# The top ten FUNNIEST TV shows (in my opinion). **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 16, 2017, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770 "2017-08-16T08:03:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/21 "2017-08-16T14:14:29Z")
**Some classics:** Blackadder Bottom Cheers Frasier MASH **Some current-ish:** The Good Place QI Community The Detectorists The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year **Runners Up:** 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown Spaced Psych Better Off Ted Brooklyn Nine Nine ---
**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:** [August 16, 2017, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/22 "2017-08-16T14:16:47Z")
Arrested Development Cheers Freaks and Geeks Seinfeld Third Rock from the Sun Curb Your Enthusiasm How I Met Your Mother 30 Rock Schitt’s Creek It’s Always Sunny In no particular order. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2017, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/23 "2017-08-16T14:17:52Z")
> [@Zeke\_N.Destroi](#): > > In no particular order: > > My Name Is Earl > 6 Feet Under > The Simpsons (up to season 9 or so) > Married With Children > Better Call Saul > Breaking Bad > All In The Family > Sanford and Son > Game of Thrones > King of the Hill Some interesting choices for funniest shows of all time. ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/24 "2017-08-16T14:30:33Z")
[QUOTE=OP] If you have a show you think I’d like based on my list and likes and dislikes here, feel free to tell me about it and I will try it (someday, although possibly not right away). [/quote] Based on this, I’ll submit (as mentioned up thread) **“Arrested Development”** It’s in the same style of the shows you mentioned so I think you’d find it funny. I also think you might enjoy\*\*“You’re the Worst”\*\* on the FX network - dark, twisted humor with really messed up characters. My personal top ten funniest shows, (in no particular order; variety shows like SNL not included) FWIW: **Friends** - It’s hopeless and awkward and desperate for love! **Archer** - Phrasing! **MASH** - Best one liners from Alan Alda **The Honeymooners** - Bang! Zoom! **Roseanne** - Becky. Cut. The cheese… **Modern Family** - Why didn’t I wear my SHANTS!? **Family Guy** - We have some very strong head winds…giggity. **WKRP In Cincinnati** - As God is my witness… **Night Court** - I think we’re shaving this a little too close… **SOAP** - Brilliant, controversial and way ahead of it’s time ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/25 "2017-08-16T14:45:23Z")
More votes for **Spaced** and **Arrested Development** as the best modern-era comedies. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2017, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/26 "2017-08-16T14:52:19Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It’s not as if **Cheers** was the first show set in a bar. Jackie Gleason had a regular Joe the Bartender sequence on his TV show. > > Ex-Dead End Kid/Bowery Boy Ganriel Dell had a show called **The Corner Bar** , where he played barkeep Harry Grant (of _Grant’s Toomb_). It lasted a year, 1972-3 > > **Archie Bunker’s Place** , the All in the Family spinoff, lasted four years (1979-1983) > > **Cheers** started in 1982. So take it up with [the people who made Cheers and were inspired by Fawlty Towers.](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/5286579/Fawlty-Towers-the-classic-sitcom-the-BBC-didnt-want.html) They saw the advantage of having a show set in a business where random people could come in. I didn’t say it was the first to be set in a bar. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/27 "2017-08-16T15:12:40Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > So take it up with [the people who made Cheers and were inspired by Fawlty Towers.](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/5286579/Fawlty-Towers-the-classic-sitcom-the-BBC-didnt-want.html) They saw the advantage of having a show set in a business where random people could come in. I didn’t say it was the first to be set in a bar. I don’t have to. I’m taking issue with your suggestion that this was an innovation: > [@](#): > > Rather than having a show set in a family like Soap or All In the Family, as was common at the time, putting it in a public setting was ideal. The writers didn’t have to go to great lengths to create plot. On FT a guest would literally walk in off the street, and there’s your tension / problem / weirdo! Cheers moved it into a bar. At the time the Cheers creators were making the show, there already was a Bar show (spun off from the All in the Family you mention, no less) that used that public setting with people walking in off the street creating plot. It was already there, in a bar. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/28 "2017-08-16T15:13:46Z")
Parks and Recreation is definitely worth checking out. I have no idea why, but my husband and I didn’t watch it when it originally aired. My daughter was recently watching it on Netflix and I started at about half way through season 3. We finished it and last night went back to season 1 because I’d like to watch it all the way through. The earlier ones so far (only watched a few) are not as funny imo, but it’s setting things up. I’m really glad I’ve decided to check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/29 "2017-08-16T15:16:27Z")
I absolutely second or third Who’s Line is it Anyway. Someone also mentioned Barney Miller, that was excellent. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/30 "2017-08-16T16:09:00Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I don’t have to. I’m taking issue with your suggestion that this was an innovation: > > At the time the Cheers creators were making the show, there already was a Bar show (spun off from the All in the Family you mention, no less) that used that public setting with people walking in off the street creating plot. It was already there, in a bar. This is what a friend of mine calls a “distinction without a difference”. I gave examples of shows set in families at the time. I never used the word innovation and didn’t say Cheers was the first show in a bar. I merely gave a cite that the makers of Cheers were inspired by Fawlty Towers, took note of its public setting and emulated it. So as Basil Fawlty said, “if you trouble us again I shall visit you in the small hours and put a bat up your nightdress!” 🙂 ---
**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:** [August 16, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/31 "2017-08-16T16:53:55Z")
What audience are we considering? Most nerds, for instance, find _The Big Bang Theory_ hilarious, but I expect (though can’t be certain, being a nerd myself) that a lot of the jokes probably fall flat for non-nerds (or at least, non-nerds who don’t hang out with any nerds). On the other hand, the humor in, say, _I Love Lucy_ is pretty much accessible to everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/32 "2017-08-16T18:04:20Z")
My all-time Top Ten funny shows: _Monty Python Seinfeld Frasier Friends Archer Rick and Morty Scrubs The Big Bang Theory Roseanne Whose Line Is It Anyway_ ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/33 "2017-08-16T18:35:21Z")
I’ll also add _Father Ted_ (one of the funniest shows ever for me). Also, the first season of _Mork and Mindy_. It went downhill fast after that, but a lot of the first season was comedy gold. I’m in agreement that the Richard Simmons segment of _Whose Line?_ is probably the funniest thing on TV. I \*hurt \*myself laughing at that the first time I saw it. One more: I normally wouldn’t include \*Bewitched \*on a list of funny shows, but there’s one segment, [where Uncle Arthur tries to teach Darrin magic](https://www.facebook.com/DickYorkAppreciationPage/videos/1666799366933500/), that puts me in tears of laughter no matter how many times I watch it. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/34 "2017-08-16T18:43:50Z")
We’ve got a pretty good survey going here, but one that I haven’t seen mentioned is **The Odd Couple** (original Tony Randall/Jack Klugman version) Some of the funniest can’t breathe because you’re laughing so much moments. Aside from that, I still put **MASH** , \*\*Barney Miller \*\*and **Soap** at the top of my list. But if we can expand out of sitcoms, no show has ever made me laugh as much, as long, or as loud as **The Colbert Report**. (My landlady actually asked me what was going on at that time that made me laugh so much.) ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/35 "2017-08-16T18:58:23Z")
I’d say Jack Benny, Carol Burnett, Dick Van Dyke, Monty Python, Night Court, and MASH were some of the regularly funniest shows I’ve ever watched. I suspect many of you are too young to have watched the first or first two, otherwise they would have been mentioned. They, of course, were not sitcoms like most of the shows being mentioned. Some portions of the Tonight Show by Johnny Carson literally made me cry I laughed so hard. The funniest things were almost always ad libs or spontaneous and not written skits. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/36 "2017-08-16T19:03:14Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Some portions of the Tonight Show by Johnny Carson literally made me cry I laughed so hard. Oh, yes! The Karnak bit about “Sis Boom Bah” (“Describe the sound made when a sheep explodes”) was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in my life. I thought the audience would _never_ stop laughing. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/37 "2017-08-16T19:04:27Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > I’ll also add _Father Ted_ (one of the funniest shows ever for me). Oh very much yes. I once pulled a muscle laughing at a Father Ted visual gag. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/38 "2017-08-16T19:08:57Z")
Seinfeld Modern Family Friends Blackish The Office Big Bang Theory Lucifer (not strictly a comedy by Tom Ellis is funny as hell) SNL Will & Grace The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/39 "2017-08-16T19:09:28Z")
I know he’s out of favor these days but I’ve always thought benny hill was funny in a lowbrow sort of way (and he did the most perfect cover of “runaway” I’ve ever heard) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770/40 "2017-08-16T19:21:01Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Oh very much yes. I once pulled a muscle laughing at a Father Ted visual gag. There’s an episode of _The Goodies_ that allegedly caused a man to actually laugh himself to death. One of my favorite one-off episodes was _Overkill_ from the anthology series _Murder Most Horrid_. Dawn French plays a woman who’s despondent and preparing to commit suicide. Into her life comes an assassin played by Amanda Donohoe. For convoluted reasons, Dawn takes on Amanda’s mission to kill a business executive, tricked out with all of Amanda’s high-tech gadgets and an earpiece so they can communicate. The death toll is at least a dozen. It’s hysterical. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-ten-funniest-tv-shows-in-my-opinion/793770.md?page=3)