What is the best sitcom ensemble cast of all time?

Chemistry is the hardest thing to cast and the easiest thing to notice. Twenty groups where the whole beat every part.

1

Friends

Six leads on equal billing and equal pay, a structure almost no other sitcom has matched.

2

Seinfeld

Four principals with no warmth between them, which is exactly what made the ensemble work.

3

The Office

A documentary-crew conceit that let a dozen background staff become full characters.

4

Parks and Recreation

A small-town parks department where every supporting player eventually carried episodes.

5

Cheers

A bar cast that survived losing its female lead and kept its chemistry intact.

6

Arrested Development

A family of nine self-absorbed Bluths, each with their own running joke.

7

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Five irredeemable friends running a Philadelphia bar into the ground for two decades.

8

Community

A study group of seven who each represent a different comedy register.

9

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

A police precinct where the deadpan captain and the loudest detective are equally central.

10

30 Rock

A sketch-show writers' room stacked with characters built for one-line detonations.

11

The Golden Girls

Four distinct comic archetypes given equal weight across seven seasons.

12

M*A*S*H

An army surgical unit whose cast turned over repeatedly without losing the ensemble.

13

Taxi

A cab garage that assembled Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Andy Kaufman and Judd Hirsch at once.

14

Schitt's Creek

A bankrupt family of four whose performances changed register completely across six seasons.

15

Modern Family

Three connected households, eleven series regulars, and a shelf of ensemble Emmy nominations.

16

New Girl

A loft of roommates whose group scenes outgrew the show's original premise.

17

Scrubs

A teaching hospital where the supporting doctors and janitor got as much room as the lead.

18

How I Met Your Mother

Five friends in a New York bar, built deliberately in the Friends mould.

19

WKRP in Cincinnati

A failing radio station staffed by nine characters who all became cult favourites.