Top 20 Worst Sitcoms EVER
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 20 Worst Sitcoms EVER. For this list, we’ll be looking at situation comedies with distasteful or dull situations and/or generally unfunny comedy. Have you seen any of these terrible sitcoms? Let us know in the comments.
#20: “Work It” (2012)
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“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."
#19: “Small Wonder” (1985-89)
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Ted Lawson is an engineer who invents a Voice Input Child Identicant robot he calls Vicki. That’s the situation. The comedy part - or at least what passed for comedy - came by way of the fact that Ted brought Vicki home to live with his family and they presented her to the world as their newly adopted human daughter. Despite the lackluster jokes and Vicki’s annoyingly generic “robot voice,” we should note that the show was actually pretty popular at the time, and ran for four seasons. However, that popularity shouldn’t be confused with quality. As the BBC wrote, “[“Small Wonder”] is widely considered one of the worst low-budget sitcoms of all time.”
#18: “Are We There Yet?” (2010-13)
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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.”
#17: “Kath & Kim” (2008-09)
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.
#16: “Talia in the Kitchen” (2015)
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!!!”
#15: “Veronica's Closet” (1997-2000)
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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.”
#14: “Baby Bob” (2002-03)
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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.
#13: “That '80s Show” (2002)
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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.
#12: “Harry and the Hendersons” (1991-93)
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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.
#11: “Marvin Marvin” (2012-13)
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.
#10: “I Hate My Teenage Daughter” (2011-12)
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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.
#9: “Homeboys in Outer Space” (1996-97)
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.
#8: “2 Broke Girls” (2011-17)
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Have you ever wondered how something so promising could go so wrong? Well, you won’t keep wondering for long once you’ve watched “2 Broke Girls.” As the title suggests, the series follows two women from different backgrounds – one from a working-class family and the other from a defamed rich family - working together as waitresses to help finance their dream job. Unfortunately, any potential the series had was quickly swept away in the final product – all thanks to a combination of humorless and obvious jokes, rather tasteless racist stereotypes, and a heavy reliance on sexual humor. After a six-year run, CBS finally put it to rest, and television feels much richer without it.
#7: “Mulaney” (2014-15)
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.
#6: “Dog with a Blog” (2012-15)
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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.
#5: “Joey” (2004-06)
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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.
#4: “Cavemen” (2007)
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.
#3: “Fred: The Show” (2012)
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.
#2: “My Mother the Car” (1965-66)
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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.
#1: “Heil Honey I'm Home!” (1990)
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.
