We’ve now completed our sitcom tournament and you, our readers, have come up with a winner.
The voting started with a selection of more than 200 beloved comedies. From there, we paired the candidates down to 58 choices. Even then, things were starting to get difficult.
In round three, things got really tough though as we pitted legendary shows against one another — I Love Lucy vs. The Honeymooners; The Dick Van Dyke Show vs The Andy Griffith Show; M*A*S*H vs All in the Family; The Cosby Show vs Cheers; Seinfeld vs Friends; and Everybody Loves Raymond vs The Big Bang Theory. Any of them could easily have come out as the big winner.
In round four, the victors of round three were paired off. In the end, I Love Lucy won over The Andy Griffith Show and Seinfeld beat Everybody Loves Raymond. Cheers and M*A*S*H were so close that we moved them both to the final round. We also introduced a wildcard category in which shows that had been eliminated in round three were given a second chance. Friends was the easy victor.
And then, in the final round, it came down to just five challengers — Cheers, Friends, I Love Lucy, M*A*S*H, and Seinfeld. After more than 27,000 tournament votes, we now have our winners.
Despite being beaten by Seinfeld in round three, Friends has won the title. You, our readers, believe that the gang at Central Perk have the best sitcom in history. Not too far behind them is all-time classic I Love Lucy, a show that many would have thought would have won. And then, right behind Lucy, is the little show from the 1990s, Seinfeld.
Thanks to everyone who voted and left their feedback! We’re planning on doing another tournament soon!
What do you think of the winners? Are you surprised? Any suggestions for future tournaments?
I Love Lucy should have won. It’s really one of the only shows that holds its own across the eras, and despite being more than half a century old, is still relevant. Sure, Friends is good, but the best in history?
Also, I can’t believe the Big Bang Theory was so well voted. Sure, I watched it, I liked it, but I’m starting to think it’s not getting any better, only more stagnant. I can’t imagine it being the best thing in sitcom history, it’s not even the best sitcom on now.
I completely agree. You know a TV show has to be good when a decade later people still quote it. =) Seinfeld is another good one.
Get real do you think any of the winners will be here as long as The Andy Griffith Show.No way.The The Andy Griffith Show should have won “hands down”
Just discovered your website, but I would have voted for Seinfeld! Its the only show EVERYONE can relate to in some way, shape or form. They touched every imaginable thing we’ve all said, thought or done. Friends? Well, once they all started ******** each other, they weren’t “friends” anymore were they? The creators sure ended up in left field by the time THAT show ended!
Unfortunately I just saw this now or else I would have voted. These would be my top 10 , in alphabetical order:
The Andy Griffith Show
Cheers
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Everybody Loves Raymond
Frasier
Hogan’s Heroes
Leave It To Beaver
M*A*S*H
The Odd Couple
Seinfeld
Honorable Mention: Get Smart, Gilligan’s Island, The Honeymooners, I Dream of Jeannie, Wings.
Yep! I Love Lucy is a classic and should have won hands down. Not far behind should have been MASH! Obviously, the winners were voted in by younger viewers. It’s too bad that more older viewers didn’t vote.
These are my personal favorites:
I Love Lucy
Cheers
Fraiser
In the Heat of the Night
Living Single
Designing Women
Some very good shows were left out, IMO. My own personal faves (top ten, in no particular order): 3rd Rock From the Sun All in the Family Roseanne Designing Women Gilligan’s Island That ’70s Show The Wonder Years Newhart Everybody Loves Raymond Frasier If I had those shows to watch (and only those shows — but if I could have 13, I’d throw in The Andy Griffith Show, The Golden Girls and Leave it To Beaver — adding in The PJs and Futurama to get to 15, if non live-action comedies could be on the list) my comedy needs would… Read more »
Friends? Please. I was in “the age bracket” to which Friends was supposed to appeal, and while I found it humorous, nothing could touch the hemlines of Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance. The show is absolutely earth-shattering in what it did for television and remains one of the world’s most seen television series.
WHAT HAPPENED TO “FRASIER”??! fANTASTIC, FUNNY SHOW. BUT, FOR THE SHOW I SAW ON YOUR LIST, “I LOVE LUCY” WAS, AND ALWAYS WILL BE “THE” BEST! NEXT WOULD BE “THE HONEYMOONERS”, THEN “FRASIER”, THEN “HAPPY DAYS”. WE AGREE WITH OTHER PEOPLE’S REMARKS THAT IT’S THE “YOUNGER” GENERATION THAT VOTED FOR “FRIENDS”. WE TRIED TO WATCH IT…COULDN’T UNDERSTAND THE HUMOR OR WHAT PEOPLE LIKED ABOUT IT. HEY, YOUNGER FOLKS….RENT SOME OF THE OLD CLASSICS AND YOU’LL SEE “REAL” HUMOR!
Shouldn’t it be Central Park and not Central Perk?
@Adam Decker: Nope. Central Perk is the name of the coffee house where they hung out.
The results are from tunnel visioned internet users. Unfortanetly this is the way it was given. I can say without a doubt in my mind that Friends is NOT the best comedy of all times. It would have to be in my top ten, but NEVER number one! NEVER! M*A*S*H* is my number one! I Love Lucy! (#2) These not in order: The Cosby Show, Cheers, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Honeymooners, Frasier, Becker, The Big Bang Theory (OMG best one out now!), and finally Seinfeld. The results you’ve recieved are no doubt based on people that no longer… Read more »
funny…it didn’t end up in my top ten anyway…haahaa haa!! maybe #11?!?!
Big Bang Theory should have won. I love friends but Big Bang is funnier and better. The characters are better and the story line is better as well.
Seinfeld was truly my favorite show on TV. It was about everyday life and it was so real and so funny. Friends definitely wins for 2nd place, although it really was very close ….
Obviously, the vote results are age biased. How could today’s youngsters really get the beauty and humor of I Love Lucy? Even the fact that the Carol Burnett show and All in the Family didn’t make it to the finals proves this bias. Perhaps the vote should have been segragated into decades and indicate the winners against the competition within respective ten year time frames. I remember my grandmother coming for a visit from Germany and watching the Lucy show with our family. However, even though she couldn’t understand English, she laughed hysterically while watching that show. Who wouldn’t enjoy… Read more »
It’s a sad day when a good shows like Freinds and Sienfeld and ahead of shows like I love Lucy. The shows from the 60’s and 70’s don’t attracted todays youth. However, They were all about clean wholesome humor, Not sex. I realize that times have changed, but they still were so much better then any of todays sitcoms. I grew up on Barney Miller, Welcome Back Kotter, M*A*S*H, All In The Family. These we the great shows!!!!!!!!!!