Guilty pleasures:
Late-night snacking, celebrity crushes and… 2000s sitcoms?
Yes, 2000s sitcoms.
The 2000s gave Gen Z so many sitcoms that still are, as the “How I Met Your Mother” star Barney Stinson always says, “legen … wait for it … and I hope you’re not lactose intolerant, because the second half of the word is … dary! Legendary!”
The 2000s ushered in a new era of situational comedies. These sitcoms incorporated more diverse actors and openly discussed traditionally taboo subjects like sexuality.
Without further adieu, here are The Spectrum’s must-watch SitComs from the early 2000s.
“How I Met Your Mother” — 2005-14
Looking for a hilarious, feel-good show with hateable and loveable characters?? “How I Met Your Mother” checks those boxes. The 2005 sitcom follows five friends in their mid-to-late 20s living in New York City.
“HIMYM” attracted so much attention when it first came out that it immediately cultivated a very devoted and curious fan base. The CBS series had so much fanfare that the actors who played Penny and Luke Mosby, Lyndsy Fonseca and David Henrie, were often bribed for spoilers on who the “mother” was and how the show ended.
“Everybody Hates Chris” — 2005-09
“Everybody Hates Chris” is centered around comedian Chris Rock, who also serves as the show’s narrator and producer. It follows Rock and his family’s life in Brooklyn during the 1980s and is equally real as it is hilarious.
Rock always finds himself getting into trouble as he navigates life as a middle schooler. aMaking matters worse, his family knows just how to push him off the rails. This show gives viewers a bit of everything, from family bonding moments to street robberies, making “Everybody Hates Chris” a classic.
“The Office (USA)” — 2005-13
“The Office” follows the lives of the staff at the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and earns its place as one of America’s most beloved sitcoms in the process. I The show makes viewers cringe of secondhand embarrassment every five minutes with its insensitive dark humor, but in the best way possible.
“The Office (USA),” is an american adaptation of British series with the same name. Even though the characters and plot lines are basically the same, the American one is undoubtedly the better option. Don’t agree? One doesn’t need to go much further than its ratings for proof.
“That ‘70s Show” — 1998-2006
“That ‘70s Show” brought a whole new perspective to the world of sitcoms. FOX gave viewers a very real yet exaggerated experience of what the “psychedelic 70s” were like. The show focuses on a group of six teens who like to smoke pot and are just trying to figure out what they’re going to do with their lives during and after high school.
Not only is the series funny; it is also relatable and a striking look at how the entertainment industry views the 70s.
“George Lopez” — 2005-07
Everyone likes “George Lopez”. Okay, maybe not everyone. But certainly most people. And yet, this sitcom is quite underappreciated. The show follows Lopez, an assembly line worker trying to make a living and take care of his family. What makes this show unique is how much the creators incorporate and embrace Lopez and his family’s Mexican heritage, something rare on TV.
Looking for a good laugh? Want to see a grown man being bullied by his mother? Give “George Lopez” a try.
The arts desk can be reached at arts@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
