Last Updated on 25 March 2024
I searched the Internet for lists of the best TV comedy shows of all time. Criteria included the shows being ranked, not just listed; covering all time, not just a decade; and generally created by groups, whether teams or committees or based on general public voting (like Ranker.com).
I was able to find 47 lists. I took the 47 lists and added all their content into a spreadsheet, noting the rank of every show. I ended up averaging the rankings each show got (there were 245 that were on at least 2 lists) and dividing that average by a factor of the number of lists that show was on. The lowest score meant a high ranking average on many lists. The complete spreadsheet is attached at the bottom.
The TV shows that were on the most lists (out of 47) were:
- Seinfeld (1989-1998) – 45 lists
- The Office (US) (2005-2013) – 45 lists
- Friends (1994-2004) – 44 lists
- The Simpsons (1989-present) – 33 lists
- I Love Lucy (1951-1957) – 30 lists
- Cheers (1982-1993) – 30 lists
- Parks and Recreation (2009-2015) – 29 lists
- Arrested Development (2003-2006, 2013-2019) – 28 lists
- Modern Family (2009-2020) – 28 lists
- Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-present) – 26 lists
- It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005-present) – 26 lists
Here are links to the lists I used along with dates the lists were created:
- IMDb – 1 Oct 2023
- Ranker – 25 Sep 2023
- Collider – 16 Sep 2023
- Collider/IMDb – 9 Sep 2023
- NewsWireNGR – 31 Aug 2023
- Daily Mail/ WorldOfStatistics – 28 Aug 2023
- My Universal Diary – 30 Jul 2023
- MovieWeb – 14 Jul 2023
- Study Finds – 17 Jun 2023
- FreshersLive – 18 May 2023
- SNIPdaily – 23 Apr 2023
- The Digital Fix – 20 Apr 2023
- WIONews – 18 Apr 2023
- WeScreenPlay – 13 Apr 2023
- Flickside – 27 Mar 2023
- Bright Side – 23 Mar 2023
- IndieWire – 24 Feb 2023
- Stacker – 10 Jan 2023
- CBR – 16 Dec 2022
- PureWow – 12 Oct 2022
- Parade – 18 Sep 2022
- WhatCulture – 22 Aug 2022
- Careful 4 Spoilers – 15 Jul 2022
- Bored Panda – 9 Jun 2022
- Marie Claire – 22 Apr 2022
- The Vintage News – 16 Mar 2022
- Paste Magazine – 7 Feb 2022
- Country 102.5 – 7 Dec 2021
- AARP – 22 Sep 2021
- Mamamia – 15 Jun 2021
- Rolling Stone – 4 Mar 2021
- TV Overmind – 8 Apr 2020
- New Arena – 3 Jul 2019
- The Cinemaholic – 6 Mar 2019
- BestLife – 22 Feb 2018
- The Playlist – 23 May 2017
- Fansided – 31 Mar 2016
- Entertainment.ie – 21 Apr 2014
- UnderScoopFire – 6 Apr 2013
- GameSpot/Complex – 1 Feb 2013
- British Comedy Guide – no date
- FilmAffinity – no date
- Filmy Keeday – no date
- Rotten Tomatoes – no date
- The Top Tens – no date
- W3Schools – no date
- WatchMojo – no date