The 25 best TV comedy casts ranked from worst to best
The INSIDER Summary:
- A great ensemble cast is often the key to a successful TV comedy.
- Classics like "Friends" and "Sex and the City" are perfect examples of great comedy casts.
- Newer shows like "The Mindy Project" and "Modern Family" also have some great talent.
A great ensemble creates a mysterious bond between a show and its viewers. The chemistry shared on screen brings with it a certain level of comfort.
But to refer to this quality as some kind of supernatural power does a disservice to the men and women who forge it. There is the talent of each individual performer to consider: If any of them falter, the whole dynamic falls apart. It’s a dynamic that requires work, too. Whether it’s bonding in real-life or being a good listener on set, chemistry is a science for these casts; it’s made, not found.
Then there’s the versatility of expanding these connections beyond just one or two cast members, but an entire ensemble of six or so series regulars. The best ensembles work no matter who’s paired up in a scene, and it feels like the TV can barely contain them when the cast all comes together.
With that in mind, we gathered some of the best of these groups from the past quarter century. To help narrow down the scope, we did set a few extra rules. For simplicity’s sake, we kept this particular list to American productions (otherwise, programs like “The IT Crowd” and “Peep Show” would have been a shoo-in). We also ruled out sketch shows (the only reason “The Dana Carvey Show” isn’t in the upper ranks).
But what really makes an ensemble stand out is how they elevate the material by themselves. No show discussed below would have been better with different actors. These people weren’t expendable. They proved integral to the series’ success and became more than just the faces of a show: They’re its spirit, too.
25. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”
Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Fox/Facebook
As the show continued in the tradition of workplace comedies with some of the same creative teams behind them, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” had the added pressure of not being a rehash of “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation.” But a nimble ensemble not only helped to separate the show from the rest of the network sitcom pack, it also flipped the cop show formula on its head. Andy Samberg carried over his Lonely Island charm to an ongoing workplace comedy, but “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” has always given an even spread to the other precinct employees: Melissa Fumero’s perpetually ambitious Santiago, Chelsea Peretti’s unapologetic Gina, Stephanie Beatriz’s imposing Diaz, and Joe Lo Truglio’s fumbling sophisticant Boyle have all enjoyed their share of featured episodes amidst the day-to-day exploits of the department. And Terry Crews flexing his comedy muscles is its own particular delight. The glue that holds the entire show together? Andre Braugher’s textbook deadpan perfection as Captain Holt, proof that the best comedy collaborations don’t cut all their same contributions from the same stylistic cloth.
24. “Master of None”
Netflix
As a writer/creator/star, Aziz Ansari broke new ground by depicting an average Indian American citizen as a romantic lead on TV. This inclusive rarity is only part of one of the most diverse casts in a TV comedy. Dev’s pals are a Taiwanese guy named Brian (Kelvin Yu), black lesbian Denise (Lena Waithe), a token white friend (Eric Wareheim), and Ansari’s real-life parents to add verisimilitude to Dev’s parents. The beauty of the cast is how natural their interactions are — whether it’s long-winded banter, awkward parental conversations, or goofy Instagram photo sessions — and just how charming that can be. The cast rarely works as a single group: These stories are told between two or three people at most. But it’s that intermittent moving in and out of focus that truly highlights how they gel when they get a chance to work off of each other.
23. “How I Met Your Mother”
CBS
When you have nine seasons to explore five characters, you not only get a chance to delve into every possible relationship, but uncover the hidden skills of its cast. “How I Met Your Mother” unveiled Josh Radnor’s inner goofiness, Alyson Hannigan’s punchline chops, Jason Segel’s musical talents, Cobie Smulders’ bad-assery, and Neil Patrick Harris’s capacity for emotional depth. However you feel about the show’s ultimate conclusion, the best moments of “How I Met Your Mother” were always rooted in the ensemble’s “found family” feel, one built upon a well-developed history for its characters and chemistry that never failed to spark.
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