Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

TV
  • Advertisements

What's the best TV sitcom of all time? Help us decide!

We've narrowed the field down to 20 contenders. What do you think is the best TV sitcom ever?

By Staff Writer / May 24, 2013

L: (from l. to r.) Michael Richards, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Jerry Seinfeld star in Seinfeld. R: Lucille Ball stars in 'I Love Lucy.'

L: NBC/AP R: CBS/AP

Enlarge

From the "show about nothing" to Lucy and Ricky's groundbreaking comedy to a poignant and funny look at doctors working during the Korean War, TV has produced various stellar sitcoms over the decades. These shows have not only entertained audiences but also changed Hollywood and society. "I Love Lucy" invented re-runs, now an industry staple. "All in the Family" challenged society's perceptions through the views of hero Archie Bunker. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" showed home audiences the single woman life that was becoming a reality in America but not often discussed. "Roseanne" showed the struggles of a working-class family when TV ensembles were often more affluent.

Skip to next paragraph

Meanwhile, on the awards circuit, our contender "Frasier" currently holds the most Emmy awards, having secured a whopping 37 over its run. It broke the record held previously by poll competitor "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," which had won 29.

Of course, not every show can be an awards darling. Castaways comedy "Gilligan's Island" never received an Emmy nomination, while the medical comedy "Scrubs" was nominated but never secured an Emmy award. Time-warp program "That '70s Show" received one in 1999 for its costume design and was nominated several more times over its run, but only got its name called at the awards ceremony once.

But which of these shows is the best of all time? Monitor staff have winnowed the list down to 20 competitors for the crown, with 1951's "I Love Lucy" currently the earliest show and 2001's "Scrubs" serving as the newest contender. Vote in our poll below, which will be open through June 7, and then we'll compile an article based on your, the readers', rankings.

Have fun voting!

  • Weekly review of global news and ideas
  • Balanced, insightful and trustworthy
  • Subscribe in print or digital

Special Offer

 

Doing Good

 

What happens when ordinary people decide to pay it forward? Extraordinary change...

Colorado native Colin Flahive sits at the bar of Salvador’s Coffee House in Kunming, the capital of China’s southwestern Yunnan Province.

Jean Paul Samputu practices forgiveness – even for his father's killer

Award-winning musician Jean Paul Samputu lost his family during the genocide in Rwanda. But he overcame rage and resentment by learning to forgive.

 
 
Become a fan! Follow us! Google+ YouTube See our feeds!