10 Sitcoms With Content That Hasn't Aged Well (original) (raw)
Published Apr 28, 2023, 2:31 PM EDT
David is a Senior Editor at Collider focused primarily on Lists. His professional journey began in the mid-2010s as a Marketing specialist before embarking on his writing career in the 2020s. At Collider, David started as a Senior Writer in late 2022 and has been a Senior Editor since mid-2023. He is in charge of ideating compelling and engaging List articles by working closely with writers, both Senior and Junior, as well as other editors. Occasionally, David also reviews movies and TV shows and writes episode recaps. Currently, David is also writing his second novel, a psychological horror satire that will, hopefully, be picked up for publication sometime next year.
Sitcoms are famous for their low-stakes, agreeable, harmless content. In the ever-changing television landscape, sitcoms are a constant, a certainty, a way for audiences to consume fun, funny, and safe entertainment, free from the challenging, theatrical, and occasionally disturbing content that prevails on dramatic television.
However, not all sitcoms have improved with age. In fact, some have become more problematic over the years thanks to their abundance of questionable jokes, confusing storylines, sexist and homophobic undertones, and a slew of other troublesome content. And while none is outright unwatchable, they are far more difficult to enjoy.
9 'Friends' (1994-2004)
Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer in Friends
Image via NBC
Friends is a timeless classic, possibly the most iconic sitcom in recent memory. Centering around the romantic and professional lives of six twenty-somethings in New York City, Friends became the television equivalent of comfort food, a status it maintains today.
However, _Friends_has its fair share of questionable content. From its lack of diversity to its treatment of lesbianism and bisexuality to its issues with fat-shaming and sexual assault, the show is infamous for its many storylines that have aged like milk under the sun. Friends is still a highly rewatchable and entertaining piece of television, but there's no denying that it's a product of its time, for better and worse.
8 'Frasier' (1993-2004)
Kelsey Grammer turned his Emmy-nominated work in Cheers into an Emmy-winning role in the highly successful spin-off Frasier. The show follows the title character, a psychiatrist and radio host living in Seatle, and the lives of his father, brother, and friends.
Frasier was near-universally acclaimed throughout the 90s and early noughties, but several storylines are somewhat uncomfortable today. Casual homophobia wasn't rare on Frasier, but the show also went out of its way to shame Roz's life as a career and sexually freed woman. Niles' years-long crush on Daphne also led to several awkward instances that many might find troublesome in a post #MeToo era. Hopefully, the upcoming Frasier revival will handle things better.
7 'Married... With Children' (1987-1997)
The Bundy family sitting on their couch and smiling at the camera in Married... with Children.
Image via Fox
Some sitcoms are designed to be politically incorrect and inflammatory; such is the case for Married... with Children. Emmy nominee Ed O'Neill starred as Al Bundy, a depressed and sexist women's shoes salesman married to a materialistic and manipulative woman, played by Golden Globe winner Katey Sagal, and raising two slacker children.
Featuring numerous misogynistic jokes and problematic humor, Married... with Children was crass and controversial even at the time of its original airing. The show was at the center of a massive controversy when Terry Rakolta, a Michigan woman turned activist, began a much-publicized campaign urging advertisers to drop the show. In all fairness, the show is designed to be vulgar, offensive, and provoke audiences -- changing the way audiences consumed and television treated the sitcom genre -- but many will still find its brand of insulting comedy quite unbearable.
6 'Home Improvement' (1991-1999)
Home Improvement was Tim Allen's ticket to fame. The show centered on Tim "the Tool Man" Taylor, the host of a home improvement show called Tool Time, raising his family in suburban Detroit. Patricia Richardson starred as Jill, Tim's loving, homely, and dedicated wife.
Although the show was a ratings juggernaut and attracted considerable critical acclaim, it was also known for a few unsavory moments. Perhaps the most infamous is using a scantily clad model whose main job was to look hot while introducing each episode of Tool Time. Tim is also a prominent example of toxic masculinity, particularly whenever advising his three teenage sons.
5 'Scrubs' (2001-2010)
Image via ABC
Few shows capture the essence of noughties humor as perfectly as Zach Braff's workplace sitcom Scrubs. Set in a fictional teaching hospital, the show chronicles the everyday lives of a group of medical internal led by the highly-imaginative daydreamer J. D. Dorian.
Scrubs is perhaps the best example of a show that used casual homophobia as part of its everyday humor. No other show features more "LOL, that's gay" jokes than Scrubs. The show also features numerous instances of transphobia, racism, and misogyny, making it a somewhat difficult viewing experience for modern audiences. A Scrubs reunion might happen soon, which will hopefully include fewer of these harmful instances.
4 'Two And A Half Men' (2003-2015)
Image via CBS
Charlie Sheen was once the highest-paid actor on television, thanks to the overwhelming success of his CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men. Co-starring Jon Cryer, the show revolved around Charlie Harper, a narcissistic and womanizing jingle writer living in Malibu, whose hedonistic life gets disrupted by the arrival of his newly-divorced younger brother and his young kid.
Most of Two and a Half Men's humor centered on Charlie's sexual escapades, which involved him treating women like disposable objects. The show degenerated in later seasons, using more offensive humor and turning its characters into caricatures of their original selves. Sheen departed the show following his very public meltdown, with Ashton Kutcher replacing him; alas, Kutcher's arrival did not improve the show, and Two and a Half Men ended with one of television's worst series finales.
3 '2 Broke Girls' (2011-2017)
Promo image for 2 Broke Girls showing Max and Caroline at the diner posing for the camera.
Image via CBS
Any show conceived and created by Whitney Cummings and Michael Patrick King was bound to be controversial. However, 2 Broke Girls crossed taste and decency lines with its numerous problematic storylines. The show starred Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs as two down-on-their-luck waitresses struggling to launch a cupcake business while working at a Brooklyn diner.
Vulgar, often deplorable, and featuring multiple problematic storylines and jokes, 2 Broke Girls was designed to be polarizing. The show used racist humor, harmful stereotypes, sexist jokes, and casual homophobia as part of its everyday language; no episode went by when 2 Broke Girls didn't use a problematic joke. The worst part was that 2 Broke Girls wasn't even funny. If it survived for so long was because of Dennings, Behrs, and an impressive supporting cast that also included comedic heavyweights like Jennifer Coolidge.
2 'How I Met Your Mother' (2005-2014)
How I Met Your Mother seemed destined to take over the slot Friends left after its 2004 ending. The show featured a unique premise, presenting itself as a long and winding tale from a father to his teenage children about how he met their mother. While still overwhelmingly popular, How I Met Your Mother has become infamous for what once was its main source of success: the character of Barney Stinson.
Played to perfection by the show's breakout, Neil Patrick Harris, Barney is a womanizing executive who treats women like disposable objects and manipulates them into doing what he wants; worst of all, his friends not only ignore his antics but even indulge them at times. Harris received acclaim, including several Emmy nominations for his role, but Barney's treatment of women has become questionable at best, especially in a post #MeToo era. And while still enjoyable, How I Met Your Mother is hard to watch now, especially the many Barney scenes that have aged terribly. The show's terrible ending has also contributed to the overall decline of its once-mighty popularity.
1 'The Big Bang Theory' (2007-2019)
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No sitcom was more successful during the 2010s than CBS' The Big Bang Theory. Revolving around a group of scientist friends whose guarded dynamic gets disrupted by the arrival of a new and spirited neighbor, the show popularized the concept that "smart is the new sexy." The Big Bang Theory lasted twelve seasons, introducing new characters throughout its run and becoming more of a traditional sitcom, focusing on relationships than on the boys' careers.
The Big Bang Theory featured an egregious amount of racist jokes. The character of Raj is a walking punching bag, with his friends mocking his accent and culture numerous times. Sheldon's mother, Mary, is also a raging racist, mocking other peoples' religions, sexual orientations, and overall beliefs. Sheldon himself is a terrible person, with the show excusing his awful behavior by blaming his lack of social skills. The Big Bang Theory features a wonderful cast that elevated every script, even the weakest, but the overwhelming amount of stereotypical jokes is often too much to make it enjoyable.