60 best sitcoms of all time

15. All in the Family

All in the Family was inspired by a British sitcom called Till Death Do Us Part, but it developed into a uniquely American series and a lightning rod for countless discussions about subjects that you just couldn’t talk about on television. Between this and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, there was a lot of groundbreaking going on in 1970’s sitcoms.

Carroll O’Connor cemented his place as one of TV’s finest actors with his portrayal of working-class, narrow-minded Archie Bunker, who wasn’t changing along with the rest of the world. Despite all the fights he picked, Archie was really just struggling to get a grip on all the things that were different now and the resulting conflicts were the basis for most of the humor – and a lot of things that weren’t so funny but needed to be discussed.

All In The Family is credited with five spin-off shows, which is the most of any series in the history of TV. It’s also one of only four sitcoms where all four of the lead performers won Emmy Awards. But perhaps its biggest success is that it proved that a sitcom can be a whole lot more than just setups and punchlines. Thanks to Archie Bunker and MTM‘s Mary Richards, the sitcom formula would explode into something so much bigger and better.

Next: 14. Futurama