Quiz: Everyone Knows These Sitcoms, But Can You Place Them in the Right Decade?

For TV lovers, sitcoms are an absolute staple of a genre. They deliver laughs, brighten up our days, and still somehow tug at our heartstrings and make us feel appreciative of life. Whether it’s a character you find hilarious to or a lesson you needed to hear, there’s never a bad time to sit back and enjoy a sitcom. Throughout the decades, we’ve gotten so many great ones. But how fast can you identify them? Test your knowledge with this quiz:

So, how’d you do? Were you able to name all 28 sitcoms within the six-minute time limit? Even if you’ve seen all of the shows, it’s difficult to place them in the decades with the clock ticking. Be sure to share the quiz with your TV-obsessed friends to see how they do!

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The Evolution of Sitcoms

It’s wild to think how far sitcoms have come since their humble beginnings on the radio. Before living rooms across America had TVs, sitcoms were audio-only, with the radio show Sam ’n’ Henry—later changed to Amos ‘n’ Andy—often credited as the first-ever sitcom. The two-man show debuted in 1926.

Two decades later, the first American TV sitcom began, with Mary Kay and Johnny premiering on the DuMont Television Network on November 18, 1947. The show consisted of 15-minute episodes, created by and starring Mary Kay Stearns and Johnny Stearns in the leading roles. The series was also particularly notable for featuring the first depiction of a married couple sharing the same bed on television. Things have definitely evolved since then!

Some of the most influential American sitcoms throughout the ‘40s-‘60s include I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. By the 1970s, we started seeing more of a family-focus from the shows, with titles like All in the Family and One Day at a Time. Other standouts like M*A*S*H* captured audiences across the country.

By the ‘80s and ‘90s, sitcoms became even more popular. Series like Cheers set records, while The Golden Girls won several awards during its run. There’s no doubt ‘90s kids grew up on Full House, Friends, Seinfeld, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, all shows that still hold up today.

Sitcoms became considered the “rewatchables,” with more recent hits such as The Office, Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Scrubs serving as shows we can binge again and again. There’s something so comforting about a lighthearted, funny sitcom you know what to expect from.

No matter what decade you grew up in, we can always count on sitcoms to make us smile.

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