The Best One-Liners In Sitcom History (2024)

Show: Superstore (NBC, 2015 - Present)

Character: Amy Dubanowski (America Ferrera)

The dysfunctional world of the big-box retailer known as Cloud 9 on Superstore seems to be as enjoyable as it is infuriating. It’s where both slackers and overachievers commingle and hang out like they are one huge blue-uniformed family. At the center of it all is Amy Dubanowski, the longtime employee who has moved up the ranks from a humble associate to become a bossy-yet-likeable manager. She’s clearly fantasies about leaving the chaotic world of Cloud 9 behind her, but deep down cares about her coworkers. Still, we’ve all been annoyed by our jobs before and can definitely relate to Amy’s desire to pack it all up and leave her coworkers and responsibilities behind. Only time will tell if Amy ever gets in that car and drives away, though.

Show: Californication (2007 - 2014)

Character: Hank Moody (David Duchovny)

Californication was a dark trip through lust, love, and booze set on the sun-soaked backdrop of Los Angeles. And its lead character, a brooding “tell-it-like-it-is” writer by the name of Hank Moody, was perhaps the perfect symbol of everything the show was about. Over the course of seven seasons, we grew to love Hank, even if he was a womanizing and whiskey drinking man, because of his love for his family and natural ability as a sharp-as-hell writer. Hank was the first to admit that he treated life in California like the game that it was and he was unapologetic in his pursuit of woman and money. While he would find himself in an endless number of ridiculous situations that would have you yelling at your television screen, at the end of the day you realized it was all part of the game and that you couldn’t hate it for him.

Show: Modern Family (ABC, 2009 - Present)

Character: Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell)

If there was ever a single line that could set the tone for a sitcom character it would be this one from Modern Family star Phil Dunphy. Throughout the series, the lovable goofball proves time and time again that he is a “cool dad” in every sense of the word. While the show has given us some great one-liners from Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (Sofía Vergara) and Cam Tucker (Eric Stonestreet), it’s the dorky dad that keeps us laughing the hardest episode after episode. One of the great things about Modern Family is how it paints an honest (albeit hilarious) portrait of what being a part of a big family is really like in the 21st century. There’s tears and fights, but there is also lots of laughs. And you can always count on Phil to provide his family with plenty of life lessons, laughs, and the occasional embarrassing moment. Even when the going gets tough, it’s hard for the Dunphy kids to stay mad at a father who gives himself the label of “cool dad” and unironically uses the word “thang.”

Show: Entourage (HBO, 2004-2011)

Character: Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven)

For a man with anger issues, Ari Gold sure likes to hug it out. Gold knows that Hollywood can be a hard town. He knows that there will be ups and downs. He also knows that if he hugs you after he screws you over, you'll feel like he's on your team. Whether or not E (Kevin Connolly) and Vince (Adrien Grenier) ever really "get" Hollywood is debatable. Sure, they walk around in fancy suits and start to do their own deals, but you always get the feeling that they are playing house while Ari is running the show.

Ari knows that if you screw people over or disappoint them, you should at least make an attempt at preserving the relationship, no matter how half-hearted. Though Ari takes his licks in the course of Entourage, you get the sense that he will be hugging it out with clients long after E and Vince have been chewed up and spit out by Tinseltown.

Show: How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 2005-2014)

Character: Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris)

Even this late in the show's run, the jury is still out on How I Met Your Mother. The series isn't universally beloved by bloggers like Parks and Recreation, nor does it garner the negative reviews despite mass appeal like Two and a Half Men. Where HIMYM lands in TV history depends on your perspective. Are the things Barney does actually "legendary?" Is he supposed to be viewed as a bro god working from the same playbook as the boys of Entourage? Or is Barney meant to be viewed as a satire on bro culture, a guy who despite his lady slaying, tries a bit too hard, and comes off looking a little pathetic?

We prefer the latter. Barney, for us, is that friend we all have who tries a little too hard to look cool in hopes of masking the fact that he isn't that cool at all. While his actions might be absurd or madcap, and generally, his schemes make for good stories, they aren't exactly victories. After all, creating legend isn't about what actually happened, but how people talk about it after the fact.

Show: Community (NBC, 2009-2014)(Yahoo! Screen 2014-2015)

Character: Jeff Winger (Joel McHale)

Community is at its best when it's subversive. The show's greatest episodes use the conventions of school sitcoms and their genre of the week to deliver the moral you expect in the way you least expected. The funniest moments on Community tend to be those times when they undercut their own moral lesson. If you've read anything Dan Harmon has written outside of Community scripts, you know the man is an incorrigible cynic, and he can't resist dropping a dose of darkness into any moment that feels remotely warm and fuzzy. We look forward to having the bizarre sitcom back to its old self this year, as we are sure Dan Harmon has many other moral lessons to undermine before Community makes its final curtain call.

Show: Flight of the Conchords (HBO, 2007-2008)

Character: Jemaine (Jemaine Clement)

During their glorious first season, fans were quoting Flight of the Conchords like they quote Anchorman or The Hangover. Songs like "The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)" and "Business Time" had more jokes packed into a few minutes of song than many shows can fit into entire episodes. Sadly, the brightest flames often extinguish the fastest.

The brilliance of Flight of the Conchords diminished in its second season and the group called it quits before making a third. Writing a comedy album and a sitcom concurrently and then filming two full music videos to accompany each episode was exhausting work for the Conchords, and might be too much for any group to continue for very long. Thankfully, we can always head over to YouTube and revisit the brilliance of "The Prince of Parties" or "Bowie's in Space" whenever we get the impulse.

Show: Futurama (FOX, 1999-2003, Comedy Central, 2010-2013)

Character: Zapp Brannigan (Billy West)

Despite being an animated show with a scope as wide as the universe, the characters of Futurama were uniquely shaped from day one. From the pilot onward, the major players had clear, distinct voices, which few shows can claim.

Even more impressive were the supporting characters, from Lrr to Hedonism Bot to Zapp Brannigan. The relationship between Zapp and Kip is one of the best on the show. Zapp receives continued accolades no matter how incompetent he may have be, while Kip suffers the consequences of Zapp's short-sighted moves. Like a scorned lover, all Kip can do when he finally escapes Zapp is talk about how terrible things were with him. Sure enough, by the end of that episode, Kip is back by Zapp's side, prepared to once again shoulder the blame for Zapp's idiotic bravado.

Show: The Honeymooners (CBS, 1955-1956)

Character: Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason)

Even sitcom history can be dark sometimes. Though domestic abuse is never funny, we have to acknowledge that to millions of Americans, it once was.

An enduring drama series is common. Drama is based on the most intense of human moments. Sex, lies, war, and death are pretty much the only topics heavy enough to draw a drama's attention. An enduring comedy is far more rare. Comedies send up social issues, comment on the little things in life, and take on the present cultural moment. Culture changes rapidly, and comedy quickly becomes dated.

And we get this, but that still doesn't adequately explain why this line is so beloved. "If your wife nags you, threaten to punch her in the face!" or some similar joke wouldn't find a home in even the most crass comedy acts of today, yet millions of people laughed at the line that quickly became a catchphrase. We're sure there could be a dissertation written about changing domestic attitudes and the sitcom with this show, and this quote, as a centerpiece.

Show: Sanford and Son (NBC, 1972-1977)

Character: Fred Sandford (Redd Foxx)

Sometimes the most important characters in a comedy isn't actually there. Elizabeth, Fred's dead wife, is present throughout the run of Sanford and Son, though she's dead long before the events of the show begin.

Fred and his son Lamont (Demond Wilson) have the kind of begrudgingly co-dependent relationship only a father and son could have. When Fred doesn't get his way, he fakes a heart attack while invoking the memory of his long dead wife. Fred claims that recent events (often on the part of Lamont) have nearly sent him up to the pearly gates to join his beloved. No one falls for the ruse, which is really intended to let the world know just how unhappy Fred is. The world, or at least the characters on the show, don't much care, because Fred is never really happy.

Show: Frasier (NBC, 1993-2004)

Character: Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce)

Though Frasier will be remembered as one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, we don't give it enough credit for simply not being obnoxious. Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Niles are somehow able to be pretentious and pompous while remaining endearing. Looking back at some of their jokes, it's apparent that these guys earned their Emmys. It's not that the jokes are bad, it's just that it's incredible that these two were able to sell them to Middle America. Out of context, jokes like "Copernicus called, and you are not the centre of the universe" and "Anything else in the box, Pandora?" are unlikely to solicit laughs. The trust between the writers and the actors on this show created an environment where obtuse gags could land with stunning effectiveness.

Show: M*A*S*H (1972-1983)

Character: PA Announcer (Sal Viscuso, Todd Sussman)

Before Norm started cracking wise from his barstool on Cheers, an unseen voice was the king of the sitcom one-liner. Every episode of M*A*S*H featured a witty bit from the PA Announcer, often criticizing the food or informing the troops that the evening movie has been postponed yet again.

Though the PA Announcer was featured in every episode, he only broke the fourth wall once at the beginning of season four. You never saw the PA Announcer during M*A*S*H's decade long run, but both actors appeared as other characters during the run of the show.

Show: I Love Lucy (CBS, 1951-1957)

Character: Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz)

This is the greatest television quote that the character never actually said. Desi Arnaz is famous world wide for portraying the straight man to the legendary Lucille Ball. When Lucy got herself in trouble, Ricky would always be there, hands on hips, looking for an explanation. Ricky would often ask Lucy to "splain," and phrases like "Ok, 'splain," and "Alright. Start 'splaining," weren't uncommon. But Ricky never said "Lucy, you've got some 'splaining to do!" once during the run of the show.It's widely thought that a journalist must have misattributed the quote toward the end of the series run, and from that point forward, the catchphrase that wasn't was forever committed to history.

Show: Parks and Recreation (NBC, 2009-2015)

Character: Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman)

Choosing a single one-liner from the Swanson pantheon is tough work. "Clear alcohols are for rich women on diets," and "Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing," could just as easily rank high on this list. Let's be honest: If people still bought books, there would be a thick coffee table book highlighting Ron's greatest hits on every hip table in America.

We went with this quote because it seems to have captured the public imagination. Nick Offerman's portrayal of Ron Swanson has managed an amazing feat. He has created a character who is the paragon of masculinity, yet hasn't become a caricature, a nuanced testament to Offerman's years of experience in the Chicago theatre scene. We love Ron Swanson because he is unapologetically masculine without the vein-bulging anger we often see from the media's array of red-faced Republicans. There is nothing false about Ron Swanson. He says what he means and expects other to do the same, particularly when it comes to breakfast foods.

Show: Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO, 2000-Present)

Character: Larry David (Larry David)

Thankfully, Larry David felt that his mission to point out all of the awkward moments in daily life couldn't end with Seinfeld. After nine seasons with Jerry and company, David struck out on another eight seasons with Curb Your Enthusiasm. Though Larry switched coasts, the painfully awkward encounters stayed consistent. Of course, this time, a less charismatic man was center stage.

From pants tents to liver transplants, David explored pretty much every awkward moment that we can fall victim to during Curb's incredible run. We say that now, but we wouldn't be surprised if David came up with more, and treated us to one more show reveling in all the discomfort that society has to offer.

Show: Party Down (Starz, 2009-2010)

Character: Henry Pollard (Adam Scott)

It's fitting that a show dedicated to mocking show business culture would position a stale catch phrase as its most memorable line. Party Down is hilarious, of course, but it can also be painful. The show is at its best when it takes you on a journey from the comical to the cringe-worthy and back again. This catchphrase from Henry Pollard's past does just that. We delight when characters put him on the spot to say the line, when he wants nothing more than to forget it forever. We watch him die a little inside as he manages to let out one more "Are we having fun yet?" and then we get back to the hijinks at hand. The phrase works so well because if these characters were going to answer that question, it would be an unequivocal "no."

Show: Eastbound and Down (HBO, 2009-2013)

Character: Kenny Powers (Danny McBride)

Here is another one-liner that works perfectly exactly because it isn't really a joke. Kenny Powers's swaggering bravado is one of the funniest things on television, and this phrase perfectly encapsulates the man. No matter how clever a phrase or how good a point one of Kenny's innumerable adversaries may have, he can always respond with "Your f*cking out!" and the crowd, or at least Stevie (Steve Little), will go wild.

Powers is a man like so many that you meet in life: He thinks that being funny and clever means being filthy and offensive. He views humor like a bludgeon, beating others into submission with an endless string of epithets and crude language. The difference between Kenny Powers and, say, the more offensive characters on Dads or Two Broke Girls is that Kenny will never win. His hyper-masculine, scenery chewing comic tirades are light gusts of wind against the cruel hand of fate. Despite Kenny's co*cksure bravado, he knows deep down that no matter how much vitriol he can spew at those around him, he is the one who is "f*cking out."

Show: Martin (FOX, 1992-1997)

Character: Jerome (Martin Lawrence)

In 2013, is there are more relevant character from Martin than Jerome? You can't talk about Trinidad James without mentioning the Jerome-heavy parodies that the rapper drags in his wake. And then, of course, there's Kanye West quoting Jerome's signature line on "Bound 2."

Martin is one of the funniest sitcomes we'll ever see, and it seems like we've decided on Jerome and his epic catchphrase as its most enduring gag. That's all right by us.

Show: South Park (Comedy Central, 1997-Present)

Character: Stan Marsh (Trey Parker)

No show melds high and low humor as deftly as South Park. Along with The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, South Park is part of Comedy Central's satirical triumvirate. Trey Parker and Matt Stone never shy away from a controversial issue, and will take anyone to task. Though the show is wildly intelligent, it has always reveled in the scatological. One need only scan episode titles like "Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants" to know that these guys love the low brow.

The "Oh my God, they killed Kenny" bit embodies this mixture best. Kenny often gets killed in the most absurd way possible, calling attention to the static nature of episodic television and the danger of taking the show too seriously. Kenny is also often killed as gruesomely as possible, a comic appeal to the 8-year-old inside us all. In case you aren't completely familiar with the many ways that Kenny gets got, we invite you to take a look at Paste's handy infographic on the subject.

Show: 30 Rock (NBC, 2006-2013)

Character: Liz Lemon (Tina Fey)

Tina Fey showed a rare commitment to self-deprecation for a sitcom creator when building Liz Lemon. Sure, sitcom stars are often buffoons, but in the style of co*cksure, strutting fools like Tim Taylor. They lose, but they are never not "the man." Even Jerry Seinfeld, who could be a little hard on himself from time to time, made sure that he had no shortage of gorgeous girlfriends to buoy his on-screen self-esteem.

Liz Lemon's relentless self-deprecation is refreshing. We understand that both Lemon and the writer behind her klutzy, food-on-sweater brilliance are deeply flawed and deeply human. Countered by the Teflon confidence of Jack Donaghy, a man who always wears a tux after six, Liz Lemon resonates with us because of her frazzled, self-conscious humanity.

Show: Arrested Development (FOX, 2003-2006, Netflix, 2013)

Character: Tobias Fünke (David Cross)

Despite stiff competition from GOB ("Not tricks, Michael, illusions. A trick is something a whor* does for money."), we had to go with a Tobias line here. Arrested Development had one of the most meticulous writing staffs in sitcom history. The callbacks and call forwards on the show were orchestrated with symphonic precision. One of the bits that the series was most intensely dedicated to was Tobias's unintentional sexual innuendo. Every single episode was good for an "OK, Lindsay, you are forgetting that I was a professional twice over: an analyst and a therapist. The world's first analrapist" or an "I'm afraid I prematurely shot my wad on what was supposed to be a dry run if you will, so I'm afraid I have something of a mess on my hands."

Today, it feels standard for sitcom stars to deliver lines like this with perfect deadpan, a complete absence of mugging. Remember that when Arrested Development premiered, Everybody Loves Raymond, Friends, and Will & Grace were all Emmy nominated shows. With Arrested Development's win in 2004, the sitcom world received a breath of fresh air.

Show: The Office (NBC, 2005-2013)

Character: Michael Scott (Steve Carell)

This joke is the anti-one-liner. Even before Michael Scott started to say "That's what she said," it was already an exhausted gag, spouted off by children on playgrounds and workplace bores. It was strange to see a portion of The Office's audience embrace the joke as though Scott was introducing them to it for the first time. I distinctly remember a few people pulling out a "that's what she said," and in response to my displeased stare, following it up with "you know, like from The Office."

"That's what she said." was not simply a memorable catch phrase, it was a cultural litmus test. It was funny to comedy lovers who had seen the phrase tossed off in teen comedies and hacky TV shows for years because it fit Scott's tired sense of humor. It was funny to the less seasoned viewer because it felt fresh and new. In "That's what she said," The Office found a one-liner that might just have been funny to everyone. That's pretty hard to do.

That's what she said.

Show: Roseanne (ABC, 1988-1997)

Character: Roseanne Conner (Roseanne Barr)

"Hollywood hates labor, and hates shows about labor worse than any other thing. And that's why you won't be seeing another Roseanne anytime soon. Instead, all over the tube, you will find enterprising, overmedicated, painted-up, capitalist whor*s claiming to be housewives. But I'm not bitter."

After Charlie Sheen's meltdown, RoseanneBarr penned a deeply personal, incredibly hilarious, a little bit unhinged essay about her journey creating Roseanne for New York Magazine. She argues that there hasn't been a "feminist and working-class sitcom" since her show left the air. If Two Broke Girls wants to position itself as the heir apparent to Roseanne's legacy, we'll agree with Barr, thank you very much.

So often, there are only two types of working class folks portrayed in media. On one end of the spectrum, you get the noble, steely-eyed laborers of Grapes of Wrath and on the other you have some version of the Beverly Hillbillies. Roseanne was gifted at producing one-liners that provided the working class earnest laughs at themselves, like the quote above, which Roseanne spouts off after the electricity gets cut off. Duck Dynasty, a reality show about millionaires, is the only show that comes close to doing this sort of work today. In a sitcom world filled with ridiculously sized apartments and trophy wives, Roseanne was a comedy that wasn't afraid of the electricity going out.

Show: Seinfeld (NBC, 1989-1998)

Character: Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld)

Before you swing by the Complex offices brandishing pitchforks and torches, hear us out. You might love lines like "Yadda yadda yadda," "shrinkage," and "No soup for you," but "Not that there's anything wrong with that" has a social context that these other famous lines lack.

As we get out from under the dark ages of institutionalized hom*ophobia, many educated straight men have taken the same problematic stance. Here, Jerry is essentially saying, "I'm not gay, but that doesn't mean that it would be a problem if I was." Basically, "Not that there's anything wrong with that" is the "I'm not racist but..." of hom*ophobia, a pitiful attempt at undoing a moment of intolerance. Jerry's insistence that he isn't gay, followed by his attempt to stand his politically correct ground, is a familiar dance for many heterosexual males. We are conditioned to perform this tightrope walk between hyper-masculine expectations and decent human behavior. The show's insistent repetition of this phrase reminds us that there is something wrong with this attempt to have our steak and eat it too. While the Soup Nazi has surely sold more T-shirts, this line acts as cultural commentary.

Show: Cheers (NBC, 1982-1993)

Character: Norm Peterson (George Wendt)

You might not think this is the best Norm orders a beer one-liner. Considering you have 274 other options to choose from, we can't blame you. The chorus of "Norm!" and Norm's ensuing beer order is as much a fixture in a Cheers episode as the bar itself. Cheers was one of those shows that doesn't feel revolutionary for breaking any new ground, but for taking the existing model and simply doing it the best. Cheers has a lot in common with any other workplace comedy of the era. The multi-cam staging, high joke volume, and stock characters didn't necessarily change the game. Cheers approached these familiar elements with intelligence, humor, honesty, and a touch of darkness that made the show so much more than your standard sitcom. We feel the same way about Norm's one-liners.

Sure, they are Vaudeville style throwaways, but through them we come to know the man who speaks them. Though Norm fits the bill of the fat clown that so often shows up in TV bars, behind the laugh track there is something in his voice and posture, a hint of world-weary resignation, that reminds you that even the jovial barfly has a vulnerable heart.