A comedy on TV can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Some see the genre in its basest form: a show that makes us laugh. Others have expanded the definition (along with the Emmy rules) to include the drama-comedy hybrids, as long as they clock in at around half-an-hour. Still others find comedy in black humor or extra campy nighttime soaps.
But over the last few decades, what makes for great TV comedy has changed just as much as the genre itself. We’ve seen it all, and yet, there’s always something new right around the corner. So before we get too far along, let’s remember the best of what we’ve see so far, across the ever-changing landscape of television.
Read More: The 20 Best TV Crime Shows of the 21st Century, Ranked
[Editor’s Note: The below piece was originally published on May 23, 2017. It was updated on February 24, 2021.]
[Selection Criteria: We’ve stuck to shows that aired a majority of their episodes after the year 2000, and we’ve only included scripted programming. Also, in an effort to highlight more live-action series, we’ve eliminated animated comedies from contention. Finally, while definition of a “comedy” is somewhat elastic, if the show was predominantly funny or widely considered a comedy, we deemed it eligible for this list.]
23. “Girls”
HBO
2012-2017
Upon its premiere in 2012 Lena Dunham...
But over the last few decades, what makes for great TV comedy has changed just as much as the genre itself. We’ve seen it all, and yet, there’s always something new right around the corner. So before we get too far along, let’s remember the best of what we’ve see so far, across the ever-changing landscape of television.
Read More: The 20 Best TV Crime Shows of the 21st Century, Ranked
[Editor’s Note: The below piece was originally published on May 23, 2017. It was updated on February 24, 2021.]
[Selection Criteria: We’ve stuck to shows that aired a majority of their episodes after the year 2000, and we’ve only included scripted programming. Also, in an effort to highlight more live-action series, we’ve eliminated animated comedies from contention. Finally, while definition of a “comedy” is somewhat elastic, if the show was predominantly funny or widely considered a comedy, we deemed it eligible for this list.]
23. “Girls”
HBO
2012-2017
Upon its premiere in 2012 Lena Dunham...
- 2/24/2021
- by Ben Travers and Hanh Nguyen
- Indiewire
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