There's No Way You Can Name All These Popular TV Shows, But You Can Try
- by Ryan Carlquist
- – on
- in Movies and TV
Sitcoms help us to forget about the humdrum parts of life, they let us relax for half-an-hour to an hour, and just unwind and laugh. And several sitcoms actually pack a pretty big emotional punch (at least the good ones) and they make us think as well as laugh. Some of the greatest series' of all time are considered sitcoms, and they boast incredible writing teams, unparalleled producers, and exceptional actors. Throughout this quiz, you’ll encounter questions pertaining to classic and more modern sitcoms, and don’t be surprised if there’s even a black-and-white sitcom thrown in just for good measure. It’s going to take a pretty extensive knowledge of television comedy in order to pass this quiz with flying colors, but if you’re a genuine couch potato, this should prove to be a breeze for you. You’re sure to see some favorites on this quiz, with some more obscure titles thrown in there just to challenge you a bit.
So put your television trivia cap on and prepare yourself, because it’s going to take a real sitcom fanatic to ace this quiz. It’s time to see, are you a genuine couch potato, or just a casual, here and there television viewer?
Can You Name This Friendly Series?
This show followed in the footsteps of Cheers and Seinfeld, and it featured a group of young individuals that gather in a specified location to hang out on a weekly (or daily) basis. Their location of choice is a coffee shop, and this group of companions meets there often to discuss their professional, sexual, and emotionally complex lives. The show reveals later that this group was almost destined to meet, as their paths either crossed before, or nearly crossed several times.
Can You Name This Mother-Obsessed Comedy?
This is certainly one of the most popular sitcoms in television history, and it rivals the greats in terms of quality (leaving out the final season). The show follows a young, single man living in New York City in an apartment with his college best friend and his girlfriend, who then meets a young bachelor that uses plays and tricks to capture the attention of all the young (and mostly dumb) females in New York. He meets a girl in a bar, and he throws multiple parties to get her attention, and she eventually becomes a permanent member of the group. The rest of the show details the man’s quest to find his future wife, as he tells his kids about the story.
What’s This Beloved NBC-Cancelled Program?
There are some shows that just don’t receive the greenlight for more seasons. It’s especially hard for fans that become attached to these shows, but it’s something that people have to come to terms with. This show is one of the exceptions to the rule. It was cancelled by NBC, and fans gathered to organize a flash mob in front of NBC headquarters to bring it back, that doesn’t happen with many shows. This comedy, based on the lives of several people enrolled in junior college, and their adventures that range from Spanish test to working and maintaining a KFC-sponsored rocket simulation.
Can You Name The Greatest Sitcom Of All Time?
This show is hard to talk about without giving the title away, and that’s because the series’ creator is actually the titular character in the program as well. The show is truly about nothing, as him and his whacky friends attempt to live and find their way in the big city, New York. The show started an archetype that’s still used today, have your characters meet at a dedicated location, where they talk and discuss their lives. This technique is used in shows like How I Met Your Mother, Friends, Rules of Engagement, etc.
What Is This Barely-Professional Work Comedy?
This show is an absolute cultural sensation, and it was a behemoth money maker for NBC for years. The show features a cast of work colleagues that get tangled in each other’s personal lives, mainly because of their awkwardly charismatic boss, Michael Scott. The show excels when it comes to situational comedy, and the show demonstrates awkward silence better than any other show. And the dynamic between Jim, Dwight, and Pam is the cornerstone of the show, and makes it the popular and beloved show that it is.
What Is This Show About A Wealthy Family Who Lost Everything?
This show might be the biggest cult comedy in the history of sitcoms. The show was notoriously cancelled by the network it appeared on, and was later picked up by Netflix for a new season, taking place years after the previous finale. The format of the season differed pretty substantially from the original program (which angered a lot of fans) and it caused a bit of a rift between Netflix and its subscribers. Netflix did promise that the next season would stay true to the original format.
Can You Name This Tina Fey Sitcom Behemoth?
NBC was the heart of unique and wonderful modern sitcoms, from The Office to Community to this delightful program. The show took off because of Tina Fey’s wonderful direction, writing, and acting, and Alec Baldwin was the bow on top that helped the show peak. Few shows show a female lead, and even fewer shows depict her as an independent, creative, and professional-driven powerhouse that Tina Fey helped to bring to life. Liz Lemon is one of the best leads in sitcom history, and against her best intentions, she made the world fall in love with her.
What Is This Larry David-Lead Sitcom?
This show is based around the real life of producer, writer, and show-creator, Larry David. Larry David was, of course, the man behind the greatest sitcom of all time, Seinfeld. He’s a terribly unlikeable character that somehow manages to get the audience to root for him week to week. The show features David’s struggle to keep his marriage together, struggling to come up with the next big thing, and making enough lunch reservations to keep his friends around him happy.
What Is This Incredibly Modern Sitcom?
This sitcom is the Meryl Streep of network comedies, meaning that it pulls home nearly every network comedy award every year at the Emmys, and other esteemed television award shows. The show centers around three different families, including a father’s new marriage which includes her child from a previous partner, his daughter’s husband and family and his son’s husband and family as well. The show was revolutionary for gay representation in television, and it’s clever writing and compelling character’s helped it to become one of the best shows on TV.
What Is This Indiana Based Workplace Comedy?
This is yet another incredible NBC comedy that was introduced pretty recently to the world. The show concluded a couple years ago, and the final season left some confused, but it definitely fit with the tone and quality of the rest of the program. The show centers around a specific government agency, and a public servant, Leslie Knope that does everything in her power to make the town she loves better every day. Her workplace colleagues and friends round out the cast, and they either help or hinder Knope’s quest.
What Is This Sitcom Based Around The World’s Best Decade?
This sitcom is less concerned with deeper intellectual pursuits, and merely focuses on the hilarity that would ensue between high school friends in the small town of Point Place, Wisconsin. And even though the show doesn’t challenge the audience too much, it does present compelling drama, and it’s hilarious to a fault. The show depicts the decade it’s set in miraculously well, and it shows high school children pulling pranks, making and breaking relationships, and getting into trouble (so it’s surprisingly accurate).
Can You Name This Philly Based Raunchy Comedy?
This show is probably the most ridiculous and the most adult-oriented sitcom on this entire quiz, and it’s also one of the best. Each episode featured the gang pretty much hanging out in a bar, arguing, and then deciding that the rest of the world is crazy, and they’re all sane. For a formulaic show, it’s impressive that the show is able to bolster such incredible laughs every episode, and the jokes are usually surprising, and as ridiculous as the program itself.
What Is This Hospital-Based Sitcom?
This show saw quite the life on syndication, but it was also beloved when it originally aired as well. The show has been frequently watched on Netflix, and the admirable and quirky protagonist, played by Zach Braff, anchors the entire wonderful program. With his best friend Turk, Turk’s wife Carla, his friend/love interest Elliot, and his mentor Dr. Cox, J.D. (Braff) just tries to make the best of his situation, which includes making rounds at the hospital, and drinking appletinis when he gets off.
Can You Name This Will Smith Lead Comedy?
This show made Will Smith the household name that he is today, and for good reason. Will Smith is entirely likeable in the show, and his erratic and charismatic behavior helped this show become one of the most popular network comedies at the time. The show of course features one of the catchiest theme songs in sitcom history, and the theme song accurately depicts the set-up for the beginning of the school, and Will must move from Philly to Bel-Air to live with his Aunt and Uncle.
What Is This Animated Seth McFarlane Family Program?
Don’t let the word “family” in the title throw you off, this is going to be one of the easier questions on the quiz. Anyone who follows television, or animated cartoons will know this show immediately, because it’s one of the most popular animated shows of all time. Seth McFarlane voices many of the characters in the show, from Peter Griffin, to Brian and Stewie, the show proves that MacFarlane can pretty much do it all; create, produce, and voice act.
Can You Name This Brotherly Love/Hate Program?
This show revolves around a pretty sexist, but oddly charming jingle writer that gets put into a pretty sticky situation when his brother and 10-year old nephew end up moving into his beach house after being kicked out by his brother’s former wife. The show revolves around Charlie’s (Charlie Sheen) womanizing ways, and his growth he must undergo in order to help his family, and to attempt to be a good person (despite his desire to be a scum bag generally).
Can You Name This Sitcom About A Middle Child?
This series features a sporadic and furious mom and a geeky, loving dad, and their five ridiculously childish and crazy kids. Malcom is the middle of five kids, and with that power comes great responsibility. He has to be the glue that ties all of the kids together, and his brothers are all completely different people. His older brother managed to leave the crazy family while he was young, the second brother is a criminal through and through, his younger brother isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed (insert Smash Mouth joke) and his youngest brother isn’t old enough to cause the trouble he’ll likely inflict in the future.
What Is This Sitcom Centered Around The Last Living Human After A Disease Outbreak?
That may not be the catchiest title in the world, but that’s as accurate as I could get without giving too much of the title away. This is going to be a pretty easy question to answer just based on the premise alone (it’s pretty unique). The show stars Will Forte as the alleged last survivor of the human race, and the show has some fun with that humor for a while; spoofing Cast Away numerous times in the process. But the show really takes off when more people are introduced into the picture, and the show seems to be getting better and better as the seasons progress.
Can You Name This Andy Sandberg Lead Cop Show?
The idea of a police station serving as the backdrop to a sitcom is pretty genius, and it serves the show by allowing new criminals, new cases, and new ideas to be produced organically and creatively week-to-week. And few shows are as consistent as this sitcom when it comes to quality, but each and every week the creative team behind this sitcom end up surprising audiences with new character team ups, new catchy phrases, and somehow they find ways to make Andy Sandberg even more charming week to week.
What Is This Quintessential Marriage/Family Sitcom?
This is a classic sitcom for a reason. This show doesn’t excel because it introduces obscure or supernatural elements for drama, it excels because it shows something genuine and relatable. The real magic of the program is that the show runners were able to basically put a real life family on TV, and audiences ate it up week by week. And it didn’t just feel like scripted reality TV, it actually felt like a well-rounded and believable show that earned its humor, emotional beats, and real family drama.
Can You Name This Futuristic Matt Groening Cartoon?
Matt Groening created the longest running and most spectacular cartoon of all time with, The Simpsons. And even though it’s his most famous show, it’s odd that this particular program hasn’t been cited near as much. This show doesn’t lean too heavily on the future-related humor, but it sprinkles it out creatively. Matt’s real magic lies in the way he’s able to build characters, no matter what situation surrounds them. And this program, even more than the Simpsons, feels like a program you could turn on and no matter what the episode, it can grab your attention and make you bust out laughing.
What Is This Foul-Mouthed Colorado Based Cartoon?
Ending with two cartoons in a row is bold you say? Well that was never considered when constructing this quiz, but thanks for the compliment. This show, created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, is the most revolutionary and ingenious form of modern parody, and through the mist of wiener jokes and celebrity references lies a really genius show that ignores real character development for pure, unadulterated insanity. And in that insanity lies some of the most wonderful comedic material ever seen on television.
Can You Name This Long-Running Sitcom Classic?
This show is certainly in the running for best sitcom every produced, and it could easily stand toe-to-toe with some of the bests, Seinfeld or The Simpsons. This show ran through two different decades, and it managed to basically reinvent itself from its former 80’s self when it continued through the 1990’s. The 90’s show allowed audiences to see every character in the show in a new light, and it gave them all their due screen time, instead of focusing only on Ted Danson’s love life struggles.
What Is This Incredible Family Dramedy?
This show’s star and titular character has committed some seriously awful acts, and his legacy has been tainted by those awful deeds, but this show is still incredible nonetheless. Many other talented and wonderful actors surrounded this man and helped the show become the mainstream and popular staple that it is today. It was a benchmark program for many children growing up, and like most family sitcoms, it helped young children learn the difference between right and wrong, while also presenting us with a realistic and lovable African-American family on network television.
What Is This Classic Sitcom?
This sitcom may not have aged particularly well (what with the whole domestic abuse running joke) but it’s still a hilarious show that helped to pave to the way for modern sitcoms. The show centers around a bus driver and his wife living in a small Brooklyn apartment (why is every sitcom set in New York?). And across the hall from them lives their best friends, Ed Norton and his wife Trixie. The series originally premiered in October of 1955, and don’t worry, it’s definitely going to be the oldest show mentioned on this quiz.