60 best sitcoms of all time

18. Curb Your Enthusiasm

You see plenty of performers who have a hand in writing their projects, but you don’t normally see writers move out from behind the camera to star in their own shows. Larry David had limited on-screen appearances before he became the star of Curb Your Enthusiasm; he was best known for co-creating Seinfeld. But with Curb, he got to be number one and he ran with it.

Every episode of the show is retroscripted, like the Ben/Dr. Katz segments in Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist. That just goes to prove how great the improvisational talents of David, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Garlin and Susie Essman are that they can bring to life each of David’s outlines. They’ve covered everything from inane subjects (like tipping at restaurants and small talk) to insane ones (go watch Season 4’s “The Car Pool Lane”) and they’re doing it literally without a script. It’s like comedy’s version of a high wire act without a net, and it rarely ever fails.

The only question is whether or not we’ll ever see more Curb; the show has been on “indefinite hiatus” since 2011, so the odds are good that the series is over, especially given David’s comments to Bill Simmons in 2014. But there’s no question that the show deserves a spot on this list.

Next: 17. I Love Lucy