(Photo by NBC)

200 Best Comedy Series of All Time

You’ve had your say in our Fall TV Survey, crowning Seinfeld your favorite comedy of all time. Now it’s our turn.

To choose the top 200 best comedy TV series of all time, we put funny to the test, looking at Tomatometer data culled from critics’ reviews, consulting some reputable “best of” lists, and exercising some editorial discretion, asking ourselves which classic comedy shows still hold up, which have been the most influential in the realm of comedy, and which have created comedy superstars.

Turns out, all of those factors led to some of the very same classic TV comedy shows and beloved sitcoms Rotten Tomatoes readers chose as their favorites.

We’ve also included international English-language comedy shows that made a big impression on U.S. audiences through broadcast, cable, or streaming — look for some top titles from the U.K., Canada, and Australia.

Read on to review our ranking of the best comedy series and sitcoms, and perhaps discover some new shows you may not have seen yet. And before you ask, we made a separate list for the “Best Sketch Comedies of All Time.”

Is your favorite comedy series missing? Tell us in the comments.

Best Comedy Series
200-151 | 150-101 | 100-51 | 50-1

Two and a Half Men (2003)
65%

#200

Synopsis: Two and a Half Men is a comedy about men, women, sex, dating, divorce, mothers, single parenthood, money, love and... [More]

Starring: Robert Wagner, Charlie Sheen, Ashton Kutcher, Jon Cryer

Directed By: James Burrows, Lee Aronsohn, Mark Roberts, Jamie Widdoes

Summer Heights High (2008)
75%

#199

Synopsis: A mockumentary satirizing life at an Australian public high school, focusing on a narcissistic drama teacher, a conceited popular girl... [More]

Starring: Chris Lilley, David Lennie, Nichole Tan, Kristie Coade

Young Sheldon (2017)

#198

Synopsis: Spin-off of "The Big Bang Theory" follows 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper as he grows up in East Texas and attends high... [More]

Starring: Iain Armitage, Zoe Perry, Lance Barber, Annie Potts

Directed By: Howard Deutch, Michael Zinberg, Peter Lauer, Richie Keen

The Venture Bros. (2004)
92%

#197

Synopsis: Animation about a renowned scientist and his two sons being pursued by various villains.... [More]

Starring: Christopher McCulloch, Michael Sinterniklaas, James Urbaniak, Patrick Warburton

Saved by the Bell (1989) (0)

#196

Synopsis: Teens study, date and scheme at a California high school, where silly storylines didn't stop droves of kids from watching... [More]

Starring: Jennifer Blanc, Barbra Brighton, Louan Gideon, Mark-Paul Gosselaar

Directed By: Leanna Creel, Soleil Moon Frye, Dennis Erdman, Elizabeth Berkley

Happy Endings (2011)
76%

#195

Synopsis: A sitcom about the complications arising among friends of a seemingly perfect couple who break up.... [More]

Starring: Zachary Knighton, Elisha Cuthbert, Casey Wilson, Eliza Coupe

Directed By: Michael Price, Troy Miller, Michael Patrick Jann, Fred Goss

Vice Principals (2016)
83%

#194

Synopsis: Comedy about a power struggle between two high-school administrators who are vying for the top job of principal.... [More]

Starring: Danny McBride (IV), Walton Goggins, Kimberly Herbert Gregory, Georgia King

Directed By: Jody Hill, David Gordon Green

Chewing Gum (2015)
100%

#193

Synopsis: Comedy series about Tracey Gordon, a religious, Beyoncé-obsessed twenty-something who is fast finding out that the more she learns about... [More]

Starring: Michaela Coel, Robert Lonsdale, John Macmillan, Tanya Franks

Directed By: Tom Marshall

American Vandal (2017)
98%

#192

Synopsis: American Vandal is a half-hour true-crime satire that explores the aftermath of a costly high school prank that left twenty-seven... [More]

Starring: Griffin Gluck, Tyler Alvarez, Jimmy Tatro, Camille Hyde

Diff'rent Strokes (1978)

#191

Synopsis: A long-running sitcom about Park Avenue millionaire who adopts two Harlem orphans after the death of their housekeeper mother.... [More]

Starring: Conrad Bain, Gary Coleman, Bobby Jacoby, John McIntire

Directed By: Gerren Keith, Lee Shallat Chemel, Jeremiah Morris, Tony Singletary

The Facts of Life (1979)

#190

Synopsis: A long-running `Diff'rent Strokes' spin-off set at a girls boarding school, with the Drummond's former housekeeper, Mrs. Garrett, now a... [More]

Starring: Geri Jewell, Cloris Leachman, Charlotte Rae, John Lawlor

Directed By: Asaad Kelada, Steven Robman, Linda Day, Mark W. Travis

Designing Women (1986)

#189

Synopsis: Savvy single women run Sugarbakers, an Atlanta decorating business, in this saucy sitcom with feminist sensibilities, which also endured its... [More]

Starring: Lois Foraker, M.C. Gainey, Robert Donovan, Mel Johnson Jr.

Directed By: Arlene Sanford, William Crain, Hal Holbrook, Barnet Kellman

The Young Ones (1982)

#188

Synopsis: The adventures of four eccentric students sharing a dilapidated house in North London.... [More]

Starring: Nigel Planer, Christopher Ryan, Alexei Sayle, Rik Mayall

Directed By: Geoffrey Posner, Paul Jackson, Geoff Posner

Green Acres (1965)

#187

Synopsis: A popular, broadly played hoot about a city couple enjoying life down on the farm. The show came on the... [More]

Starring: Harry Stanton, Garry Walberg, Frederic Downs, Ronald Long

Directed By: Ralph Levy, Bruce Bilson

The Game (2006)

#186

Synopsis: A pro football player's girlfriend adjusts to life in the NFL, which is sometimes glamorous but often stressful.... [More]

Starring: Lauren London, Tia Mowry-Hardrict, Pooch Hall, Jay Ellis

Directed By: Eric Laneuville, Arlene Sanford, Debbie Allen, Janice Cooke-Leonard

Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (2012)
85%

#185

Synopsis: An optimistic girl from the heartland moves to New York and is forced to live with a party girl who... [More]

Starring: Krysten Ritter, Dreama Walker, Liza Lapira, Michael Blaiklock

Directed By: David Hemingson, Michael McDonald, Victor Nelli Jr., Nanette Burstein

Girlfriends (2018)
86%

#184

Synopsis: Three friends cope with the responsibilities that come with being a modern woman of a certain age.... [More]

Starring: Miranda Richardson, Zoë Wanamaker, Phyllis Logan, Philip Cumbus

Leave It to Beaver (1957)

#183

Synopsis: The clean-cut 1950s sitcom, about young `Beaver' Cleaver, his brother Wally and their folks was a family favorite over its... [More]

Starring: Karl Swenson, John Hart, Benny Baker, Jean Vander Pyl

Directed By: James Neilson, Earl Bellamy, Andrew McCullough, Norman Tokar

Black Books (2000)
93%

#182

Synopsis: Comedy series about a hard-drinking, chain-smoking bookstore owner who dislikes customers and has trouble parting with his beloved books.... [More]

Starring: Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey, Tamsin Greig, Terry Bird

Red Dwarf (1988)

#181

Synopsis: Astronaut David Lister survives a disaster in space that wipes out the crew of the mining ship Red Dwarf in... [More]

Starring: Craig Charles, Chris Barrie, Norman Lovett, Sophie Winkleman

Directed By: Ed Bye, Andy De Emmony, Andy DeEmmony, Rob Grant

The Carmichael Show (2015)
87%

#180

Synopsis: Comic Jerrod Carmichael's relationships with his family and his girlfriend are charted in this sitcom. The opinionated North Carolina family... [More]

Starring: Jerrod Carmichael, Loretta Devine, David Alan Grier, Lil Rel Howery

Directed By: Scott Ellis

As Time Goes By (1992)

#179

Synopsis: A British series about former lovers reunited by chance after a 38-year separation chronicles their awkward courtship and eventual marriage.... [More]

Starring: Geoffrey Palmer, Judi Dench, Moira Brooker, Philip Bretherton

Northern Exposure (1990)

#178

Synopsis: A med-school grad must practice in a remote Alaskan village to repay his education in this quirky, fish-out-of-water dramedy. The... [More]

Starring: Rob Morrow, Janine Turner, Barry Corbin, John McLiam

Directed By: Matt Nodella, Peter O'Fallon, Stephen Cragg, Dan Lerner

Looking (2014)
90%

#177

Synopsis: A dramedy following the personal and professional lives of a trio of gay men in San Francisco.... [More]

Starring: Jonathan Groff, Frankie J. Alvarez, Murray Bartlett, Scott Bakula

Directed By: Craig Johnson, Rian Johnson, Joe Swanberg, Andrew Haigh

The Nanny (1993)

#176

Synopsis: After getting fired from her job as a cosmetic saleswoman Fran Fine becomes nanny for a wealthy Broadway producer's... [More]

Starring: Daniel Davis, Donna Douglas, Fran Drescher, Hal Linden

Directed By: Will Mackenzie, Linda Day, Paul Miller, Jennifer Reed

Just Shoot Me (1997)

#175

Synopsis: A slick long-running ensemble sitcom set at a glossy women's magazine run by a bombastic publisher. Marked by sly repartee... [More]

Starring: George Segal, Laura San Giacomo, Yuji Okumoto, David Spade

Directed By: Gail Mancuso, Craig Zisk, Philip Charles MacKenzie, John Fortenberry

Who's the Boss? (1984)

#174

Synopsis: The gender tables are turned when widower Tony Micelli takes a job as a live-in housekeeper for divorced executive Angela... [More]

Starring: Tony Danza, Judith Light, Katherine Helmond, Alyssa Milano

Directed By: Bill Persky, John Tracy, Richard Sakai, Sam Weisman

The Munsters (1964)
83%

#173

Synopsis: A ghoulishly funny sitcom about a family of misfits residing at 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Patriarch Herman, whose green complexion and... [More]

Starring: Kenny Lynch, Vinton Hayworth, Frank Evans, Charles Lane

Directed By: Norman Abbott, Richard Baer, Seymour Berns, David Alexander

I Dream of Jeannie (1965)

#172

Synopsis: Playful, popular sitcom about astronaut Tony Nelson and the sexy genie he releases from a bottle. In the blink of... [More]

Starring: Richard X. Slattery, Kevin Tate, Jackie Riley, Milton Berle

Directed By: Richard Goode, Jerry Bernstein, Oscar Rudolph, E.W. Swackhamer

The Brady Bunch (1969)
78%

#171

Synopsis: A widower with three sons marries a widow with three daughters. It's a sitcom family for the ages, with plenty... [More]

Starring: Vincent Price, Denise Nickerson, Eric Shea, Robbie Rist

Directed By: Allen Baron, Bruce Bilson, Robert Reed, Lloyd J. Schwartz

Family Matters (1989)

#170

Synopsis: A suburban Chicago family is pestered by nerdy, nosy neighbor Steve Urkel in this long-running spin-off of 'Perfect Strangers' (Harriette... [More]

Starring: Peter Fitzsimmons, Jaleel White, Judyann Elder, Tony Edwards

Directed By: David W. Duclon, Jeffrey Ganz, Mark Linn-Baker, Peter Baldwin

Togetherness (2015)
90%

#169

Synopsis: Marriage does not work out for Michelle and Brett who live in an apartment in Los Angeles. As they stumble... [More]

Starring: Mark Duplass, Melanie Lynskey, Steve Zissis, Amanda Peet

Directed By: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass

Baskets (2016)
92%

#168

Synopsis: Chip Baskets has always dreamed of being a classically trained clown. After flunking out of French clown college, he returns... [More]

Starring: Zach Galifianakis, Malia Pyles, Martha Kelly, Tom Proctor

Getting On (2013)
92%

#167

Synopsis: Set in a geriatric broadened mind wing of a down-at-the-heels hospital, Getting On takes after put-upon medical caretakers like nurses,... [More]

Starring: Laurie Metcalf, Jo Brand, Alex Borstein, Niecy Nash

Directed By: Howard Deutch, Becky Martin

The Addams Family (1964)
100%

#166

Synopsis: Comedy about a ghoulish household, created by the cartoonist Charles Addams.... [More]

Starring: Carolyn Jones, Margaret Hamilton, John Astin, Jackie Coogan

Directed By: Jean Yarbrough, Jerry Hopper, Sidney Salkow, Arthur Lubin

The Comeback (2005)
73%

#165

Synopsis: Former sitcom "It Girl" Valerie Cherish tries to jump-start her career with a series of ill-advised forays into reality TV.... [More]

Starring: Lisa Kudrow, Damian Young, Malin Akerman, Victoria Carroll

Directed By: Michael Patrick King, Michael Lehmann, John Riggi, Clark Mathis

Atypical (2017)
87%

#164

Synopsis: Atypical is a coming of age story that follows Sam (played by Keir Gilchrist), an 18-year-old on the autistic spectrum... [More]

Starring: Keir Gilchrist, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Rapaport, Brigette Lundy-Paine

Directed By: Michael Patrick Jann

The Last Man on Earth (2015)
85%

#163

Synopsis: The year is 2022, and after an unlikely event, only one man is left on earth: Phil Miller, who used... [More]

Starring: Will Forte, Kristen Schaal, January Jones, Mel Rodriguez

Directed By: Christopher Miller, Phil Traill, Michael Patrick Jann, Claire Scanlon

Daria (1997)

#162

Synopsis: Beavis and Butt-head's mouthy and sarcastic pal, 16-year-old Daria Morgendorffer, left the boys for her own series. Daria relies on... [More]

Starring: Tracy Grandstaff, Wendy Hoopes, Karen Disher, Julian Rebolledo

Directed By: Karen Disher, Eric Fogel

Vicious (2013)

#161

Synopsis: A British sitcom about a graying gay couple with a fractious relationship.... [More]

Starring: Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Frances de la Tour, Iwan Rheon

Directed By: Ben Kellett

Father Ted (1995)
93%

#160

Synopsis: An eccentric Irish priest is banished to a rain-swept island to live with two clerical misfits and their tea-hawking housekeeper... [More]

Starring: Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, Frank Kelly

Directed By: Andy DeEmmony

The Middle (2009)

#159

Synopsis: Emmy-winner Patricia Heaton stars as Frankie Heck in this warm and witty comedy about raising a family and lowering your... [More]

Starring: Patricia Heaton, Chris Harrison, Rachel Dratch, Neil Flynn

Directed By: Melissa Kosar, Reginald Hudlin, Wendey Stanzler, Jamie Babbit

Coach (1989)

#158

Synopsis: A sturdy sitcom about brash football coach Hayden Fox, who began with the Minnesota State Screaming Eagles when the series... [More]

Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Tim Choate, Rob Schneider, Jerry Van Dyke

Directed By: Alan Rafkin, Tony Dow, Will Mackenzie, Jim Drake

A Different World (1987)

#157

Synopsis: A spin-off of 'The Cosby Show' finds Denise Huxtable on her own at Hillman College. Although Denise only remained at... [More]

Starring: Ja'Net DuBois, Michael Ralph, The Boys, Lisa Bonet

Directed By: Peter Werner, Gil Michael Peters, David Blackwell, Ellen Falcon

Hogan's Heroes (1965)

#156

Synopsis: Farcical tales of Allied POWs in World War II at the expense of their bumbling German captors. Bob Crane, in... [More]

Starring: Bob Crane, John Orchard, Harold J. Stone, Werner Klemperer

Directed By: Irving Moore, Jerry London, Richard Kinon, Bob Sweeney

Full House (1987)

#155

Synopsis: Comedian Bob Saget stars in this heartfelt comedy series as Danny Tanner, the widowed father of three young and rambunctious... [More]

Starring: Mark Henn, Devon Odessa, Malachi Pearson, Gregg Binkley

Directed By: Steve Zuckerman, Tom Rickard, Jack Shea, Joel Zwick

Living Single (1993)

#154

Synopsis: The lives and loves of a magazine editor and her roommates living in a Brooklyn brownstone, with plotlines revolving around... [More]

Starring: Queen Latifah, Kim Coles, Maurkice Woods, Chuck Sloan

Directed By: Ellen Gittelsohn, Matthew Diamond, Kim Fields, Henry Chan

Boy Meets World (1993)

#153

Synopsis: Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) is your average guy. He has a best friend named Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong) from the... [More]

Starring: Lisa Akey, Steve Park, Trevor Denman, David Packer

Directed By: Jerry Levine, Lynn McCracken, David Kendall, Lisa Gottlieb

Legit (2013)
94%

#152

Synopsis: A crass comedian struggles to seek legitimacy in his life and career.... [More]

Starring: Jim Jefferies, Dan Bakkedahl, Mindy Sterling, DJ Qualls

Directed By: Rick Cleveland, Todd Biermann

Monk (2002)
91%

#151

Synopsis: An ex-cop suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder solves crimes with various (and usually exasperated) sidekicks in tow in this first-rate mystery... [More]

Starring: Liliane Clune, Malcolm McDowell, Tony Shalhoub, Esteban Powell

Directed By: Wendey Stanzler, Andrei Belgrader, Philip Casnoff, Lawrence Trilling

Best Comedy Series
200-151 | 150-101 | 100-51 | 50-1