Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for multiple shows.There’s nothing quite as exciting for a TV viewer as a great plot twist changes everything that they know about the show, and recontextualizes the previous episodes. Drama shows like Severance and Lost are known for their plot twists, but sitcoms can occasionally pull off truly excellent ones as well. A number of great sitcoms have delivered memorable plot twists over the years, including M*A*S*H and 30 Rock.
The 2010s were an excellent time for sitcoms, and its shows have a number of excellent plot twists as well. Some of these are plot twists that completely shook viewers to their core, and changed their shows for good. Others are specific to certain episodes that are built around the eventual reveal at the end. These are the best sitcom plot twists of the 2010s, ranked.
10
Benjamin Is Also Pranking Chloe
‘Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23’ (2012–2014)
Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23 follows the unlikely living situation and friendship of June (Dreama Walker) and Chloe (Krysten Ritter). Most of the show’s episodes see Chloe concocting her latest scheme, and the Halloween episode, “Love and Monsters…,” takes this up a notch. The episode reveals that each year, Chloe comes up with a “Halloween prank,” in which she chooses a person who annoys her, and spends the next year making their worst fear come true.
Chloe’s latest target is Benjamin (Ben Lawson), a friend of James (James Van Der Beek) with whom he recently worked on a movie. Chloe spends the episode trying to get Benjamin to fall in love with her, just so that she can break his heart, but she starts to have doubts when she develops feelings for him. In a fantastic twist, it’s revealed that Benjamin has known about Chloe’s pranks the whole time, and he’s pranking her by tricking her into living out a rom-com (her greatest fear).
9
Isabella Is Luring Galavant to His Death
‘Galavant’ (2015–2016)
In the pilot episode of Galavant, all Galavant (Joshua Sasse) can do is mope around, still heartbroken after his former love, Madalena (Mallory Jansen), left him for the evil King Richard (Timothy Omundson). One day, the desperate Princess Isabella (Karen David) comes to Galavant for help, because he was once the best knight in the kingdom. She asks him to help save her people, but he says no.
Princess Isabella then tells Galavant that Madalena regrets her decision, so he goes with Isabella to rescue her. At the end of the pilot, though, it’s revealed that Isabella is actually deceiving Galavant. Richard is holding Isabella’s parents captive, so she has tricked Galavant into going on a quest to his castle with her, where Richard is planning to kill him. It’s an excellent twist that changes the ballgame for the rest of the show and immediately draws viewers in.
8
Max Faked His Death as a Prank
‘Happy Endings’ (2011–2013)
Happy Endings‘ central friend group are all always going over-the-top in order to prove points to each other, but Season 3’s “The Marry Prankster” heightens this to the max (pun intended). After the friends prank Max (Adam Pally) to make him think he got a winning lottery ticket, he vows to take them all down with intense and specific pranks. Dave (Zachary Knighton) later decides to prank Max back, with Alex’s (Elisha Cuthbert) help.
Dave’s prank involves messing with Max’s limo so that a bunch of hot plates and popcorn kernels are attached to the ignition, and the limo will be filled with popcorn when he starts it. Instead, the limo blows up with Max inside. Dave breaks down sobbing about how he killed his friend, only for Max to appear right behind him. As it turns out, Max blew up his limo and his only source of income, just to prank Dave.
7
Vice Dean Laybourne Was Murdered by His Right-Hand Man
In Season 3 of Community, Greendale’s elite and mysterious Air Conditioning Repair School tries to get Troy (Donald Glover) to join them. The head of the AC Repair School, Vice Dean Laybourne (John Goodman), spends quite a bit of time trying to recruit Troy, with the help of his right-hand man, Murray (Dan Bakkedahl). When the study group needs help saving Dean Pelton (Jim Rash), Troy finally agrees to join the AC Repair School in exchange.
Shortly after Troy becomes a part of the AC Repair school, Vice Dean Laybourne dies in what was apparently a horrible accident. Troy realizes that he never would have made that mistake though, and he figures out that Murray murdered the Vice Dean so that he could take over his position. Troy challenges Murray to a bizarre AC Repair School competition and wins, then he leaves, encouraging the others to turn Murray in.
6
Jenna’s Mom Wrote Her the Hate Letter
‘Awkward’ (2011–2016)
In the pilot episode of Awkward, Jenna (Ashley Rickards) receives a vicious letter that tells her, “As you are now, you could disappear and no one would notice.” The letter then details eight suggestions for Jenna to change about herself, which are full of harsh language and criticisms of her and her life. Jenna is so upset about the letter that she ends up falling and getting an injury, which makes her a topic of discussion throughout her school.
In the Season 1 finale of Awkward, Jenna is now in a relationship with Jake (Brett Davern), although she still has feelings for Matty (Beau Mirchoff). Still, her life is better than it was at the start of the season. When she goes back to her house with Jake after a big school dance, though, she finds evidence that her mom (Nikki DeLoach) wrote her the letter. It’s the perfect twist, because it makes a lot of sense when looking back, but it’s also the ultimate betrayal.
5
The Gang Pranked Dee When She Was at Her Lowest
‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ (2005–Present)
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has pulled off a number of great plot twists throughout the years, in which the final moments of the episode reveal that a member of the gang has had a greater scheme in mind the whole time. Some examples of this include the reveal that Charlie (Charlie Day) was using Ruby Taft (Alexandra Daddario) to make The Waitress (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) jealous, as well as the recent twist in which Frank (Danny DeVito) faked a coma to make everyone appreciate the craft of Is It Cake?
In the Season 9 premiere, “The Gang Broke Dee,” Dee (Kaitlin Olson) is at her lowest after one too many jabs from the gang. The rest of the gang builds her up and makes her life better, although it’s clear that there is a catch. Sure enough, at the end of the episode, it’s revealed that the entire thing was an elaborate prank to teach Dee that things could always get worse — and that everyone but Dennis (Glenn Howerton) was in on it.
4
The Fifth Halloween Heist Is Jake’s Proposal to Amy
‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ (2013–2021)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Halloween heists are a true highlight of the show. Each season sees everyone at the 99th precinct competing for the ultimate prize, the title of Amazing Human / Genius. The fifth Halloween heist is the most elaborate one to date, and it sees everyone fighting hard to win. For a moment, it looks as though Amy (Melissa Fumero) has won, until Jake (Andy Samberg) tells her to read the inscription on the prize belt.
Sure enough, the whole fifth heist turns out to be a proposal that Jake had all planned out. It was the perfect surprise, and a very fitting and romantic proposal for their relationship. Best of all, the heist didn’t have a winner that year, as Jake had gone behind everyone’s backs to ensure that Amy would win and his proposal would play out as planned.
3
Schmidt’s First Name Is Winston
‘New Girl’ (2011–2018)
At the start of New Girl, Jess Day (Zooey Deschanel) becomes roommates with Nick Miller (Jake Johnson), Winston Bishop (Lamorne Morris), and Schmidt (Max Greenfield). For six seasons, Schmidt’s first name is kept secret from viewers, even as members of his family are introduced, and even at his wedding to Cece (Hannah Simone). At the end of Season 6, Schmidt’s first name is finally revealed in the perfect twist.
As it turns out, Schmidt’s first name is actually Winston. He and Winston were really competitive over both Nick and their shared name when they met, which caused a number of problems for the group of friends. In order to keep the peace, the three decided that Winston would go by “Winston,” and Schmidt would go by “Schmidt.” Schmidt does start using his first name again in a professional context later on, but he always goes by Schmidt otherwise.
2
Barney’s Job Is an Elaborate Revenge Scheme
‘How I Met Your Mother’ (2005–2014)
Barney Stinson’s (Neil Patrick Harris) job is an ongoing mystery throughout the course of How I Met Your Mother. All that has been revealed is that he works in an office, he makes a lot of money, and he does a number of suspicious and potentially illegal things. Even after Marshall (Jason Segel) starts working for Barney, Barney’s job is still kept secret. Any time that someone asks Barney what he does, he just laughs, brushes them off, and says, “Please.”
In the final season of How I Met Your Mother, Barney’s job is finally revealed after Robin (Cobie Smulders) and Ted (Josh Radnor) ask him about it while he’s very drunk. Back in Season 1, a major piece of Barney’s backstory revealed that he was a hippie who lived a very different life, until his first love, Shannon (Katie Walder), left him for a successful businessman named Greg (Mark Derwin). Barney’s job is the acronym P.L.E.A.S.E., which stands for “Provide Legal Exculpation And Sign Everything.” When Barney changed his life and appearance back then, he got a job working for Greg. Barney’s whole job is working for Greg as the fall guy, but he’s been signing all the documents under Greg’s name. After many decades, Barney gets Greg arrested for all the laws he’s broken — just as revenge for ruining his relationship with Shannon.
1
The Good Place Is Actually The Bad Place
‘The Good Place’ (2016–2020)
The best sitcom plot twist of the 2010s is also arguably the best sitcom plot twist of all time. At the start of The Good Place, Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) realizes that she’s been sent to The Good Place by mistake, and immediately confesses this to her mistakenly-assigned soulmate, Chidi Anagonye (William Jackson Harper). There are a number of problems in The Good Place that become apparent throughout the show’s first season, but Eleanor’s presence there seems to be the cause of all of them.
In the Season 1 finale, though, Eleanor realizes that she, Chidi, Tahani (Jameela Jamil), and Jason (Manny Jacinto) are all actually in The Bad Place. Instead of being sent to the traditional Bad Place, a fake Good Place neighborhood was designed to torture the four of them — and to trick them into torturing each other. It’s a brilliant reveal that came as a huge shock, but that also makes so much sense in retrospect.
