Some TV shows are like comfort food. No matter the time or the place, no matter the episode or the season, you can turn to them and enjoy them as much as (or more than) you did the very first time.
Let’s look at some TV shows that a lot of people never get tired of watching.
The Big Bang Theory
Leonard and Sheldon are brilliant physicists but are socially inept, especially around women. Then an attractive waitress aspiring to be an actress moves in next door.
The X-Files
FBI special agents Mulder and Scully pursue bizarre reports that most dismiss as conspiracy theories. Mulder left after Season 7, and many fans feel the quality dropped off after that.
M*A*S*H
Set during the Korean War, this series focuses on an Army medical team tending to injured soldiers. The stellar cast effectively introduces humor as a way to cope with the horrors of war.
Futurama
In this animated series, a pizza deliverer named Fry is accidentally frozen and then wakes up 1,000 years into the future. There, he meets his only descendant, who takes him in.
South Park
Although the main characters in this animated show are kids, it’s definitely not a show for kids. Instead, it’s a satirical and irreverent take on life, current events, and people both famous and infamous.
The Ren & Stimpy Show
Ren is a psychotic chihuahua, and Stimpy is a manx cat. Together, they have many wild and unusual adventures.
Arrested Development
Michael Bluth has to run the family’s Orange County business when his father goes to prison for white-collar crime. While doing this, he has to deal with eccentric family members and be a good role model for his own son.
Chappelle’s Show
Comedian Dave Chappelle built this show around stand-up routines and comedic sketches. Wickedly funny, it was also somewhat controversial for its use of racial humor.
The Simpsons
This long-running, massively popular animated series needs no introduction, nor do its main characters. Rather, it might be fascinating to catalog all the ways the characters, expressions, and scenes have become a part of everyday American culture.
Monk
This comedy-drama series stars Tony Shalhoub as a homicide detective who loses his job after developing a bad obsessive-compulsive disorder following the unsolved murder of his wife. He continues to solve crimes, though, working with his assistant and former boss.
Frasier
A Cheers spinoff, this show follows therapist Dr. Frasier Crane as he starts a new life in Seattle. There, he hosts a radio talk show and wrestles with his own problems.
The Office
Great acting and writing help explain why this series was such a huge hit. However, it’s also because everyone sees some of their co-workers, and maybe themselves, in the characters.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
With the original series being as popular as it was, it surprised no one to see a spinoff come out. Whereas, the original mostly focused on murder cases, SVU primarily was about attaining justice for victims of sexual crimes.
I Love Lucy
A lot of shows from the 1950s and 60s didn’t age well and come off as pretty offensive in retrospect, but this wasn’t one of them. Following the zany antics of Lucy and the exasperation of her show-biz-aspiring husband, it’s considered by critics to be among the best TV shows of all time.
Seinfeld
For its nine seasons, this was the show everybody talked about the next day at work. The absurd characters and situations from episode to episode have led to many a fun debate about what the best episode was.