“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.
The Dick Van Dyke Show
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."
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.
Maude
"Maude" gave voice to an original kind of protagonist, this time with an outspoken feminist, who had no time apologizing when she went toe-to-toe with her opposers. "Maude" had snark, and with this show, CBS embraced the breadth of the 1970s Women's Movement.
Beyond that, "Maude" was innovative, playing with patterns and constructs even within the time constraints of sitcoms, staging many episodes as dialogues between Maude and husband Walter. The series welcomed taboo topics and made its mark by examining those concepts that we're too scared to discuss on our own.
Scrubs
"Scrubs" was a fantastic show not just because of the Turk Dance, but because it gave us authentic people who were struggling with real issues as well as the greatest bromance in the history of television, of course. The show was goofy, profound, and for Millennials growing up, there wasn't a better show than "Scrubs."
The medical comedy had it all, from oddballs to touching storylines and characters that you could really invest in. Although it was subject to some cast changes over the years, the heart of the series remained the same.