# Most Overrated Sitcom of All Time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 12, 2005, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086 "2005-07-12T00:01:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/81 "2015-10-17T21:16:55Z")
Breaking Bad (finally watched some past episodes.) The only ones who say it’s better than MASH were too young or too tired to appreciate the latter. Back in the old days it was Baywatch. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/82 "2015-10-17T21:20:00Z")
Yeah, _Breaking Bad_ really wasn’t that funny. I don’t know why everyone thinks it’s the best sitcom ever. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/83 "2015-10-17T21:38:21Z")
**Diceman** I was thinking about “Seinfeld” before opening your thread. But honestly I can’t really nominate one objectively. I will pitch in “Modern Family”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/84 "2015-10-17T21:49:20Z")
Eh, I think that the ratings for _Baywatch_ were pretty accurate. Everyone knew that the appeal of that show was primarily in watching women with surgically-enhanced bosoms running in slow motion, and nobody ever really pretended otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/85 "2015-10-17T21:54:17Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Yeah, _Breaking Bad_ really wasn’t that funny. I don’t know why everyone thinks it’s the best sitcom ever. I don’t know why anybody would ever think it’s a sitcom. It has some amusing moments, but it’s not meant to be a comedy. Or was I just whooshed (again)? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/86 "2015-10-17T21:56:12Z")
\*\*\*Cosby Wings Friends Seinfeld Sex in the City All in the Family Roseanne\*\*\* Could never sit through more than two episodes of any of them (and frequently, no more than one). _ **Married … with Children** _, on the other hand, is pure gold! :o ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/87 "2015-10-17T21:57:00Z")
I know this is not a sitcom but the Today Show ! ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/88 "2015-10-17T22:01:07Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Friends. By a country mile. Friends. In a New York minute! > [@ralph124c](#): > > Cheers. a bunch of mentally retarded people hang around a bar, pick their noses, and tell lousy jokes. I know. It is too close to a documentary. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/89 "2015-10-17T23:00:26Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Cheers. a bunch of mentally retarded people hang around a bar, pick their noses, and tell lousy jokes. So you’re saying Cheers predicted the internet? ---
**Author:** ![Daniel\_Boone\_Fanatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Daniel\_Boone\_Fanatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel_Boone_Fanatic)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/90 "2015-10-17T23:06:15Z")
Breaking Bad isn’t even a sitcom. Its a DRAMA. Gees. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/91 "2015-10-17T23:27:25Z")
Could nobody in 2005 remember _ **Murphy Brown** _? It was on for ten seasons and won 19 Emmy’s. And was the least interesting sitcom I ever saw. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2015, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/92 "2015-10-18T03:22:29Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Yeah, _Breaking Bad_ really wasn’t that funny. I don’t know why everyone thinks it’s the best sitcom ever. Especially with that annoying, over-the-top laugh track. mmm ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/93 "2015-10-19T08:14:54Z")
Looking at the Emmy Award winners for best comedy, which mainly consists of sitcoms after around 1962…(aside from I Love Lucy, variety shows dominated earlier). > **[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primetime_Emmy_Award_for_Outstanding_Comedy_Series)** > > The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series is an annual award given to the best television comedy series of the year. From 1960 to 1964, this category was combined with the Comedy Specials (one time programs) category so that both type of programs competed for the same award during those years. The award goes to the producers of the series. > The Flintstones and Family Guy are the only animated sitcoms to be nominated for the award. As of 2020, Fleabag (United Kingdom) and Schitt's Cr... “Get Smart” was a quirky little show, but I don’t know if it was good enough for two Emmy wins in the late 1960s. It beat Bewitched twice, though that was during the later years of that show. In general, the late 1960s seemed to be a lackluster period for sitcoms, with many earlier shows lingering past their prime, and few sitcoms with the social or cultural impact that the best sitcoms of the 1970s had. One really great one from those years that never caught on was “He and She.” The 1970s were a golden age for sitcoms in retrospect. The 1980s had hits and misses. I thought the Cosby Show had won more Emmys; still the hype it received in its heyday and its high ratings now seem far out of proportion to its relevance. Murphy Brown was a solid enough show, but it seemed too derivative of the Mary Tyler Moore show, and its critical success seemed to reflect how critics love shows about the television business. Aside from the Dan Quayle controversy, its hard to remember much about this show. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/94 "2015-10-19T08:39:45Z")
As it happens, I recently watched through the first couple of seasons of the Cosby Show, in order to make a video of creepy Cosby moments. I am quite confident that this show is the winner, at least in terms of funniness. There was never anything funny that happened on this show. Regular big laughs from the audience would be when a kid said something, and Cosby repeated it. I suppose people liked it because they like to spend time with this family, rather than because of humor, but to me they just seemed sort of bland and unrealistic. Also, at one point Cosby kissed the oldest daughter on her mouth. I’m not a big fan of Friends, or the characters in the show, but there was undeniably some humorous situations and jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Greekfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@Greekfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greekfreak)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/95 "2015-10-19T10:58:27Z")
I have to go with Seinfeld. Although there are seasons of brilliance, I don’t think the last few seasons hold up well at all. If you take the entire run and hold it up to the light, the final 3 cash-grab seasons diminish the gloss on the whole shebang. Frasier, on the other hand, had a slight dip in the last two seasons but not nearly as bad as what happened to Seinfeld. They still had some consistently excellent material until the very end. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/96 "2015-10-19T11:46:26Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > So you’re saying Cheers predicted the internet? Cliff Clavin didn’t predict the Internet so much as embodied it. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/97 "2015-10-19T11:54:29Z")
I watched VERY little TV during the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and early 00’s so was delighted to see that _Friends_ and _Seinfeld_ were over-rated – I’d completely missed out on these famous American icons. (For the past several years I’ve been binge-watching TV series, most mediocre but some very good. I won’t bother to detail the very good ones since in most cases I acted on hints from this forum!) > [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](#): > > Cosby Show, Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, Gilligan’s Island… just because something is OLD doesn’t make it CLASSIC, or even GOOD… Agreed, though Jackie Gleason and Art Carney are special. BTW, _The Late Show_ with Art Carney and Lily Tomlin is a (little-known?) film in the “neonoir”(?) genre worth watching. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/98 "2015-10-19T16:13:21Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I watched VERY little TV during the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and early 00’s so was delighted to see that _Friends_ and _Seinfeld_ were over-rated – I’d completely missed out on these famous American icons. Just because a couple of people claim something is overrated doesn’t mean it is. After all the most overrated sitcom ever was The Daily Show. Bunch of hacks at that show. ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/99 "2015-10-19T16:22:27Z")
The Middle. How is that show still on the air? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086/100 "2015-10-19T16:22:46Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Just because a couple of people claim something is overrated doesn’t mean it is. After all the most overrated sitcom ever was The Daily Show. Bunch of hacks at that show. No it was second. The most over rated sitcom was This is Your Life. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-sitcom-of-all-time/312086.md?page=6)