Dick Van Dyke may be most remembered as Burt, the winsome chimney cleaner in 1964’s “Mary Poppins,” but before that, he was a household name. “The Dick Van Dyke Show” lasted for six years before it wrapped up in 1966. During the course of its successful run, Dick and his crew scooped 15 Emmy Awards.
A few years later, Van Dyke and Moore reunited on-screen for a one-hour special, but that wouldn’t be the last time they graced screens. In 1979, the audience also encountered the pair as they reprised their roles on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
Happy Days
"Happy Days" was the sitcom we all needed, it revolved around the squeaky-clean Cunningham family and their dynamic with The Fonz, a motorcycle-riding Casanova. Over the course of its 11-season stint, the show covered a lot of ground while garnering a lot of laughs. The series went on to become a hugely successful show, not least because The Fonz was so popular.
A few spin-offs were made following "Happy Days," including "Mork & Mindy" and "Laverne & Shirley," with both of them being popular in their own right.
Frasier
It's incredibly rare that spin-offs become as successful as this one did, but "Frasier" beat the odds. Producers pulled Frasier Crane out of "Cheers" and gave Kelsey Grammar his very own show, which was a great decision as the show became a hit. The series followed the stern psychiatrist as he made his way back to his home town of Seattle, introducing his father and his brother.
As with many beloved shows of its era, the possibility of a revival hangs in the air as reruns are still heavily watched, 16 years after the show ended.
Silicon Valley
This sitcom is set in the rapidly changing world of tech and follows computer programmer Richard Hendricks as he tries to stay afloat. The show energy comes from two semi-contradictory views: contempt for egotistic tech moguls and sympathy for the entrepreneurs struggling to unseat them.
Between that and the extensive amounts of research performed by the producers and writers before each season, "Silicon Valley" manages to deliver a staggering amount of authenticity.
The Andy Griffith Show
"The Andy Griffith Show" prepared the way for future comedy shows of the same genre. This modest sitcom looked back to a simpler time. Starring Andy Griffith in the role of Andy Taylor, the series followed the sheriff as he kept order in a small town in North Carolina, with gentle humor and genuinely likable characters made it a beloved fixture on the TV landscape.
The show remained popular right up to its cancelation in 1968.