The 10 Best Sitcoms Of The 1960s

Although several decades have passed since the end of the 1960s, plenty of sitcoms from that period have stood the test of time and have maintained a loyal following to this day. The 1960s was an interesting time for television sitcoms as wacky concepts and supernatural premises were common fodder for comedic material, and many iconic shows and characters made their television debut. It was an era of laugh tracks, multi-camera set-ups, and mostly tame humor, that’s remembered fondly and rewatched consistently through syndication right up until contemporary times.

The sitcoms of the 1960s carried forward the legacy of the best comedies from the 1950s as stars like Lucille Ball remained popular on the small screen and continued to enthral and humor audiences. This was also a time for darker and more macabre comedy as supernatural sitcoms like The Addams Family, The Munsters, and Bewitched gained prominence. Sitcoms from the 1960s helped lay the groundwork for today’s comedy and have earned their place as important touchstones for modern popular culture that remained relevant through remakes, spin-offs, and revivals right up to the 21st century.

The Lucy Show (1962 – 1968)

The Lucy Show ran for six seasons and 156 episodes

While I Love Lucy revolutionized sitcoms during the 1950s, its follow-up series The Lucy Show did not have as firm of a grasp on the cultural zeitgeist despite running for six successful seasons from 1962 to 1968. Following the conclusion of I Love Lucy and the real-life divorce of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Ball starred in this new show as Lucy Carmichael, a scheming woman who often found herself on wacky adventures with her best friend and boss. While The Lucy Show repeated the I Love Lucy formula, it proved Ball could make it on her own.

Ball won two consecutive Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in The Lucy Show and the series was littered with impressive guests like John Wayne, Dean Martin, and Joan Crawford. The Lucy Show was filmed in front of a live studio audience, which was not standard practice at the time as laugh tracks were usually added on in post-production. While The Lucy Show was not as trailblazing as the work Ball and Arnaz did together, it remained an important part of the sitcom landscape during the 1960s.

The Flintstones (1960 – 1966)

The Flintstones ran for six seasons and 166 episodes

The Flintstones was one of the few sitcoms from the 1960s that has maintained a strong audience that included viewers of all ages right up until modern times. As an animated series that explored life for a prehistoric family during the Stone Age, The Flintstones was a hilarious send-up of sitcom tropes, popular culture, and 20th-century living, that used its unique concept to create a show that could be everybody and worked on numerous levels. A true television classic, The Flintstones has been rerunning consistently since its conclusion almost six decades ago.

Set in the town of Bedrock, The Flintstones followed the lives of Fred and Wilma, their pet dinosaur Dino, and later their baby girl Pepples. Full of hilarious supporting Flintstones characters, like the neighbors Barney and Betty Rubble, The Flintstones was full of clever wordplay and visual humor that juxtaposed modern life with those living in the Stone Age. The Flintstones was the longest-running animated sitcom for three decades until it was surpassed by The Simpsons in 1997.

The Addams Family (1964 – 1966)

The Addams Family ran for two seasons and 64 episodes

Before Wednesday on Netflix or even the animated film series in the 1990s, The Addams Family was one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1960s. A macabre comedy, The Addams Family followed a dark, eccentric family with supernatural abilities who lived in an old and gloomy mansion, with their Frankenstein-Monster-like butler Lurch and a disembodied hand called Thing. A highly unusual series, The Addams Family was a cornerstone of popular culture that still resonated with viewers today.

While most sitcoms during the 1960s tended to focus on the pitfalls of everyday family life, the humor of The Addams Family came from how out of place they were in everyday society and how frequently the family clashed with social expectations. An interesting concept, especially during the social upheaval of the 1960s, The Addams Family proved that not everybody was the same and that being normal did not always come naturally for some. Through these ideas, The Addams Family became icons for being unashamedly weird, and, for this reason, have stood the test of time.

The Munsters (1964 – 1966)

The Munsters ran for two seasons and 70 epsiodes

Much like the simultaneously airing The Addams Family, The Munsters was a dark, macabre, and comedic spin on classic sitcom tropes during the 1960s. The Munsters explored the lives of Transylvanian-American family of monsters that included Frankenstein’s monster Herman Munster, his family wife, daughter Marilyn, werewolf-like son Eddie, and family pet dragon Spot. While not a massive success when it initially aired, The Munsters legacy grew through syndication, and it has been revived several times in the years since it concluded.

The Munsters was a fascinating concept that put an entirely new spin on the classic monsters of Universal Studios from the 1930s and 1940s. As a satirical wind-up of sitcom tropes, such as the well-meaning father, nurturing mother, live-in spouse, and difficult teenagers, The Munsters took these ideas and injected them with some classic horror fun. The Munsters used its concept of a family with noticeable differences from the rest of society to highlight issues of social significance and civil rights.

The Beverly Hillbillies (1962 – 1971)

The Beverly Hillbillies ran for nine seasons and 274 episodes

The ensembled sitcom comedy The Beverly Hillbillies explored the hilarious adventures of an Ozark Mountain Missouri family who moved to Beverly Hills, California, after striking oil on their land and becoming multi-millionaires, The Clampett family were not used to their new, more extravagant way of living and The Beverly Hillbillies showcased how their simple, moral, and often unsophisticated lifestyle clashed with the new wealthy and superficial community they found themselves in. With 274 episodes produced, The Beverly Hillbillies was one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1960s.

The Beverly Hillbillies was full of double entendres and cultural misconceptions were at the core of the show’s humor as the family consistently struggled to fit in with those around them. While The Beverly Hillbillies was not well-received by critics at the time of its release, audiences responded well to the show and its second season earned some of the highest viewership ever recorded for a half-hour sitcom. While The Beverly Hillbillies was canceled in 1971, the cast returned for the Return of the Beverly Hillbillies television film in 1981, and a 1993 special, The Legend of the Beverly Hillbillies.

Mister Ed (1961 – 1966)

Mister Ed ran for six seasons and 143 episodes

A wisecracking talking horse and klutzy architect made up the comedy duo of Mister Ed, a black and white sitcom that stood as one of the most beloved series of the 1960s. Mister Ed was truly one of the silliest sitcoms that came out of the often outrageous concepts that were mined for comedy during its era. However, Mister Ed was also full of heart as Wilbur Post, played by Alan Young, tried to solve life’s problems with the help of his talking palomino Mister Ed.

With a memorable theme song that stated “a horse is a horse, of course, of course,” Mister Ed had a unique humor and style, and, during its run in the early 1960s, the special effects that made the horse look like it spoke were highly impressive. Mister Ed has done well in the years since its release through syndication and ran for six seasons and 143 episodes from 1961 to 1966. While attempts have been made during the years to revive Mister Ed for a remake or feature film, none have been successful so far.

Bewitched (1964 – 1972)

Bewitched ran for eight seasons and 254 episodes

One common thread that united many of the most popular sitcoms of the 1960s was the supernatural and, as the story of a witch who married an ordinary man, Bewitched was no different. Bewitched starred Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens, a witch who vowed to lead the life of a typical suburban housewife but who often could not help but use magic to solve her family’s problems. A consistently popular series, Bewitched has ranked among the best TV shows of all time.

Bewitched was an important series cultural as broke down boundaries around the depiction of women on screen and often addressed gender stereotypes, the role of the housewife, and even broached taboo subjects like interracial marriage. While much of the success of Bewitched rested on the comedic skill of Montgomery, the series also featured a talented supporting cast and impressive special effects. A theatrical remake of Bewitched was released in 2005 starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell, which received negative reviews and paled in comparison to the original 1960s series.

Gilligan’s Island (1964 – 1967)

Gilligan’s Island ran for three seasons and 98 episodes

As a real touchstone of American culture, Gilligan’s Island was a popular sitcom during the 1960s that followed the comic adventures of seven castaways trying to survive after being shipwrecked on an island. With a talented ensemble cast, Gilligan’s Island featured characters such as the hapless first mate, the captain, a Wall Street millionaire, a movie star, and a professor. Most episodes revolved around the survivors’ failed attempts to escape the island and the consistent conflicts the varied characters had with one another, as they struggled to understand their differences and find a way to get along in harmony.

Full of running gags, dream sequences, and slapstick humor, Gilligan’s Island featured many modern narrative devices and even included fourth wall breaks as Captain Jonas Grumby revealed his frustration about Gilligan’s hopelessness to the audience. Gilligan’s Island was a success during its run but found an even greater audience in syndication throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The series’ popularity meant that Gilligan’s Island returned for several sequel films and even two animated spin-off series.

The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961 – 1966)

The Dick Van Dyke Show ran for five seasons and 158 episodes

The Dick Van Dyke Show was one of the most celebrated TV series of the 1960s and stood as one of the most acclaimed sitcoms ever produced. The show starred Dick Van Dyke as the charming and goofy Rob Petrie, the head writer of a fictional variety series, who often found himself in the midst of troubles involving his colleagues and family. A hilarious mix of home life and workplace drama, The Dick Van Dyke Show was an exciting look behind-the-scenes of the television industry during an era when most audiences were unfamiliar with and intrigued by these ideas.

While it’s true that some jokes from The Dick Van Dyke Show have aged poorly, the show stood as a touchstone moment in popular culture whose legacy has carried forward right up until today. The Dick Van Dyke Show made a household name out of Van Dyke, and his co-star Mary Tyler Moore would later lead her own sitcom called The Mary Tyler Moore Show during the 1970s. An important contributor to the history of television, the influence of The Dick Van Dyke Show can be seen in recent series like WandaVision.

The Andy Griffith Show (1960 – 1968)

The Andy Griffith Show ran for eight seasons and 249 episodes

The highly popular series The Andy Griffith Show was the best sitcom of the 1960s and has stood the test of time as one of the most acclaimed TV programs ever produced. The Andy Griffith Show starred Andy Griffith as the widowed sheriff Andy Taylor who, without many crimes to solve, spent most of his dealing with the antics of his bumbling deputy Barney Fife. With an ensemble cast that featured a young Ron Howard, as Andy’s son Opie, The Andy Griffith Show was a nostalgic slice-of-life series that encapsulated the heartwarming nature of small-town living.

With strong writing, directing, and performances, The Andy Griffith Show was the perfect blend of comedy and characterization that could be enjoyed by the entire family. The Andy Griffith Show was beloved for its entire run and, even in its final season, was the number-one ranked show on television (via Classic TV Guide), and along with I Love Lucy and Seinfeld, finished its run at the top of the ratings. Following Griffith’s departure from the show in 1968, The Andy Griffith Show was retooled with many of the same characters as Mayberry R.F.D. and the sitcom ran for another three seasons.