Yahoo Lifestyle People Are Sharing The Sitcoms That Either Aged Like Expensive Wine Or Milk
Some well-loved TV shows are truly timeless, whereas other are definitely products of their time. Recently, in r/television, Redditor u/goatamon asked, "So, which [sitcoms] do you think have aged well and which ones have aged badly?"
Here are 11 sitcoms people say aged poorly:
1."How I Met Your Mother holds up terribly. If I could remove Ted and Robin, it would make the show endlessly rewatchable, but Ted and Robin suck whatever fun that show had out due to the ending and Ted's whole, 'I'm a terrible human being, but I'm gonna pretend that you're supposed to empathize with me' schtick."
— u/murpux
"IMO Barney is the one who doesn't work anymore. He is lying to women to sleep with them then disappearing, and it's played a liiiittle slimy but mostly funny...it just comes off as extremely slimy."
"How I Met Your Mother was always garbage. People just…I don't know. Needed something to believe in back then? Something to cherish?"
— u/adbenj
2."Two and a Half Men has aged atrociously."
3."Unpopular opinion: The Office hasn't aged very well. I tried rewatching it and couldn't make it through three seasons."
4."I think The Big Bang Theory is unwatchable now."
"The Big Bang Theory has aged poorly in some ways. If you watch it, you can see the evolution of the writers' room, from the misogyny directed at Penny to eventually acknowledging her as a vital part of the group and a woman in her own right."
5."Some of The IT Crowd is golden still, but other bits have definitely aged badly."
6.My fiancée used to like According to Jim, so we watched a couple of episodes. The entire show is just about Jim being a selfish prick and constantly lying to his wife, except for the episodes where his wife is also being selfish and lying to him."
"Does not hold up IMO."
7."I was super into The League for a while but dropped off between seasons. So, a couple of years later, I decided I’d rewatch the show and finish it, but oh my god, it was unwatchable. I have no idea why I was ever into it."
8."Martin aged terribly. The constant jokes about Pam don't make me laugh in 2024. They make me cringe so badly, and I can't believe we used to think that degrading type of comedy was ever funny."
9."I rewatched Men Behaving Badly, and whilst I had a bit of nostalgic enjoyment, it did feel dated."
10."In the '80s, there was a show called Alf about a sarcastic alien I thought was hilarious. I saw a rerun a few years back, and it was terrible, just horrifically unfunny."
11."Everybody Loves Raymond is fine if you watched it week to week, but binging or marathoning? It's impossible."
"Debra is easily the best character, and even she can be hard to watch. The entire cast outside of the kids were insufferable. Marie and Raymond are unbearable."
And now, here are 14 sitcoms people say aged well:
12."Malcolm in the Middle was genuinely great. My partner had never seen it, so I rewatched it last year, and it's still brilliant."
"The humor in Malcolm in the Middle is just timeless. Hal is one of the best TV dads to have ever graced the screen."
13."Psych continues to be a favorite of mine! Love it as much as when it came out, if not more."
14."Everybody Hates Chris holds up really well."
15."Living Single. One of the best sitcoms there is. It aged well, and I can't think of anything that would be considered insensitive by today's standards."
16."Designing Women is surprisingly progressive sometimes."
"I put on Designing Women in the background while I packed up to move the last time. Holy shit, it's still so funny, and to your point, so progressive! I'm glad it aged so well; it eminds me of being sick at home from school in elementary school."
17."The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air holds up better than expected, early '90s fashion and slang aside. It's the perfect balance of goofiness and 'seriousness.'"
18."I feel like Parks and Recreation, for the most part, has aged well."
"People always complain (mildly albeit) about the final season, and I agree it's not as funny, but it's really comfy and heartwarming. It's such a good send-off for the characters, and I tear up every time I watch the final episode.
I've rewatched it more than The Office at this point, and though I still love The Office, I prefer Parks and Rec."
19."Frasier has held up really well. It was a show my parents and grandparents loved when I was a kid, so I decided I’d see what they all loved as an adult. I was not disappointed — tons of laughs and well-written."
"I think this is for a few specific reasons (other than the general quality of the writing/acting overall).
1. If you wrote pompous, 'high culture' characters like Frasier and Niles today, they would still have the same classical music, literature, etc. interests, so the contrast with Martin remains the same.
2. They're also sufficiently far into middle age that a lot of their struggles around divorce, co-parenting, and aging parents are still relevant.
3. Radio shows, despite the rise of podcasts, are still made and produced in much the same way as they were in the '90s — at least from the POV of Frasier and Roz. So most of the workplace plotlines still hold up — in particular, the famous episode where they're trying to record an old-timey 1940s radio play, which would be exactly the same today."
20."Reno 911! It's got its flaws, but it still makes me genuinely laugh so often. I feel it was kinda ahead of its time, given how popular It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia got."
"It's so damn good. It's a Cops spoof, but somehow, it feels more true to how police actually act. The cast is incredible."
21."3rd Rock From the Sun holds up in its comedy and performances, as well as themes that were way ahead of their time — not to mention having a much higher concept premise to deal with than most other sitcoms."
"My only complaint is I wish I could pull the laugh track down like 12db."
22."Arrested Development is still incredible."
23."Happy Endings has aged well for me compared to some of the other 'groups of friends hanging out' sitcoms."
"Happy Ending having a gay character who subverted a lot of the common gay stereotypes of the day — and honestly of today too — was a pleasure to see."
24."Red Dwarf is still amazing. Started the first series again recently."
"It was always the show I watched on VHS when I was home sick from school, and it still has a nostalgic comfort, while being funny."
25.And finally: "Golden Girls is still funny."
Which other classic sitcoms do you think aged either surprisingly well or pretty terribly? Why? Let us know in the comments!
Some responses have been edited for length/clarity.
