These sitcoms were ahead of their time. For this list, we’ll be looking at the comedy television series whose format and/or content acted as a forerunner for those that followed them.
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00:00 I feel just the way you do, Ricky.
00:01 I don't care.
00:02 Boy or girl doesn't make any difference.
00:04 Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:05 And today, we're counting down our picks
00:07 for the top 10 sitcoms that were ahead of their time.
00:11 Now, now, Rose, take it easy.
00:13 Why does everyone keep saying that?
00:15 For this list, we'll be looking at comedy television series
00:18 whose format and/or content acted as a forerunner for those
00:22 that followed them.
00:23 If there's a sitcom that we're behind the times
00:26 for forgetting, advance your favorites in the comments.
00:30 Number 10, "The Nanny."
00:32 Take it from a guy, no one in their right mind
00:34 was looking at your purse.
00:35 [LAUGHTER]
00:38 What'd your father give you to say this?
00:40 A boombox.
00:41 On the one hand, "The Nanny" does
00:43 feel like a product of its time.
00:45 It has an expository intro and the setup
00:48 of a brash, outgoing nanny caring
00:50 for a stuffy British family.
00:52 It feels almost like a show from the '80s rather than the '90s.
00:56 Aren't you supposed to be on a date?
00:57 Well, technically, I still am.
00:59 Oh, how's it going?
01:00 Oh, I've had better.
01:02 I've had worse.
01:03 It's kind of up in the air.
01:05 However, creator/star Fran Drescher
01:08 helps the show feel years ahead of its time,
01:10 both in front of and behind the camera.
01:12 Sitcoms created by women were still incredibly rare
01:15 at the time, and still are now, to be honest.
01:18 Not only that, but her character Fran
01:20 finds his fabulous fashion still slap today.
01:23 Plus, the show's razor-sharp wit is fantastic,
01:26 no matter the decade.
01:28 Don't you know what happens to young girls
01:30 when you torture them in high school?
01:32 We're going to the video store, and I'm renting you Carrie.
01:35 Number nine, "Arrested Development."
01:37 Tobias, meanwhile, discovered that what
01:39 he thought was a support group turned out
01:41 to be a team of bald men painted blue.
01:44 "Arrested Development" was one of several single-camera sitcoms
01:47 to popularize the format in the early 2000s.
01:50 The show's dry, mockumentary view of the Bluth family
01:53 is hysterical throughout.
01:55 Hey, the cornballer.
01:57 Thought these things were only legal in Mexico.
01:59 In fact, the cornballer wasn't legal anywhere,
02:01 but George Sr. continued to market it there successfully.
02:05 [SPEAKING SPANISH]
02:10 Its use of reoccurring gags and foreshadowing
02:12 may have proven hard to get into for casual audiences
02:15 on network TV, but it found much more success
02:18 once streaming became a thing.
02:20 Lucille, as your therapist, I would
02:22 encourage you to let go of relationships
02:25 that don't serve you.
02:26 You're no longer my therapist.
02:28 OK, we're making some progress.
02:30 With audiences able to binge the show now,
02:32 it became much easier to pick up on all the little details
02:36 that watching week to week made everyone miss.
02:38 "Arrested Development" was just a few years too early
02:41 for streaming.
02:42 Thankfully, a revival gave it the platform it deserved.
02:45 I prefer things face to face.
02:47 Less chance of a misunderstanding.
02:49 OK, yeah, I'll do it.
02:50 I'll get the bail.
02:51 I'll cover it.
02:52 I just-- I hope that our position has not
02:54 been greatly weakened.
02:55 Of course we're going to have a great weekend.
02:58 Talk to you later.
02:59 Number eight, "Family Matters."
03:01 Be twix and be dazzle.
03:03 [SPITS]
03:04 [LAUGHTER]
03:11 [INAUDIBLE]
03:12 While there are definitely some aspects of "Family Matters"
03:14 that can feel dated, this sitcom was still
03:17 ahead of the curve in some ways.
03:19 The Winslow family often tackled some serious topics,
03:22 including racial profiling, respectability politics,
03:25 gun violence, and alcoholism, among other things.
03:28 Aren't best friends supposed to tell each other the truth,
03:30 even if it hurts?
03:32 Yeah.
03:34 Well, the truth is I don't like it when you drink.
03:37 Why not?
03:38 You get mean.
03:40 You make fun of me.
03:41 Many of these topics remain relevant and/or taboo
03:43 decades later, so "Family Matters"
03:45 certainly was ahead of its time when it tackled them.
03:48 Although most people remember the show for Steve Urkel--
03:51 and he's great, don't get us wrong--
03:53 it's the heart of the characters and their everyday struggles
03:56 that still resonate today.
03:57 You know, it's a funny thing about drinking.
04:01 You don't realize what it's doing to you
04:03 till it's done it to you.
04:07 Yeah, well, I made a decision.
04:11 It's not going to do it to me.
04:13 Number seven, "Will & Grace."
04:15 Oh, oh, yeah, OK, no.
04:18 What you two do behind closed doors is your business, OK?
04:20 But flaunting that lifestyle like you're doing right now
04:22 is just plain gyros.
04:24 Although there were sitcoms with gay lead characters
04:26 before "Will & Grace," it was one of the first breakout
04:29 mainstream hits to feature LGBTQIA+ characters.
04:34 Following the two titular characters,
04:36 Will was a gay lawyer and his interior designer best friend.
04:40 "Will & Grace" not only paved the way for more TV series
04:43 to feature gay characters, but it also
04:45 served as an education on gay people
04:47 for a heteronormative society.
04:49 Hi, I just want to let you know that I
04:51 have seen the documentary "Scared Straight" 17 times.
04:55 Never took.
04:56 LGBTQ characters have primarily been
05:01 depicted using stereotypes.
05:03 And while the show does engage in them,
05:05 it helps show that they're just regular people.
05:07 Will is just a guy who happens to be gay.
05:10 Mr. Truman, do you think your client
05:12 was treated more or less fairly because of his wealth and status?
05:14 The status of Mr. Wacker--
05:20 Whitman, Waxer.
05:21 - Walker. - Walker, thank you.
05:23 [LAUGHS]
05:23 [LAUGHTER]
05:26 Of course, the less down-to-earth characters
05:28 like Karen and Jack are wildly entertaining, too.
05:31 Number six, "The Simpsons."
05:33 OK, Homer, stay calm.
05:34 Just quietly get this stuff inside your house.
05:37 [CRUNCHING]
05:40 Homer, you're not listening.
05:41 It can be easy to forget, given that it's still airing,
05:44 just how influential and trend-setting "The Simpsons"
05:47 was and still is.
05:48 Although there has been animated sitcoms before it,
05:51 "The Simpsons" broke the mold in other ways.
05:53 Its humor is incredibly clever and makes
05:56 extensive use of homages and parody,
05:58 lampooning contemporary pop culture, politics,
06:01 and even history.
06:02 Who is it?
06:03 It's your sons, George Bush Jr. and Jeb Bush.
06:06 Come outside, Dad.
06:07 Oh, good.
06:08 Bar, the boys are out in the front yard.
06:10 They'll help me think of a plan to get those Simpsons.
06:12 Its rise to global popularity was meteoric.
06:15 "The Simpsons" influenced not only its imitators,
06:17 but just about every adult animated series
06:20 that has aired since it began, as well as plenty
06:22 of live-action sitcoms, too.
06:24 Hello, I'd like to speak to Ms. Tinkle.
06:27 First name--
06:27 [HISSES]
06:29 Ivana.
06:30 Ivana Tinkle.
06:31 Just a sec.
06:32 Ivana Tinkle.
06:34 Ivana Tinkle.
06:35 All right, everybody, put down your glasses.
06:38 Ivana Tinkle.
06:39 Number five, "Seinfeld."
06:41 Still looking.
06:42 Pretty bad out there.
06:44 What about you?
06:45 Nothing much.
06:46 I slept with Elaine last night.
06:48 [LAUGHTER]
06:50 Oxygen. I need some oxygen.
06:55 To truly understand the impact of "Seinfeld,"
06:57 you have to look back at the sitcom landscape of the '80s.
07:00 Most sitcoms were set in a workplace
07:02 or were about families, and there was usually
07:05 a hopeful message involved.
07:06 But "Seinfeld" eschewed all these conventions.
07:09 I'm not a lesbian.
07:11 I hate men, but I'm not a lesbian.
07:15 The characters don't learn a lesson by the episode's end.
07:18 They're all flawed, relatable people
07:20 who spend most of their time discussing pop culture
07:22 or social conventions.
07:23 I thought you liked Bette Midler.
07:25 Oh, she's all right.
07:27 You said you liked her.
07:28 Well, so what?
07:29 Maybe I do like her.
07:30 So what?
07:31 So nothing.
07:33 "Seinfeld" also tackled several progressive topics
07:36 before they entered most discourse,
07:37 as well as going for subjects that are still
07:39 somewhat dicey today.
07:41 "Seinfeld" may have been a show about nothing,
07:43 but its impact on TV was really something.
07:46 Number four, "All in the Family."
07:48 Who you having here, the Duke of Windsor?
07:50 What difference would it make?
07:51 Whoever it is, you're not going to like them.
07:53 You don't like anything about us.
07:54 You resent our attitudes, our politics,
07:57 even the clothes we wear.
07:58 On the surface, "All in the Family"
07:59 may look like another family sitcom of its era.
08:02 But look twice, and you'll see that it's one of the most
08:04 impactful ever made.
08:06 Archie, Gloria lost the baby.
08:10 What are you talking about?
08:11 What do you mean by that?
08:12 But the doctor says she's going to be fine.
08:17 She lost a baby?
08:18 Yes, Archie.
08:19 While we doubt it would be made today,
08:21 the show broke new grounds by discussing issues never
08:24 before seen on television.
08:26 And although the Bunker family's patriarch, Archie,
08:29 may be a narrow-minded bigot, by using him
08:31 as an example of what not to do, "All in the Family"
08:34 got people talking about progressive issues
08:36 and taboo topics alike.
08:38 And if you were prejudiced, you'd
08:39 walk around thinking that you're better than anybody
08:41 else in the world.
08:43 But I can honestly say, having spent these marvelous moments
08:45 with you, you ain't better than anybody.
08:49 Number three, "The Golden Girls."
08:51 I know it's rough by yourself.
08:54 I count my blessings that I have my Dorothy to look after me.
08:57 But you can't give up.
08:59 People care.
09:01 They really do.
09:02 Even today, a sitcom about four elderly women living together
09:06 would stand out from the rest.
09:07 So back in the '80s, "The Golden Girls"
09:09 was quite the uncommon sitcom.
09:11 Not only was the show's premise progressive,
09:13 but it also features storylines whose content
09:16 remains relevant today.
09:17 The series delves into topics like ageism,
09:20 sexual harassment, being unhoused,
09:22 and substance use disorder.
09:24 What are you reading?
09:26 This pamphlet on AIDS and teenagers.
09:29 It's really so discouraging.
09:31 Parents don't talk to their kids about sex.
09:35 I mean, this is so important.
09:36 You'd think they could get past their embarrassment.
09:39 It was so ahead of its time that even today, the show
09:41 is attracting new fans.
09:43 In much the same way as it leads,
09:45 "The Golden Girls" has aged like a fine wine.
09:47 I'm declining your offer, but I do want to thank you.
09:50 For what?
09:51 Well, thanks to you, I studied all day and all night.
09:54 And whenever I felt like giving up,
09:55 I would just think about what kind of man you really are,
09:58 and I'd study even harder.
09:59 Number two, "Maude."
10:01 Well, it's a lot better than smoking those funny cigarettes.
10:05 You can joke all you want to, Arthur,
10:06 but alcohol is the number one drug
10:08 problem in the country today.
10:10 There are 12 million alcoholics in America, right?
10:12 While we're on the subject of sitcoms starring Bea Arthur,
10:15 "Maude" is another one that proved ahead of the curve.
10:17 A contemporary and spin-off of "All in the Family,"
10:20 "Maude" follows the titular character,
10:22 a progressive feminist whose outspoken, bossy nature
10:25 sometimes gets her into trouble.
10:27 Do you approve of homosexuals?
10:30 Arthur, it doesn't matter whether I approve or I disapprove.
10:33 They are human beings.
10:34 They exist.
10:35 It's like asking me if I approve of dwarves.
10:38 Like its parent show, "Maude" tackles
10:40 some tricky subject matter, including
10:42 alcohol and substance use disorders and depression.
10:45 Most famously, though, "Maude" has an abortion
10:47 in an episode that aired shortly before the landmark Roe
10:50 vs. Wade Supreme Court decision in the United States.
10:53 Just tell me, Walter, that I'm doing the right thing,
10:58 not having the baby.
11:00 "Maude" was miles ahead of the cutting edge
11:02 when it aired and remains topical today.
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11:20 Number one, "I Love Lucy."
11:22 Hello, friends.
11:24 I'm your Vitamina Benjamin girl.
11:26 Are you tired, run down, listless?
11:29 Do you poop out at parties?
11:30 [LAUGHTER]
11:32 Are you unpopular?
11:34 The answer to all your problems is in this little bottle.
11:37 There were sitcoms before "I Love Lucy,"
11:39 but it's easily the most influential TV comedy
11:42 of all time.
11:43 It was the first multi-camera sitcom
11:45 shot in front of a studio audience on 35 millimeter film.
11:48 Because of its choice of format, "I Love Lucy"
11:51 became one of the first shows for which reruns were possible
11:54 and has aided its enduring popularity compared
11:56 to some of its contemporaries.
11:58 What kind of a job are you going to get?
12:01 Are you going to go to an employment office?
12:03 Yes.
12:06 Lucy, why don't you answer me?
12:08 That's nice, dear.
12:10 The show was one of the first to feature a Hispanic lead
12:13 and an interracial couple, which are both still
12:15 comparatively uncommon.
12:16 And while parts of it certainly feel dated,
12:19 it was made during the '50s.
12:20 After all, "I Love Lucy" is still an entertaining and funny
12:24 show today, thanks to some of television's
12:26 most famous comedic moments.
12:28 Speed it up for me!
12:30 [CHEERING]
12:33 Do you agree with our picks?
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