60 best sitcoms of all time

41. The Bernie Mac Show

Ah, The Bernie Mac Show. The brainchild of Bernie Mac and Larry Wilmore (yes, the same Larry Wilmore who’s now hosting The Nightly Show for Comedy Central), this was the series that you could call a precursor to Black-ish, only much louder and sharper. In fact, Anthony Anderson actually had a significant role on The Bernie Mac Show near the end of its run.

The series took full advantage of Bernie’s big personality yet down to earth views on life, particularly parenting. His numerous monologues to camera, telling “America” just how he felt about a particular development, were worth the viewing time alone. There were also fantastic gags using comments and arrows written on the screen like the comedic version of a sporting event. Bernie loved to think of himself as the master of his domain, and sometimes he was while other times he wasn’t at all.

Under the laughs, The Bernie Mac Show was incredibly moving. As was the case with the real man, you could tell that the fictional Bernie cared deeply for his loved ones despite the bluster, and that shined through in a number of episodes. The TV family really felt like a family. You also couldn’t deny that Bernie had some good advice, or at least good ideas, about the world we lived in. Exactly how many beeps of the horn do you give someone when you’re waiting to carpool? Bernie told you, and he told you a lot more that we still fondly remember.

Next: 40. Designing Women