Top 30 WORST Sitcoms Ever

Outrageous quotes from Justin Halpern’s dad were such a sensation on Twitter that CBS made a fictionalized sitcom. William Shatner plays the loudmouthed namesake in “$h*! My Dad Says”, whose son turns his rants into a column after moving back home. Broadcast TV was already the wrong platform for Sam Halpern’s infamous profanity. Still, the thoughtless father-son farce had nothing more to say than embarrassingly lowbrow gags. It was canceled after one season, with ratings suggesting that it was mostly known for its bad reputation. If anything, controversy surrounding the title gave “$h*! My Dad Says” a boost. What really silenced the show was actual viewers seeing that it was, let's just say, a piece of junk.

McLean Stevenson struggled for a hit after “M*A*S*H”. There was much buzz about “Hello, Larry”, in which he plays a newly divorced talk radio host. It sounds like the creators of “Frasier” were listening to that premise. But the critics agreed that NBC’s tediously unfunny sitcom was dead air. Some even misinterpreted its desperate crossover with “Diff’rent Strokes”, believing it set up a spin-off which was already on the air. NBC’s own Johnny Carson even joined in the trash talk. After the network shockingly gave the flop a second season, with more focus on the lead’s daughters, it was goodbye to “Hello, Larry”. Decades later, though, its failure is still being talked about.

A pair of successful but immature video game developers suddenly have to adapt to their fathers moving in with them. The makers of “Family Guy” do have a knack for edgy family dysfunction, at least in animation. Fox’s “Dads”, on the other hand, couldn’t salvage its unlikable characters on shock value alone. The politically incorrect humor is all the more offensive for how uninspired and obnoxious it is. It especially didn’t work in the bland multicam format, whose laughs couldn’t have been from a live audience. Contrary to the premise, nothing ever really grew up in the forgettable-at-best “Dads”. With catastrophic reviews and ratings already reducing the episode order, it was game over after just one season.

Teen comedies don't come much cooler than “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. The high school hero of John Hughes’s instant classic would continue his adventures on TV. Unfortunately, NBC’s “Ferris Bueller” was way off. It featured none of the original cast or crew, and relocated the story from Chicago to Los Angeles County. The often blatant disrespect for the original would be more forgivable if not for the cheesy writing. Once-beloved characters were reduced to their most obnoxious tropes. Meanwhile, Fox’s “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose” debuted to much more favorable comparisons to “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. The movie’s technically official successor was thus canceled after one season, with no nostalgia for the few who remember its existence.

Heavyweight boxing legend George Foreman is larger-than-life in personality as much as stature. He seemed ideal to lead his own sitcom about a retired boxer running a program for at-risk high schoolers. Hey, he couldn't be less qualified for this noble enterprise than Foreman’s of being an actor. But the harder blow to ABC’s “George” was its corny writing around such a limited premise. From painful humor to trite schmaltz, it was heavy-handed enough to qualify for a championship belt. Instead, the poor reception from a small crowd put the show down for the count after a single round. “George” has since faded into legend itself, mostly for the grilling it got from critics.

As disappointed as “Three’s Company” fans were by Suzanne Somers’s departure, her big comeback to TV was totally unqualified. “She's the Sheriff” follows a Nevada lawman's widow as she takes up the star of her deceased husband. What sounds like an empowering romp ends up turning the lead’s ditzy incompetence into the main joke. There's no excusing that on the rest of the show’s lack of imagination. There wasn’t even much crime to fight. The series did get a second season, ostensibly for the initial hype, but was left to waste in a weekend time slot. In a decade overrun with first-run syndicated sitcoms, “She’s the Sheriff” was expected to stand out. And it did, in all the wrong ways.

Dumped at the altar, some slacker moves into an apartment with three divorcés also trying to get on their feet. But there’s nothing actually grown-up in CBS’s “We Are Men”. The likable likes of Kal Penn, Jerry O’Connell and Tony Shaloub are wasted on unlikable characters, cracking lazy jokes and having derivative adventures. It’s like a male-centered version of “Sex and the City” that doesn’t have any real insight. The characters’ stereotypical boorishness is just offensive to both women and men. The themes may have matured over time, but we’ll never know. The ratings and reviews for “We Are Men” were so bad that it was pulled after airing just two of the eight episodes produced.

CBS’s “M*A*S*H” is considered one of the greatest, biggest TV shows ever. Its blend of wacky comedy and uncompromising war drama is not just hard to replicate; it was impossible to continue. “AfterMASH” depicts some veterans of the original returning to civilian life after the Korean War. The less funny moments admirably tackled themes of PTSD, veteran services, and mainstream healthcare. The thing is, there are hardly any funny moments between the clunky commentary. “AfterMASH” came under such high standards that “M*A*S*H” fans landed it a second tour. With that, though, outrage over the show's quality cut its deployment short. You'd be honoring a classic show’s memory by forgetting that its battle-worn sequel ever happened.

By 2011, sitcom veteran Paul Reiser was so desperate for a hit that he created a show about that ordeal. “The Paul Reiser Show” was a semi-improvised, semti-autobiographical comedy in the vein of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. Well, nobody seemed enthusiastic about it. It was reported that the show had the worst premiere episode ratings in NBC history. The unlucky few who did see it said that its self-deprecating humor was painful. And it didn’t have much plot besides what was stolen from Larry David. After an even worse performance the following week, the remaining five episodes of “The Paul Reiser Show” were pulled. Reiser’s comeback would come eventually, but he couldn't have been happy about this disastrous attempt.

A sitcom based on sensitive history needs to be smart and funny. “The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer” had its work cut out with the exploits of President Lincoln’s Black British valet during the American Civil War. UPN faced massive controversy over potentially making a joke out of this tragedy and slavery. In fact, it was closer to a lazy allegory for Bill Clinton’s presidency, among other contemporary pop culture topics. There was no edgy satire to the crass humor and thin storylines. The arbitrary backdrop just happened to be uniquely costly for a sitcom, in both production and reputation. Pulled from the air after four episodes, “Desmond Pfeiffer” would stay a secret if not for its historic misguidance.

“Work It” was an awful sitcom that ran for two episodes back in 2012. The show featured two guys who, because of the awful economy, had to dress like women in order to get a job. Given how women have historically been treated with less respect than men in the workforce, the premise of the show is beyond insulting. But also, as a pure situation comedy, the show was pretty much completely lacking in the comedy department as well. Just because “Bosom Buddies” kind of worked back in the early 80s doesn’t mean men dressed as women is going to work every time. As one critic wrote, “Work It” was “witless, tasteless, poorly acted, abominably written, clumsily directed, hideously lit and badly costumed."

ABC’s “Happy Days” had a great early track record with spin-offs. Chachi Arcola and Joanie Cunningham moved to Chicago in search of their own hit with a music career. The couple did produce some catchy tunes in the style of ‘60s pop. But dreams of replicating “Happy Days”’s nostalgic style were broken by shameless anachronisms. Otherwise, it was a campy, unfunny rom-com that became a permanent pop culture punching bag. And we're talking about the franchise that inspired the term “Jumping the Shark”. Nostalgia for the original show allowed “Joanie Loves Chachi” to fall in the charts for two seasons. The characters then returned to “Happy Days” like nothing happened, but their raw solo note still resonates today.

Both the 2005 “Are We There Yet?” movie and the similarly-titled television show that came five years later were pretty successful. The movie grossed over $97 million on a $32 million budget and the series ended up running for three seasons and 100 episodes on TBS. They also both had something else in common… They weren’t very good. We like Terry Crews, but even his big muscles couldn’t lift this sitcom beyond the generic family comedy it was. It left us asking ourselves, “Is it funny, yet?” And more often than not the answer was, “no.”

To our Australian viewers, before you jump angrily into the comment section, let us be clear that we aren’t talking about the very funny hit sitcom that aired in your country from 2002 to 2007. We’re talking about the poorly written and conceived American version of “Kath & Kim” that the San Francisco Chronicle called “a contender for worst remake ever.” And while a decent-sized audience showed up for the series premiere, it didn’t take long for them to realize the show sucked. By the third episode, the audience was already one-third smaller.

A 14-year-old girl, a family restaurant, a passion for cooking, and magical spices all came together to create the meal that was 40 episodes of “Talia in the Kitchen” on Nickelodeon in 2015. And while 40 episodes might sound like a lot, it should be noted that it was just one season - after which the series was canceled due to low ratings and less-than-stellar critic reviews. On IMDb, the teen telenovela comedy holds a rather paltry 3.3 rating out of 10 with one review using the right-to-the-point headline, “God awful!!!”

When “Veronica's Closet” made its debut in 1997, Variety said in their tepid review of the show that it had potential. Well, all we can say to that is, it definitely didn’t live up to whatever potential the magazine saw in it after that pilot episode. Being sandwiched between “Seinfeld” and “ER” on “Must See TV” Thursday nights for two seasons made the show a Top 10 hit. But once NBC moved it to a new night, season three saw a 50% audience drop and that was that for “Veronica's Closet.”

A talking baby, how funny is that? Well, in commercials it works, but in sitcom form it’s not funny at all. At least that was the case for Bob the talking baby, who got his start in ads for FreeInternet.com in 2000. The character’s popularity led TV execs to build a show around him, and in 2002, the world got “Baby Bob.” And nine episodes later, they lost “Baby Bob.” Although all one had to do was watch the first five minutes of the first episode to know it wasn’t going to last. We’re not being over dramatic when we say it’s truly painful to watch. After the end of the show, Bob went back to commercials - this time for Quiznos.

We have to admit that a spin-off of “That '70s Show” that takes place in the 1980s with some of the same characters and storylines sounds like it would be awesome. Unfortunately, we’ll never know because that isn’t what “That '80s Show” was. Instead, it was a brand new show that took place in the 80s with brand new characters and storylines. And while much of the team behind “That '70s Show” was also at the helm of the 80s one, whatever magic they sprinkled on the former was all used up when they went to make the latter. The 80s coined the use of the word “bad” to mean good, but when it comes to “That '80s Show,” bad just means bad.

Based on the moderately successful 1987 film of the same name, the “Harry and the Hendersons” TV show ran for 72 episodes over three seasons. But while the series was also somewhat successful, do you know what it wasn’t? Any good. It was as if the creators figured that a bigfoot living with a family was funny enough they didn’t need to put any effort into creating interesting characters or writing good jokes. And to be blunt… they were wrong. Even the canned laughter of the laugh track could barely muster up any enthusiasm for what passed as humor on the show.

Since a sitcom for YouTube veteran Lucas Cruikshank didn’t work the first time, Nickelodeon decided to try again. This time, they tried their hand at a “Mork & Mindy” rip-off where Lucas plays Marvin – an alien taken in by a human family and trying to fit in disguised as a teenager… except he makes Invader Zim look more subtle. There’s probably a deeper meaning of how you shouldn’t be afraid to be yourself… but said moral, along with the supporting cast, are drowned out by Marvin’s quirky overacting and heavy reliance on gross-out humor. Thankfully, both the series and Lucas’ time at the network had run out, burying this mess for good.

Single mothers Nikki and Annie have inadvertently turned their teenage daughters into their worst nightmare – a pair of spoiled, popular monsters. A domestic satire like this sounds good on paper… but ultimately flops in execution. The characters are unbelievable and unsympathetic – even the ones we’re SUPPOSED to sympathize with, and it’s difficult to truly get invested in ANY of them. The writing is completely toothless, with the premise feeling more like a setup for feeble punch lines. Fortunately, plummeting ratings finally ended the show, and we all learn a valuable lesson – DON’T be Annie or Nikki, and discipline your children.

A sci-fi parody sitcom CAN be hilarious if done right… if only UPN knew that when they greenlit this. Flex and Darryl Bell star as the fun-loving Tyberius and the straight-laced Morris – two 23rd-century astronauts traveling through the cosmos in their winged car. The series boasts some memorable guest star appearances, but not so much humor – mostly relying on rather forced sci-fi references and racial stereotyping. Following a long line of low ratings and criticism – including protests from the NAACP – the show was cancelled and rightfully forgotten in the black void of space.

Haven’t Netflix humiliated their would-be owners enough? “Blockbuster” fictionalizes misadventures at the last-remaining store of the fallen video rental giant, relocated from Oregon to Michigan. The streaming giant was clearly capitalizing on their successful run of the 2020 documentary “The Last Blockbuster”. There was potential with a showrunner whose workplace sitcom resumé includes “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “Superstore”. But it all feels like an outdated format that nobody was asking for. Uninspired nostalgia couldn't make up for the atrocious writing and bland stories that led to the show's cancellation after one season. “Blockbuster” ironically represents everything wrong with Netflix’s business model in original shows. Whether that will one day kill the company, subscribers should leave this title on the shelf.

It’s not uncommon for standup comedians to land their own sitcoms as fictional versions of themselves. While some thrive like “Seinfeld,” others like “Mulaney”… not so much. To better explain, comedian John Mulaney portrays himself being hired to work for a comic legend while trying to make time for his roommates – a wound-up trainer and a fellow standup comic. What ultimately dooms this sitcom is how dated it all feels – it follows a similar formula to other 90s sitcoms and comes off as a “Seinfeld” rip-off. With nothing new to offer, you’d be better off like Motif and binge-watching “Friends” instead of one episode of this mediocre program.

In recent years, Disney’s had a reputation for producing horrible teen/tween sitcoms - and this is just one example. This blight of a series follows three step-siblings adjusting to life as a new family, and living with a talking dog named Stan, who runs his own blog… because, of course he can. While there is a heartwarming feeling with the dog bringing the family closer together, the sentiments feel cheesier than intended – especially when mixed with the hokey acting, unimaginative writing, annoying characters, and generous amount of clichéd jokes. As you probably guessed it, Disney screwed the pooch with this show – pun intended, but at least it was given a fitting ending.

There’s a lesson to be learned about giving a beloved TV character their own spin-off – make sure they can pull off the leading man. After the finale of “Friends,” our favorite dim-witted ladies’ man, Joey Tribbiani, moved on to Los Angeles to focus on his acting career. Longtime “Friends” fans loved Joey and his chemistry with the rest of the gang, but now he’s on his own and down-on-his-luck - making the experience feel empty. While the premiere had successful ratings, it was all downhill from there – and trying to compete with “American Idol” didn’t help either. The series concluded after two seasons, but Matt LeBlanc’s not out of the sitcom game yet.

The ‘caveman’ GEICO commercials are truly some of the smartest and funniest television commercials of all time. Unfortunately for all those involved with the “Cavemen” television show - based on those commercial characters - the series is not remembered as fondly. While there might’ve been a few moments of actual wit and humor, the attempt to translate the ads to longer-form storytelling was pretty much an abject failure. The Chicago Tribune even called it one of the 25 worst TV shows ever - not just sitcoms, but “shows.” Turns out that making a quality sitcom is so hard, even a caveman can’t do it.

Be careful of what you adapt to TV from the Internet. It could be something great and hilarious… or it could be “Fred: The Show.” That’s right, someone over at Nickelodeon greenlit three TV movies and a sitcom for Lucas Cruikshank’s character/YouTube “sensation,” Fred Figglehorn. Not unlike the web videos, the series follows Fred’s misadventures while he talks to us… and SHRIEKS at us. His annoying behavior and aggravating voice wore thin on critics’ nerves, and ratings plummeted until “Fred” was finally put to rest after one season. Thankfully, after this and “Marvin Marvin,” Lucas cut ties with Nickelodeon and retired the Fred character… and we couldn’t be happier.

The series follows attorney David Crabtree as he buys a 1928 Porter… that ends up being the reincarnation of his departed mother. For the rest of the series, David tries to protect his mother from a shifty car collector fresh out of a silent film. There have been plenty of gimmick-y sitcoms over the years, but this one takes the cake – the concept is ridiculous, the characters are unrelatable… and the whole thing didn’t stand a chance with the critics. Luckily, the crew moved onto more acclaimed projects, but it’s hard to forget something this unreal.

Britain has boasted its fair share of vulgar comedies… but this was just in poor taste. The premise for this disaster is basically “The Honeymooners” meets the Third Reich – Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun as a typical sitcom couple with dull Jewish neighbors. Obviously a controversial topic, the series was designed as a spoof of the idea that anything and everything could be a sitcom… even having the GERMAN characters speak with Brooklyn accents. Even with corny jokes and clichéd sitcom characters, you can’t just overlook HITLER being the protagonist. Thus, the series was pulled after one pilot episode. It’s for the best anyway, as there are far better ways to parody the Nazi leader.

Have you seen any of these terrible sitcoms? Can you think of any other? Laugh it up in the comments.