5 Sitcoms With No Bad Episodes

Traditional sitcoms have upwards of 20 or more episodes per season. When considering the ones that last for five, six, and even seven plus seasons, that's a lot of episodes. With that in mind, it's not a surprise that most of the actual best sitcoms of all time have their fair share of bad episodes, if not entire lackluster seasons. It's nearly impossible to maintain a consistent level of top-tier quality when the work is spread out over that much content.

So it's probably not a huge surprise that all five sitcoms on this list that we deem lacking in a single bad episode top out at around 80 episodes — with most coming in at about a quarter of that. Now, this might lead to accusations of unfairly praising short-lived sitcoms for not having any duds. However, there is something to be said for knowing the creative limits of the situation a given sitcom is built upon, and not trying to stretch the premise beyond what it can reasonably sustain.

Beyond that, even the best of the long-lasting sitcoms often had shaky first seasons, and took a year or two to find their groove. So it's not as though it's a given that every sitcom hits nothing but home runs in the first stretch. It's still an impressive feat that all of these shows were flawless even with their short runs, because that means each one was firing on all cylinders right from the start — which is also something that few sitcoms can claim, no matter how many episodes they got. 

While John Cleese found fame as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe, it was with "Fawlty Towers" that he was first able to truly show what he could do as a writer and performer. No longer needing to work within an ensemble, "Fawlty Towers" allowed him more creative control as he was not only the lead, but also shared created by and written by credits for the entire show with only one other person — his then-wife, Connie Booth.

"Fawlty Towers" stars Cleese as Basil Fawlty, proprietor of the titular hotel. Basil is already a huge ball of anxiety as it is, but things get worse when everything that can go wrong with his business, does go wrong. And that's to say nothing of the succession of bizarre and needy guests that keep Basil and his staff on their toes at all times.

Cleese is at his manic best here, showcasing why he is an all time great at both verbal and physical comedy. But respect were respect is due to his co-stars, especially Booth as his assistant and the peerless scene stealer Andrew Sachs as hapless waiter Manuel. The best of the guests is easily Mrs. Richards, one of the most underrated sitcom characters of all time. It all plays out over 12 expertly-crafted episodes that were so labored over that some scripts needed upwards of 10 drafts before Cleese and Booth were happy with them. No wonder there was a four-year hiatus between the two seasons. 

Because of its punny and somewhat crass title, it's entirely possible that nobody would've given "Schitt's Creek" a second glance had it not starred two comedy legends. More specifically, comedy legends whose professional careers had been intertwined for decades, and were also close friends in real life. Indeed, Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara fronting "Schitt's Creek" brought a lot of attention to the underdog show as it slowly found an audience outside of its native Canada — as hard as it now is to recall a time that "Schitt's Creek" was anything but universally beloved.

Levy and O'Hara play Johnny and Moira Rose, who at the start of the series learn that they've lost their fortune due to an unscrupulous business manager. So the couple, along with live-in adult children Alexis (Annie Murphy) and David (Daniel Levy), are forced to abandon their pampered lives and start from the bottom. They choose Schitt's Creek, a tiny, remote Canadian town that happens to be the only possession the family still holds claim to.

Far more than a standard fish out of water, culture clash type scenario, "Schitt's Creek" is as bitingly funny as it is heartwarmingly sweet. The Roses not only learn to love their new town and its quirky residents, but also reconnect with one another. The show never takes a single misstep, and you fall so deeply in love with these characters that you'll want to start back at the beginning as soon the credits roll on the finale. 

Every other show on this list was allowed to end on its own terms, which is a big part of the reason why those shows are perfect — they went out on top, as it were, not forced to drag on after the creative juices ran out. "Freaks and Geeks" had no such luck, barely eking out a single complete season before NBC pulled the plug. But there's a reason why the show will forever be among the first one mentioned in conversations about shows canceled too soon and best one-season wonders.

The cast and crew of "Freaks and Geeks" are a veritable dream team of people who would go on to define Hollywood comedies through the 2000s and beyond. The problem is, nobody knew who Paul Feig, Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, Jason Siegel, or James Franco were in 1999 — so those names didn't help sell the ratings-challenged show to the masses. As a result, hardly anyone gave the charming, sweet, and hilarious coming of age sitcom about a group of teenagers in the early '80s a chance. By the time it won Primetime Emmys for outstanding writing and outstanding casting in a comedy series, it was already canceled.

As it stands, we got 18 flawless episodes of hilariously honest stories about growing up that will forever remain the perfect time capsule of both 1981 and 1999. Even the episode we put at the bottom of our ranking of every episode of "Freaks and Geeks" is only there because it is fairly inconsequential — it's a Halloween episode, after all — not because it's bad. 

Realistically, "The Good Place" should've only been funny and clever for a season, two tops. Its premise — a group of people arrive at what they are told is heaven, only to collectively realize that they don't actually deserve to be there and are wondering how the people in charge of the afterlife could make such a glaring mistake — is the kind of high concept foundation that typically wears out its welcome fast. Even with the show's top tier writing and stellar ensemble, it was easy to be skeptical as to how "The Good Place" could've possibly had legs.

Season 1 ends with a brilliant twist, which is that the group isn't actually in the Good Place at all. That more than justified a Season 2, potentially full of compelling twists and turns. But how could the show do it again? Well, it did, several times over. As a result, it managed to not only stretch out across a total of six seasons, but did so without ever feeling like it was spinning its wheels creatively or overstaying its welcome. It's impressive enough for a traditional sitcom to get six seasons of nothing but banger episodes — that such a high concept show managed it is, well, miraculous.

On top of that, "The Good Place" is a sitcom that rewards rewatches. There are numerous things fans only notice when rewatching the show, which isn't something that can be said for most other sitcoms. Other sitcoms are watched over and over again because they are comfort food cruise control. "The Good Place" can be watched over and over again because you pick up on little hints and details during each new run-through. 

Given that there are so many terrible American remakes of hit British TV shows, it was hard not to be pessimistic at the announcement of a U.S. remake of acclaimed British sitcom "The Office." Of course, we now know that such doubts were ultimately unfounded, as the U.S. "The Office" quickly overcame its iffy start to become one of the great sitcoms of the 21st century — if not all time. That being said, it had plenty of rough patches, including an entire season that fans always skip on a rewatch. 

Meanwhile, the U.K. "The Office" — which we'll be referring to as simply "The Office" going forward — is an absolutely flawless two seasons, capped off by an equally perfect two-part Christmas special that served as its finale. Its easy to feel burnt out by the mockumentary format these days, but it still felt fresh and inventive when "The Office" first aired, with an amazing cast that truly came across like real people rather than actors playing a role. Well, with the possible exception of the cartoonish David Brent (Ricky Gervais), though he was just the right amount of over-the-top to tie the whole thing together.

That most of the people in the U.S. who ended up watching it, did so largely via word of mouth and having to buy the whole thing on DVD, only speaks to just how beloved "The Office" was and how instantly in love with it everyone was who watched it. Oh, and if you're curious about the 2016 spin-off special "David Brent: Life on the Road," don't be. It's best to just pretend that turd doesn't exist.