Meme templates are constantly created by stills from movies, games, and TV shows. They are a fun form of Internet communication and range from simple jokes about everyday life to political arguments. The more popular a form of media is, the more likely fans will create memes from it. TV shows are among the most popular pieces of media for meme templates. Such memes can get so popular that individuals who haven't seen the show will recognize and know about the meme but nothing about the actual scene from the show it is from.
Certain TV shows have created way more memes than others. This is due to their popularity, genre, and type of audience. For example, it is likely that teenage to young adult viewers are more likely to make memes than children and older adults. In terms of genre, comedy is the most meme-able as well. With all that in mind, here are the ten most memed shows of all time.
SpongeBob SquarePants
Regardless of what you may think of the later seasons, SpongeBob Squarepants is the number one most memed show of all time. The cartoon has been running for a long time and its comedy transcends generational gaps. It's goofy, absurd, and most importantly, memorable.
Popular memes this show has made include handsome Squidward, confused Mr. Krabs, burning fish, "Chocolate!", "Ight Imma Head Out," "I don't need it," mocking SpongeBob, primitive SpongeBob, and many more.
The Office
The American version of The Office ran from 2005 to 2013 and it was pure comedy gold. The show is constantly re-watched even today, which in itself is a meme. It had major cultural impact, and part of that impact is in the memes.
Many memes are gifs such as Kelly saying "How dare you?" while others are panels with Michael saying, "You do not have the facts, I love him." Of course, lets not forget the many looks in the camera from Jim. Now those are classics!
Parks & Recreation
By pure luck, Parks and Recreation is like the sibling of The Office in terms of comedy, style, cultural impact, and quality. They have a lot in common, especially in the sheer amount of memes that it inspired.
Like The Office, the comedy of this show is silly and the characters have hilarious lines that fans love to quote. Popular memes include "Would a depressed person make this?," "I know this and I love you," and almost anything with Ron Swanson's face.
Rick & Morty
While airing more recently than SpongeBob, Parks and Rec, and The Office, Rick and Morty has managed to be a meme machine. A lot of this is owed to the fans, many of whom are young adults that are very in touch with Internet humor.
Popular memes include "I've seen what makes you cheer," Rick ripping wallpaper to show a harsh truth, and pretty much any still of the show since the characters' facial expressions are hilarious outside of context. Arguably, the mere act of being a fan of Rick and Morty has itself become a meme, exemplified by memes that pedantically explain how hilarious Rick turning himself into Pickle Rick is.
The Good Place
Compared to many other comedy shows of its time, The Good Place is an interesting combination of comedy, fantasy, and philosophy. The show is both hilarious as well as interesting as it explores morals and human condition.
More importantly, the show also made a ton of memes. It has many quotable lines such as the twist of the first season of "This is The Bad Place" to Michael saying "Birth is a curse and existence is a prison."
The Eric Andre Show
If the joke wasn't clear, The Eric Andre Show is a parody of low-budget '90s talk shows commonly seen in public access channels. What sets Eric Andre's talkshow apart is that everything devolves into absurdist chaos the moment an episode begins. This cult show may not exactly had the same amount of cultural impact as others on this list, but that did not stop the memes from coming.
There is the "Let me in" meme, the "Why would (blank) do this?", and of course "Why would you say something so controversial yet so brave?" Between the writing and Eric Andres' expressions, the show is meme gold.
Arthur
The supposed maturity of shows does not matter in the meme world. In fact, something meant for little kids like Arthur tends to be commonly used as meme fodder. Popular ones include D.W. not being able to read, Arthur's fist, D.W. looking through a chain link fence, and many more.
Arthur is one of the longest animated series of all time, but most of the memes come from the earlier seasons. Even for those who never watched this show, the characters and art style are pretty familiar. It's no SpongeBob, but it does the job.
Futurama
From the creators of The Simpsons came this adult-oriented animated science fiction series that has gotten many awards and has made itself quite the legacy. It's type of humor is what makes for good memes, black comedy, surrealism, and self-deprecation.
Popular memes from this series include "Shut up and take my money," "I don't want to live on this planet anymore," "Not sure if," and those are just the tip of the iceberg.
The Simpsons
Who doesn't know The Simpsons? Love it or hate it, this adult animated sitcom influenced the TV show industry in a major way. It has 31 seasons, but its the first nine that are the goldmine of quality for both episodes and memes.
Some of the many memes the show's early seasons inspired include Homer sinking into the bushes, Lisa getting coffee, Old Man Yells at Cloud, "No, it is the children who are wrong," "I'm in danger," "Money can be exchanged for goods and services," and Marge Krumping.
Sesame Street
With 50 seasons so far, Sesame Street has been the part of many childhoods. Even those that weren't raised to know these characters end up knowing the characters anyway. The puppets used in the show are so goofy and expressive that they have become major meme mines.
The most memed characters of the puppets are Elmo, Bert, Ernie, and technically Kermit the Frog is also a part of the Sesame Street crew, and that frog has been part of many hilarious memes!