My Top 10 Favourite Sitcoms

Sitcoms are my not-so-guilty pleasure. I love them.

I love them for their characters, how easy they are to binge and how they make me feel after an episode. Situation Comedies are, as their title suggests, comedies that rely on the circumstances of the lead characters to create comedy.

Whether relatable or wildly over the top, sitcoms create their own world and then get their characters to operate within it, almost like one big science experiment. They put their characters in a situation or give them a problem to solve and see what happens!

A good sitcom is all about the characters. They have to be funny, consistent, show development over a 22 episode season but still have enough development to go over 11 seasons if needed. Over long runs this challenge gets harder and harder causing a lot of shows to dip in quality around the season 5 mark.

This list contains my top ten sitcoms in no particular order. There's a mix of American and British but most importantly they are all shows I have watched from beginning to end. This is why popular shows like Fawlty Towers, Blackadder and 30 Rock are not on this list. I love them but I've not watched them all the way through so I wouldn't be able to judge the series as a whole.

Ready to enter a world of laugh tracks, obvious but entertaining set ups and ensemble high jinx? Of course you are!

1. Community

Community is an American sitcom created by Dan Harmon, the mind behind the hugely popular animated series Rick and Morty. Set in a community college for underachievers, the series follows Jeff, an ex-lawyer sent back to college after his degree is discovered to be phoney. After getting a crush on Spanish student Britta he invites her to a fake Spanish study group in the hopes of asking her out on a date. However, Britta asks some of her classmates to join the fake study group.

There's ex-pill addict Annie, former high school football champion Troy, rich but lonely grump Pierce, bubbly single mother Shirley and Abed the highly creative but socially awkward film student.

While this sounds like a generic set up, what I love about Community is just how wild and creative it can get with it's premise. Greendale is less of a set location and more of a sandbox where literally anything can happen! There are episodes where all the actors are replaced by puppets and stop motion animation. There are season finales where school-wide paintball games break out and the show turns into a western for an episode. There's a David Fincher style crime drama episode, an episode where the characters just play dungeons and dragons. The characters are so funny and the situations so whacky that's it's impossible not to just go along with it!

It plays with genre and the whole idea of what a sitcom should be in a very metta, self deprecating way. I would say there is a drop off around season 4 after Donald Glover and Chevy Chase leave the cast. The chemistry the original cast has is unexchangeable. However, despite this the last two seasons of the show still have a lot to offer. I don't regret watching to the end even if it didn't go out as strong as it started.

2. The Office (Uk)

The Office is the first british sitcom I ever watched and it will always remain one of my favourites. There's something organic about British comedy that American comedy doesn't seem to have. While tonnes of shows have used the mockumentary style of filmmaking since there are not many who can make it look as authentic as this show does.

Unlike in shows like Parks and Recreation or Modern Family, there is real attention paid to where the camera is in The Office. Private situations are always filmed through windows so not to be intrusive. The interviews seem awkward and unrehearsed. They've really thought about what a documentary crew would have access to and how the characters all react to being filmed. Whether it's to perform like David Brent, act tough like Garath or say a thousand words in a facial expression like Tim.

The relatability of the show ties in to how it's still so well remembered today. We feel like we know these people and over two seasons we've formed a real connection with them. As much of a jerk David Brent is, was there anyone who didn't feel sorry for him when he was pleading for his job in season 2 or rooting for Tim and Dawn to finally get together in one of TV's most memorable "will they won't they" relationships?

Running for only two seasons The Office didn't outstay it's welcome and allowed the audience to see tangible growth in the characters making for a satisfying and comedy fueld finarlie. It's become the blueprint for many comedies since but nothing has done it quite like the original.

3. How I Met Your Mother

I missed the Friends train and have never been able to get on it. Instead my high school sitcom series was How I Met Your Mother. The show is about Ted Mosby, a guy left at a loose end when his two best friends Marshall and Lily decide to get married. He decides to go on a mission to meet the woman of his dreams but his embarrassing lack of confidence leaves him in dire need of help. Enter Barney Stinton, a perpetually single player who appoints himself Ted's love guru against his wishes.

The story is told from the future as an older Ted tells his children the story of how he met their mysterious mother over 9 seasons.

The series has plenty of ups and downs especially in the controversial final series but I cannot stress how iconic this series has become. The image of the yellow umbrella, the blue french horn and Barney's several catch-phrases have cemented the show in the public conscience. Is Barney a problematic character? Yes, but that's kind of the point of him. Ted needs to learn what advice to take and leave in order to become the man who will meet his children's future mother. The characters are all brilliantly funny and it's slightly riskier brand of comedy than other, safer playing series makes it enjoyably refreshing

It's going to be legend... wait for it... dary!

4. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Created by the same team that brought you Parks and Recreation and the American Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a show based on the lives of a Brooklyn police precinct after it undergoes a change in management. Helmed by Lonely Island and SNL star Andy Samberg the show is a very episodic, silly and over the top comedy action series. Some of the funniest moments come from the chase sequences and choreographed stunt work.

What really stands out about Brooklyn Nine-Nine is it's departure from past sitcom conventions. A diverse cast with two confirmed LGBT+ characters and a line of comedy which has so far never resulted to low brow sexism or racism to hit a joke which a LOT of american comedies do. While not afraid of social commentary the show's purpose is to entertain first and foremost and entertain it does.

Captain Holt is by far my favourite character played by the brilliant Andre Braugher who plays his character deadly serious throughout the whole series.

5. Derry Girls

It was a hard decision between Derry Girls and the Inbetweeners to take this spot but while the Inbetweeners had me howling at times there's something heartening and enjoyable about the more subtle comedy of Derry Girls which I just enjoyed more than the in your face gross out humour of its predecessor.

Clearly inspired by the Inbetweeners, Derry Girls is about a troublemaking group of teen girls growing up during the troubles in Northern Ireland in the 1990's. Growing up in an all girls catholic school under the ever watchful eye of Sister Michael the girls feel a need to rebel but some of them are more up for it than others scared of disappointing their parents and extended family.

One of the funniest members of the group is James, Michelle's cousin who is enrolled in the girls school while his mother is in prison, scared he'd be bullied if put in the boys school because of his more feminine attributes, even though he argues addimently he's not gay. Forced to go along with their schemes his facial expressions could carry the show on their own!

6. The Good Place

Probably the most unconventional sitcom on the list, The Good Place follows Eleanor, a recently deceased woman from Arizona who wakes up to find herself in The Good Place, a heavenly realm where you can exist in bliss for eternity. However Eleanor quickly figures out that they've got the wrong woman! Terrified of being found out and sent to the Bad Place Eleanor enlists the help of her friend and "soulmate" Chidi hoping that he can teach her ethics so she can become a person worthy of staying in the Good Place.

While the situations in this comedy are unlike any of the more grounded ones in other series it definitely has the most philosophical approach to life. Ethical conundrums which get gradually more complicated as the series progresses makes it a completely unique kind of show. Over four seasons there's just enough time for fantastic character development while still keeping them funny and true to themselves.

Ted Danson as immortal being Michael is a highlight of the show. He delivers his line with infectious glee which gets a chuckle out of me regardless of the quality of the episode.

7. Modern Family

The latest sitcom I've binged, Modern Family is an American mockumentary series based on the lives of three related families. While any realism to the documentary idea is abandoned very early on (the interviews become more like asides to the camera in a play) the show is consistently funny and heartwarming for 11 seasons! That's 11 years on air!

Where the show's strengths are is with the situations it puts its characters through which feel realistic and offer up a lot of good laughs. It also has the capacity to be incredibly wholesome with a lot of sweet moments. I love how flawed all the characters are and how all of the relationships are a bit messy. Cam, Mitch and Lily are my favourite family on the show. I love that they treat the gay couple just the same as all the other characters and give them the same situations any of the others could have. Allowing the couple to tie the knot as soon as it became legal during their third season was a beautiful and memorable moment which I'm sure will have made a big impact in a lot of American households. All the characters are given the opportunity to be funny and considering the length of the series the standard of writing remains consistently good.

8. Will & Grace

While it is dated now, the impact of Will & Grace cannot be overlooked. Without Will & Grace there would be no Modern Family and the world wouldn't have been introduced to Sean Hayes. Over 11 seasons (with a 12 year gap between seasons 8 and 9) the show is about the lives of best friends Will & Grace, one a gay man and the other his fiery best friend and ex girlfriend.

While it hasn't done much to help stereotypes I kind of like how it doesn't feel responsible for that. The characters are there to be funny and it's one of the only sitcoms fully immersed in gay culture and un-affraid to make in-jokes.

Funnier than Friends with more consistency than How I Met your Mother, Will & Grace is my favourite multicam show and has had me in stitches multiple times.

9. Outnumbered

Two years before Modern Family the Uk had Outnumbered following the lives of two parents as they try to raise their three trying children. As with a lot of British comedies, the acting feels a lot more naturalistic than other shows especially with how the children are treated. They are just allowed to be kids which is much more entertaining than the disney channel like children we see on a lot of American sitcoms.

Watching the kids grow up over 5 seasons of the show leads to escalating comedy situations throughout and didn't outstay its welcome. Cute, funny and relatable Outnumbered is a brilliant family comedy which will be remembered for years to come.

10. The IT Crowd

Richard Ayoade as Moss... iconic... need I say more?

I probably should. I came to the IT crowd quite late after it was recommended to me by a friend. This show is so freaking funny and full of quotable one-liners. The IT Crowd is about the hidden IT technicians that work for a corporate business. However their new head of department Jen knows nothing about computers and relies on the expertise of her two dorky work colleagues to help her out.

Moments from this show will randomly pop up in my head more than any of the other shows, maybe because it's such a unique mix of characters. The ridiculously long emergency number, Moss emailing the fire brigade as everything catches fire around him and who could forget Noel Fielding trapped in the basement or Roy's advice "have you tried turning it off and on again?"

It made shining stars out of its leads and continues to be a british comedy classic.

Conclusion

Sitcoms are one of the oldest and longest standing forms of TV and have both the capacity to last generations or become outdated as soon as it finishes airing. There's nothing more telling about a period of time than what people found funny.

Who knows what the next big hit will be but I can't wait to put it on my weekly watch list!