Not all comedy series that come out make a mark in viewers’ minds for good reasons. Occasionally, some terrible sitcoms arrive only to leave an impression for amiss reasons, making television watchers question the poor idea behind the show and producers’ bad judgment in assent.
The causes of failure of the shows could be any: poor quality, bad writing, lack of a strong storyline, bad casting… Regardless of the reasons, such uninteresting and unfunny sitcoms fail to serve the primary purpose of inducing laughter in viewers and go down in history by earning the only eligible accolade they are worthy of: a commendable place in a list of terrible sitcoms you should watch at least once in your lifetime.
United by a common aspect, i.e. negative reviews, we have compiled five contemporary terrible, yet the best comedy series you must watch that received backlash from both critics and audiences alike.
Homeboys in Outer Space (1996-1997)
Rating: IMDb – 3.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes – 29%
Number of Seasons: 1
Number of Episodes: 21
Set out in the 23rd-century, the show revolves around two space jockeys and somber space mishaps in their rattletrap ship, the Space Hoopty. Yup, that’s the name of the spaceship, and the comedy series is as bad as the name of the ship!
Due to humorless parodies, the show didn’t make it past the first season. With just 21 episodes, the comedy series managed to protract and come to a fortunate end, spearing the viewers from enduring the unbearable chucklesome torture of watching it any further.
The show might not give you a good laugh with writing, dialogue and story, but it will definitely bust your gut with hideous and blunt scenes.
Despite the show’s unfortunate failure in making it to the best sitcoms, the “comedy series” certainly made it to our list of ‘terrible sitcoms you should watch’.
The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer (1998)
Rating: IMDb – 3.3/10, Rotten Tomatoes – 20%
Number of Seasons: 1
Number of Episodes: 9 (5 unaired)
The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer is historically awful and one of the must-watch terrible sitcoms if you want to see how ironically comedy can get unfunny. If you ever want to witness how terrible a sitcom can get, you ought to watch this comedy series.
The story revolves around a black English nobleman named Desmond Pfeiffer who becomes President Abraham Lincoln’s valet after being chased out of the UK due to gambling debts.
The show counters the sitcom genre as the plot kicks off with the hanging of two African American men. As a result, the show found itself in a storm of controversy due to the scene. Though the horrendous affront was later removed from the plot, it was too late. The show received strong aversion from the African American community as well as other communities.
The production managed to make nine episodes, out of which five never saw the light of day, before getting canceled.
Harry & the Hendersons (1991-1993)
Rating: IMDb – 5.6/10
Number of Seasons: 3
Number of Episodes: 72
Sitcoms are as good as their stories. Without a strong backdrop and steady baseline, any comedy series, even with a profound cast, fails to perform not just on television but also on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other OTT platforms. Harry & the Hendersons is one example of such a phenomenon.
Though the comedy series received just below the average rating, it didn’t receive sufficient love from the audience to continue beyond 3 seasons.
Based on the film of the same name, the scenes in the show elicit comedy sporadically and slight laughter with the Hendersons family adopting a Bigfoot called Harry. This terrible yet watchable comedy series is at times mildly amusing and at times abominable.
Joey (2004-2006)
Rating: IMDb – 6/10, Rotten Tomatoes – 50%
Number of Seasons: 2
Number of Episodes: 46 (8 unaired in the U.S.)
One would think a spin-off of F.R.I.E.N.D.S, one of the best sitcoms of all time, would be too hilarious, but to many people’s dismay, it turned out to be nothing as anticipated. Not that the comedy series doesn’t make you laugh, it just fails to live up to the expectations of the fans and continue the unbeatable comedy and humor of F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
The story is about finding new beginnings for the character of Joey Tribbiani, who moves from New York to Los Angeles to try to jump-start his acting career. In this process, he finds himself amidst his emotional older sister Gina and his nephew Michael.
With a decent rating, this one of the not-so-terrible sitcoms managed to air for two seasons with abundant sarcasm and comic timing before coming to an end. If you are curious about watching this best comedy series then browse through the section of sitcoms on Amazon Prime.
S#*! My Dad Says (2010-2011)
Rating: IMDb – 5.3/10, Rotten Tomatoes – No Rating
Number of Seasons: 1
Number of Episodes: 18
This one of the terrible sitcoms you should watch as it is based on the Twitter feed, Shit My Dad Says by Justin Halpern, which consists of quotations from his father, Sam.
The story revolves around a struggling writer who moves in with his 72-year-old dad and becomes a victim of his father’s verbal assaults. The comedy series has some funny bits here and there that sometimes make you chuckle along with a bit of romance but lacks insufficient standard comedy. The sitcom ended after season one, which consisted of 18 episodes. recovering corrupted files
Did you come across any such terrible sitcoms one should watch? Please let us know in the comments section below.
