6 Comedy Shows With No Bad Seasons, Ranked
Comedy is a difficult genre to master at the best of times. It demands the perfect balance of timing, tempo, talent, and timeliness, and even then, it won’t be to everyone’s taste. Furthermore, it is a difficult genre to master for a long period of time. A great many comedy shows serve as unfortunate examples of this. Whether they struggled to find their rhythm right off the bat, stumbled in striking a balance between expanding their style and focus and adhering to what had made them so successful to begin with, or—as has been the case with a great many sitcoms—run out of steam in the final seasons, running a comedy series over a long period of time while continuing to operate at an elite level is no easy feat.
Fortunately for all lovers of great comedy around the world, as difficult as it might be, it is not an impossible feat, something these six series serve as a testament to. Ranging from uproarious and outrageous teenage farces to poignant comedy-dramas, merciless political satires, and even to some of the most iconic and universally beloved titles in television history, these shows offer non-stop laughs from start to finish.
6
‘The Thick of It’ (2005–2012)
A cynical scorching of 21st-century politics from satirical maestro Armando Iannucci, The Thick of It is a brute of a comedy series. Peter Capaldi stars as Malcolm Tucker, the foul-mouthed and ferocious director of communications for the British government, an imposing enforcer for the unspecified party whose responsibilities are managing emerging PR catastrophes and ensuring everyone in the party is on the same page, whether they like it or not. Beyond Tucker, the series features an ensemble of insipid and morally bankrupt figures, presenting a cascade of political ineptitude and self-doubt that teeters constantly on the cusp of calamity.
A series of tremendous conviction, The Thick of It’s unflinching endeavor to showcase the dishonesty, corruption, and submission of politicians is a dazzling delight. It is a combination of complex political machinations and free-flowing profanity, one that starts off strong and only grows in confidence throughout its four-season run. Razor-sharp, frenetically paced, and viciously barbed, its application to the art of dismantling the mystique of politics and unveiling the deeply flawed humanity beneath the surface makes for one of the greatest British comedy series of all time and a masterclass in satirical comedy.
5
‘The Inbetweeners’ (2008–2010)
Going from one crude comedy from the UK to another, The Inbetweeners exchanges the halls of power for the halls of the schoolyard as it follows four awkward teenage boys whose efforts to navigate the minutiae of high school society lead to many comical and cringeworthy misadventures. While there is brilliance in everything from the actors’ note-perfect performances, the smutty sharpness of the writing, and the cultural accessibility of what is a very English style of comedy, the true excellence of The Inbetweeners resides in how painfully accurate a depiction of adolescence it is.
Everything, from the shambolic sexual exploits to the stumbling up and down the ladder of popularity, is realized with an eye for earnestness, a quality that stands as the series’ greatest triumph. It manages to be shocking, excruciating, relatable, and ridiculously funny all at once, while often finding perverse yet pointed ways to celebrate the unity of teenage friendship at its glorious, most vulgar best. In addition to the series’ three outstanding seasons, there have also been two hit movies made, and E4 has teased the possible return of The Inbetweeners, though in what format exactly remains undisclosed.
4
‘M*A*S*H’ (1972–1983)
M*A*S*H is famously a TV show that ran for far longer than the conflict it was based on. More than just a fun trivia tidbit, this is a testament to the series’ excellence and longevity, as is the fact that it remains one of the most iconic titles in the history of the medium well over 50 years after it first began. Based on Robert Altman’s 1970 film of the same name, the war sitcom takes place in a mobile army hospital during the Korean War, following the experiences and relationships of those who work there and placing a particular emphasis on the humor they use as a coping mechanism for the atrocities they see.
Capable of being both hysterically funny with a profoundly human touch and a viscerally dramatic observation of the brutality of war and the toll that takes on the human spirit, M*A*S*H’s success over the course of 11 seasons is perhaps even more astonishing when one considers its tonal balance and how that evolved over its run. Furthermore, it doesn’t simply reach its conclusion while operating on par with all that had come before it, but rather delivers one of the most emotionally powerful and emphatic farewells television has ever seen in the form of a two-hour finale that still stands as the most-watched single episode of any TV series in American history.
3
‘Yes Minister’ & ‘Yes Prime Minister’ (1980–1988)
Another foray into the wheelhouse of British politics that is defined by the delight it finds in picking apart party plots and the duplicity of those behind them, Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister ran for a combined total of five seasons from 1980 to 1988. Following the often-antagonistic relationship between Minister Jim Hacker (Paul Eddington) (and, later, Prime Minister Hacker) and his permanent secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne), the series lampoons both the officious posturing of politicians and the busy-minded, power-grubbing drive of the civil servants who operate beneath them, and how each tries to use the other to their advantage.
Even with all the changes that have transpired in the world and in politics over the decades, Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister remain brilliantly relevant through their illustration of the mechanized inertia of bureaucracy, with Humphrey scheming to thwart any dangerous good idea Hacker may have, so as not to disrupt the order of things. While far more genteel and good-natured than The Thick of It, it still excels at prying into the morality of politics and making revealing convictions with its razor-sharp writing and faultless performances.
2
‘BoJack Horseman’ (2014–2020)
A series that is as memorable for its most guttural, devastating moments of drama as it is for its absurdist, animated comedy magnificence, BoJack Horseman is a divine masterpiece of comedy-drama television that perfects its tightrope walk throughout the entirety of its six seasons. An analysis of celebrity stardom, self-loathing, and the consequences of not changing, it follows BoJack Horseman (Will Arnett), a washed-up television actor still living off his success in the 90s, as he struggles to find an avenue to reignite his diminished career while suffering in a depraved spiral of addiction, energized ambition, and total self-destruction.
It’s a character study imbued with the endless possibilities of cartoon creativity, an odd combination that proves to be a perfect recipe for finding newfound depths in its exploration of the human condition. The series’ inherent themes of trauma, mental health, and substance abuse and alcoholism intersect beautifully not only with BoJack’s unfulfilled yearning for approval and connection, but with the show’s unique comedic style as well, making for a viewing experience that compels through its volatility, through its ability to juggle tragedy and hilarity against each other. Maintaining this emotional dichotomy right through to its final moments, BoJack Horseman stands as a defining triumph of adult animation, a noteworthy masterpiece in Netflix’s pantheon of original series, and a rare comedy series that never once misses the mark.
1
‘Seinfeld’ (1989–1998)
By Seinfeld’s own lofty standards, the series does get off to something of a stuttering start, a soft launch of timing and tempo as the actors figure out the rhythm of the unique comedy style. However, in comparison to practically every other sitcom ever made, the hit NBC series debuts in fine form, exhibiting a comical genius from the outset. And when the series does truly kick into gear in Season 2, it becomes the greatest and most socially attuned sitcom the small screen has ever seen, a trend it would continue throughout the entirety of its nine-season run.
Famously dubbed a “show about nothing,” Seinfeld follows Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) as he and his three eccentric, self-minded friends navigate life in New York City while embarking on outrageous misadventures and dissecting the unspoken rules that govern the way people conduct themselves in society. Its enduring popularity is a testament to its brilliance and its timelessness, but also to the efficiency of its simplicity. It explores everyday oddities with intriguing unpredictability and a somewhat skewed moral compass, but every absurdity it features is hilariously relatable. This accessibility blends with its amorality perfectly, resulting in nine seasons of pure comedy excellence that, in the eyes of many, still stands as the funniest series to have ever aired on television.
