Sitcoms have been a vital part of the TV viewing experience nearly since the dawning of TV itself and they continue to evolve as people's tastes and ideas change. Situational comedies aren't for everybody, but there's something about the simple idea of having a laugh while watching a 20-something-minute-long episode that resonates with audiences across all generations.
Sitcoms can be anything from a family drama, like Modern Family, to a workplace comedy, like the immensely popular The Office. Every decade comes with its share of awesome sitcoms to enjoy, and the ones discussed below are some of the best that have premiered in the past few years.
Single Parents (2018 - 2019) - 7.1
In Single Parents, Will Cooper is a single parent with a young daughter who has been so focused on being the perfect single father that he has practically forgotten what it is like to live as an adult. At his daughter's kindergarten school, he meets a group of single parents who help each other out in their day-to-day lives and sometimes make questionable parenting choices in the process.
The group takes him in and tries to get him out of the "vortex" (their words) that he is in so that he can build a social life separate from that of his daughters.
The Mindy Project (2012 - 2017) - 7.4
Mindy Kaling first gained popularity for her role as Kelly Kapoor on The Office, but what many don't know is that she also served as a writer on the show for many of the episodes. She put her skills as a writer, producer, and actor to even further use in The Mindy Project, a series she created.
A rom-com at its core, the show finds Kaling playing a doctor trying to balance her professional life with her coworkers and various romantic interests. The Mindy Project also features many cameos from The Office cast, notably B.J. Novak as her love interest, once again.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015 - 2019) - 7.6
After gaining popularity for her role as Ellie Kemper on The Office, Ellie Kemper went on to headline her very own Netflix show in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as the titular character. She plays one of the four women who are freed after being held captive in an underground doomsday bunker for 15 years and must adapt to her new life in New York.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is one of Netflix's funniest shows and was created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, two experienced names in the world of comedies who also worked on 30 Rock.
New Girl (2011 - 2018) - 7.7
After going through a particularly bad breakup, Jessica Day, a high-spirited sixth-grade teacher with a lively personality, moves into a loft apartment with three other men.
New Girl follows the interactions between these four people as they all deal with their respective social and romantic lives and grow close together as a family. The show relies heavily on its female protagonist and is better for it, as actress Zooey Deschanel does a great job of making Jess the most likable character on the show.
Superstore (2015 - 2021) - 7.8
American retail stores can be a chaotic battleground where people from all walks of life intersect, and Superstore demonstrates how crazy it can be to work at such a place.
The story takes place at a big-box store called Cloud 9 and centers on the group of people that work there. Even though the show focuses on two main characters, Amy and Jonah, it's the memorable supporting characters and their antics that really make it hilarious.
Kim's Convenience (2016 - 2021) - 8.2
Before getting his big breakthrough in the MCU as the superhero Shang-Chi, Simu Liu spent his days acting in this wholesome Canadian sitcom about a Korean Canadian family running a convenience store. Kim's Convenience is based on an award-winning play of the same name by Ins Choi, who also worked on developing the show.
The show maintains its humourous rhythm by focusing on a very small cast of about 5 to 6 people, all hilarious in their own way. It was canceled after its fifth season in 2021.
The Good Place (2016 - 2020) - 8.2
Many sitcoms suffer from the problem of running for far too long than their plot can creatively support. That's a problem The Good Place doesn't have, with its compact and planned storytelling lasting across only four seasons, the show was able to deliver one of the most satisfying sitcom finales.
Michael Schur has some serious experience when it comes to sitcoms, having co-created shows like Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and he brings that same brand of charm and humor here. The Good Place is about the afterlife and also just life in general, and a group of people who are trying to figure out how to make it to heaven from hell.
Veep (2012 - 2019) - 8.3
U.S. politics is no laughing matter, but Veep tries to paint the picture that perhaps it is not that serious either. Seinfeld actress Julius Louis Dreyfus stars as Selina Meyer, the Vice President of the United States who aspires to be the president someday in this political comedy that explores the behind-the-scenes ridiculousness that goes on in the White House and other political fields.
The show's dialogue features an exorbitant amount of profanity, which ultimately only helps to intensify its comedic themes.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013 - 2021) - 8.4
A TV show with a cast of characters made up entirely of police detectives sounds like the setting of a crime drama and not a sitcom, but Brooklyn Nine-Nine manages to make it work spectacularly.
At the heart of the show is Detective Jake Peralta, played by the lovable Andy Samberg, whose prankster and goofy attitude define the humorous tone of the show. Alongside him is a cast full of equally quirky characters, from the robotic and emotionless precinct captain Raymond Holt to the musclebound Terry Jeffords (played by Terry Crews).
Schitt's Creek (2015 - 2020) - 8.5
The Rose family loses all of their wealth and goes virtually broke from being extremely rich overnight, and are forced to move into a run-down motel in an unfortunately named town called Schitt's Creek.
The Roses, used to their lavish lifestyle, are absolutely crippled due to this sudden change, and the wholesome and funny story of how they mature and learn to be humble is what Schitt's Creek is all about. Schitt's Creek wiped the floor at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, proving that it's not just the U.S. that can produce hit sitcoms.