The Worst Sitcoms That Premiered In The Past 10 Years

Sitcoms are one of the most popular genres of show, and have been defining eras of TV for decades. Throughout the years, this type of show has changed a lot, but it also curiously sticks to its roots, with modern sitcoms still sometimes following the formulas of older classics in an attempt to pay homage.

The sitcom is a consistent genre of TV, but it can also be very formulaic and empty as it is so popular, and there are so many sitcoms currently on TV. The genre is simple and wonderful when done right, but it can so easily come across as lackluster when done wrong.

With many bad sitcoms still on TV, and countless terrible ones that have aired in the past, let’s take a look at 10 of the absolute worst sitcoms that have premiered in the past 10 years.

10 THE ODD COUPLE (2015 – 2017)

In 2015, CBS began airing The Odd Couple. The series starred a small cast of characters, with Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon portraying the leads. This sitcom was of course not a new or unique concept; inspired by the 1970 sitcom of the same name (which was actually based on the original 1965 play), CBS’ The Odd Couple attempted to play on audience’s nostalgia as so many other shows do these days.

The Odd Couple had a two-year run on TV and never really found significant success. However, compared to some of the other shows Matthew Perry starred in after Friends, this one doesn’t even look that bad.

9 MAN WITH A PLAN (2016 – present)

Man With A Plan was created by Jackie and Jeff Filgo and premiered on CBS in 2016. Like Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc also endured his share of struggles after Friends concluded its ten-year run in 2004. The latter starred in several unsuccessful sitcoms that are better forgotten within the archives of television comedy shows.

Man With A Plan stars Matt LeBlanc as its lead. His character is a married father of three. Every member of the Friends cast was arguably typecast, so seeing Joey’s actor portray a household patriarch seems very strange and unnatural. Nevertheless, that is definitely not Man With A Plan‘s biggest flaw, yet somehow the series has been renewed for a fourth season that’s scheduled to air on CBS in 2020.

8 LAST MAN STANDING (2011 – present)

Last Man Standing premiered on ABC in 2011 and was almost immediately criticized for being Tim Allen’s very obvious and transparent attempt to relive the glory days of his hit sitcom, Home Improvement (1991). Last Man Standing followed the life of Allen’s character, Mike Baxter, who had the extreme hardship of being the only man in his household. A plot like this doesn’t really sound like something that should be successful in this day and age, and Last Man Standing was canceled by ABC in 2017.

But before the show was cold in its grave, FOX took the opportunity to renew it, premiering its seventh season in September of 2018, and renewing it for an eighth in April of 2019.

7 RULES OF ENGAGEMENT (2007 – 2013)

Rules Of Engagement first premiered on CBS in 2007 and concluded in 2013. Although it didn’t exactly premiere in the last ten years, Rules Of Engagement has become known as such an infamously bad show that it had to have a spot on this list.

Rules Of Engagement aired a total of one-hundred episodes, all of them focusing in some way on the “truth” about married life and, well, the rules of engagement. The show centered around two couples – Jeff and Audrey, who were married, and Adam and Jen, who were perpetually engaged. The show also featured David Spade in a star role as the series’ arrogant, womanizer bachelor. The problem with Rules of Engagement was that it offered a cynical, gritty look at relationships that was too offensive to be funny, and to schlocky to be heartwarming.

6 SPLITTING UP TOGETHER (2018 – 2019)

Splitting Up Together aired on ABC from March 2018 to April 2019, and in a little more time than a year on the air, it easily got a reputation for being a sitcom so stereotypical it was cringeworthy. The series starred Jenna Fischer in a lead role, which sounds promising until you actually see the show and realize that the cast has no chemistry together.

Splitting Up Together is pretty much exactly how it sounds; it’s about a couple, Lena (Jenna Fischer) and Martin (Oliver Hudson, who had starred on Rules Of Engagement prior to this, which is worth noting) who go through a very complicated and unsuccessful separation.

5 MOM (2013 – present)

Mom premiered on CBS in 2013 and was instantly considered another one of Chuck Lorre’s infamous “masterpieces”. Previously creating shows such as Two And A Half Men and most notably, The Big Bang Theory, Lorre’s shows all tend to have a very recognizable quality to them that very quickly lets you know who’s behind what you’re watching in the first few seconds.

Mom is basically Two And A Half Men, but with women, a gender that Chuck Lorre has struggled to portray correctly and respectfully in the past. With this in mind, you can probably imagine what Mom is like, even if you haven’t seen it.

4 2 BROKE GIRLS (2011 – 2017)

Another CBS masterpiece, 2 Broke Girls first aired in 2011 and was cancelled in 2017, after somehow cranking out six whole seasons. The show centered around the two main characters, Max and Caroline, and portrayed their struggles – both financial and personal – in everyday life.

The concept is pretty basic, as is 2 Broke Girls itself, but the show never ceased to be offensive and disrespectful toward several groups of minorities, and the majority of the jokes were always being targeted at Han Lee (Matthew Moy), the show’s only Asian character.

3 MIKE & MOLLY (2010 – 2016)

Starring Bill Gardell and Melissa McCarthy, the concept of Mike & Molly – a show revolving around the love story between the two eponymous characters – seemed pretty promising. The series aired on CBS in 2010, and would go on to have some success.

Mike & Molly aired for six seasons before it was canceled in 2016 due to low ratings. Mike & Molly isn’t nearly as bad as most of the shows on this list, but the fatphobic jokes start to feel tedious, offensive, and distasteful after a while.

2 YOUNG SHELDON (2017 – present)

As if The Big Bang Theory wasn’t egotistical enough before the creators decided to start making spinoff shows, Young Sheldon is pretty much what you’d expect. Obviously revolving completely around the childhood of TBBT’s most arrogant character, Young Sheldon premiered on CBS in September of 2017.

The series stars Iain Armitage as the kid-version of Sheldon Cooper. While there’s nothing wrong with Armitage’s performance, the writing and direction is riddled with flaws, and the show seems to get more full of itself with each passing season.

1 KEVIN CAN WAIT (2016 – 2018)

Kevin Can Wait has been the subject of significant criticism lately, due to a questionable decision that we’ll get to in a minute. The series starred Kevin James in the titular role of Kevin Gable. Right off the bat, it’s definitely no secret that Kevin Can Wait is a very thinly veiled attempt to relive the success of King Of Queens; the series even starred Leah Remini and Gary Valentine in recurring roles.

Then the attempt to make this into a completely shameless King Of Queens knock-off was in full force, when the creators decided to kill off Donna Gable, Kevin’s wife, and move Leah Remini into a main role to star alongside Kevin James. And just like that, Kevin Can Wait was canceled after having hardly been on the air in the first place.

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