The nature of sitcoms means that, like soap operas, most can continue on and on until they’ve lost all hope and heart and humour. And oftentimes studios are okay with this.
Look at Modern Family: the show’s structure is a mess (is it a mockumentary or not?), the characters have barely developed from season one, and it relies on stale jokes that feel familiar even when watching for the first time.
No ad to show here.
It doesn’t matter, though, because the show is still super popular: its eighth season, despite being the show’s least-watched season, averaged 8.79-million viewers an episode. That’s Game of Thrones season six levels.
But luckily for viewers, the popularity of sitcoms means that there will always be diamonds in the rough, and there have been plenty this decade. Shows that never shied from character development, that use an old genre to create something new: these are my picks for the best sitcoms that premiered post-2007.
Community (2009 – 2015)
Before Dan Harmon teamed up to make Rick and Morty, he created a quirky little sitcom that subverted everything generic sitcoms had to offer.
The exuberant Community played with different genres and styles of filmmaking in a way that still feels exciting two years after it ended. From musicals and post-apocalyptic dystopias to stop-motion animation, each episode worked to improve on the last while remaining true to the ethos of the show.
The writing is sharp, the oddball characters surprisingly charming, and, despite some behind-the-scenes hiccups, Community powered through for those six seasons. I’m just waiting on the movie.
If you’re still unconvinced: here’s a clip of Donald Glover improvising questions to ask the real Batman.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013 – )
If Community is great because it subverts the generic sitcom, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is great because it embraces it without compromising plot and character integrity.
The comedic police procedural ignores all the traps generic shows may fall into — like two-dimensional characters or cliched storylines — and each episode is instead 30 minutes of careful social commentary and stupid fun.
The characters are well-rounded, the relationships make sense, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine manages to make a monotonous gay black captain one of the funniest characters on TV without taking a dig at his identity.
Archer (2009- )
Archer is an animated workplace comedy featuring terrible people you can’t help but love — so it does a great job at filling The Office-sized hole in my life.
The show — which has been running an impressive ten seasons — centres on an unethical spy agency in which everyone is weirdly codependent on one another. Archer is in love with his ex Lana, but can’t stop sleeping with Pam, who has also slept with Lana, who dated Cyril, who cheated on her with Cheryl.
Oh, and the Frankenstein-like scientist has a holographic wife.
Archer‘s biggest asset is this messed up cast, for whom an audience roots without really knowing what they’re rooting for. Its animation also lets it tackle spy tropes and outrageous settings that make each episode a unique and contained mess.
Archer means family, and family means nobody gets killed without coming back as a cyborg.
Veep (2012- )
Veep is a sitcom anchored on its sharp writing and phenomenal ensemble cast. The satirical show — about terrible US Vice President Selina Meyer — is filled with throwaway lines that are funnier than some shows will ever be, but none of that would be useful without its electric cast.
At the helm is Julia Louis-Dreyfus, with her impeccable comedic timing and ability to convey even the most complex emotions through a single look. By her side are the likes of Anna Chlumsky, Tony Hale, Matt Walsh, Gary Cole, and Kevin Dunn, all bringing their own brand of tense and lightning-quick comedy to the show.
Veep may have flagged in its latest season, as the characters spread out to take on their own projects, but season seven looks set to bring them all back together for the corrupted politics we know and love.
Please Like Me (2013 – 2016)
Please Like Me is an Australian comedy-drama centred on young twenty-somethings struggling to come to grips with life, and the love and horror it throws at you. Focussing on the recently-out-of-the-closet Josh, the show tackles topics of love, lust, mental illness, divorce, and everything in-between.
Standing apart from other sitcoms, each episode of Please Like Me feels carefully curated, directed with purpose, and set to serve each episode’s specific story. But what it does best is interweave witty banter and stupid antics with moments so emotionally wrought it will leave you a sobbing mess.
Please Like Me pulls no punches, and it’s what makes the sitcom both uproariously funny and painfully honest.
Bob’s Burgers (2011 – )
Bob’s Burgers is an animated sitcom about a weird little family who accept each other no matter their flaws — and they have tons of them.
The dad, Bob, is a high-strung burger chef with little business-management skills; the mom, Linda, is a devoted wife and push-over; Tina is pubescent girl whose behaviour verges on sexual harassment; Gene is a somewhat-gross boy with a love for music; and young Louise is just outright evil.
But what makes the Belchers special is their unwavering support for one another. This sitcom doesn’t rely on characters one-upping each other or throwing one another under the bus. Instead, they laugh at each other’s jokes and help out with any mischief required. Alright!
Jane the Virgin (2014 – )
Jane the Virgin situates itself on a dubious premise: Jane, a devout Catholic, is accidentally artificially inseminated. The show runs with this ridiculousness, though, to create an energetic, melodramatic sitcom as the perfect form of escapism.
Jane the Virgin parodies common tropes from Spanish telenovelas, but a lack of knowledge in that arena won’t hurt the story at all. If you’ve seen even two episodes of a soap opera, chances are you’ll catch on.
The first few episodes alone conjure secret biological fathers, complicated love triangles, and conniving mothers-in-law, while ensconcing the show with a sincerity and warmth that soap operas lack.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015- )
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a musical sitcom about a terribly clingy lawyer who moves cities to follow a high-school ex — only to find he’s got a girlfriend.
The show is over-the-top, loud, and eccentric — and the title does it no justice — but Crazy Ex-Girlfriend works to subvert the anti-feminist trope, as it does with many others (specifically, this great song about being bi), and bring some truth into how we manage human relationships.
Despite being an incredibly niche subversion, the show is currently airing its third season — a feat not many other musical shows can claim. And Josh lives there too.
The Good Place (2016 – )
From the creator of Parks and Recreation, The Good Place tells of Eleanor Shellstrop, a recently-deceased woman who finds herself waking up in the heaven-like The Good Place. The catch? She’s not meant to be there.
The show is light-hearted, funny, and smart, and just when you think the writers have written themselves into a narrative hole, they bounce back like that Emma Roberts AHS: Coven meme but better.
The Good Place is just forking delightful — and season one’s finale is one for the history books. So, like, go watch it.
