60 best sitcoms of all time

55. Family Guy

When Family Guy is on, it can be one of the most hilarious shows on television. Particularly in its earlier seasons, Seth MacFarlane’s first series hit the mark time and again with a number of strong episodes, memorable characters and fun gags. The writing of the show has declined over the years into basically a series of cutaway gags and jokes that go beyond amusingly wrong into just plain offensive, but we still have to give credit for all the years that it was sharp and so darned entertaining.

Something special about the series has been its ability to throw back references to all kinds of pop culture, particularly the classics, as opposed to just what’s going on in the present day. Family Guy once did a hilarious take on the Police Squad! opening credits with Stewie Griffin and his trike in place of Leslie Nielsen. Its sequence in which Chris goes to get milk and somehow winds up in A-ha’s music video for “Take On Me” is a classic, as is Stewie’s own video that sends up all sorts of music videos past. And this is the only show that’s ever used Aaron Sorkin’s Sports Night as a punchline.

There’s a lot about the show that you can understandably object to, and it’s not the same show now that it once was. But there’s also much about Family Guy that has been great, and it still ranks as a sitcom that many people love. In fact, if not for the successful return of Family Guy via Adult Swim reruns, would we have been able to save Futurama? So we’ve got to give credit where it’s due.

Next: 54. Dinosaurs