When thinking of families on television shows, the mind often gravitates directly to "parents with kids." That might be one way of describing a family, but it isn't the only one. While some of the best family sitcoms like Modern Family, The Brady Bunch, or even Full House, have tried to show that what constitutes a family isn't always the mom, dad, two kids, dog, and maybe a grandparent or two, one type of family that isn't so commonly depicted on television are childless or child-free couples.
When considering shows with a married couple at the center, it becomes clear that there are only a handful that have ever focused on the marriage between the two parties versus the relationship with the children. And even fewer that depict couples that don't have, either by choice or circumstance, children at all.
Mad About You (1992-1999, 2019 Revival)
What made Mad About You so ground-breaking for its time in the '90s was that it was one of few, if not the only, sitcom to depict a successful professional couple that decided not to have children. Indeed, they did eventually decide to have a child but that didn't happen until near the end of the show.
For much of Mad About You's run, which had plenty of great episodes, the story was about a documentary filmmaker and public relations specialist and their daily lives in Lower Manhattan. The show was so popular, it sparked a limited series revival of 12 episodes in 2019.
King Of Queens (1998-2007)
One of the best-known examples of a television couple without children is Doug and Carrie Heffernan from King of Queens, who lived a modest, working-class life living in Queens. Much of the series focused on Doug's antics or the conflicts between he and Carrie.
A lot of it had to do with Carrie's elderly father Arthur, who lived with them and was always scheming or getting up to trouble and inserting himself into their marriage. But the way Carrie dealt with her father showed, in a way, how she could be supportive sometimes (but not others.) Again, it was only at the end of the series that the topic of a baby was brought up with Doug and Carrie traveling to Beijing to adopt a child and Carrie discovering, at the same time, that she is also pregnant.
The Honeymooners (1955-1956)
The oldest series on this list, the iconic sitcom starred Jackie Gleason (who also created it) and Audrey Meadows as a married couple living in New York. They often spent time with their married neighbors and best friends Ed and Trixie.
Neither couple had children and were quite happy with their child-free lives, working and dealing with day-to-day issues and dilemmas (often absurd ones), often to hilarious effect.
Rules Of Engagement (2007-2013)
This sitcom flew quietly under the radar for seven seasons, never really getting the recognition it deserved but remaining steadily popular among its loyal legion of viewers. At the heart of the show were five friends, two of whom were married to one another, two engaged to one another, and one that was single.
Jeff and Audrey were an older professional couple working in successful careers, Jeff as a financial manager and Audrey as a magazine editor. They never really brought up the subject of having kids and seemed quite content with their lives being child-free.
I Dream Of Jeannie (1965-1970)
The focus of this series was on the 2,000-year-old genie, aptly named Jeannie, who falls in love with a Captain/Major named Tony and they get married. The story is always about the couple, with the idea of children never really being brought into the fold.
The premise didn't really have room for children and depicted an unconventional romance and hijinks like no other ever on television in the sitcom world at that time. Jeannie did a lot of things that weren't appreciated but should have been.
Dharma And Greg (1997-2002)
For five seasons, fans watched the two title characters navigate married life in a unique way: they got married after their first date, even though they couldn't be more different from one another.
A Chuck Lorre series, much of the humor came from their differences, with Dharma being a free-spirited yoga instructor and Greg a more straightlaced lawyer. Naturally, they found over time that they complemented one another. But the story was always about them, not about having children.
The Bob Newhart Show (1972-1978)
Iconic comedian Bob Newhart reportedly specifically crafted The Bob Newhart Show to center around a couple that didn't have children so he didn't play the "dopey father."
While this seems completely common nowadays, it's easy to forget that this was a ground-breaking concept back in the '70s when the idea of the nuclear family was the dominant definition of a "family." Families always consisted of parents and children in the sitcom world, but Newhart was among the first to buck that trend.
Mike & Molly (2010-2016)
Another Chuck Lorre sitcom, this is the one that put Melissa McCarthy on the map as a serious comedic talent, helping catapult her eventual A-list movie career. Not surprisingly, then, it only ranks 10th on Melissa McCarthy's list of best roles, despite having been a successful sitcom that aired for six seasons. McCarthy starred alongside Billy Gardell as a couple who meet in an overeaters anonymous group and fall in love.
While they didn't begin as a married couple, they did eventually get engaged and married. The series' focus, however, was on their careers, situations that arose with their families, and their journey together to try and lose weight. Having kids was never a core subject.