My All-Time Favourite Comedy Shows

You know something that never gets old? Comedy. And memes (never forget that we live in the age of memes). Anyway, I thought I’d do something different today. Whenever I want to relax, to truly relax, I put on the telly and watch endless comedy shows. What’s the point of all that work if you don’t get to laugh at the end of the day? So, if you’re looking for a new series to watch or simply reminisce the good old classics, sit down and let’s countdown to my favourite comedy shows of all time!

Friends

IMDB description:

‘Follows the personal and professional lives of six 20 to 30-something-year-old friends living in Manhattan.’

Oh my, what a shocker (!). Well… of course this was going to be on the list. Friends throughout its ten seasons has been consistently funny. The USP is its lovable cast of characters and their genuine friendship. I can tune into Comedy Central and whichever episode is showing, there will be undeniable laughter on my end, it is reliable funny. For those of us who watch it and love it, believe we all share a history and bond with the show. Maybe you’re a fan of Chandler’s witty sarcasm, Monica’s people-pleasing, strength and neuroticism, Rachel’s charming, bold and positive nature, Phoebe’s endless quirks, Joey’s, uh, naivety and good-naturedness or Ross’s… let’s call it strangeness e.g. PIVOT!  There’s something in it for most.

My favourite character is Phoebe whom Mike perfectly describes as “wonderfully weird.” Sadly, I don’t think I fully relate to any of the characters on the show, perhaps I’m a mix of Chandler and Phoebe but Monica when I play Monopoly (I’m not competitive… I’m passionate). My favourite episode is ‘The One With The Unagi’ and any other episode where Phoebe is dancing (I mean it is a treat for the eyes, you better believe).

And for the record… they were on a break. But Ross should not have slept with the copy girl.

How I Met Your Mother

IMDB description:

‘A father recounts to his children, through a series of flashbacks, the journey he and his four best friends took leading up to him meeting their mother.’

Right, I love How I Met Your Mother and I’m honest enough to admit that it isn’t always the funniest. Regardless, it is my all-time favourite show. Do you know why? Because it has Ted Mosby. And darn Ted Mosby for instilling unrealistic expectations in love for me because there aren’t a lot of Teds’ out there. For me, this show is ruthlessly honest and doesn’t cater to the audience’s expectations of what should happen, instead it shows what really happens through all nine seasons. But if you want comedy, Barney’s enactment of his outrageous playbook will serve laughter.

(I mean this is sorta genius).

Although, I think Robin’s the funniest simply because she shares the same sense of humour as me. Hello first relatable female character in a comedy show! I love Lily too and she’s the kind of friend every girl should have in her life.

Am I team ‘blue French horn’ or ‘yellow umbrella?’ Well, I’m both. Robin accurately states that “if you have chemistry, then you only need one other thing: timing.” And I believe that timing worked out well for them because they all got what they wanted in life because they were honest about what they wanted.

My favourite episodes: ‘Last Forever Part 2,’ ‘Platonish,’ ‘The Final Page’ and ‘Symphony of Illumination.’

And here are some helpful tips in life Ted has for us:

Thanks to How I Met Your Mother for teaching me so much over the years.

Modern Family

IMDB description:

“Three different, but related families face trials and tribulations in their own uniquely comedic ways.”

Okay, this isn’t my faaaaaaaavourite show but I still like it a lot, thanks to Gloria, Jay and little Jay! What I love about this show is due to the enormity of the cast of characters, you get a lot of variety in the characters and situations. I wish it would slow down a little in some parts because it can be rushed at times. What I live for in this show is Jay’s grumpiness and straight-to-the-point manner and Gloria’s desi aunty-ness. Little Jay is shaping up to be hilarious. Manny’s been enlightened since he was born, I’m guessing. My favourite moments on the show:

And don’t forget… it brought us this little nugget:

The show is on its ninth season now and that makes sense, the core idea breeds longevity.

2 Broke Girls

IMDB description: Two young women waitressing at a greasy spoon diner strike up an unlikely friendship in the hopes of launching a successful business – if only they can raise the cash.

Oh, I can’t believe this show is over. Honestly, in terms of female friendships on TV, this was one of the best. The humour is pretty vulgar, and I LOVE THAT. If you want some adult humour then this show is for you. Max is a stone-cold realist who comes ready with witty and biting remarks and Caroline is the idea-generating optimist which makes for a perfect recipe for a business partnership. Another thing I love about the show is that the cast is diverse, fully diverse.

Impractical Jokers

IMDB description: Q, Sal, Joe and Murr are real-life best friends who love challenging each other to the most outrageous dares and stunts ever caught on hidden camera.

Okay, so I remember seeing around way over 75 episodes recorded on our Sky box and I thought my siblings were complete losers. I decided to see what the fuss is about, watched one episode and got OBSESSED. And I mean crazy obsessed because I then proceeded to watch every single episode from the first season to the last. This is one of the few shows, no wait ONLY show, that actually has me laughing to the point of tears, absolute incoherence and slapping my thighs at almost every episode. P.s my favourite episode has to be from the latest season where they go to Hawaii.

I’d say the funniest joker is Sal, simply because you can see how devastated he is at having to break social conventions by saying and doing outrageous things. You can literally see the torture plastered on his face. I’m not going to lie, I have the biggest crush on Q, or shall I call him Qtie-pie (Sophia, stop). Murray has no limits and will do the dares barely flinching. And Joe is crazy, I mean have you seen his eyes? Those are serial killer eyes. I hear he’s a nice guy, though.

Another favourite moment I have to add is Murray’s Presentation!

The Inbetweeners

IMDB description: Follows four friends and their antics during their final years of school.

Oh my God, is that a non-American show? Yes! If one British show is going to make it into this list, it’s this legend of a show. If you’re unfamiliar with this show, think British Howard (Jay) Raj (Neil), Sheldon (Will), Leonard (Simon) without the science and they’re students and there’s zero filter. Their student status is the show’s weakness meaning it only contains three seasons (major thumbs down for that) but it does have two films out. I think Neil is by far my favourite character, dude is so spaced out and happy and naïve.

New Girl

IMDB description: After a bad break-up, Jess, an offbeat young woman, moves into an apartment loft with three single men. Although they find her behavior very unusual, the men support her – most of the time.

Ohhhh to think I hated this show when it first started because I absolutely could not stand Jess. I’m kind of okay with her now. No, actually, not really. She has a habit of making everything about her. Now, I’m dreading the fact that there’s only one season remaining with a time jump by four years. I, especially, cannot wait to see what Nick is doing. I find him So. Damn. Relatable. One thing I did not like is that they waited so long to utilise Winston who’s my favourite character and now, we only have one more season of Winnie – the Mother of Cats, slow puzzler but loves puzzles anyway – Bish, I will miss this show so much. Favourite episodes: ‘Girl Fight,’ ‘Background Check,’ ‘Clean Break,’ and ‘All In.’

The Office

IMDB description: A mockumentary on a group of typical office workers, where the workday consists of ego clashes, inappropriate behavior, and tedium.

I recently started watching the show (can’t believe it took me so long!). I’m only on season 3 but I am loving it so far. I want to hate Michael because dude is so unbelievably politically incorrect but I just can’t for some reason. Michael Scott is delightfully bonkers and no way would the show be what it is without him. Dwight, on the hand, that square can do one unless he’s joining in on Michael’s antics. Angela reminds me of my 8-year-old cousin, I even have a picture of my cousin not enjoying parties and looking miserable when our other cousin was blowing the candles out. Angela speaks to her soul (or will when she watches the show when she’s grown up). I absolutely love Jim and Pam (I’m not loving Karen simply because of Pam even though she’s perfectly lovely) and I hope to see more of Stanley because he may actually be one of the funniest on the show.

Favourite episodes: ‘Booze Cruise’ and ‘Diwali.’

The Big Bang Theory

IMDB description: A woman who moves into an apartment across the hall from two brilliant but socially awkward physicists shows them how little they know about life outside of the laboratory.

I don’t really need to explain this show much, you’ve probably watched it or heard of it. I agree with most that the show is not what it used to be. I know some hate the introduction of Bernadette and Amy and peg them as the reasons for the show’s decline. I’m not crazy about Bernadette but I absolutely love Amy and I loved it when Amy and Sheldon performed social experiments, those were one of my most favourite parts. Also, Amy is one hell of a woman. Almost everyone loves Sheldon but I’ve been a Howard fan from the start. It’s a shame the show’s kind of neutered him since he actually had the best sense of humour. I’d say Penny has the best sense of humour now, she’s gotten a lot more sarcastic and together with Leonard they have the better lines in recent seasons.

My favourite episode is ‘The Romance Resonance’ (Howard writes and performs a song for Bernadette and it was a real tear-jerker), ‘The Opening Night Excitation’ and ‘The Rothman Disintegration’ (Sheldon and Kripke play basketball!).

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And that concludes the list. Who knows, in a few years I might have some more shows to add to the list. I think this may just have been one of my top two longest posts. Let me know what your favourite shows are in the comments section!

-Sophia Ismaa.

You can find me on instagram: @sophismaax