10 Most Bingeworthy Sitcoms, Ranked

There is perhaps no greater feeling than curling up and binge-watching a great show. Sitcoms are a great choice to bingewatch because they leave fans laughing and rooting for the characters. The nice thing about not having to wait a week for each episode is that viewers can get attached to the characters faster as they watch their stories unfold.

Sitcoms typically do not leave viewers stressed on the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens next, but a great sitcom can leave viewers desperate to see more of their favorite characters onscreen after each episode. The most bingeworthy sitcoms are ones that are funny, sometimes fast-paced, and easy to get attached to even after just one episode. A great bingeworthy sitcom will often have an overarching storyline for each season and will always make fans want to watch the next episode. These are the most binge-worthy sitcoms.

10 ‘Sex and the City’ (1998-2004)

Created by Darren Star

To this day, Sex and the City is still an incredibly bingeworthy sitcom that is easy to get sucked into watching all at once. The show followed the sex and love lives of sex columnist Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her three best friends as they all dated in New York City. It was a very fun, entertaining, and glamorous watch that made viewers want to keep going at the end of each episode to see the next bad date that each woman would be going on.

What made Sex and the City so bingeworthy was primarily the drama and quick-witted writing. It was laugh-out-loud funny, and Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte’s lives were incredibly interesting. The swoonworthy romantic moments, numerous bad dates, friend fights and makeups, and beautiful New York City backdrop made this show worth binging.

9 ‘Abbott Elementary’ (2021-)

Created by Quinta Brunson

With three seasons out now and more on the way, it is the perfect time to bingewatch Abbott Elementary and catch up before Season 4. The show follows elementary school teacher Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson) and her colleagues working at Abbott Elementary School. It has introduced overarching seasonal arcs for each season that show the teachers fighting back against the school board and the system in some way that is entertaining and easy to root for them.

Once viewers start watching this show, they will simply have to keep going. It is incredibly funny and clever, with hilarious students and teachers. There have been many great bits, like Ava’s secret bathroom, Tariq’s unusual anti-drug song for the kids, and Gregory tending to the garden behind Barbara and Jacob’s backs. The characters are all interesting, and they have rich inner lives, making fans want to keep watching to see how they and their relationships turn out.

8 ‘The Office’ (2005-2013)

Developed by Craig Daniels

The Office is perhaps the most quintessential example used when referring to binge-watching sitcoms. It is a true classic as a workplace comedy, a mockumentary, and a sitcom. It is an easy show to keep watching, for the quirky characters, the hilarious shenanigans happening at Dunder Mifflin, and the characters’ plotlines. From the will-they-won’t-they romance between Jim and Pam in the early seasons to the mysterious Scranton Strangler, fans could not look away.

The show always found a way to take ordinary workplace life and make it extraordinary, with The Dundies, Dwight’s fire drill, Jim’s pranks, and a number of strange things happening around the office. It found a way to put humor and thrills into everyday life while getting fans to come back for each episode to see how their favorite characters were holding up.

The Office

Release Date

March 24, 2005

Cast

Steve Carell , Rainn Wilson , John Krasinski , Jenna Fischer , Mindy Kaling , Craig Robinson , B.J. Novak , Creed Bratton , Angela Kinsey , Oscar Nunez , Ellie Kemper , Ed Helms

Main Genre

Sitcom

Seasons

9

Network

NBC

7 ‘Arrested Development’ (2003-2019)

Created by Mitchell Hurtwitz

There is no sitcom family out there quite like the Bluths, which is what made Arrested Development such a funny and entertaining watch. The show utilized its elements incredibly well, from the wordplay to the narrator to the almost admirable lack of self-awareness amongst the central family. Just when it looked like Arrested Development had hit its peak, it would top itself with another wild joke, running bit, or huge reveal.

Arrested Development was such a bingeworthy show because it was always cramming a lot of clever jokes into each season and episode. There was the too-literal doctor, Buster getting his hand bitten off by a loose seal (but not running away because he thought it was Lucille), and Tobias trying to join the Blue Men Group. It is the show that viewers just had to keep watching to see what outlandish things the Bluths would do next.

6 ‘Happy Endings’ (2011-2013)

Created by David Caspe

When it comes to a sitcom to binge for a boatload of laughs, Happy Endings is the perfect one. The severely underrated show followed a codependent friend group that hit an obstacle after one of the friends left another at the altar. The show was absolutely hilarious, due to the intensity and codependency of the group at its center. They had made-up rules, words, traditions, and even holidays that they followed.

Happy Endings is an absolutely bingeworthy show because each episode explored something incredibly specific and outrageously funny that made viewers want to keep watching. There was the time that Penny dated a man who only spoke Italian, and she could only speak Italian while drunk. There was also the iconic “The Butterfly Effect Effect,” when everyone tried to make Jane and Brad fight in order to usher in Spring.

5 ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ (2019-)

Created by Jemaine Clement

From the moment you play the first episode of What We Do in the Shadows, the vampire mockemuntary will draw viewers in and make them want to keep watching. It takes a lot of talent to make such a strange premise work, in which a group of vampires and their familiar all live together in Staten Island while filming a documentary about their afterlives. However, What We Do in the Shadows always keeps the humor sharp and experiments with more extravagant episode premises each season.

The show is perfect for bingewatching because, beyond its humor, it has evolved into a show with very compelling and high-stakes plot lines. The show has taken many risks in the past few years, like having Colin Robinson die and be reborn as a baby. There was also the crossing of the line where Guillermo was made into a vampire, but the change would not take, and he also had to hide it from Nandor so that he would not be killed.

4 ‘The Good Place’ (2016-2020)

Created by Michael Schur

While sitcoms can be known for restarting fresh at the end of each episode, The Good Place only restarted its characters memories, on occasion, when the show called for it. After Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) died and was mistakenly sent to the Good Place, she had to hide her true identity in order to avoid getting sent to the Bad Place. From there, an incredible and intricate storyline enfolded, slowly building up over the course of four seasons.

The Good Place is a great binge watch, because it sucked viewers in with its compelling plot and frequent cliffhangers, getting them to keep watching. There was also its legendary plot twist that went down in sitcom history, as well as the constant twists and turns that the characters had to deal with in order to protect themselves from a fate worse than death… literally.

The Good Place

Release Date

September 19, 2016

Main Genre

Comedy

Seasons

4

Studio

NBC

3 ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ (2005-)

Created by Rob McElhenney

To put it simply, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has acquired its title as the longest-running live-action sitcom for a reason. What started out as a group of terrible people working at and owning a bar became a phenomenon with constant schemes, sharp jokes, and outlandish music numbers. The show has been regularly topping itself each season, especially in the later seasons with a sinking cruise ship, a trip to Ireland, and a particularly unusual chess match.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is the perfect binge-watch. For one thing, with sixteen seasons and counting, it will keep viewers occupied for a long time. For another, the schemes, banter, and constant pushing of limits make the show a whole lot of fun, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats to see what the gang will do next and whose lives they will ruin.

Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Release Date

August 4, 2005

Main Genre

Comedy

Seasons

16

Studio

FX

Watch on Hulu

2 ‘New Girl’ (2011-2018)

Created by Elizabeth Meriwether

On a random day in 2011, Jess Day found out that her long-term boyfriend was cheating on her, and moved into a loft with some guys that she met on Craig’s List. Thus, New Girl was born, and it quickly established itself as one of the sitcom greats. The show followed the loftmates (plus Cece) as they played True American, fell in and out of love, hosted spider hunts, and constantly bickered.

New Girl is the sort of show that brought the ultimate comfort and laughter, and made any person watching wish that they could live in the loft. What made the show truly phenomenal were its wonderfully zany characters, and the fact that they were all living together under one roof. It was such a funny show, but it also knew how to tug on the heart strings, and how to keep fans rooting for its core romantic pairings.

New Girl

Release Date

September 20, 2011

Main Genre

Comedy

Seasons

7

Studio

Fox

Created by Dan Harmon

Of all of the incredible sitcoms out there, Community is truly the most bingeworthy. As soon as that theme song starts to play, it transports viewers to Greendale Community College, where “You’re already accepted.” There is just something so immersive and comforting about Community that keeps fans coming back for one more episode. Each season had something different to offer, with both overarching season-long storylines and individual episode-long ones.

For viewers looking for the perfect escape, look no further. Community is so bingeworthy primarily for its setting. Greendale was an unusual place, with classes like Ladders and Grifting 101 and schoolwide paintball and hot lava competitions. It was a bit magical and more tethered in imagination than grounded in reality. Greendale was the place where people went when they were at their lowest and needed help, and this place is what makes Community the perfect sitcom to sit down and keep watching.

Community

Release Date

September 17, 2009

Main Genre

Comedy

Seasons

6

Studio

NBC

NEXT: The 50 Best Sitcoms of All Time, Ranked