I have watched a lot of sitcoms in my 17 years. Probably too many. But now I can finally put that knowledge to good use. Here is a ranking of every sitcom that I have watched from worst to best, no spoilers of course. 

#10 The Office

I know if you have seen the show you probably hate me for this, but I stand by it. If you haven’t seen it, The Office is a workplace comedy that follows the employees of Dunder Mifflin Paper company, an average job in the average town of Scranton, Pennsylvania. The characters are unlikable and the plot is repetitive, but the worst part of it is the humor is incredibly uncomfortable and not at all funny. A prime example of this is Micheal, one of the main characters, telling a group of kids he can’t pay for their college despite having promised years before. The only redeeming aspect of this show is the relationship between Jim and Pam and the scene where Angela throws her cat into the ceiling.

#9 Cheers

The first workplace sitcom as we know it today, Cheers follows the ensemble of characters coming in and out of a bar by the same name. I struggled to get to the end of this show, which I think is valid because there are 11 seasons, with most of the episodes set exclusively in the bar. The humor is typically at someone else’s expense; if you turn on an episode with no knowledge of the show, it would be easy to assume that all of the characters despise each other. The best part of this show is Woody Boyd, a naive farm boy from a small town in Indiana, who radiates the biggest midwestern vibes I have seen in a television show.

#8 Friends

Friends is the definition of a number eight show. I don’t think I need to go into detail about the plot, but even if I wanted to, there isn’t much to say except that it is nothing more than six friends living in apartments that they can definitely not afford and interfering in each other’s lives a little too much. 

#7 How I Met Your Mother

Friends but five people instead of six and they hang out at a bar instead of a coffee shop. If you ignore the last episode and Barney Stinson’s ceaseless pursuit of women, this is a pretty good show. Maybe it would be better if Ted Mosby, the main character, wasn’t the most annoying television character of all time. It’s a good show to watch if you want comedy you don’t need brain cells to comprehend. 

#6 Superstore

This is the perfect show to watch when you want to be entertained while mindlessly scrolling through Instagram. Set in essentially a Walmart, the show tells the stories of the stores employees and their fight against their unfair corporation. The jokes in this show are pretty funny, but the funniest part of the show is the five to ten second shots of the store’s customers doing questionable things, such as someone doing laundry in the store’s washer, two customers using their carts as bumper cars and a little kid with his head stuck in a dining room chair. 

#5 One Day at a Time

This Netflix show focuses on a Cuban-American family living in L.A., and is a perfect blend between funny and serious, with episodes ranging from sneaking snacks into the movies to immigration issues and the wage gap. The best part of this show is by far the family’s dramatic grandmother played by Rita Moreno who, even after living in American for a few decades is still learning how to adjust in the funniest ways possible. 

#4 New Girl

Friends but they live in the same apartment and it’s actually funny. The show follows girly teacher Jess Day who moves in with three guys after a breakup. Even though Jess is the main character, the real humor in the show comes from her roommates Nick, the bartender and aspiring writer, Schmidt, the ladies man trying desperately to build a brand, Coach, the personal trainer and gym teacher and Winston, the cat loving ex basketball player. The relationships between these characters is what makes this show superior to other shows of its kind, and the humor comes from the impossible situations they get themselves into, not their own stupidity or unfair treatment of each other

#3 Parks and Recreation

The Office 2.0, Parks and Rec follows Leslie Knope, ambitious employee of the Parks and Recreation department in fictional Pawnee, Indiana. This show is incredibly funny with an ensemble of characters that are all incredibly well developed and so different from each other. This show depicts politics in a very amusing way that hits a little too close to home, which is the main reason it’s so funny. 

#2 Brooklyn Nine-Nine

This show takes a cop show and a workplace comedy and combines them into a wonderful 20 minutes of television. Every member of the ensemble is hilarious, and the dialog is quick and witty. If you aren’t paying attention, odds are you’ll miss about three jokes. It’s also worth mentioning that this show has some iconic scenes and lines, such as a lineup singing “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys, and it was famously saved by NBC less than two days after being cancelled by Fox.

#1 The Good Place

The top five of this list was incredibly difficult, but I knew The Good Place had to be number one. The other shows on this list all fit into a category (workplace comedy, family comedy, or group of friends living in a big city) but The Good Place defies all of these. The show follows the adventures of four humans in the afterlife, who are searching for ways to become better people even after dying. This show is just as, if not more, funny than the other shows on this list but more importantly, stresses the importance of being a good person, if not for yourself because you owe it to those around you. 

In conclusion, I need to find something more productive to do with my free time.