Before streaming, entertainment was all about finding the right thing to watch on TV. And nothing brought the entire family together like a sitcom with great characters and lighthearted humor.
But one thing that streaming has done well is breathe new life into older, forgotten TV shows, exposing them to new audiences, young and old—and you can stream a ton of them onTubi. Check out this list of forgotten sitcom gems that you can now watch, completely for free!
1964
3
98
Status
Ended
The concept ofGilligan’s Islandis remarkably and refreshingly simple. Seven very different people board a boat and embark on what is meant to be (as the theme song so cheerily tells us) “a three-hour tour.” However, the tour ends when the boat washes up on an uncharted desert island. Just like that, the seven erstwhile castaways must attempt to make a new life for themselves, all while trying to survive each other’s very outsized personalities.
In the classic comedy style, this show delivers some very broad and entertaining character archetypes. The titular First Mate, Gilligan, is a charming fool, for example, while The Professor is an egghead inventor. There’s also a rich, out-of-touch couple, a grumpy skipper, and two lovely ladies: the wholesome girl next door Mary Ann, and the vivacious vixen, Ginger. The characters ensure that this is asitcom good for laughs, and in a world full of reality TV and bizarre YouTube challenges, a show about surviving on an island with some quirky castaways feels more relevant now than ever before.
1994
2
23
If you like your sitcoms with a bit more bite, then you may just loveThe Critic. It comes from some veteranSimpsonswriters and offers some similarly barbed punchlines. However,The Criticis a bit more acidic in its humor because it doesn’t follow the misadventures of a nuclear family. Rather, it focuses on a misanthropic single dad who is awkward in life but very good at what he does: namely, taking down films as a professional movie critic.
In terms of both animation and writing,The Criticmirrors its premise. That means that you’re able to expect plenty of movie parodies and winking punchlines made for the enjoyment of film buffs. Your enjoyment of the show may ultimately hinge on how much you like the central character, who is voiced to cranky perfection by Jon Lovitz. He’s no Homer, but his “Roger Ebert on a really bad day” school of film criticism is infinitely more entertaining than you’ll find in any YouTube video.
1962
9
274
What if there were a fish-out-of-water show focusing on an entire family of fish? That’s the premise ofThe Beverly Hillbillies, a show where a family of well-meaning Missouri hillbillies discovers oil on their land. This makes them wealthy, and they take the next step for the nouveau riche: heading West and settling down in Beverly Hills, California. That’s where more adventures await, along with plenty of drama from their new neighbors.
As you might expect, most of the humor of this show comes from the culture clash of characters who come from two very different worlds. Our protagonists are the Clampett family, and while they are very nice, they know nothing about the lives and lifestyles of their fellow millionaires. Meanwhile, the residents of Beverly Hills don’t know what to make of the rednecks who just whirled into town.
Simple premise? Sure. But this forgotten sitcom was nominated for seven Emmys and was once one of the most popular TV shows in all of America!
1986
4
97
ALFis an example of how making one major change can turn a stale sitcom formula on its head. You see, this is a show about a suburban family just trying to make it from day to day, which was what countlessclassic ‘80s sitcomswere about. ButALFgives the Tanners a task no other TV families had to deal with: raising an Alien Life Form (or ALF) who came from another planet!
ALF himself feels like a loving pastiche of the 1980s. He’s a puppet from the time when The Muppets were mainstream, and he’s an alien from a decade whenStar WarsandStar Trekmovies ruled the multiplex. Fortunately, the show’s clever writing gives this sarcastic planetary visitor plenty of charm, making him an icon in his own right. That charm helps keep episodes entertaining even when the repeated jokes about eating cats (yes, you read that right) start to wear thin.
1965
6
170
Remember how most of the humor ofThe Beverly Hillbilliescomes from the premise of moving some country hicks into the big city? Well,Green Acrestakes that formula and reverses it. In this show, a wealthy New York attorney decides that he’s not happy with his life as a high-powered lawyer and decides to become a farmer instead. Accordingly, he drags his wife (who hates the move) to a farm in the middle of nowhere so they can begin their new life together.
As withThe Beverly Hillbillies, most of the humor of Green Acres comes from watching characters who are out of their element and trying to make the best of the situation. However, modern viewers may enjoy this show more for its surreal storytelling, which included characters frequently breaking the fourth wall. Heck, they sometimes stop what they’re doing to see where the show’s music is coming from!
In a world of post-irony jokes and brainrot humor,Green Acres’ surrealism seems funnier now than ever before.
2005
88
Everybody Hates Chrisis about Chris Rock’s adventures as a much younger man. While Rock himself serves as the show’s hilarious narrator, his younger self is played by Tyler James Williams. This allows audiences to see what Rock’s teenage years were like, complete with an eclectic pair of parents played by Terry Crews and Tichina Arnold. As presented by the show, those years were spent navigating identities as Rock tried to preserve his Black culture and family upbringing while attending a predominantly white school and trying to live up to his parents’ high expectations.
If that sounds a little too heavy, don’t worry:Everybody Hates Chrisis a sitcom first and foremost, and that means that each episode revolves around awesome and unexpected punchlines. But like some of the best sitcoms, it has plenty to say about our wider culture, including race, education, culture, and more. In this way, the show provides something for audiences who just want a good laugh and those who want a bit more.
64
Weirdly enough, the characters introduced inThe Addams Familyare more popular now than they have been in decades. That’s mostly due to the success of Jenna Ortega’s awesomeWednesdayshow on Netflix. But while that show has a singular protagonist, the original sitcom has an ensemble cast of altogether ooky weirdos. If you need a primer on the Addams themselves, here goes: they’re rich, weird, and passionate, and everyone is dressed like they just left a ‘90s Hot Topic.
The show’s appeal is meant to come from its subversion of other ‘60s sitcoms, but that led to some plot points that help these characters endure. For example, early sitcoms didn’t have much PDA between husbands and wives, but inThe Addams Family, Gomez and Morticia can’t stop kissing each other and exchanging sweet words. Their bond forms the core of a show that holds up remarkably well and is worth watching for anyone who is busy counting the days until Halloween.
2001
5
104
On paper,The Bernie Mac Showis about the life of its titular star. However, you shouldn’t treat this killer sitcom as if it were a biography, as there are some major differences between Mac’s real-life experiences and the version of himself in the show. In this sense, it is very similar toSeinfeld, which was based on Jerry Seinfeld’s life as a standup comedian but didn’t fully echo his real life. Fortunately for viewers,The Bernie Mac Showincludes something Seinfeld often shied away from: jokes about parenthood.
That’s because Mac (who has no children of his own in this show) and his wife are suddenly forced to raise his sister’s children after she steps into rehab. More often than not, they end up driving him up the wall, leading to many quotable moments about what he plans to do to them. In the best sitcom tradition, though, his character holds deep affection for these kids, and some of the tender moments might just make you cry.
Laughter and tears?The Bernie Mac Showreally has it all!
These are the forgotten sitcoms that helped to raise generations of children. Are you one of them? Good news, then: your childhood is just a click away, and you can watch all of these shows without paying a dime!
Tubi
Need a few good laughs and a few hits of nostalgia? Check out all of these classic sitcoms on Tubi today!
