My attempt at declaring the funniest TV show by year for the past 3 decades. Discuss:
1992-1996: The Simpsons
1997: Seinfeld
1998-99: King of the Hill
2000-2003: South Park
2004-2005: Arrested Development
2006: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
2007-2008: The Office
2009-2010: 30 Rock
2011: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
2012-2013: Veep
2014: Silicon Valley
2015-2017: Veep
2018: Silicon Valley
2019-2021: What We Do In The Shadows
One issue for me is season 2 of The Office (05-06) is arguably one of the best seasons of any tv comedy. Takes that spot imo- over season 2 of AD
2010 Community (paintball & blanket fort parts 1 specifically).
1998 70s Show (I actually think season 1 of this show went a long way to the unwholesome jokes we enjoy today, the comedies of the time would have had a sitdown intervention with the kids about drugs at the end of the first episode, and they would have cleaned up their acts).
1999 Family Guy (just kinda feel like an early season of this show deserves a place on the list).
Off the top of my head lots of very popular comedies not getting consideration when they were at their peak, Malcolm, Friends, Fraser, Fresh Prince, Futurama, Big Bang, How I met your Mother, many more. I think taste is a little too subjective for me to even attempt a list.
Last edited by #-3; 11-08-2021 at 09:03 PM.
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Thanks for the feedback. Here is more context on my choices:
92-97: A two horse race between The Simpsons and Seinfeld. Simpsons takes the early years before starting to falter while a still strong Seinfeld gets 1997.
98-99: A toss up between King of the Hill and That 70s Show. Also considered South Park.
00-03: Covers Seasons 4 to 7 of South Park where the show really hit its stride. Seasons 8-14 are also great but not enough for first.
04-05: Arrested Development is my favourite comedy ever (if only counting the first 3 seasons). Couldn't justify for 03 and 06 due to the small number of episodes in those years.
06: Season 2 of It's Always Sunny where DeVito joins the cast is just the best. The show remains funny to this day.
07-08: Covers The Office Seasons 3 to 5. I like season 2 but 3 and 4 are my favourites.
09-10: Another seasons 3-5, this time from 30 Rock which is going strong just as The Office starts to fade. I heard Parks and Rec suggested for these years but I didn't consider its poor Season 1 or just good Season 2.
11: Toss up between 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, and Always Sunny. Went with Always Sunny as its 7th season might be its best.
12-18: Veep shows up and puts all existing comedies to shame. Only Silicon Valley comes close taking 2014 with an epic Season 1 and 2018 when Veep didn't air.
19-21: Just as Veep is ending we get another brilliant comedy, What We Do In The Shadows, taking over as the funniest show. I considered Ted Lasso for 21 but it lacks the full on laugh out loud moments.
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It seems Avenue 5 didn’t make much of a splash last year, but I think it’s right up there with Veep. Maybe it was too cynical at a time when people were looking for more comforting fare like Ted Lasso.
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If this day gets you riled up, you obviously aren't numb to the disappointment yet to be a real fan.
Thanks to this thread, I started a re-watch of 30 Rock. It is just so great, with so many layers and subtle references. Tina Fey, Jack McBrayer and Alec Baldwin are brilliant.
I just started season 10 (the Latte Larry season). So brilliant and hilarious. Highly recommend this show.
Possibly the funniest episode of television I ever watched was S1E8 of Curb ('Beloved Aunt').
Have not got to the new season yet but looking forward to it.
I love the early seasons of Curb, even season 8 is fine by some standards. But the last 2 seasons have been a total mess. It became something completely different where nothing is realistic or believeble. Larry has become a caricature of his former self.
Not sure it could supplant any on the list, realistically, but Season 1 of Eastbound and Down needs to be somewhere in the conversation
That works only if you're a big Danny McBride fan, personally I found E&D and Vice Principals was just too much of his act and couldn't get into them. Righteous Gemstones however balances his over-the-top personality with a fantastic supporting cast, easily the best work he's been a part of IMO
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Yellowjackets is intriguing. A bit ridiculous but intriguing.
It’s supposed to be a much more complex and modern all-female Lord of the Flies, which is a terrible book, but I think this show has potential.
Spoiler!
they definitely didn’t go for realism. It’s just as outlandish as the book. Moreso even. These girls are apparently stranded for 19 months and they have fancy clothes and headware that actual civilizations would take decades, generations even, to produce. Not to mention the ridiculousness that they’d turn to ritualistic cannibalism and warfare.
But the future situations look interesting. Curious to see how that develops. Hopefully we only get a minimal amount of the silky Lord of the Flies stuff.
