Top 20 Sitcom Storylines That Would NEVER Happen Today

“The Simpsons” (1989-)
It’s not every storyline that causes an entire country so much offense that they publicly condemn it and blame it for faltering their tourism income. But that’s what happened with “The Simpsons” episode “Blame It on Lisa.” The family goes to Brazil to track down Lisa’s sponsored child, Ronaldo. And the country wasn’t shown in the best light, especially with misguided stereotypes. The family was robbed by children, Homer was kidnapped for ransom by a taxi driver, and Bart was eaten by a snake. The backlash from the South American country was bad enough that they threatened a lawsuit against “The Simpsons.” The animated sitcom’s creators issued a public apology for the disaster.

“Cheers” (1982-93)
At the time, the “will-they-won’t-they” dynamic between Sam and Diane in “Cheers” was thrilling. One moment, they were at each other’s throats. The next, they were flirting and getting steamy. But nowadays, it’s seen as pretty toxic. Take the multiple-part episode “Showdown” in the first season. In part two, with Diane leaving, the star-crossed lovers get into a massive argument at the bar. Sam mentioned that being attracted to her makes him sick. Yikes. They throw one insult after another at each other. Eventually, Sam lost it and told Diane he wanted to bounce her against every wall of the office. Double yikes. Instead of running for the hills, Diane stayed, uttered more insults, then the two passionately kissed. Triple yikes.

“How I Met Your Mother” (2005-14)
Looking back at “How I Met Your Mother,” Barney’s shenanigans, which many people found endearing at the time, wouldn’t go down well today. Take the episode “The Bracket” for a prime example. With a mysterious woman hindering his adulting ability, Barney created a list of women he’s dated that would hate him enough to seek revenge and made it into a creepy tournament of suspects. While there is a thinly veiled theme of redemption and not objectifying women, most of Bareny’s friends support his devious antics, especially Lily. But to make it worse, when Barney began his apology speech, he mentioned he might have sold a woman in the past, and no one called him out on it!

“Family Matters” (1989-98)
When a holiday comes around, sitcoms like to do a special episode to capitalize on the excitement. So, “Family Matters” went with the “Stevil” for Halloween. And it was bonkers. After lightning struck Steve Urkel’s lookalike ventriloquist puppet and brought it to life, dubbing itself Stevil, the story seemingly parodies Chucky from “Child’s Play,” as the toy hunted down its former master as well as the rest of the family. With all of the Winslows taken out one by one and in disturbing fashion, Stevil got its wooden mitts on Urkel and choked him. But then, it turned out it was all a nightmare. So, that makes it okay that we watched a beloved family get destroyed by a talking puppet… right?

“Tiny Toon Adventures” (1990-92)
Teaching kids about the dangers of alcohol and drunk driving is an important message. But traumatizing them at the same time is probably not the way to go. For the “Tiny Toon Adventures” episode “Elephant Issues,” one of the segments was “One Beer.” The story featured Hamton, Buster, and Plucky drinking a bottle of the beverage and getting wasted. After some drunken shenanigans, the trio massively escalated things when they stole a police car for a joyride. After going up a mountain, they drive off it, seemingly ending it all when they fall into a graveyard and then appear at the pearly gates. While the trio removed their costumes to show it was all staged, it still disturbed plenty of viewers.

“Beavis and Butt-Head” (1992-97; 2011; 2022-)
In 1993, Austin Messner set his home ablaze, which tragically cost his younger sister her life. Messner’s mother claimed he was inspired to do this from an episode of “Beavis and Butt-Head,” called “Comedians.” And it was intense. After getting inspired by a stand-up, the duo go to a comedy club to do a set, only to do really poorly. Beavis decided to finish the performance by juggling flaming newspapers. Instead, the club is set ablaze, and the duo watch and giggle amongst themselves, with no repercussions. Due to the controversy, MTV did its best to censure and hide the episode. However, in 2008, Messner stated he had no recollection of watching “Comedians” as the family didn’t have cable.

“Married... with Children” (1987-97)
The 80s and 90s sitcoms tended to involve “funny” scenarios that today we would find highly traumatic, not a source of hilarity. And for “Married... With Children,” that episode was “I’ll See You in Court.” Looking to spice up their marriage, Al and Peggy go to a hotel with an innuendo name, the Hop-On Inn. However, the staff had secretly recorded couples getting intimate, which infuriated Al and Peggy so much that they took the hotel to court. While their neighbors won a settlement, the main couple didn’t due to the jury not believing they actually did anything intimate. It finished with Al hooking up with Peggy in the courtroom, which was recorded. The controversial episode forced Fox to ban it from being aired.

“Family Guy” (1999-2003; 2005-)
“Family Guy” is known for pushing boundaries. But even so, some sensitive topics discussed in a funny show can undercut the message. For the episode “Partial Terms of Endearment,” Lois agreed to be a surrogate mother for Naomi Robinson, her former college roommate, and her husband, Dale. However, the Robinsons were then in a fatal car accident. While Lois sided with abortion, Peter, after meeting pro-lifers, decided they should have the baby and convinced Lois to keep it. After she spoke about the upcoming new Griffin, Peter broke the fourth wall and announced they terminated the pregnancy just before the credits, turning it into an inappropriate punchline. Fox also banned the episode from airing, but it was released on DVD.

“That '70s Show” (1998-2006)
Considering Fez got his name from “Foreign Exchange Student,” his country of origin is never disclosed, and used as a vehicle for racial jokes, he’s seen as a controversial character in “That ‘70s Show” today. And the racism went up a few notches in the episode “I’m Free.” Previously, after a run-in with the law, Fez married Laurie Forman to halt deportation, causing Red to have a heart attack. This episode had immigration checking on the situation. Throughout, Red made thinly-veiled threats about snitching on Fez, making viewers pretty uncomfortable. Plus, it doesn’t help that the patriarch kept uttering racial insults, while Fez doesn't look great since he shames Laurie constantly.

“The Office” (2005-13)
In 2021, news came out that during a Comedy Central marathon of “The Office,” the episode “Diversity Day” was skipped. And, looking back at it, probably for a good reason. After Michael's awkward Chris Rock impression, everyone at the Scranton branch had to take part in a racial sensitivity seminar. And there are plenty of uncomfortable moments featuring racial and misogynistic stereotyping. But the most heinous was near the end when Michael mocked Kelly’s Indian heritage with a goofy accent and bizarre mannerisms, resulting in him getting slapped by her. Michael’s behavior came across as particularly mean, rather than the usual misinformed ways he’d become beloved for later.

“South Park” (1997-)
“South Park” rarely shies away from creating controversial content. But the episodes “200” and “201” pushed it too far, with a storyline of Tom Cruise and other celebrities they had previously mocked, threatening a lawsuit unless he gets to meet the prophet Muhammad. However, depictions of the prophet are prohibited. As such, the South Park residents are worried about retaliation from extremists. This translated to the real world as “201” was set to be aired. After getting warned about potential repercussions, Comedy Central heavily censored the episode by blurring any imagery of Muhammad and bleeped out Kyle’s entire end explanation speech, thus losing the moral. In 2014, the uncensored version was leaked online.

“The IT Crowd” (2006-13)
At one point, Graham Linehan was a pioneer in the realm of sitcoms by creating shows like “Father Ted” and “Black Books.” But then, he became obsessed with criticizing the trans community, severely damaging his reputation with fans and fellow creators. And his grim views were clear in the episode “The Speech” from “The IT Crowd.” April confessed to Douglas, who she was dating, that she was a transwoman, only for him to be cool about it. It turned out he thought she said she was from Iran… yikes. Later, when he dumped her, April became aggressive and punched Douglas, leading to a fight in a laboratory. Due to understandable complaints by viewers, the episode was pulled from future airings by the UK’s Channel 4.

"The Facts of Life" (1979-88)
This episode starts off simple enough: the girls are going to a Halloween party where the prize is tickets for a sold out Bruce Springsteen concert. But then the “very special episode” card get played with fists of ham. When Mrs. G tells the girls a woman in town has been sexually assaulted, they're briefly phased. But when Natalie is attacked by a stranger, it registers limited sympathy, and instead characters carry on with easy to reach jokes, while complaining about how Natalie's trauma affects them. By the end of the episode, it’s hard not to feel like the lesson is that Natalie’s at fault for not having protected herself. The ‘80s answer? A self-defense course.

“Benson” (1979-86)
Well, it's that classic sitcom trope, you know, the one where a newly made friend invites you to a party on his yacht, gets murdered – and hilarity ensues! It's basically a game of Clue meets Murder on the Orient Express, with Benson, the show's resident definitely-not-a-detective there to solve the whodunit. This story was actually split over two episodes, rather than just ending with someone making sure all were safe and then calling the coast guard or another such logical conclusion. Instead, much of the story involves characters suspecting everyone else, and Benson cracking this thing wide open. Talk about a show taking on more than it can handle.

“Punky Brewster” (1984-88)
A young child copes with old trauma during a senseless killing spree. It's not exactly the standard plotline for a family sitcom. We learn good and early that a killer is prowling the north side of Chicago – a killer who doesn't look anything like David Letterman. Surrogate father figure Henry ignores the sensationalism to protect Punky, but nonetheless she becomes obsessed with the possibility that Henry will most definitely be murdered. There's no wacky threats or zany misunderstandings fueling the story either, it's just straight up unshakable fear on Punky's part, which is resolved just in time for the credits by the vague notion of trust.

“Friends” (1994-2004)
Today, the idea of a non-trans actress playing the part of Helena would raise a few eyebrows. But the way the character – Chandler's estranged biological father – is addressed would go well beyond eyebrow-raising. Helena and her son are estranged due to Chandler's embarrassment of her gender identity. He grows to accept it, but the dialogue and framework of the episode treats Helena as something more akin to a gay man or drag artist rather than a trans-woman. For bonus awkward points, Alexis Arquette, who was Courteney Cox’s in-law at the time, and who herself later transitioned, cameos in these scenes. It’s aged about as well as “The One With the Male Nanny” where Ross has a problem with Rachel hiring a male caretaker for Emma.

“Saved by the Bell” (1989-93)
During class presentations on ancestry, we learn that Slater's great-grandfather was a matador, Screech is a 1940s cartoon approximation of an Italian, Lisa is the descendant of slaves, and Jessie of slave traders. Believe it or not… that’s not the biggest misstep in this episode. Zack finds an old picture of a Native American man and thus claims to be one himself, using Screech as a canvas for war paint and stereotypes. When his teacher calls him out on his lack of effort, research, and good taste, Zack is forced to tutor with a genuine First Nations man – Chief Henry – who himself is a canvas for a whole other set of stereotypes.

“Seinfeld” (1989-98)
It's very nearly the perfect Seinfeld episode, except... leaving a Mets game early to beat traffic, the gang's route is blocked by the Puerto Rican Day parade. When the cast splits up, various forms of mayhem follow, but Kramer's is the most unfortunate. Getting into the spirit of the day, Kramer gets carried away and accidentally lights a Puerto Rican flag on fire with a sparkler. Misreading the situation, passersby are livid, and that outrage was shared by real-life Puerto Rican groups, who were not at all amused by Kramer's takeaway from the riot - nor the episode's portrayal of Puerto Rican people. Nowadays, we also doubt they’d produce an episode where Jerry drugs his girlfriend to play with her vintage toys.

“All in the Family” (1971-79)
While the rest of her family is next door planning her surprise party, Edith busies herself by baking her own birthday cake. That, however, is the end of the silliness. A man claiming to be a detective arrives to warn Edith about a rapist, but it soon becomes apparent he's referring to himself and he keeps her terrified until her cake burns and gives her an out. Rather than mining the situation, somehow, for humor, the episode instead looks at the depression the attack leaves Edith with. It's all handled with respect, but it's unlikely a modern sitcom would ever dare to broach such subject matter.

“Diff'rent Strokes” (1978-86)
After doing some odd jobs for Mr. Horton, a bike shop proprietor, Arnold, and Dudley become friendly with the man, who gives them ice cream and free bike radios. But these visits lose their innocence pretty fast. At a pizza and comics session, Horton slips a dirty magazine, wine, and nude photos of himself with boys into the mix. Their final visit involves Boston Cream pie, a porno cartoon, and sedatives. Fortunately, this party is crashed by the police. It's among the most infamous “very special episodes”, and one that disturbed cast member Todd Bridges, who had reportedly experienced similar abuse in his youth.