The humble television shook the world of entertainment; History.com notes when it was invented in 1927, it changed entertainment forever.
95 years later, we’re still glued to our screens, if only to have fun and unwind after a long and tiring day. TV shows over the years have made us cry and have kept us on the edge of our seats, with one of the most popular genres being the sitcom. We’ve been left with characters so memorable that they feel like part of our own family; we’ve cared about what happens to them, laughed at their jokes and yearned for them to find true love. A good sitcom doesn’t feel like television; it feels like a date with friends for a half-an-hour every week, a chance to catch up and see what they’ve been up to.
Below are some of our picks for the best sitcoms of all time, so you can start binge-watching them over the weekend!
Friends
The premise of the show Friends is simple enough. We follow a group of friends through the highs and lows of life with the episodes revolving around everything from romance to workplace drama. Friends has something for everybody – a character or a scene one can relate to. The show’s decade-long run has shaped pop culture as we know it, leaving its influence in both big and small ways. And by big, we certainly mean big. In fact, a real-life version of the iconic coffee shop, the Central Perk, drew crowds during a short pop-up stint in New York City. There have also been more subtle references to the show, such as the Friends-inspired slots and scratch cards on Foxy Games, which features the iconic couch from the sitcom. You know a show is good if a couch is enough to recognize it.
Indeed, the show is still going strong even after airing its last episode almost fifteen years ago. And with rumors of a reunion special, don’t expect the Friends crew to be out of the public consciousness for long.
The Office
The Office is the show that started the mockumentary trend in popular culture. It paved the way for workplace comedies such as The IT Crowd, Workaholics, and Parks & Recreation. Indeed, the show left its mark in the world of comedy despite its limited twelve-episode run. Most of the show’s success can be attributed to Ricky Gervais, as he wrote and starred in a lot of the show’s episodes, including two 45-minute Christmas Specials. The show garnered acclaim from both critics and audiences, as seen in its two biggest award wins. The Office won the British Comedy Awards for Best New Comedy in 2002 and then a Golden Globe Award for Best Television series: Musical or Comedy in 2003.
While some shows can claim that they have been the inspiration for different material over the years, the UK version of The Office led to a full nine-season remake of The Office in the United States.
The Simpsons
There’s a reason why The Simpsons are called America’s first family. In 2018, the show became the longest-running primetime scripted series on television with its staggering 636 episodes. Its 30-year run included ten Halloween Specials, one feature-length film, and even a video game in the form of 2003’s Simpsons: Hit & Run. However, one thing remained consistent no matter the medium: The Simpsons always managed to elicit a laugh, and even a critical thought or two, from their fans.
The Simpsons have truly been a worldwide cultural institution, as the show has cameos from pretty much every star you can think of. Everyone from Stephen Hawking to comic book legend Stan Lee has made an appearance on the show, cementing its place in pop culture history.
