15 Underrated Sitcoms Everyone Should Watch

There's an established canon of great TV sitcoms. From classics like "The Dick Van Dyke Show" to animated hits like "The Simpsons" and contemporary touchstones like "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," every TV comedy connoisseur knows and loves the biggest shows. But every TV comedy fan is also looking for something new. Where else is there to turn?

Fear not, lovers of sitcom deep cuts. In an era of "peak TV" and a century of explosive experimentation, we've dug through history and discovered some of the lesser-known gems that deserve another glimpse of the sun. These shows play with the form, boast wonderful performances from deep ensemble casts, and were often canceled much too early. After you watch even one of these series, you, too, can become someone at a dinner party who recommends the most interesting things.

If you're ready for some laughs from some obscure places, check out these 15 underrated sitcoms everyone should watch.

Created by Victor Fresco, who would go on to co-create the Rob Lowe-led Netflix series "Unstable," "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" aired for two seasons from 2002 to 2003 before getting canceled by Fox. But in those 19 episodes, it helped write the playbook for acclaimed single-camera sitcoms to come.

Andy Richter, best known as Conan O'Brien's on-camera sidekick, stars as a character with the same name. The fictional Andy Richter is an aspiring writer who works at a mega conglomerate called Pickering Industries. While he deals with the company's absurdly draconian structures and his eccentric coworkers, his imagination often takes over the show's fabric of reality, resulting in a slew of absurd and inspired gags.

In observing this framework, you can feel the DNA of "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" in more well-known shows like "Arrested Development," "Scrubs," "30 Rock," and "Community." The next time you need a quick binge with quick jokes and a great ensemble cast (including the always welcome Paget Brewster), let Andy Richter control your universe.

Buzzing with equal parts misanthropy and warmth, "Black Books" is another cozy but bristly British show to check out while bundled up in a sweater and sipping a cuppa.

Co-creator Dylan Moran, whom you might recognize from "Shaun of the Dead," stars as Bernard Black, a great 21st-century comedy character. Bernard, the owner of the titular bookstore, is grumpy, witty, and spiteful; an unending fount of sarcasm and despondence who you can't help but be endeared to. Close to him is his long-suffering best friend Fran (Tamsin Greig), who runs the shop next door, and Manny (Bill Bailey), a new employee who gives Bernard an optimistic balance.

While remaining grounded in the glum reality of everyday London life, "Black Books" isn't afraid to dip its toe into the surreal, giving its characters ample nonsense to react to. It also provides a fun revolving door of recognizable British comedy talent, with guest stars like Martin Freeman, Olivia Colman, and Peter Serafinowicz popping through.

Jerrod Carmichael is a unique comedian, one who uses his talents to helm experimental provocations that stretch the definition of comedy; like his special "Rothaniel" or his coming-out docuseries, "Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show." In the 2010s, he aimed his sights on the well-worn multicam sitcom form, co-creating a series that felt both like a breath of fresh air and a return to tradition.

"The Carmichael Show," originally airing on NBC, stars Carmichael as a fictionalized version of himself. As his family members, we see a cavalcade of comedy talent, including David Alan Grier as his father, Loretta Devine as his mother, Lil Rel Howery as his brother, Tiffany Haddish as Howery's ex-wife, and Amber Stevens West as his girlfriend.

Like the great sitcoms of yore, Carmichael and his screen family mostly sit around domestic spaces and talk. There are jokes aplenty, but Carmichael and his co-creators (including "Platonic" co-creator Nicholas Stoller) are more than willing to dig into serious issues like gender, gun violence, and Islamophobia before a before-its-time finale episode. They don't make them like this anymore, and that's a shame.

A great one-season wonder from "Cougar Town" co-creator Kevin Biegel, "Enlisted" aired on Fox in 2014, offering just 13 episodes of charming characters on an Army base. Think "M*A*S*H," but way lighter.

"Enlisted" centers on a trio of brothers: Pete (Geoff Stults), the eldest, who's working through an insubordination reassignment, Derrick (Chris Lowell), the middle child who has a penchant for the sarcastic, and Randy (Parker Young), the youngest, who's a bit of a goofy airhead. As the brothers work together, they reconnect and renew their familial ties — all under the watchful eyes of superiors Donald (Keith David) and Jill (Angelique Cabral).

The tone is goofy, sincere, and heartwarming, with just enough touch of the absurd to keep things from devolving into the saccharine. After your binge, you may feel like the great character dynamics were just getting started, and if Fox had kept the train running, they could've had another "New Girl" on their hands. As it is, it's the perfect weekend sitcom to plow through.

If you love "Community," with its dynamic of a found family of misfit toys led by a TV vet whose snide exterior softens over a season, you owe it to yourself to "Go On."

Another one-season miracle that deserved better, "Go On" comes from "Friends" and "Joey" writer Scott Silveri. Here, he reunites with the late, great Matthew Perry, who stars as the brash and talkative sports talk radio host, Ryan King, who's grieving the death of his wife. To try to reckon with his feelings, he joins a support group led by the inexperienced but passionate Lauren Bennett (Laura Benanti). The group features an eclectic ensemble cast all dealing with their own forms of grief, and every episode features a small step toward acceptance taken by at least one character.

Beyond the touchy-feely stuff, it's also a good sports workplace comedy, with King's boss, Steve (John Cho), stealing scenes while trying to balance his friend's emotional needs with a facade of performative masculinity.

If you love "30 Rock," with its TV production workplace comedy led by a woman in over her head with approximately 19,000 jokes per minute, you simply must watch "Great News." And hey, this one ran for two seasons!

Created by "30 Rock" writer/producer Tracey Wigfield, "Great News" stars Briga Heelan as Katie Wendelson, a perpetually in-over-her-head segment producer at the news show "The Breakdown." Throwing her deeper into uncharted waters is the arrival of her mom, Carol (Andrea Martin), as the new intern on her show. Katie must navigate this new, boundary-blurring dynamic alongside the growing feelings for her boss (Adam Campbell), the ego of a once-respected anchor (John Michael Higgins), and the superficiality of a new co-anchor (Nicole Ritchie).

The jokes simply do not stop coming on "Great News," making it one of the most reliably laugh-out-loud comedies on this list. But the show also cares about its broadly-drawn characters, giving us room to empathize with everyone.

Many classic family sitcoms have a sense of suburban calm powering their narrative and tonal engines. Living rooms are large, scenes play with slow pauses for laughter, and every episode ends with a resetting element of peace.

This is not the case with "Grounded for Life," the underrated five-season single-cam sitcom that started on Fox before jumping to the WB. Created by Bill Martin and Mike Schiff, "Grounded for Life" represents the working class. Each episode pulses with vibrancy and even chaos, all while carrying a hard-won vulnerability.

Donal Logue and Megyn Price star as Sean and Claudia Finnerty, a hard-working Irish Catholic couple who had their first kid at the age of 18, and a couple more kids soon after. The parents grapple with raising their family under difficult circumstances, while also dealing with a doofus brother (Kevin Corrigan) and an overbearing father (Richard Riehle).

For those who loved "Shameless" and want something in a similar, but perhaps more empathetic tone, "Grounded for Life" might become your next obsession.

Steven Levitan's best-known series is "Modern Family." But the first sitcom he created, "Just Shoot Me!", is a hidden gem of sharp comedy writing and well-observed performances.

The multicam workplace comedy, taking place primarily at the offices of a fashion magazine called Blush, starred Laura San Giacomo as Maya Gallo, a staunch feminist writer whose values constantly conflict with the superficial focus on "female beauty" at the magazine. Maya's dad, Jack (George Segal), owns the magazine, hiring his daughter as a kind of olive branch after largely being absent from her childhood.

As these two do their best to mend fences, other characters include Wendie Malick as an editor still smarting over her former fame as a model and actress, Enrico Colantoni as a lothario photographer, and the inimitable David Spade as Jack's snarky assistant. Every actor bounces off of each other with energy and aplomb, making for smooth yet edgy television comedy.

Based on an acclaimed play by Ins Choi, "Kim's Convenience" follows a Korean-Canadian family that runs a convenience store in Toronto. Over its five seasons, the show brought us gentle, honest, and well-handled family conflicts and resolutions. Plus, it brought us breakout star Simu Liu, whom you now know from "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" and "Barbie."

Liu plays the estranged son of Mr. and Mrs. Kim, played by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Jean Yoon, respectively. Mr. Kim is hardheaded and opinionated, often espousing traditional values to the detriment of those around him (i.e., his estranged son). Mrs. Kim is kinder on the surface, but also constantly meddles with her family.

That leaves Janet Kim, played by Andrea Bang. She isn't interested in following the family business of running a convenience store, instead developing a photography talent that her parents don't particularly understand. Watching all of these characters grow and change together makes for quietly compelling — and funny — TV.

One of the great 1990s sitcoms that still feels like it's never properly gotten its flowers, "Living Single" deserves your attention and then some — especially if your only exposure to the glut of 1990s New York sitcoms is juggernauts like "Friends" or "Seinfeld."

Like those shows, "Living Single" stars a group of friends living, loving, and learning in the Big Apple. This includes Khadijah (Queen Latifah), a sincere and hardworking magazine editor, Synclaire (Kim Coles), a flighty aspiring actress, Régine (Kim Fields), a connoisseur of riches, Max (Erika Alexander), a sharp attorney, Overton (John Henton), a sweet handyman, and Kyle (T.C. Carson), a stockbroker who has a will-they-won't-they relationship with Max.

This cast of characters plays off of each other with a nuance and growth that was fresh at the time — and even now. Every episode is laugh-out-loud funny while featuring sensitive and sharp commentary from creator Yvette Denise Lee, whose invests in inclusion at every opportunity. "Living Single" deserves a spot in the minds of any TV fan or historian.

"My Name Is Earl" has an irresistible high concept, courtesy of creator Greg Garcia ("Raising Hope").

Earl Hickey (Jason Lee) is a crook, thief, charlatan, and overall bad dude. One day, he nabs a winning lottery ticket for $100,000 and is promptly hit by a car, sending him to the hospital and losing his ticket in the process. In the hospital, he learns about the concept of karma — the idea that doing good things brings one good things, and vice-versa — and decides to change his ways. So, he spends the rest of the series crossing off a list of all the people he ever wronged, and you best believe that's a pretty long list.

Beyond this great premise, which ensures every episode has a case-of-the-week hook, "My Name Is Earl" has a great supporting cast, including Jaime Pressly as Earl's ex-wife, Eddie Steeples as her new lover, and Ethan Suplee as Earl's simplistic younger brother. It all makes for endlessly appealing, shaggy, and sweet television, even despite its undue cancellation.

The original "One Day at a Time," developed by TV producer legend Norman Lear and airing from 1975 to 1984, has enough acclaim and attention. We are, instead, here to praise the 21st-century remake, airing from 2017 to 2020.

Developed by Gloria Calderón Kellett and Mike Royce, this iteration of "One Day at a Time" starred Justina Machado as Penelope, a single mother and Army veteran doing her best to raise two kids (Isabella Gomez and Marcel Ruiz) alongside her overbearing mother (Rita Moreno). This outstanding ensemble cast, bolstered by ringers like Todd Grinnell as an oblivious landlord and Stephen Tobolowsky as an endearing doctor, plays the material like classic theater, and the live studio audience responds in kind.

This wonderful vibe especially makes the show come alive when it deals with heavy issues like mental health, sexuality, the immigrant experience, poverty, and more. The actors plunge directly into the storm, and the electricity they gather will shake you up.

The great Michael Schur ("Parks and Recreation," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "The Good Place") co-created this delightful Peacock sitcom alongside Ed Helms, who also stars, and Sierra Teller Ornelas. And in a true and just world, it would've garnered as many seasons as Schur's other hits.

Alas, "Rutherford Falls" only has two seasons to binge through, but they are worth your while. Helms plays Nathan Rutherford, a descendant of the town's founder, and who runs a heritage museum. His efforts are bolstered by his best friend, Reagan Wells (Jana Schmieding), who belongs to the fictional Minishonka tribe and wants to work toward representing her people more tangibly. Everything comes to a head when Nathan accidentally drives into a statue of the town's founder, causing a row of dominoes to fall that reveals the fissures and power plays behind all of the communities in Rutherford Falls.

Like "Reservation Dogs," the show dives into many issues facing Indigenous communities, with the typical charm and heart you'd expect from a Michael Schur joint.

Created by Emily Kapnek ("As Told by Ginger") and inspired by the classic theater pieces "Pygmalion" and "My Fair Lady," "Selfie" captured the particular millennial attitude of the 2010s in just 13 episodes, while giving Karen Gillan a delightful starring vehicle to boot.

Gillan plays Eliza Dooley (a play on Eliza Doolittle, of "My Fair Lady" and "Pygmalion" fame), a vapid, social media-obsessed employee at a pharmaceutical company. All she knows is the pursuit of online attention, of likes and friends, and of that vaulted "viral" status. But she starts to suspect, deep down, that this is not a great way to live.

Enter Henry Higgs (kept almost straight from those previous iterations, which name him Higgins), played by John Cho. Henry is Eliza's coworker, a marketing guru who knows how to make other people look good despite being a bit grumpy himself. And he tasks himself with rehabilitating Eliza's image, slowly turning her into a reasonable human being interested in actual, IRL friendships.

While we'll never know if and when the two characters get together, as they do in their theatrical inspirations, it's a delight to watch the two stars' chemistry crackle alongside the zippy jokes.

In the relatively gentle 2000s Fox sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show," the title star often breaks from the reality of the episode to speak to the camera, and therefore the viewers, directly. "Titus," also airing on Fox in the 2000s, used this device to much darker, even surreal designs, ensuring the show stood out from that cozier pack.

Based on the life and comedy of co-creator and star Christopher Titus, the show presents a fictionalized version of his family, with Zack Ward playing his immature brother Dave and the unstoppable Stacy Keach playing his vile father Ken (think Archie Bunker after falling into a vat of toxic waste). The action often takes place at the fictionalized Christopher's custom car shop, cutting between the surreal, "neutral space" vignettes and a more traditionally set up multicam narrative.

"Titus" is often a harrowing show, exploring topics like abuse and alcoholism with a level of frankness couched in the bleakest of humor. It touches nerves, and truths, like no other sitcom on this list, while remaining obliteratingly funny.