Join us every week where we’ll be picking a different sitcom and judging it solely on its very first televised episode. In doing so we’ll be challenging ourselves to erase any knowledge of future episodes so we can deliver an unbiased opinion. At the end of each show we’ll tell you if this is a show we would green light or cancel. Tune in to find out which mega shows wouldn’t make the cut, what forgettable mistakes we give a pass, and who started exactly where they should be.
Buddies is a short-lived sitcom that aired on ABC in 1996, serving as a direct spin-off of the massive hit Home Improvement. The series followed Dave (Dave Chappelle) and John (Christopher Gartin), two best friends and business partners trying to get their video production company off the ground in Chicago. The series is often remembered more for its behind-the-scenes drama than its on-air run, specifically the controversial castin...
Quick Draw is a Western comedy that premiered on Hulu in 2013. The show follows Sheriff John Henry Hoyle (John Lehr), a recent Harvard graduate who attempts to bring the "cutting-edge" science of forensics to the Wild West. The show’s most distinctive feature was its largely improvised dialogue, which gave the historical setting a fast-paced, modern, and often absurdist comedic energy.
Critics and viewers praised Quick Draw for its...
The Sinbad Show is a sitcom that aired on FOX from 1993 to 1994, during the height of the titular comedian’s stand-up fame. The series centers on David Bryan (Sinbad), a carefree bachelor who must trade his lifestyle for the responsibilities of fatherhood after he adopts two orphaned siblings. The show’s DNA was built on Sinbad’s high-energy storytelling to navigate the hurdles of modern parenting and urban single-parent dynamics.
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The Beverly Hillbillies is a landmark television sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1971. The series follows the Clampett family who find themselves overnight millionaires after oil is discovered on their property. With their newfound wealth the family decides to uproot themselves and head to Beverly Hills. The humor stems from the constant cultural clash between the Clampetts' backwoods simplicity and the superficiality of thei...
Going Dutch is a comedy that premiered on FOX in January 2025. Starring Denis Leary as the loudmouthed and arrogant U.S. Army Colonel Patrick Quinn, who finds himself reassigned to a remote base in the Netherlands after his General hears an unfiltered rant at his expense. Far from the war zones of his past, Quinn is punished with a command position at the "least important Army base in the world", which happens to be led by his estr...
D.C. Follies was a syndicated comedy series that ran from 1987 to 1989 that was created by Sid and Marty Krofft. The show featured puppet caricatures of real-life celebrities and politicians, spending their free time hanging out at a bar. Unlike traditional sitcoms, the series relied on things like topical humor and musical numbers, with human celebrity guests occasionally interacting with the puppet cast. The series was one of the...
Toast of London is a British comedy series that originally aired on Channel 4 in 2012. Created by and starring Matt Berry who plays the eccentric Steven Toast, a pompous and perpetually frustrated voice actor navigating the peculiarities of show business. The series is known for its theatrical tone, and almost dreamlike reality.
Critically, Toast of London was widely praised for its originality and deadpan absurdity. While it never...
"The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins" is a show that premiered on NBC in January 2026. The series follows Reggie Dinkins (Tracy Morgan), a former NFL superstar running back whose career was destroyed after getting banned for life from the league for betting on his own team. Desperate to reclaim his former glory Reggie hires Arthur Tobin (Daniel Radcliffe), a disgraced, high-brow British filmmaker to produce a "documentary" about hi...
Just the Ten of Us is a sitcom that aired on ABC from 1988 to 1990. The show was developed by Steve Marshall as a spin-off of Growing Pains. The series follows high-school coach Graham Lubbock (Bill Kirchenbauer), who relocates his large family from New York to California after taking a job at an all boy Catholic school. Now the Lubbock's will deal with the chaos and culture shock of the move mixed with Graham having to keep an ent...
Miracle Workers is a TBS comedy series that aired from 2019-2023, created by Simon Rich and based on his book What in God’s Name. The first season is set in Heaven, where God (Steve Buscemi) has grown bored and cynical about humanity and decides it might be time to wipe Earth off the board entirely. Standing in the way of total annihilation are two low-level angels—Craig (Daniel Radcliffe) and Eliza (Geraldine Viswanathan). The res...
Fisk is a comedy that premiered on ABC TV Australia in 2021. The show was created by and starring Kitty Flanagan who plays Helen Tudor-Fisk, a blunt, no-nonsense lawyer whose once-successful career implodes, forcing her to take a humiliating new job at a struggling suburban wills-and-probate firm. The show’s humor is dry, and often weaponized through awkward pauses and Helen’s razor-sharp disdain for everyone around her.
Critics an...
Dweebs was a short-lived CBS sitcom that premiered in 1995, arriving right in the middle of the ’90s tech boom—before most network TV really knew what to do with computer nerds. The show centered on a group of socially awkward but intellectually gifted twenty-somethings working at a wildly successful software company called "Cyberbyte" and the computer illiterate woman hired to be the new office manager. Long before The Big Bang Th...
Diff’rent Strokes is a classic sitcom that aired on NBC from 1978 to 1986. The show stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, two young brothers from Harlem who are taken in by wealthy businessman Philip Drummond (Conrad Bain) after the death of their mother. Uprooted from their old life and dropped into a Park Avenue penthouse. While often remembered for catchphrases and very special episodes, the show was ...
"The Moodys" is a holiday-themed sitcom that premiered on Fox in 2019. It was adapted from the Australian series "A Moody Christmas". The show centers on the wildly dysfunctional Moody family as they gather for Christmas. The series leans hard into awkward silences & brutal honesty. The show is full of the kind of family arguments that feel a little too real.
Critics appreciated The Moody's dry tone and Leary’s perfectly calibr...
All in the Family is a sitcom created by Norman Lear that aired on CBS from 1971 to 1979. The show centers on Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor), a loud, stubborn, working-class man whose beliefs are constantly challenged by his son-in-law and daughter. What set the show apart was its ability to use comedy to put taboo subjects like racism, sexism, politics, and religion front and center.
Initially divisive, All in the Family quickly...
"The Dick Van Dyke Show" is a landmark sitcom that originally aired on #CBS from 1961 to 1966. The series stars #DickVanDyke as Rob Petrie, the head writer for the fictional Alan Brady Show, and #MaryTylerMoore as his wife, Laura. Arguably the blueprint for every witty, modern sitcom couple that followed. Splitting its time between Rob’s chaotic writers’ room and his suburban home, the show blended sharp workplace banter with warm,...
"Rules of Engagement" is a sitcom that ran from 2007-2013 on CBS. Built around the different stages of a relationship, through two couples and their single friend. The series plays heavily on the contrast between cynicism and idealism, long-term comfort and honeymoon-phase cluelessness. Warburton’s deadpan delivery and Spade’s chaotic energy became the anchors of the series, helping it survive multiple schedule moves and inconsiste...
"Some of My Best Friends" was a short-lived sitcom that premiered on CBS in 2001. After Warren (Jason Bateman) is dumped by his boyfriend, he posts and add as a GWM ("Gay White Male") looking for a roommate. Macho Italian guy, Frankie (Danny Nucci) responds assuming that GWM stands for "Guy With Money". The show is loosely based on the 1997 indie film, "Kiss Me, Guido" and provides us with a new twist on the odd-couple dynamic.
Des...
"The Paper" is a mockumentary-style sitcom that premiered on Peacock in 2025. The show is the first official spin-off of one of the all time greatest shows, "The Office". It picks up with the fictional documentary crew attempting to do a follow up with Dunder Mifflin and winding up in Toledo, Ohio, where they instead focus on the declining historic newspaper, the Toledo Truth Teller.
Critics have given The Paper a generally favora...
"The Ugliest Girl in Town" was an ABC sitcom that aired from 1968–1969. In it Timothy Blair (Peter Kastner), a Hollywood talent agent who falls in love with a British actress and through a series of truly sitcom-level circumstances, ends up becoming a fashion model in London… while disguised as a woman. Under the persona “Timmie,” he becomes an overnight sensation, forcing him to juggle his double life, hide his secret identity, an...
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Saskia Inwood woke up one morning, knowing her life would never be the same. The night before, she learned the unimaginable – that the husband she knew in the light of day was a different person after dark. This season unpacks Saskia’s discovery of her husband’s secret life and her fight to bring him to justice. Along the way, we expose a crime that is just coming to light. This is also a story about the myth of the “perfect victim:” who gets believed, who gets doubted, and why. We follow Saskia as she works to reclaim her body, her voice, and her life. If you would like to reach out to the Betrayal Team, email us at betrayalpod@gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
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The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.