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And if I wrote about them, could I get some of those clicks? Here are the criteria and rules: Network only. Thirty minutes. Strictly comedy. I love “Freaks and Geeks,” but it was a one-hour show, and it was regularly heartbreaking. I also love “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” but it was part of the singular cable revolution known as HBO. Which, as the old catchphrase told us, wasn’t even TV. I have tried to avoid recency bias, while knowing it is almost impossible to do so. A confession: I like reading rankings, but I don’t like making them. Rankings tend to be capricious. I put more trust in, say, the alphabet. Alphabetical lists aren’t capricious, and they still maintain the idea of standards. Ask me next week and you might get a different ranking (although the shows would likely remain the same). But rankings start more discussions. And discussion is good. So let’s rank these puppies. Your preferences will most assuredly be different than mine. Please let me hear about them. On with the show(s). 10. “Good Times” (CBS, 1974-1979) It’s easy, and not unfair, to dismiss Jimmie Walker’s “Dy-no-mite!” antics as a modern-day appendage to minstrelsy. But consider how radical it was to put a show about life in the Chicago projects, created by two Black men (Mike Evans and Eric Monte), on a primetime network schedule in 1974. Then factor in the boundary-breaking performances of John Amos and Esther Rolle. And that gospel-funk theme song. And that Ernie Barnes painting, “The Sugar Shack,” in the closing credits. Hard to front on any of that. Stream it on: Prime Video, Tubi. 9. “The Office” (NBC, 2005-2013) Some of the most memorable U.S. sitcoms have UK roots. Just as “Sanford and Son” (NBC, 1972-1977) came from the British series “Steptoe and Son,” The American version of “The Office,” fount of countless memes and “That’s what she said” jokes, sprang from Ricky Gervais’ British version. Every time you see a mockumentary sitcom, consider pouring one out for the folks at Dunder Mifflin. Stream it on: Peacock; Prime Video. 8. “Abbott Elementary” (ABC, 2021- It’s got the performances (especially Quinta Brunson, who also happened to create the series), and the characters, and the tight plotting. But “Abbott” moves toward the top of the class largely through the easeful, good-humored way that it addresses the perils facing public education, from budget shortfalls to curriculum disputes. At a time when rancor is so common, “Abbott Elementary” effortlessly does what sitcoms need to do: It leads with laughter. Stream it on: Hulu; HBO Max; Prime Video. 7. “The Honeymooners” (CBS, 1955-1956) The working-class “Honeymooners” walked so “Roseanne” (CBS, 1988-1997) could run. It might feel a little static today, but the modest adventures of Ralph (Jackie Gleason), Alice (Audrey Meadows), Ed (Art Carney), and Trixie (Joyce Meadows) were uncommonly gritty for their time. Hot take: Gleason was an underrated actor (see also: 1961’s “The Hustler,” in which his unruffled cool strikes the perfect balance to Paul Newman’s riled-up heat.) Stream it on: Tubi; Prime Video. 6. “Cheers” (NBC, 1982-1993) Yes, I’d get run out of Boston on a rail (and perhaps tarred and feathered) if I didn’t include Sam Malone and his beloved bar. But this isn’t just a homer call. Glen Charles, Les Charles, and James Burrows created a carefully oiled comedy machine, welding whip-smart writing and class consciousness with an undeniable truth: people like to drink and talk. It also boasts one of TV’s greatest pilots. Stream it on: Paramount+; Hulu; Peacock; Prime Video. 5. “The Simpsons” (Fox, 1989- Now in the midst of its (checks notes) 37th season?!, “The Simpsons” isn’t what it used to be. The fastball has lost some velocity. But that makes it no less historically great. At its peak, in-jokes and cultural references flying, gags following each other too quickly for mere mortals to keep up, “The Simpsons” made it obscenely fun to clock the foibles of the modern American family. Yes, that’s right. The Simpsons are us. Stream it on: Disney+; Prime Video; Hulu (current season only) 4. “All in the Family” (CBS, 1971-1979) It’s impossible to separate Norman Lear’s flagship sitcom from the era in which it arrived. Can you say that on TV? Yes, apparently you can, if you’re Carroll O’Connor’s Archie Bunker, the not-terribly-silent representative of Nixon’s silent majority. Debates raged over whether the series was lampooning a bigot or celebrating him. “All in the Family” mattered in a way that few, if any, other sitcoms have (no wonder readers picked it as the best TV show of all time in our bracket in 2022). Stream it on: Tubi. 3. “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (CBS, 1970-1977) She might just make it after all. Mary Richards wore her status as a feminist icon like a loose garment, with nonchalant grace. Ed Asner, Cloris Leachman, Ted Baxter (Ron Burgundy before Ron Burgundy), Valerie Harper, and others lent steady support. This is also the second appearance on the list for one James L. Brooks, who created “MTM” with Allan Burns and has been a key creative force behind “The Simpsons.” Stream it on: Prime Video. 2. “Seinfeld” (NBC, 1989-1998) Larry David’s “Curb” doesn’t qualify (see criteria and rules above), but the show he created with Jerry Seinfeld is a no-brainer. Yes, the casting was inspired, from the core foursome (Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards) to the bit players. But the show’s real genius was its story architecture, the dovetailing of plot lines that played out like madcap ballet. The show about nothing that was also somehow about everything. Stream it on: Netflix; Prime Video. 1.“I Love Lucy” (CBS, 1951-1957) It’s the fountainhead of the genre: not the first sitcom, but the one that showed how it was done. It helps that it is (still) very, very funny, thanks largely to do-everything comedic dynamo Lucille Ball, who transformed herself from Broadway actress to Hollywood contract player to cultural icon. “I Love Lucy” had nonstop comic pep, verbally and visually (I laugh every time I think of Lucy and Ethel (the great Vivian Vance) gobbling their way through that candy conveyor belt). It was also, in a lower register, a mirror of changing social and domestic norms. Ricky (Desi Arnaz) might have brought home the bacon, but Lucy was in charge. Stream it on: Prime Video; Paramount+. What do you think was the best sitcom of all time? Let us know in the comments below.
