Cheers, Frasier, Wings, Fresh Prince, and many other beloved comedies can be found on Paramount+. Go back and watch some of the most classic sitcoms ever. For many people, nothing relieves the everyday tension we all experience more effectively than a classic sitcom. While a few good laughs every thirty minutes or so are excellent, the true fun is binge-watching old sitcoms. With the help of Paramount+, some of the greatest sitcoms ever created are prepared to bring us back to laughter.
1. Cheers
Cheers was one of the few sitcoms to have such a significant cultural impact. Cheers was originally a sitcom about the burgeoning romance between waitress Diane(Shelley Long) and bartender Sam, but it quickly turned into a comedy about individuals who were rarely seen on television.
Cheers invented some of the most cherished characters in television history and perfected the will they/won’t they storytelling style, opening the door for a generation of shows. Cheers’ theme song promised that each viewer would be treated like an old friend, and for two hundred and seventy-five episodes, the show delivered on that promise.
2. Happy Days
Another enduring show that has endured beyond its original concept is Happy Days, which never fails to make people laugh. What began as a narrative about a high school student and his buddies growing up in Wisconsin in the 1950s gave rise to multiple successful television series.
One of the funniest characters to appear on television was first introduced to the public in Happy Days: The Fonz. When Robin Williams appeared in Mork & Mindy and later as Mork from Ork, it also served as a springboard for his career. Presently, Fonz’s renowned leather jacket is housed in the Smithsonian in Washington, DC; nonetheless, every installment of his narrative is available to stream on Paramount+.
3. The Odd Couple
The Neil Simon play from 1965, which became a popular film in 1968, served as the inspiration for The Odd Couple. The Odd Couple elevated Simon’s core idea—two divorced men moving in together and driving each other insane—to a whole new level.
When The Odd Couple debuted on television, it wasn’t a big hit. Tony Randall and Jack Klugman played the exceedingly untidy Oscar Madison and anal-retentive Felix Unger, respectively. To be exact, it never made it into the Nielsen Ratings’ top 30. However, after a few years in syndication, it rose to popularity.
4. Taxi
Taxi, the precursor to television programs such as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Party Down, focused on the workers of the Sunshine Cab Company, who appeared to spend more time in their garage than collecting fares in Manhattan. Known for launching the careers of Tony Danza, Andy Kaufman, Christopher Lloyd, and Danny DeVito, Taxi maintains a gritty tone that is uncommon in modern sitcoms.
The majority of workplace sitcoms highlight polished, white-collar workers, but Taxi’s gritty characters paved the way for the creation of new comedy personas that still pose a threat to the traditional sitcom formula. One cannot look at Christopher Lloyd’s Reverend Jim and fail to realize how much Michael Richards’ Kramer shares with the Reverend.
5. Wings
Wings was a television series that followed the Hackett brothers as they attempted to maintain their modest single-plane airline, Sandpiper Air, inside the same reality. The show was created by three seasoned writers from Cheers. The brothers and everyone else out of Tom Nevers Field frequently find themselves tied up in the standard comedy notions between flying vacationers from the mainland to Nantucket Island.
The characters in Wings made everything feel brand-new, even though it is a spinoff of another program. Even though Wings never achieved the same level of popularity as other NBC sitcoms during its run, the eight-season series still manages to attract new viewers.
6. Family Ties
Family Ties was a groundbreaking television series when it debuted and is best known for making Michael J. Fox a household celebrity. One of the first television series to center on a family with baby boomer parents was Family Ties, which starred Fox as the Reagan-loving son and liberal parents Elyse and Steven at odds with each other.
Family Ties received a Golden Globe and five Emmys throughout its seven seasons. The most recent instance of the show being adapted into a WandaVision episode was “A Very Special Episode…”, which was a flawless replica of Family Ties’ opening titles.
7. The Brady Bunch
Throughout the first part of the 1970s, one of the mildest sitcoms, The Brady Bunch, dominated popular culture by portraying the ideal middle-class family. Except for Marcia’s broken nose, which was a frightening incident, the titular family, which was evenly divided between a mother, father, three daughters, and three boys, never experienced any major issues.
Even if a lot of the Brady Bunch‘s humor is outdated, their impact can still be seen in a lot of the popular but uninteresting sitcoms that air today. Every sitcom that has come after The Brady Bunch has been attempting to parody its formula in different ways.
8. Frasier
Kelsey Grammer reprised his role as Frasier Crane in the Cheers spinoff Frasier, when he went back to Seattle to take care of his father. With the help of his brother, father, and the live-in physical therapist for his father, Frasier tackles the issues of daily living while hosting his radio program.
One of the greatest sitcoms ever produced, Frasier received widespread praise. The show set a record with 37 Primetime Emmy wins, which was surpassed by Game of Thrones. A ten-episode revival of the show is scheduled to air on Paramount+.
9. iCarly
Resurrected nine years after its original Nickelodeon sitcom debut, iCarly is a comedy series. Along with her roommate Harper, Carly Shay returns to Seattle. Her friend Freddie moved back in with his mother and their daughter, while her brother Spencer continues to reside in the flat where she grew up. Carly chooses to bring back iCarly for a fresh generation of viewers.
As viewers who grew up with the original series can still enjoy the revival, iCarly garnered good accolades for changing the tone of the show from the original to fit the characters being young adults. Sam, Carly’s best friend, is not played by Jennette McCurdy in the revival since she ended her acting career in 2018.
10. Young Sheldon
The Young Sheldon television series is a prequel to The Big Bang Theory that focuses on Sheldon Cooper‘s teenage years. Sheldon attends high school at the age of nine, much to the dismay of his older brother Georgie, and lives in East Texas with his quirky family. The show’s older Sheldon is narrated by Jim Parsons. This autumn, the show’s seventh season has been renewed; it is presently in its sixth.
Though there are many references to the original program, Young Sheldon’s format—a single-camera comedy—sets it apart from its parent series. Even though the show occasionally contradicts its parent series, some of the Big Bang Theory cast members have made voiceover cameos on the program without receiving credit.
Summary
Relive the classics on Paramount+ with iconic sitcoms like Cheers, Happy Days, The Odd Couple, Taxi, Wings, Family Ties, The Brady Bunch, Frasier, iCarly, and Young Sheldon. Discover the magic of timeless humor and comedic brilliance as these shows take you on a trip down memory lane. From the barstools of Cheers to the high-flying adventures of Sandpiper Air in Wings, each sitcom brings a unique flavor to the world of laughter. So, grab your popcorn, sit back, and let the laughter roll with Paramount+