Top 10 WORST Sitcoms of the 21st Century (So far)
#10: “Rob” (2012)
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“Saturday Night Live” is a launching pad for comedians and actors and Rob Schneider was no exception. Schneider even found some solid success on the big screen in movies like, “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo” - a success he wasn’t able to replicate when it came to television. And he even got two chances at it within a three year period. In 2012 he starred in “Rob” on CBS, about a man marrying into a Mexican-American family. Let’s just say that words like “second-rate” and “stereotypes” were used in various reviews of the show and it was canceled after one season. Then in 2015 we got 2 seasons of “Real Rob” on Netflix. That one currently stands at a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes.
#9: “We Are Men” (2013)
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A man, left at the altar, makes friends with a bunch of divorced dudes he meets at his new short-term rental apartment complex. This sounds like a situation ripe for smart comedy or dumb, predictable, bordering on misogynistic humor that could barely be called funny. Given that “We Are Men” is on this list, you can probably guess which one it was. In fact, they produced 11 episodes, but the show was so bad, CBS canceled it after only two had aired - leaving the other 9 on a shelf somewhere never to be seen.
#8: “Fred: The Show” (2012)
Lucas Cruikshank created the annoyingly-voiced character Fred Figglehorn in 2006 and he soon became an online hit. The subsequent “Fred” YouTube channel even became the first on the platform to reach over 1 million subscribers. This online popularity got him noticed by Nickelodeon and his own show debuted on the network in 2012. And while the character's popularity did translate to over 3 million viewers for the first episode, that number dropped to 2.4 million for episode 2. While the show has developed a cult following, the overall consensus is harshly negative. Many critics - not just us - called it unfunny, obnoxious, poorly written and one of the worst TV shows ever.
#7: “Cavemen” (2007)
Have you ever watched a really funny television commercial and thought, ‘Hey, that would make for a great television show?’ Well, that’s what someone did back in the aughts and that’s how we got “Cavemen.” Following a series of hysterical Geico commercials featuring the cavemen, ABC decided to develop a sitcom based on said commercials. Unfortunately, the attempt failed on both levels - it failed to attract many viewers and it failed to garner much, if any, praise from critics. There were some reviewers who pointed out the wittiness of some of the writing,but overall that was few and far between. Only 7 of the 13 episodes ever aired in North America (all thirteen aired in Australia).
#6: “My Big Fat Greek Life” (2003)
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In 2002 the film, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” became one of the highest grossing movies of the year and one of the most profitable of all time. The following year, creator and star Nia Vardalos - along with executive producers Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson - attempted to parlay that movie success to the small screen with “My Big Fat Greek Life.” To put it bluntly… it didn’t work! The sitcom had a very strong premiere, with viewership numbers over 22 million. However, the ratings declined from there and the critics hated it. The series only lasted 7 episodes and has a 0 score on Rotten Tomatoes.
#5: “Saint George” (2014)
In 2002 comedian George Lopez got a sitcom on ABC. And while it wasn’t a ratings juggernaut or anything like that, it was pretty well received and lasted an impressive 120 episodes before getting canceled in 2007. In 2014 he got another shot, this time with the FX network. And this time his show “Saint George” was given a ten episode order and a guarantee of another 90 episodes should the initial run hit specific ratings numbers. Needless to say, those numbers weren’t hit. Understandable given the 0% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and the 31% audience score. “Saint George” maybe should’ve done a little praying to the patron saint of televisions, St. Clare of Assisi, to boost the ratings.
#4: “Tucker” (2000)
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If only they’d premiered this sitcom 11 months earlier it would never have made our list. We’re not saying it would’ve been a better show, just that 11 months earlier was 1999 and therefore it would’ve been ineligible. The show is about a young teen boy who moves in with his aunt and her family when his parents get divorced. The show is a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the success of “Malcolm in the Middle” - which premiered earlier that year. However, unlike “Malcolm,” “Tucker” wasn’t even close to as good, got half the ratings and was canceled after airing only 4 episodes.
#3: “Dads” (2013-14)
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Two successful guys have their world turned upside down when their dads move in with them - and hilarity ensues. That describes the FOX sitcom “Dads” - well, everything except the part about the ensuing hilarity. “Dads” premiered in 2013 and starred a couple well known faces in the form of Seth Green and Giovanni Ribisi. But despite the stars, it was the lame racist and stereotyped jokes that got most of the attention (and not in a good way). Which in turn led to the show’s 15 rating on Metacritic which, as the site explains, equates to “overwhelming dislike.” The audience agreed, with ratings dropping 32% between the first and second episode - and the whole thing was over after one season.
#2: “$h*! My Dad Says” (2010-11)
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If you thought creating a series based on a television commercial was a bad idea, it seems like genius thinking compared to this one - a sitcom based on a dude’s Twitter account. That dude was Justin Halpern and his” Twitter account was a collection of quotes from his father. On Twitter in 140 character bursts, the feed was actually pretty funny. However, in long form 20+ minute episodes - it didn’t work. The stunt casting of William Shatner as the obnoxious and opinionated father was intriguing, but the critics hammered the show and the ratings weren’t good enough to get it to a second season.
#1: “Work It” (2012)
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A couple of laid-off male auto workers decide that men are being adversely affected by the rough economy more than women. So naturally they decide to dress up as females in order to get a job as pharmaceutical sales reps. Putting aside the cringe misogyny and complete lack of understanding of women’s decades long struggles for equality in the workplace, “Work It” simply is not funny. Multiple reviewers went so far as to question how the show ever even made it to air. The series premiered on January 3rd 2012 and was canceled on the 13th. If you want some great 21st century “Work It,” let’s all just put our things down, flip it and reverse it with Missy Elliott.
