and a Half Men
260
1988–1998
2018
Murphy Brown
259
1997–2009
King of the Hill
259
1987–1997
Married... with Children
256
1972–1983
M*A*S*H
255
1974–1984
Happy Days
254
1964–1972
Bewitched
253
1975–1985
The Jeffersons
250
2009–2020
Modern Family
249
1960–1968
Andy Griffith Show
246
1998–2006
2017–2020
Will & Grace
238
2011–
Bob's Burgers
236
1994–2004
Friends
234
1957–1963
Leave it to Beaver
233
1995–2004
The Drew Carey Show
231
1988–1997
2018
Roseanne
226
2013–
The Goldbergs
222
1963–1970
Petticoat Junction
215
1989–1998
Family Matters
210
1996–2005
Everybody Loves Raymond
209
1975–1984
One Day at a Time
208
2005–2014
How I Met Your Mother
207
1998–2007
The King of Queens
205
1971–1979
All in the Family
204
1991–1999
Home Improvement
#
Years
Sitcom
203
1954–1962
Father Knows Best
202
1976–1985
Alice
201
1979–1988
The Facts of Life
201
2005–2013
The Office
201
1984–1992
The Cosby Show
200
1989–1997
Coach
200
1998–2006
That 70's Show
196
1984–1992
Who's the Boss
193
1984–1992
Night Court
194
2011–2021
Last Man Standing
192
1987–1995
Full House
189
1978–1986
Diff'rent Strokes
184
1982–1990
Newhart
182
2001–2010
Scrubs
182
2001–2009
According to Jim
180
1989–1998
Seinfeld
180
1985–1992
The Golden Girls
180
1951–1957
I Love Lucy
178
1976–1983
Laverne & Shirley
176
1982–1989
Family Ties
176
1992–1999
Mad About You
173
1955–1959
The Bob Cummings Show
172
1977–1984
Three's Company
172
1990–1997
Wings
172
2000–2008
Girlfriends
170
1975–1982
Barney Miller
170
1988–1995
Empty Nest
170
1965–1971
Green Acres
170
2013–2021
Mom
168
1970–1977
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
168
1965–1971
Hogan's Heroes
168
1960–1966
The Flintstones
166
1985–1992
Growing Pains
163
1986–1993
Designing Women
163
1996–2003
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
160
1991–1998
Step by Step
+2
Level 27
Mar 13, 2013
Hm, The Simpsons... imo they kind of deserve their place for all their previous episodes, but since 1-3 seasons the quality and originality of the episodes is decreasing intensely :(
+10
Level 83
Mar 16, 2013
how could they not deserve their place? Even if the show was terrible, and it's never been terrible, they still have a commanding lead over everybody else in terms of the number of episodes produced. Quite an accomplishment, especially given that it's an animated show.
+6
Level 75
Nov 21, 2016
A lot of people would disagree with you on the "it's never been terrible " claim. I used to LOVE The Simpsons, but everything I've seen from it from the past 10 years just makes me cringe.
+9
Level 74
Nov 21, 2016
We tend to remember the good things and forget the bad, boring things. Then we compare the new episodes with the idealized pictures we have in our head.
+3
Level 83
Nov 21, 2016
I don't know. I'm not a huge fan. Sister's husband is and he still watches and loves the show. I never watched it regularly but every time I see an episode it's at least fairly funny. Never terrible. Same with Futurama. I'm surprised that one's not on here.
+2
Level 82
Nov 21, 2016
140 episodes, just 19 short
+5
Level 83
Aug 20, 2017
Simpsons doesn't have the edge and relevance that it once had, but, it's still never been as bad as, say... 2 1/2 Men, or The Big Bang Theory, or other laugh-track shows that are like them.
+1
Level 58
May 13, 2021
Lady Ga-Ga is when I said the Simpsons might not be as good as in earlier years.
+3
Level 58
May 13, 2021
Futurama is still my favorite show ever by far though.
+9
Level 67
Nov 21, 2016
I'm a pretty hardcore Simpsons fan, and you are definitely the first person I've ever heard suggest that Seasons 1-3 are the best. It's a largely settled question that Seasons 3-9 are the prime years, and if you're the kind of fan who really gets into it (which, admittedly, I am), the first "great" episode is generally agreed to be "Homer at the Bat" from Season 3 (when Mr. Burns hires the ringers for the company softball team), and the end of the Golden Age was "the Principal and the Pauper" (when we discover, bizarrely, that Principal Skinner is not really Principal Skinner). Nonetheless, I think people are too hard on everything post-Season 9. There were some down years, but it's still reliably funny and clever, and it's still better than most comedy currently on TV.
+2
Level 67
Nov 22, 2016
Agreed. The ones I usually hear are seasons 2-8, though 9 and 1 still have some pretty great moments. Anyone who thinks they were better in season one than 4, 5 or 8 isn't paying attention.
+1
Level 55
May 18, 2021
I just can't forgive The Simpsons for having Baby Shark in one of their episodes. (Somewhere in the last season)
+3
Level 65
Nov 21, 2016
I love the Simpsons, but season 1 was downright bad. "Primitive" is the most accurate term for it. They're still churning out great episodes, but the high point was probably in around season 8.
+2
Level 83
Aug 20, 2017
South Park peaked around the same time. Season 1 was brilliant. Seasons 3-6 were brillianter. But seasons 7-11 or so were simply some of the best stuff that's ever been on TV. They still do good work sometimes and I know there are people who think it's better than ever but last season was probably the weakest in the show's history IMO.

I sort of wish they had ended the show with the poignant and bittersweet two-parter "You're Getting Old" and "Assburgers"... which felt so much like an ending that many fans after watching it thought that the show was over and Matt & Trey had decided to pull the plug without warning us. They could have gone out while they were still near the top of their game back then. In the five years since they've only made 6 or 7 brilliant episodes and it often feels like they're just phoning it in.

+2
Level 62
Mar 7, 2022
You should go watch the Tracy Ullman show and watch the primitive animation they were during it. Many do not realize the Simpsons actually started two years before as short stories on the Tracy Ullman show.
+1
Level 83
Nov 20, 2022
Season 1 and other early seasons of South Park could also be described as primitive or simplistic by the show's current standards, but to be honest I often miss the show's previous simplicity. There was a certain elegance in it.
+1
Level 55
May 18, 2021
Yeah, the Simpsons isn't very good now.
+2
Level 62
Mar 7, 2022
Actually the Simpsons started in 1987 on the Tracy Ullman show. Wonder how many people know that. Go watch those shows and see how far the animation has come.
+3
Level 32
Mar 13, 2013
I can't believe how poorly I did, considering how much tv I've watched my entire life. I guess maybe it's a good sign that I didn't do so well.
+3
Level 85
Aug 19, 2014
I think it's just really hard to think of them with only the dates. The slightest clue would trigger 80% of these with me (like a single character name) but it's tough with a blank slate.
+2
Level 37
Sep 19, 2014
Try this one. http://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/114622/old-sitcoms-by-lead-character
+1
Level 59
Nov 11, 2016
Agreed. I just blanked. As I read over the list, I kept saying "of course! Of course! Of course! Of course!"
+1
Level 67
Sep 19, 2014
No, it just means that much tv has rotted your mind. But take heart--there will always be more soma.
+2
Level 35
Mar 13, 2013
Awesome quiz! I'm kind of kicking myself for forgetting the Beverly Hillbillies, M*A*S*H, and That 70's Show... I only got 28. And just an idea, but if you make it to be the longest running NORTH American sitcoms, The Red Green Show (300 episodes, 1990-2005) could also be included!
+6
Level 85
Aug 19, 2014
I LOVE Red Green, but I'm not sure it's a "sitcom". More like a themed sketch comedy show.
+2
Level 39
Sep 5, 2013
I typed in 'The Danny Thomas Show' several times, not believing that it wasn't on the list. After I finished the quiz I went and looked it up. If 11 seasons and 351 episodes over 11 years (1953-1964) doesn't make the grade there's something wrong here! I remembered afterward that it was also known as 'Make Room for Daddy' but I don't see that on the list either.
+1
Level ∞
Aug 7, 2014
Added that one, thanks!
+3
Level 69
Mar 10, 2014
no Taxi?
+2
Level 77
Apr 14, 2014
That surprises me.
+2
Level 75
Feb 9, 2018
I know, for some reason I thought it was on longer than five years. Looking it up, though, it apparently only had 114 episodes.
+1
Level 88
Jul 8, 2018
That's the one thing I was going to comment on. Danny DeVito, Tony Danza, Andy Kaufman, Christopher Lloyd were all household names for years afterward. It seemed a huge show, hard to think it came and went so quickly.
+1
Level 82
May 8, 2014
I tried running through the gamut of show from ABC's "TGIF" line up. I'm shocked how few of them made this list.
+1
Level 78
Jun 7, 2014
The Flintstones is a sitcom???
+1
Level 83
Sep 19, 2014
I got all of the animated ones first. Those are easiest.
+2
Level 61
Oct 26, 2015
It had canned laughter.
+4
Level 45
Jun 18, 2014
Spongebob should be on here, it had 178 episodes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpongeBob_SquarePants

+1
Level 85
Aug 19, 2014
Are children's shows considered "sitcoms"? I don't think so.
+2
Level 43
Nov 25, 2014
The Flintstones?
+2
Level 85
Nov 21, 2016
The Flintstones were a prime-time show, and deliberately designed to appeal to adult audiences. I grew up watching it in the 70s as an after-school show, so I thought for a long time that it was a kids show, but it really is suitable to consider it a sitcom.
+1
Level 83
Dec 7, 2014
The Flintstones was on prime time. Though I like Spongebob. It's got a lot of jokes in it that surely go over the head of the average child.
+5
Level 90
Aug 13, 2014
Number of episodes has no correlation whatsoever to quality of viewing experience. Some of these were just AWFUL.
+3
Level 88
Apr 22, 2021
Friends
+1
Level 83
Sep 19, 2014
You ought to change the thumbnail to one of dan castellaneta
+1
Level 61
Oct 26, 2015
He's not exactly recognisable to the average person.
+2
Level 83
Nov 21, 2016
So?
+2
Level 88
Nov 21, 2016
If not him, at least do Harry Shearer from This Is Spinal Tap. Real life version or Simpsons version doesn't matter.
+1
Level 88
Apr 21, 2021
Actually looking at the main cast of the Simpsons, Hank Azaria's been in a lot more live-action stuff than I realized and probably has the most recognizable face out of all of them.
+3
Level 67
May 13, 2021
I was gonna say the same thing. Dan Castellaneta is actually in a ton of stuff, but his natural voice sounds nothing like his cartoon voices, so I doubt most people realize they're watching the voice of Homer Simpson. A lot more people can probably recognize Hank Azaria when they see him.
+1
Level 56
Sep 19, 2014
I remember what a landmark it was (even in the UK) for the 200th episodes of M*A*S*H, Cheers, The Simpsons and Frasier. What? They made more than 200 of King of Queens?!
+1
Level 93
Sep 20, 2014
I missed Ozzie and Harriet because I tried to use an ampersand...
+2
Level 83
May 15, 2021
no you didn't
+1
Level 45
Sep 23, 2014
"Loading results"....let the facepalming begin! Gargh!
+3
Level 76
Feb 16, 2015
I feel like Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman should be on this list. I don't think it's a stretch to call it a sitcom, and it had over 400 episodes.
+1
Level 32
Nov 21, 2021
It ran during the day, not on primetime.
+6
Level 46
Feb 21, 2015
Its always sunny in philedelphia???? they're on season 10 right now
+5
Level 35
Apr 29, 2015
But only 114 episodes per Wikipedia.
+3
Level 61
Oct 26, 2015
They only have a small number of episodes per season compared to most American shows.
+2
Level 57
Mar 20, 2015
I think it's time to update this quiz. Some of the shows that are still running would be further up the list now and Two and a Half Men has since been cancelled.
+2
Level 35
Apr 29, 2015
This is picky, but Frasier ran from 1993-2004, not 1994-2005.
+2
Level 61
Oct 26, 2015
"Sabrina" should work for "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch".
+2
Level 72
Jan 3, 2016
Any chance of accepting "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," since that was the full title?
+1
Level ∞
Jul 12, 2016
Ok
+1
Level 44
Apr 20, 2016
I was really disappointed with only getting 21, but somehow still beat 73.7%???
+1
Level 61
Jul 13, 2016
Not enough time.
+1
Level 69
Oct 30, 2016
Interesting
+1
Level 66
Nov 21, 2016
Like a lot of people before me, I missed a lot of shows that I knew and have watched. Also, for 'Mary Tyler Moore', I wrote 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' and it wasn't accepted, but this is the correct full title. Maybe this can be changed?
+1
Level 60
Nov 21, 2016
Not many quizzes where you can miss 31 and still get full points.
+2
Level 75
Nov 21, 2016
When I watched The Bob Cummings Show in the early '60s it was called "Love That Bob" but it was the same show.
+1
Level 65
Nov 21, 2016
So I missed Seinfeld...
+7
Level 43
Nov 21, 2016
The Middle has now cracked its way onto this list.
+1
Level 72
Nov 21, 2016
I think The Middle had about 168 episodes as of July 2016. IMDB credits the cast with 174 episodes (including the 6 so far in season 8).
+2
Level 68
May 13, 2021
According to Wikipedia, The Middle ended with 215 episodes from 2009-2018
+1
Level 50
Nov 21, 2016
Boy meets world? 7 years
+2
Level 47
Sep 28, 2017
Only 158 episodes
+2
Level 69
Nov 21, 2016
Part of me is pleased I don't know this much about TV.
+6
Level 70
Oct 6, 2018
The people who brag about their ignorance on this site as some kind of badge of honor is ridiculous. Being aware of something doesn't need to mean a personal endorsement of it. There's a lot more to pop culture than it gets credit for.
+1
Level 64
Nov 22, 2016
Was hoping to score with 'Alf', 'Third rock from the sun' and 'Saved by the bell' but apparently they never made it into that high a number of episodes... #ninetiesteenager
+2
Level 73
Mar 16, 2023
Tried all those too. And a bunch of others that didn't make the cut.

Benson - 158

Alf - 102

3rd Rock - 139

Saved by the Bell - 120

Parks and Rec - 125

Webster - 100

Charles in Charge - 126

Mr. Belvedere - 117

Dharma and Greg - 119

I Dream of Jeannie - 139

Mama's Family - 130

+6
Level 49
Apr 12, 2018
Friends might be the worst show on TV...so overrated
+2
Level 88
Jul 8, 2018
Looking at Jennifer Anniston might have been some ratings boost, but I can't fathom whatever else.
+1
Level 70
Oct 6, 2018
Every girl I've ever dated would disagree with you. I even have one friend who credits the show for her fluency in English. It's definitely not a favorite show of mine but I even find myself quoting in certain situations.
+1
Level 89
Feb 19, 2019
I'll never forget walking the streets of Killarney in 2007 while on my honeymoon. It was about 3 o'clock and the high school let out as we were walking by.Nothing like hundreds of teenagers speaking with an Irish accent and then hearing someone say "How you doing" in a Joey Tribiani voice that Matt LeBlanc would have a hard time telling from his.
+3
Level 83
May 9, 2019
I never cared for the show and I'd agree that it's overrated, and I've never once quoted it, but it's far from the worst.
+2
Level 83
Aug 27, 2020
I mean, have you ever seen Small Wonder, Last Man Standing, or the later seasons of Family Matters? And that's only when considering scripted sit-coms. There's also "reality" TV, 90% of which is worse than the worst scripted shows.
+1
Level 67
May 13, 2021
The first season of Friends was very good. Then it got steadily worse, and once Chandler and Monica paired up (maybe Season Four?), it turned into an outright dumpster fire.
+1
Level 52
May 15, 2021
It jumped the shark during its run, but some of the episodes were pretty funny. More funny than what's on TV today.
+1
Level 88
Jul 8, 2018
Sanford and Son, you missed eternal trivia quiz answerdom with only 136. Go back and get to work.
+4
Level 48
Jan 14, 2019
Lamont, you big dummy!
+3
Level 57
Feb 14, 2019
Strange that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia isn't on here
+2
Level 89
Feb 19, 2019
The Middle ended at 215 and still isn't on the list. With all the reboots, its going to be an ugly update.
+2
Level 72
Jan 8, 2020
Interesting that the update says July 2018 after The Middle ended its run with 215 episodes and it's still not on the list. My guess is the master list for this source hasn't been updated.
+1
Level 89
Feb 19, 2019
Also what about Donna Reed, Burns and Gracie. Both well over 200 and Burns and Gracie was definitely a sitcom.
+1
Level 51
Feb 19, 2019
4 points for 30%, all righty then! Can't believe Taxi wasn't on here.
+2
Level 47
Jul 4, 2019
The Big Bang Theory needs to be updated to 2007-2019 with 279 episodes and moved up below South Park. Also, Two and a Half Men is out of order, needs to be moved up below Frasier.
+1
Level ∞
Jul 4, 2019
Will be updated in mid-2020.
+2
Level 83
Feb 10, 2021
Postponed due to COVID. Can it be updated in early 2021?
+1
Level 22
Aug 6, 2019
might have been commented before but Spongebob is missing
+1
Level 75
Apr 22, 2021
It was commented before and most people agreed that Spongebob is not a sitcom. It might be a sitcom based on a loose definition, but it's definitely not on network TV like the caveat says.
+1
Level 73
Aug 19, 2019
I usually say things need less time, but on this one I could have used more time, I was still dredging up new answers from the murky recesses of my brain.
+3
Level 67
Sep 7, 2019
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia?
+2
Level 67
Dec 10, 2019
The Donna Reed show had 275 episodes. It should be on this list.
+3
Level 75
Jul 13, 2020
An update would be nice.

Bob's Burgers now makes the list with 190 episodes

+2
Level 38
Aug 14, 2020
You forgot The Middle
+1
Level 53
Aug 21, 2020
Modern Family ended in April of this year.
+1
Level 53
Apr 5, 2021
Also, the dates for Frasier are wrong, it started in 1993 and ended in 2004.
+1
Level 71
Aug 27, 2020
I have every season on DVD, and I have watched every episode of this show at least 5 times, and I can't believe I forgot "Hogan's Heroes"!
+3
Level 67
Sep 21, 2020
This quiz needs to be updated. Some of these shows are no longer on for example and others may have surpassed them.
+2
Level 27
Sep 24, 2020
You need to add more time. 69 answers and a million options. Plus it's slightly outdated
+2
Level 67
Mar 21, 2021
Again, please update this quiz.
+1
Level 88
Apr 21, 2021
Is South Park not considered a sitcom? I'm pretty sure they have over 300 episodes now.
+1
Level 83
Nov 20, 2022
317, not including some streaming specials.
+3
Level 74
Apr 22, 2021
What happened to South Park? It was on the quiz before the update.
+1
Level ∞
Apr 22, 2021
Took it off because it is a cable show.
+3
Level 88
Apr 22, 2021
Who watches just network broadcast TV?
+5
Level 65
Apr 27, 2021
What's the reason for excluding cable shows?
+1
Level 83
Apr 27, 2021
Damang... if I had to guess it might be the extreme overgrowth of media lately with the proliferation of all these streaming services and online content providers. It would get confusing trying to figure out what counted and what didn't. The biggest home entertainment provider in the world right now is probably Netflix and they produce shows now all over the world not just in the USA. And then you've got other services like Hulu, Acorn, etc which have picked up tons of old American and international shows and packaged them all together. The enormous number of cable and satellite TV channels, now coupled with YouTube, Disney +, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, and so on and so on.... plus the blending of genres that often takes place in shows on these more non-traditional media platforms where more quirky stuff that never would have been on network TV is given a chance. Limiting what's included to four American TV networks I guess makes it much simpler.
+2
Level 84
Apr 22, 2021
147 more episodes, and Mel Brooks' "When Things Were Rotten" would've made the cut. Hilarious Robin Hood spoof from the mid-70s.
+1
Level 67
Apr 22, 2021
Futurama?
+2
Level 86
Apr 22, 2021
I thought Malcolm in the Middle, Always Sunny, Brooklyn 99 and Futurama. But they all fell a bit short.
+1
Level 71
May 13, 2021
I tried those, and also 30 rock which apparently had 149 episodes.
+1
Level 67
May 13, 2021
Always Sunny only does like ten episodes a season, so it has fewer episodes than you'd probably expect, given that it has been on the air for like 15 years.
+1
Level 57
Jun 16, 2021
IASIP will be at over 160 once season 15 airs this year.
+2
Level 71
Apr 24, 2021
As a Brit who took this quiz not expecting to do very well, I was still surprised at how many of the shows I had never heard of. Over 40 are new to me, and some like “I love Lucy” I had never heard of before coming on Jetpunk. I guess we don’t get as much American TV as I thought.

Also some programmes on here that are as funny as a root canal, but I guess comedy is like beauty.

+1
Level 83
Apr 27, 2021
If something didn't take place inside the living room of the house you grew up in you seem to not know about it and claim that it's impossible for anyone to know. This is pretty much what 80% of your comments on the site are.

Agreed that many of these shows are terrible. American network TV sitcoms usually are. Americans produce more quality TV than anyone, and on the networks some good stuff occasionally slips through, but most of it is aired different places.

+4
Level 74
May 13, 2021
Dude, maybe that's true, but Algernon didn't "claim that it's impossible for anyone to know" in this comment so there's no need to bring it up here.
+1
Level 83
May 15, 2021
He brings it up on every quiz that he comments on so why are we not allowed to?
+1
Level 83
Apr 27, 2021
South Park is still going strong after nearly 25 years... was this recently changed to only count network TV shows? I thought I remembered them being on here before.
+1
Level 83
Apr 27, 2021
P.S. my dad was binge watching every season of Ozzie and Harriet for several months... as blinded by nostalgia as he often is, even he eventually got tired of it. My god that show was awful. And not just because shows in general have gotten so, so much better over the years, but even for its time it just was completely terrible. I Love Lucy and Andy Griffith, for instance, were far superior. At least they had scripts.
+1
Level 74
Apr 30, 2021
Shows improved between the start of TV and the 90s/early 00s but have taken a nose-dive ever since. I would rather watch anything between the 50s-00 (including Ozzie and Harriet) than shows in the last 20 years. I think sitcoms reached their peak in the 70s and 80s.
+6
Level 83
May 13, 2021
You think Ozzie and Harriet was a better show than Breaking Bad, Dexter, Game of Thrones, Chernobyl, Westworld, The Spy, WandaVision, South Park, The Wire, The Boys, etc etc? What are you even talking about...

or was the only time you turned on the television in the past 20 years a day when they had scheduled a Jersey Shore marathon?

Even if you're only just talking about sitcoms in the past 20 years you've got The Simpsons (didn't premiere, but still going), Arrested Development, The Office (both versions, take your pick), etc on the networks, and quirkier stuff other places like Jean Claude van Johnson, Living With Yourself, and the Santa Clarita Diet... I do lament the extreme proliferation of extremely bad "reality" television the past couple of decades, but, just flat out saying everything since 2000 is bad makes you sound like Mickey Rooney.

+2
Level 83
May 13, 2021
and I'd have to respectfully disagree that sitcoms reached their peak in the 70s and 80s. What was even good in the 70s? Three's Company and the Brady Bunch? ugh. I don't think I could even sit through a full show anymore. I used to watch stuff like Saved by the Bell and Full House or reruns of the Beverly Hillbillies or The Golden Girls when I got home from school in the 90s, and I remember our family used to love ALF, but I tried rewatching some of those shows on Hulu recently and they are just terrible. Not Ozzie and Harriet bad, but, still, terrible... I don't know how I ever could stand it.
+3
Level 67
May 13, 2021
I think Happy Days was from the 70s. That show was pretty sweet. But I agree, the sophistication of some more recent comedy sets it far above its predecessors. After Seinfeld, which is the consensus #1, I'd submit Arrested Development and 30 Rock are the next two best sitcoms ever. Parks & Rec, the Office, It's Always Sunny, You're the Worst were all just much more interesting than the rote fare being produced in the 70s and 80s. It's hard to gauge "sitcoms" now because everything is scattered among so many different platforms. Network TV sitcoms are mostly unwatchable, but there is a lot of great stuff elsewhere. I just watched Frank From Ireland on Amazon Prime. Funniest show I have discovered in years.
+2
Level 32
Nov 21, 2021
If people talk about sitcoms being good in the 70s, they're likely thinking of Mary Tyler Moore, All in the Family, Bob Newhart, M*A*S*H, Barney Miller....
+1
Level 83
Dec 1, 2021
Those shows were better than the ones I mentioned from the 70s, but still inferior to the ones I mentioned from the last 2 decades.
+1
Level 53
May 13, 2021
Sitcoms without laugh track are better than those with it (usually, there are some exceptions)
+2
Level 65
May 13, 2021
South park has 309 episodes so...yeah.
+2
Level 90
May 13, 2021
What about South Park?? It's been on since the 90's.
+2
Level 55
May 13, 2021
The Middle ran for 215 episodes on ABC.
+1
Level 43
May 13, 2021
Damn, no Malcolm in the Middle. That makes me sad. Loved that show
+4
Level 77
May 13, 2021
South Park deserves to be on this list. I don't care that it is a cable show and technically not prime time or whatever. Come on. That makes its run even more impressive. How can you have American Dad, the Simpsons, and Family Guy on there but leave off South Park? It's one of the longest running shows EVER.
+2
Level 67
May 13, 2021
Seems like this site does not respect your authoritah. I'd say being on Comedy Central for 20 years is less impressive than being on network TV for 20 years because Comedy Central has so few major properties. They pretty much have the Daily Show and South Park, then a revolving door of weird sketch shows and vehicles for offbeat comedians that get canceled after a few seasons (with the notable and brilliant exceptions of Key & Peele and Chappelle's Show). Comedy Central will never let South Park or the Daily Show go. Season 42 of South Park would draw probably twice as many viewers as whatever the network would replace it with. That's not a knock on the show. It's one of my favorites ever. I think it's brilliant.
+1
Level 83
May 15, 2021
Chappelle's Show was canceled after a few seasons, too... but only because Dave had a crisis of conscience and ran off to Africa...
+1
Level 67
Jun 27, 2021
South Park was initially on the list for this quiz but removed when the quiz was updated. Too bad.
+3
Level 89
May 13, 2021
The Middle is still missing 5 years after the fact it was brought up.
+1
Level 58
May 13, 2021
Can we get an every American TV show list and not just sitcoms?
+1
Level 46
May 14, 2021
Sanford and Son, Get Smart, The Wonder Years, Taxi all missed the cut.
+3
Level 30
May 14, 2021
No South Park?

Kyle: Shenanigans

+1
Level 67
Jun 27, 2021
In a previous version of this quiz, South Park was there. I wonder if they took it off as it is a paid cable show not regular network? It has run longer than many other shows listed here.
+2
Level 56
May 14, 2021
There are some very ordinary shows here.
+1
Level 83
May 15, 2021
well what are the majority of television viewers if not ordinary?
+2
Level 15
May 19, 2021
Dang! It sucks that boy meets world missed the cut by 2 episodes. (Also this is my first comment on this site!)
+3
Level 62
Mar 7, 2022
Wouldn't the Simpsons start be 1987 and not 1989 because they were started on the Tracy Ullman show as short stories?
+1
Level 66
Jul 19, 2023
23
+1
Level 80
Sep 24, 2023
oh man I should've got full house! that's the show that taught me how to tie my shoes :-)