NBC's had Thursday night as it's big comedy night for nearly 20 years now, moving from "Must See TV" to "Comedy Night Done Right." Over all that time, they've tossed 38 shows our way, and counting. Some are comedy classics ranking amongst the best sitcoms ever created. Others? Well, let's put it this way: remember Daddio, starring Michael Chiklis? Nobody else does, either. Let's take a look at all of 'em in order from worst to best.
Episodes: 4 (plus 7 unaired)
Episodes: 4 (plus 3 unaired)
Episodes: 9 (plus 9 unaired)
Episodes: 23 (plus 5 unaired)
Doing something different isn’t always a good thing for a sitcom. For instance, Inside Schwartz — well, here’s the NBC press release to explain the show, “The series focuses on Schwartz as he struggles to come to terms with both his love of sports — where there are definite rules and official referees — and his personal life, where there are no designated foul lines." That stupid press release talk is sadly accurate, too: the show used sports metaphors to discuss Schwartz’s love life. For instance, when a date licks him on the face, a referee says, “Illegal use of tongue!”
Episodes: 40
Episodes: 13
While not quite as bad as Coupling, Kath & Kim still suffered from many of the same problems, including the peculiar casting of Molly Shannon and Selma Blair as the titular mother and daughter duo and trying to Americanize the characters while also keeping them consistent to the Australian original. But at least the Scissor Sisters did the theme song! (That’s not a good thing.)
I'll save you many pointless, Seinfeld-rip off hours of your life: in the final episode, The Single Guy becomes The Married Guy. Believe me, I'm doing you a favor.
There are certain shows that just kind of come and go. They’re not offensively awful or critically loved; they just kind of came and went, no fuss and no uproar. That’s Hope & Gloria in a nutshell, about a producer (Cynthia Stevenson) of a daytime talk show becoming friends with a hairdresser (Jessica Lundy). Alan Thicke is in there, too, but here’s a pop culture tip: unless it’s preceded by “Bob” or “raising,” it’s probably not wise to include “hope” in your title (see: Hope Floats, Hope Springs, etc.).
Episodes: 6
Episodes: 42/66/97
This could have easily been bunched in with the last selection, but at least Suddenly Susan, about the staff of a magazine in San Francisco, had Brooke Shields, who I’ve always liked, Judd Nelson, and Nestor Carbonell. Could have done without Kathy Griffin but that’s not exclusive to Suddenly Susan.
Many critics were calling out for Cougar Town to change its awful title between seasons one and two, an almost unheard of move. But Cursed did something even more shocking: it changed its name mid-way through its freshman year. Originally, Cursed was about Chris Elliot having been, well, cursed by an ex-girlfriend, but because no one was watching, NBC re-titled the show to the more conventional The Weber Show. Didn’t help, and it was axed after less than a full season.
Boston Common tried to do for the Land of Fenway what Friends did for New York City, which is to say only show the nicest parts of it. Obviously, it didn’t succeed, although it did give Zach Galifianakis an early gig.
Episodes: 7 (plus 6 unaired)
Hey look, a show that isn't about white people! It’s about making fun of people who AREN'T white! What an original idea, NBC. Anisha Nagarajan and Rebecca Hazlewood, the show’s two bright spots, really deserve better. Outsourced's legacy will be that it kept Parks and Recreation off the air for a few months.
Unless you’re Kelsey Grammar, it has to be tiring, not to mention boring, to play the same character for over a decade. Matt LeBlanc, who played the lovable goofball Joey on Friends, tried taking his talents to California in this spin-off.
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