Top 20 Laugh Out Loud TV Sitcom Episodes
#20: “Garage Sale”
“That ‘70s Show” (1998-2006) The smoke circle is one of the most iconic parts of “That ‘70s Show.” But some smoke circles are better than others. And a smoke circle that includes Red Forman is the best smoke circle of all. In the episode “Garage Sale,” Red accidentally eats some of Hyde’s brownies. And if you know Hyde, you know what’s in those brownies. Red, along with Kitty and Donna’s parents, end up unknowingly partaking in their own version of a smoke circle to great effect. This episode also includes Fez’s wayward movie trip with Jackie, Red selling Eric’s car, and so much more hilarity.
#19: “The Doll”
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“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (2000-) A grown man and a little girl’s doll. What could go wrong? Apparently, a lot. But with Larry David, what else do you expect? One of the funniest episodes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” has Larry facing off against a couple of angry six-year-olds. When Tara, the daughter of a TV executive, asks Larry to give her doll a haircut, he does it. But, when Tara figures out that no, the doll’s hair will not grow back, chaos ensues. Larry goes on an odyssey-like adventure to find a new doll for Tara. Just one problem - the doll’s out of production. His adventure includes rifling through doll collections, decapitating dolls, and sticking doll heads down his pants. It’s a barrel of laughs for everyone.
#18: “Black Friday”
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“Superstore” (2015-21) Black Friday. It’s a tradition as old as consumer culture time, and with the advent of “Superstore,” we finally got a sitcom that could accurately depict all the mania. On the morning of Black Friday – and we do mean morning – the gang at the store prepare for the chaos that awaits them in the overflowing parking lot. There’s a calm before the madness as they enjoy their potluck. But, as soon as the doors to Cloud 9 open, insanity erupts in more ways than one. Turns out, something at the potluck gave many of the employees food poisoning. It’s a hilarious, disgusting twist to add to an already elevated episode.
#17: “Banks Shot”
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“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” (1990-96) When the parents are away, the kids will play. Literally. In this hysterical episode of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” Will decides to try his hand at pool, but has to steal the car in order to get himself to a pool hall. When he arrives, he pretty much immediately loses all his money – and the car – to another player. Uncle Phil shows up to help, but doesn’t seem to be much good at pool either. That is, until he’s $400 in the can. Turns out, Phil’s been hustling the guy who beat Will the entire time, and ends up winning everything lost plus a handsome bonus. It’s a funny episode for all the usual reasons “Fresh Prince” is funny, but it’s especially wonderful to see Uncle Phil subvert our expectations.
#16: “It’s a Miserable Life”
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“The Golden Girls” (1985-92) Relationships with your neighbors can be contentious. But the Golden Girls might take the cake for having the worst neighbor in existence. When the city tries to tear down a 200-year-old oak tree on the gals’ street, they try to stop the demolition. But their nasty neighbor, Frieda Claxton, is having none of it, opposing the girls at every turn. Frustrated, Rose tells Frieda to “drop dead.” Unfortunately for Rose, she does. What follows is a hilarious mix of humor and guilt as the girls struggle to plan a funeral. A loving eulogy performed that turns out to be meant for a different deceased person is the icing on the cake.
#15: “Finding David”
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“Schitt’s Creek” (2015-20) Amish country has never been so hilarious. Over the course of its six-season run, “Schitt’s Creek” became one of the funniest shows on television. But, it really found its shine at the start of season two. The first episode of that season finds David on the lam, running away after learning that he and his family will not be leaving the town of Schitt’s Creek. He finds himself staying with the Amish for three whole days before his family finds him and, once they do, the interaction is pricelessly funny. Moira and Alexis are as usual the MVPs, but we love everything about the Rose family in this moment.
#14: “The Box”
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“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (2013-21) Some episodes are made on the strength of their guest stars. And you can’t get a much better guest star than Sterling K. Brown. In the fifth season of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” Brown shows up as a possibly nefarious dentist who is the main suspect in the death of his partner. It’s up to Jake and Captain Holt to nail him down. The episode takes place over the course of the interrogation, and gets more hilarious as the night goes on. While it seems like the suspect might win this one out, Jake is perpetually more clever than we give him credit for. Watching these three iconic actors play off each other makes for a brilliantly entertaining episode.
#13: “The Fight”
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“Parks and Recreation” (2009-15) Nothing’s better than a night out with the crew. Unless, somebody (or in the case of the parks department, everybody) ends up wasted. This third-season episode of “Parks and Recreation” is one that most fans know intimately. What starts out as a nice night out among friends turns bitter when Leslie and Ann start fighting. Add Tom’s new drinking endeavor, fittingly called “snake juice,” into the mix, and you’ve got pure chaos. The funniest bit of the episode has to be the montage showing snippets of how each of our favorite government employees act while hammered. Ron Swanson, we’ll love you forever.
#12: “The D.E.N.N.I.S. System”
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“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (2005-) If there’s one thing we can count on, it’s that “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” will make us laugh. But this season-five episode delivers on that promise more than most. “The D.E.N.N.I.S. System” centers on Dennis’ supposedly foolproof method for seducing any woman. As you can imagine, it’s a pretty gross system that ends in dumping the woman in question. But when Dee bets Dennis that he can’t win the woman he just dumped back, he can’t help but jump at the chance. Watching these fools get themselves into trouble week after week is always a highlight. But “The D.E.N.N.I.S. System” is definitely one of the best.
#11: “Remedial Chaos Theory”
“Community” (2009-15) With the prevalence of Marvel movies, we’re pretty used to the idea of multiverses. But, to this day, nothing has quite beat this episode of “Community.” When the gang gathers to see Troy and Abed’s new apartment, they order pizza for dinner. When the food arrives, Jeff tosses a die, letting the universe choose who has to go get it. Despite Abed’s warning, Jeff proceeds to open six different timelines with events changing depending on who goes to get the pizza. Each timeline has its charms and terrors – one in particular that sprouted an iconic meme – and it all culminates in a delightful dance party. Trust us, you’ll never listen to “Roxanne” the same way again.
#10: “Background Check”
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“New Girl” (2011-18) Only Jess would mistake a bag of rocks for meth. But, if she didn’t, she wouldn’t be the Jess we know and love. “Background Check” doesn’t just rest on the laurels of Zooey Deschanel and company’s impeccable comedic timing. It instead strikes a wonderful mix of laughter, craziness, and true blue emotion. For Winston to complete his police training, the loft must undergo a search. This quickly becomes a problem because Jess thinks she is in possession of an illegal substance. The humor that ensues as the gang tries to hide the truth from the inspector is some of the show’s best.
#9: “Slap Bet”
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“How I Met Your Mother” (2005-14) There’s just always something so funny about a slap. No matter how many times it happens, it doesn’t get old. “How I Met Your Mother” capitalizes on this humor in a very real way in “Slap Bet.” When trying to figure out why Robin refuses to go to the mall, Barney and Marshall use a slap format to make their bets. This means that whoever wins gets to slap the loser as hard as they can. The genius of “Slap Bet”, however, is that the reveal of Robin’s popstar past is so ridiculous that you almost forget about the slap part of everything. So, when that comes back around, it leaves you in stitches.
#8: “Tracy Does Conan”
“30 Rock” (2006-13) Almost without fail, Tina Fey’s sitcom about life behind-the-scenes at a late night sketch show has such a high frequency of jokes that if you laugh at one, you’re bound to miss the next. That is never more true than in the episode “Tracy Does Conan.” Every character is firing on all cylinders, as Liz tries to make sure Tracy’s appearance on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” goes off without a hitch, Jenna’s ego gets the appropriate stroking, and Jack gets a joke for his speech. “Tracy Does Conan” features such “30 Rock” gems as “mind grapes,” the blue dude, Dr. Spaceman, “The Rural Juror” and perhaps the most famous joke to ever come out of the show: [00:16:22 “Why are you wearing a tux?” “It’s after 6. What am I, a farmer?”] Both a clever satire of celebrity culture and just a silly, goofy fun time, this is “30 Rock” at its laugh-out-loud funniest.
#7: “The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis”
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“The Big Bang Theory” (2009-17) All “The Big Bang Theory” fans know that Sheldon and presents don’t mix. Unfortunately, Penny wasn’t aware of this fact when she moved next door to Sheldon and Leonard in the show’s pilot episode. So, when Penny brings Sheldon a gift, chaos breaks loose. Sheldon’s endeavors to find Penny a gift that will match hers in value are hilarious. He embarks on a wild goose chase down the bath item aisle, buying different gift baskets full of various bath bombs and the like. Of course, Penny’s gift ends up being incredibly thoughtful, ending this hilarious episode on a sweet note.
#6: “Caught in the Act”
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“Modern Family” (2009-20) No one wants to think about it, but it’s happened to so many of us. In this season-two “Modern Family” episode, the Dunphy children try to do a nice thing for their parents on their anniversary. Unfortunately, they don’t consider the fact that their parents might want to do a nice thing for themselves. As they open their bedroom door, they catch their parents - well, in the act, and the real trouble starts. The way both parents and children deal with this mishap is as comical as it is true to life. We have to say, we really relate to Haley’s manic scream as she runs from the room.
#5: “Ham Radio”
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“Frasier” (1993-2004) Sometimes, theater takes on a life of its own. And when Frasier and Niles Crane are involved, that possibility increases tenfold. From the moment the gang starts rehearsing Frasier’s radio play in “Ham Radio,” things go off the rails. There’s so much to laugh at in this episode, but here are a few of our favorites: Daphne’s inspired sound effects; Frasier’s directing madness; the wonderfully bad German accent; and, of course, Niles finally reaching his breaking point. To be fair, he really was a trooper for most of it. And his ending… kind of brilliant, honestly.
#4: “The Contest”
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“Seinfeld” (1989-98) For a show about nothing, “Seinfeld” sure did keep us laughing the entire time. And “The Contest” is one of the funniest episodes of all time. One day, Elaine, Jerry, George, and Kramer decide to engage in a little friendly competition. They decide to see who can go the longest without – uh, shaking hands with the milkman. Apparently, the studio wasn’t too keen on using direct language to reference their activities on primetime television. So, when talking about resisting the urge, the gang simply calls it being the “master of my domain.” The euphemism makes for a pretty hilarious episode – so much so that the phrase has actually remained present in pop culture since the episode’s airing.
#3: “The One Where No One’s Ready”
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“Friends” (1994-2004) “Friends” has a couple of great episodes we could have included on this list. We love the episode where everyone finds out about Monica and Chandler’s relationship, particularly when it comes to Phoebe’s reaction. But nothing quite beats one of the best bottle episodes of all time. Here are a few of the things that happen in “The One Where No One’s Ready.” Monica freaks out over a voicemail from Richard. Ross agrees to drink fat to make Rachel forgive him. Joey and Chandler fight over an armchair. And, of course, Joey puts on all of Chandler’s clothes while going commando. Could it BE any more funny?
#2: “Dinner Party”
“The Office” (2005-13) Listen, any episode of “The Office” that features a whole lot of Dwight is one of the funniest in our book. The episode where he accidentally gives Stanley a heart attack with a fake fire drill is downright hilarious. But, weirdly enough, our pick for this entry doesn’t actually involve a whole lot of Dwight. “Dinner Party” is more of a Michael and Jan-centric episode. And what an episode it is! When the duo invites everyone over to their home for the worst dinner party of all time, things spiral out of control in record time. This is a stand out episode particular for Steve Carell’s performance. The monologue about his vasectomy – are you kidding?! Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
“The Work Outing,” “The IT Crowd” (2006-13)
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“Turkeys Away,” “WKRP in Cincinnati” (1978-82)
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“Dance Dance Resolution,” “The Good Place” (2016-20)
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“Episode One,” “Derry Girls” (2018-22)
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“Last Ex to Brooklyn,” “Will & Grace” (1998-2006; 2017-20)
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#1: “Lucy Does a TV Commercial”
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“I Love Lucy” (1951-57) We’ve got to go back in time for our number one entry, but boy is it worth it. On “I Love Lucy,” Lucille Ball delivered some of the most iconic comedic sequences of all time. But this is absolutely the best. When Ricky needs someone to do a TV ad during a show he’s hosting, Lucy finagles her way into the job. The ad is for a health tonic that, unbeknown to Lucy, contains a healthy amount of alcohol. As Lucy does take after take, she gets more and more intoxicated. You get the drift. It’s a wonderful showcase for Ball’s comic timing and her wonderful physical comedy chops. It still has us laughing all these decades later.
