# The 22 Best Sitcoms of the 1970s

> Studio audiences, laugh tracks and a few sitcoms that said the quiet part out loud. Ratings giants share the stage with cult British imports.

*By YPB Team · Published October 19, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-22-best-sitcoms-of-the-1970s*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **M*A*S*H** — score 1000/1000
   Korean War medical-unit comedy-drama that became one of TV's most-watched series.
2. **All in the Family** — score 956/1000
   Norman Lear's groundbreaking CBS sitcom about bigoted Archie Bunker and his changing family.
3. **Fawlty Towers** — score 598/1000
   John Cleese's twelve-episode British farce about a disastrous seaside hotel.
4. **Dad's Army** — score 597/1000
   Beloved BBC comedy about the bumbling Home Guard platoon of Walmington-on-Sea.
5. **Three's Company** — score 597/1000
   Slapstick misunderstanding comedy starring John Ritter as a faux-gay roommate.
6. **The Odd Couple** — score 542/1000
   Neil Simon's mismatched roommates, slob Oscar and neat freak Felix, on TV.
7. **Mork & Mindy** — score 542/1000
   Robin Williams' breakout role as a zany alien living with a Boulder woman.
8. **The Mary Tyler Moore Show** — score 478/1000
   Single-woman newsroom comedy that redefined female leads on television.
9. **The Good Life** — score 478/1000
   British couple abandon the rat race to self-sufficiently farm their suburban garden.
10. **Porridge** — score 478/1000
   Ronnie Barker as wily inmate Fletcher in a beloved British prison sitcom.
11. **The Bob Newhart Show** — score 404/1000
   Deadpan Chicago psychologist comedy known for its ensemble and a classic finale gag.
12. **Maude** — score 404/1000
   Bea Arthur as a fiercely liberal woman in a politically bold All in the Family spin-off.
13. **Monty Python's Flying Circus** — score 319/1000
   Surreal British sketch show that rewrote the rules of television comedy.
14. **Barney Miller** — score 319/1000
   Dry, character-driven comedy set in a New York police squad room.
15. **Soap** — score 319/1000
   Daring soap-opera parody about two feuding families, ahead of its time.
16. **Happy Days** — score 319/1000
   Nostalgic 1950s-set sitcom that made The Fonz a pop-culture icon.
17. **Are You Being Served?** — score 217/1000
   Long-running British comedy set in the staff quarters of a department store.
18. **Rhoda** — score 217/1000
   Valerie Harper's Mary Tyler Moore spin-off about a wisecracking New Yorker.
19. **Sanford and Son** — score 217/1000
   Redd Foxx stars as a cranky Watts junk dealer in this hit NBC comedy.
20. **Taxi** — score 217/1000
   Offbeat New York cab-garage ensemble comedy that began in 1978.
21. **Good Times** — score 0/1000
   Chicago housing-project family comedy tackling poverty with warmth and humour.
22. **WKRP in Cincinnati** — score 0/1000
   Struggling radio-station comedy with a cult following and iconic episodes.

Tags: 70s, tv shows, comedy, classics