An indispensable aspect of popular culture that has produced some of thebest shows of all time,sitcomsnumber among the most widely watched and influential forms of television out there. Featuring beloved and long-running names likeThe Office,Peep Show,andIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, thebest sitcoms of all timechronicle a diverse array of stories from all walks of life, continuously evolving and highlighting that there is no set formula for a show to become wildly successful.
However, for every superb sitcom that deserves every bit of the praise that it receives, there’s at least one counterpart that leaves viewers scratching their heads as to how the show even got off the ground in the first place. Whether the sitcom played out as an insufferable mess from its very first scene, or steadily fell off in terms of quality and innovation as the show progressed,the last decade has played host to some of the most overrated sitcoms of all time.
The Big Bang Theory
Cast
The Big Bang Theory: This sitcom follows a group of socially awkward scientists and their interactions with each other and the people around them. Centered on physicists Sheldon and Leonard, the series humorously explores friendship, romance, and the quirks of life among an eclectic group of academics.
Running for 12 seasons and spawning a multimedia franchise including a prequel series, Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady’sThe Big Bang Theoryis one of the most successful television shows of all time.Chronicling the lives and times of a socially awkward group of scientists, the wildly popular series ran for 12 years between 2007 and 2019, surpassing the storied likes ofFriendsandHow I Met Your Motheras one of television’s longest-running sitcoms.
What The Big Bang Theory’s Main Cast Members Have Said About Returning For The New Spinoff
With Stuart’s Big Bang Theory spinoff in development, attention is being directed to the old cast, with questions about whether they would return.
The ironic thing about this state of affairs is that the show has always been one of television’s most overrated offerings. Harsh realities that reveal themselves during arewatch ofThe Big Bang Theoryinclude the core characters' lack of likability, the dysfunction between the show’s romantic pairings, and an infuriating laugh track. To compound matters, the show is purportedly a celebration of nerd culture but ultimately spends more time reducing its own characters to little more than an array of stereotypical caricatures.
9Mrs. Brown’s Boys (2011-present)
Created By Brendan O’Carroll
A sitcom created by and starring Brendan O’Carroll,Mrs. Brown’s Boysfollowsthe antics of the show’s titular loud-mouth Irish matriarch and her family. A veritable success story on paper,Mrs. Brown’s Boyshas consistently attracted huge viewership numbers, high ratings, and a loyal following. While the show only features a limited number of episodes, it has produced multiple seasons, a feature film, and returns on an annual basis for a yearly holiday special.
There’s an entertaining viewing experience to be had here if the sight of a man dressed as a foul-mouthed elderly woman sounds amusing, but this is an arduous watch otherwise.
Despite such enviable success,Mrs. Brown’s Boyshas consistently been decried by critics as one of television’s most overrated shows. Attracting descriptors ranging from"crass" to “lazy trash”(perThe Guardian), O’Carroll’s offering has received poor reviews throughout its run, with detractors highlighting the show’s crude and unimaginative humor as the chief culprit behind this state of affairs. There’s an entertaining viewing experience to be had here if the sight of a man dressed as a foul-mouthed elderly woman sounds amusing, but many find this is an arduous watch.
Friday Night Dinner
Friday Night Dinner is a British sitcom centered around the Goodman family, who gather every Friday night for a traditional Shabbat dinner. Created by Robert Popper, the show features parents Jackie and Martin, and their adult sons Adam and Jonny, whose bickering and pranks often lead to chaotic yet comedic situations. The series, renowned for its humor and family dynamics, stars Tamsin Greig, Paul Ritter, Simon Bird, and Tom Rosenthal.
Running for six seasons before the tragic death of core cast member Paul Ritter, Robert Popper’sFriday Night Dinnerchronicled an array of weekly dinners at the Goodman residence, a middle-class Jewish family residing in North London. The sitcom numbers among the more influential British offerings in recent memory, with characters in the vein of Mark Heap’s Jim Bell and catchphrases like"Shalom, Jackie"inspiring endless imitations andearning cult classic status in British popular culture.
It’s a remarkable state of affairs, given that the show was never the funniest television offering to begin with.Friday Night Dinnerstarts out strongly but swiftly slides into repetitive jokes and childish gags. It’s not irredeemable by any means, with Popper’s series boasting some notably sidesplitting episodes. The show’s middling quality simply doesn’t merit its remarkable popularity and prominent status in British popular culture, particularly when considering the vast range of funnier contemporaries.
Modern Family
Modern Family is a comedy series that follows the unconventional Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker family as they redefine what makes a family in their modern age. Broken into sub-families, the three diverse groups shake up the nuclear formula with empty nesters, adopted children, gender neutrality, and more as they attempt to navigate the various pitfalls and comedic misadventures of their dysfunctional but warm-hearted family dynamic.
A titan of American television,Modern Familyran for 11 seasons between 2009 and 2020.Focusing on the interconnected lives of three family set-ups residing in suburban Los Angeles, Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan’s show featured an ensemble cast and won multiple awards throughout its run. On paper,Modern Familysounds like the furthest thing from an overrated outing, but a closer look at the long-running sitcom reveals several fundamental flaws.
Regrettably,Modern Familyis a prime example of a show that lived off its early success, with later seasons receiving a considerably more mixed critical reaction than the near-universal acclaim associated with earlier installments.Modern Familyincorporates common sitcom tropesto the point that it feels like the show relies on them, a status quo that is compounded by narratives and character molds that can come across as formulaic.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
When cheerful, optimistic Kimmy Schmidt is rescued from a doomsday cult after spending years underground, she opts not to return home to Indiana and instead decides to try and make it in New York City.
Created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock,Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidtfollows the titular character andher attempts to adjust to regular life after being held prisoner by a doomsday cult for 15 years. Brought to life byThe Office’sEllie Kemper in the leading role,Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidtreceived positive reviews throughout a four-season run that was concluded by an interactive film special.
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Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend (2020)
However, strip awayUnbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’sunique premise and what viewers are left with is a fairly average sitcom. While charming, Schmidt’s relentless optimism and upbeat nature can also come across as grating at times. Furthermore, Fey’s brainchild arguably fails to adequately deal with Kimmy’ssurprisingly traumatic dark backstory, the fraught subject matter that forms the show’s bedrock. It may be a comedy at the end of the day, but sweeping such a horrific ordeal under the carpet feels like a notable missed opportunity for the show to comment on a relevant issue that hangs over proceedings like a cloud.
2 Broke Girls
2 Broke Girls is a sitcom that aired on CBS for six seasons from 2011-2017. Created by Michael Patrick King and Whitney Cummings, the series follows the lives of Max Black (Kat Dennings) and Caroline Channing (Beth Behrs), as they work at a local diner to try to earn enough money to open a cupcake business in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Caroline is the daughter of a billionaire, while Max grew up in poverty, which makes for hilarious differences in their outlooks on life. The series had a quirky cast of supporting characters, including Garrett Morris as Earl Washington, Jennifer Coolidge as Sophie Kachinsky, Jonathan Kite as Oleg Golishevsky, and Matthew Moy as Han Lee.
The CBS comedy2 Broke Girlscenters on two 20-something waitresses working at a Brooklyn diner. Michael Patrick King and Whitney Cummings' sitcom following Kat Dennings and Beth Behr’s titular characters initially displayed promising signs, but regrettably gets bogged down through the overuse of tone-deaf comedic takes on fraught social issues in short order. To provide a little context, the show has beendescribed by theNew Yorkeras"so racist it is less offensive than baffling."
…2 Broke Girlsmorphed into a show that was clearly trying to be edgy and outrageous, but arguably came across as more uncomfortable and contrived due to an overreliance on vulgar humor.
Despite the unquestionable potential posed by the clear comedic chemistry between the show’s leading duo,2 Broke Girlsmorphed into a show that was clearly trying to be edgy and outrageous, but arguably came across as more uncomfortable and contrived due to an overreliance on vulgar humor. However, despite being largely lambasted by critics, the show went on to enjoy a hugely successful run of six seasons and 138 episodes before eventually being canceled by CBS in 2017.
After Life
After the death of his wife, journalist Tony Johnson contemplates suicide, but instead decides to spend the rest of his life saying and doing whatever he wants, regardless of how it impacts others.
Regarded as one of thebest British shows currently on Netflix,After Lifeis arguably one of the streaming giant’s most successful offerings. The Ricky Gervais-led showfollowing a widower and the aftermath of his beloved wife’s deathran for three seasons before concluding in 2022. WithThe Officecreator writing, directing, and starring in the black comedy outing,After Lifeis purportedly meant to be the comedy icon at his purest and there are undoubtedly some great highlights.
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Unfortunately, the rave reviews directed towards certain segments of Gervais' offering gloss over some fundamental shortcomings atAfter Life’sheart. Even for a tragicomedy, the show is unrelentingly bleak and has been criticized (perAV Club) for appearing to often function as little more than an exercise to underline the intellectual superiority of Gervais' protagonist. The supporting characters are colorful, but are often reduced to little more than affable background scenery by the show’s narrative.
Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey is a British romantic sitcom that explores the long-distance relationship between Gavin, from Essex, and Stacey, from Wales, highlighting the dynamics of their families and friends with humor and charm.
A British sitcomfollowing the lives of the eponymous couple and their respective families,Gavin & Staceyis one of the BBC’s more prominent success stories. Created by cast members James Corden and Ruth Jones, the comedy has run for three seasons and two holiday specials, with a third special set to follow in December 2024 to conclude the long-running show. As quintessentially British as it gets,Gavin & Staceyis widely regarded as one of thebest British sitcoms of all time.
Gavin and Stacey’s surnames, Shipman and West, are named after famous serial killers, Dr. Harold Shipman and Fred West.
However, whileGavin & Staceyisn’t terrible by any means, it’s hard to escape the notion that it’s contentiously an overrated piece of television rather than the seminal sitcom that it’s made out to be. For a purported comedy, the show rarely leaves its audience howling with laughter. The titular couple are relatively bland and uncompelling individuals, while Corden’s insistence on his character Smithy’s prominent involvement throughout proceedings can often be construed as grating.
Young Sheldon
A spinoff of the sitcom The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon follows the youth and coming-of-age of Sheldon Cooper during his childhood in Texas as he pursues science and academia. The show also follows his parents, siblings, and Mee-Maw, painting a picture of the world where Sheldon grew up.
A coming-of-age prequel series toThe Big Bang Theory,Young Sheldonchronicles the origins of Jim Parsons' Sheldon Cooperand his adolescence growing up in Texas. Starring Iain Armitage as the child version of Sheldon with Parsons joining as narrator, the show ran for seven seasons before theYoung Sheldonseries finaledropped in 2024. Much like its predecessor, the show received generally positive reviews, overshadowing a number of shortcomings at the heart of this Sheldon-centric prequel.
The effect of the largely unsympathetic character introduced inThe Big Bang Theoryis that the younger version of Sheldon has little scope for any meaningful character development.
Unfortunately,Young Sheldon’spremise is contentiously flawed from the get-go. The effect of the largely unsympathetic character introduced inThe Big Bang Theoryis that this younger version of Sheldon has little scope for any meaningful character development, making it all the more remarkable that the show manages to run for seven seasons. While the prequel does expand its focus to encompass the rest of Sheldon’s family, this development does little to elevateYoung Sheldonabove"just another sitcom"status.
The Mindy Project
Created by and starring Mindy Kaling, The Mindy Project follows the life of Dr. Mindy Lahiri, an OBGYN working at a clinic in New York City. The series deals with the trials and tribulations of Mindy’s professional and personal life, with a colorful cast of characters that includes the talents of Chris Messina, Ike Barinholtz, Ed Weeks, and Garret Dillahunt.
The brainchild ofThe Officestar Mindy Kaling and one ofIMDb’s highest-rated female-led sitcoms,The Mindy Projectdepicts the turbulent life and times of an OB-GYN living in New York City as she attempts to juggle her personal and professional responsibilities.The Mindy Projectran for six seasons before concluding in 2017, receiving consistently positive reviews across the show’s run, but bears the unenviable label asone of the last decade’s most overrated television showsdue to two simple shortcomings.
The Mindy Project: The 10 Best Episodes
Mindy Kaling’s hilarious romantic sitcom The Mindy Project was a hit with fans on both Fox and Hulu. We look at show’s most loved episodes.
In the first instance, for asitcom,The Mindy Projectis more quirky than laugh-out-loud hilarious. Despite the show’s charming aura, the laughs can be few and far between, a status quo that becomes more apparent following the conclusion of the first season. However, perhaps more critically, the show simply doesn’t feature any particularly likable characters. With even Kaling’s protagonist possessing an objectification habit and a penchant for toxic relationships, it’s difficult to lend any considerable emotional investment to proceedings.
