Many sitcoms with incredible potential are canceled before they even have a chance to spread their wings; others have dragged on for far too long. Like everything else in entertainment, sitcom lengths are governed by popularity, or, in simpler terms, their financial viability.
Generally, fans, critics, and most showrunners agree that the ideal sweet spot for a sitcom should be around three seasons, as it gives the series to run through its material and narrative without having to miss out on any important details. However, there are a few shows that benefit from having extra seasons.
10 Archer Stays Fresh By Continuously Altering Its Thematic Tenor And Visual Fabric
Archer's visual style alone makes it unique among animated sitcoms, borrowing from sources as diverse as Mad Men and Marvel Comics. The story takes place in an alternate dimension that blends 21st-century technology with a Cold War-esque narrative, resulting in a brilliantly written comic satire.
Archer is on its twelfth season as of 2022, with another one in the works. The show maintains its freshness since it is willing to try new concepts without fear — Season 8 is neo-noir with a sprinkling of Art Deco, while Season 10's aesthetic is an homage to the industrial sci-fi subgenre.
9 Frasier Ends Its Eleven-Season-Run On An Unparalleled High Note
Frasier was not only a defining sitcom of the '90s, but one of the most influential TV shows ever made. In fact, it can be argued that it is the single most successful spin-off series in history.
Frasier received five Outstanding Comedy Series awards at the Primetime Emmys, and its record of 37 total Emmy wins is yet to be surpassed (in the sitcom genre). Although Frasier loses a significant chunk of its novelty after Season 8, it ends on a high note that very few shows have proven capable of.
8 Disenchantment Gets Deeper And Darker With Each Passing Season
Disenchantment's slapstick humor is reminiscent of The Simpsons and Futurama, also creations of Matt Groening. Part 1 of the first season was released to lukewarm critical response, but Disenchantment abruptly shifts into third gear with Part 2 and there's no looking back after this point.
The sitcom's plotting and pacing are both exceptional, especially because it refuses to rely on comfortable tropes. Parts 3 and 4 veers straight into the emotional mindspaces of its characters, a particularly slippery zone that Disenchantment navigates with impressive precision.
7 Will & Grace's Popularity Helped Revive It For Three More Seasons
Will & Grace was the first (American) TV comedy with gay characters in the leading role, riding the wave set by Ellen DeGeneres' in Ellen. The show was instantly met with rapturous reviews and eventually became one of NBC's biggest hits, an impressive feat given that it was competing from Friends, Mad About You, Seinfeld, and Frasier.
Will & Grace's groundbreaking queer representation had a bigger impact on public perception "than almost anything anybody has ever done so far." The sitcom's popularity helped revive it for three more seasons, a decade after its original run.
6 30 Rock Sticks To Its Parodic Vision Even After Its Storyline Takes A Few Comedic Missteps
30 Rock is a meta-comedy about creator Tina Fey's experiences as SNL's head writer, reprising a similar role for TGS. The show-within-a-show trope isn't the sitcom's only strength, though.
30 Rock also incorporated several innovative concepts into its parodic vision, from detailed set design to "the manic pacing of a live-action cartoon." 30 Rock earned an impressive 103 Emmy nominations over the course of seven seasons, holding on to its roots even after its storyline begins to falter around Season 4.
5 The Inbetweeners Concluded With Its Third Season, But The Two Movie Sequels Are As Spectacularly Cringey
Most sitcoms that cover the nuances of teen male puberty carefully avoid delving into pornographic territory, but not The Inbetweeners. The cringeworthy adventures of its four protagonists are often unbearable to watch, ironically because they contain kernels of truth that few adults want to acknowledge (or recall).
Viewers with stronger stomachs, however, will have no problems with the downright lewd journey the show takes them on. The Inbetweeners ran for three spectacularly awkward seasons before its story was concluded in two movie sequels, The Inbetweeners Movie (2011) and The Inbetweeners 2 (2014).
4 Fresh Off The Boat Pushed Its Radical Envelope All The Way To Season 7
The depth of the Asian-American experience is plumbed with admirable effort in Fresh Off the Boat, a sitcom loosely based on celebrity chef Eddie Huang's life story. The show walks the fine line between complex race dynamics and lighthearted comedy, never once losing its thematic balance in the process.
Fresh Off the Boat's slice-of-life approach might be antiquated, but its determined examination of Taiwanese-American culture is nothing short of radical. Fresh Off the Boat pushed the envelope all the way to Season 7, covering a range of topics that might have been glossed over if the sitcom had ended any time sooner.
3 Seinfeld Reconstructed The Very Foundations Of The Sitcom Genre
Seinfeld has 180 episodes under its belt, and not a single one feels forced, out of place, or superficial. This quintessential '90s sitcom didn't just take the road less traveled; it blazed a path for potential successors to take its place. Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer don't spew life-affirming cliches, nor do they hold up any sort of mirror to society.
The existence of Seinfeld's protagonists is predicated on nothing, which is also the narrative basis of the show. Critics acknowledge Seinfeld as a paradigm shift, given that it reconstructed the very foundations of the sitcom genre in its image. Seinfeld remains wildly popular today, over twenty years after its controversial series finale.
2 Bob's Burgers Has Accumulated A Devoted Fan Base Over Its Twelve Seasons
Bob's Burgers didn't impress reviewers during its first season, but critical misgivings were quickly forgiven as the show continued to mature and evolve. The sitcom's twelfth season started airing in September 2021, and a thirteenth is underway.
The borderline surreal characters populating Bob's Burgers are thoroughly charming, even if their arcs are occasionally derailed by implausible circumstances. Bob's Burgers has accumulated a wide, quasi-cult fanbase, although most of the credit goes to Louise, the resident mad genius of the Belcher family.
1 Cuckoo Never Fails To Make A Sensational Splash When It Hits The Mark
Cuckoo is an extraordinary sitcom in that its central (non-British) actor changes three times over five seasons. The first season focuses on Andy Samberg; Seasons 2, 3, and 4 star Taylor Lautner; and the fifth and final season has Andie MacDowell in the leading role.
However, what gets Cuckoo through its tumultuous roller-coaster is the calming presence and flair for deadpan comedy that only veteran comedian Greg Davies can provide. Cuckoo doesn't always hit the mark, but it never fails to make a sensational splash when it does.