# Best Sitcoms of the 21st Century **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [October 13, 2025, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932 "2025-10-13T15:26:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/41 "2025-10-13T20:05:16Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > For Sarah Silverman it’s all three males. The Steve and Brian characters didn’t do anything for me. Got it, I thought this was something you had against them, specifically. Politics, me too etc, hence my guess of Jay Johnston. I always liked Steve and Brian in that show but I can certainly understand how a lot of people wouldn’t. How do you feel about them in other shows? They tend to play pretty much the same character in everything. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/42 "2025-10-13T20:06:39Z")
The Office Bobs Burgers Golden Girls ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/43 "2025-10-13T20:06:41Z")
Another one that hasn’t been mentioned yet is Letterkenny, allegedly. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/44 "2025-10-13T20:16:41Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Bobs Burgers I was hoping someone would mention it. It would be my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/45 "2025-10-13T20:20:29Z")
In order: **Arrested Development** - I’m amazed it got made because I don’t see how it could possibly have been funny on the page. You had to see it. Plus it had no spin-up time - AD had its voice from the very first episode. **Veep** - Perhaps the most cynical show ever, and devastatingly funny. I could talk about it all day, but I think one very true to life moment was the episode where Meyer is asked repeatedly why she wants to be president and she simply has no idea. She just craves power. **The Office** - I re-watched recently and came away with a greater appreciation of the later seasons, after Steve Carrell had departed. Good characters, occasionally uneven, but ended strong. At its best, it was wonderful fun. **The Good Place** - Very smart and a satisfying ending. **30 Rock** - Very clever and fun. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/46 "2025-10-13T20:23:44Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > I’m amazed it got made because I don’t see how it could possibly have been funny on the page. That’s why the added the narrator and the “Next time on Arrested Development” parts. The narrator helped them move through the jokes faster without losing people and the “next time…” was so the test audiences would answer ‘yes’ when asked if they’d watch another episode. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/47 "2025-10-13T20:28:10Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > A sitcom needs to clock in around 30 minutes…like _The Bear_. 😃 A couple not mentioned yet: Kim’s Convenience Corner Gas ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/48 "2025-10-13T20:52:18Z")
Ok, but a lot of comedies/sitcoms also have drama, both heartwarming and otherwise. From Growing Pains and All in the Family to Brooklyn 99 and Modern Family. And Ted Lasso is written for laughs as much as any of those shows. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/49 "2025-10-13T20:54:07Z")
We love the US version of _Ghosts_, but IMO it’s premature to put it on this list. There’s plenty of time for it to go straight into the toilet, dragging the overall series down as it circles the bowl. I don’t expect it to, but you never know. _Lost_ did exactly that. (I know _Lost_ was not a sitcom, but it started with such promise, then _FLUSH!_) ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/50 "2025-10-13T20:55:08Z")
_Mom_ might also go heavier on drama than comedy, but I think it comfortably fits into the category of sitcom. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/51 "2025-10-13T21:19:34Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > We love the US version of _Ghosts_, but IMO it’s premature to put it on this list. There’s plenty of time for it to go straight into the toilet, dragging the overall series down as it circles the bowl. I don’t expect it to, but you never know. _Lost_ did exactly that. (I know _Lost_ was not a sitcom, but it started with such promise, then _FLUSH!_) I don’t feel _Ghosts_ has the same potential to fall apart that _Lost_ did. _Ghosts_ is, at heart, a sitcom. It’s about a group of characters being funny. The worst thing that can happen to it is it stops being funny. Each episode in a sitcom is narratively self-contained. _Lost_ pretended to be something it never was. It pretended to be a mystery but part of the narrative of being a mystery is working towards a solution and _Lost_ never had that. A mystery without a solution is pointless, like a riddle without an answer or a joke without a punchline or a race without a finish line. The narrative of a mystery requires a completion and when you realize there is no completion, it retroactively ruins the entire narrative. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/52 "2025-10-13T21:22:43Z")
Just remembered Two and a Half Men. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/53 "2025-10-13T21:23:24Z")
I think I’m gonna toss _Santa Clarita Diet_ into the mix. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/54 "2025-10-13T21:24:56Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I always liked Steve and Brian in that show but I can certainly understand how a lot of people wouldn’t. How do you feel about them in other shows? They tend to play pretty much the same character in everything. I don’t think I’ve seen Steve in anything else. I have seen Brian elsewhere and he’s okay (just okay) in small doses for me. Something that I just thought of. Maybe the Steve and Brian sections could be considered cringe humor (which isn’t my type) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/55 "2025-10-13T21:33:35Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > I don’t think I’ve seen Steve in anything else He was in Superstore and New Girl. But they’re small parts and easy to miss if you don’t recognize him. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/56 "2025-10-13T21:33:55Z")
I hope you’re right. All it takes is to lose a couple of writers, or the loss (or even introduction) of a character. You only know a sitcom has jumped the shark well after the fact. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/57 "2025-10-13T22:11:48Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Ok, but a lot of comedies/sitcoms also have drama, both heartwarming and otherwise. From Growing Pains and All in the Family to Brooklyn 99 and Modern Family. And Ted Lasso is written for laughs as much as any of those shows. A drama can be funny. A comedy can be dramatic. It’s a matter of degree I suppose. Personally I feel _Ted Lasso_ was more of a light hearted drama than a comedy and certainly not a sitcom. I was greatly amused by it but there were very few actual jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/58 "2025-10-13T22:31:52Z")
IMO, Ted Lasso is clearly a sitcom. The comedy is pretty central; it’s not The Wire. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2025, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/59 "2025-10-13T23:13:55Z")
Well, if it can be funny my number 1 absolutely is House M.D. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2025, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932/60 "2025-10-14T01:10:43Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > The comedy is pretty central; it’s not The Wire. _The Wire_ had its moments: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DhkndQ3LML8/hqdefault.jpg "The Wire - The Desk") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhkndQ3LML8) Pretty much any scene with Herc and Carver is comedy gold. Those guys should have gotten a spinoff! Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-sitcoms-of-the-21st-century/1023932.md?page=4)