10 Most Underrated Sitcoms of the ’70s, Ranked

The ’70s were a magical time for television. Sitcoms were breaking new ground by tackling current event topics with poise as well as humor. Viewers found greater understanding of the world around them, seeing more of the world they know reflected on the screen before them. Friends and family alike would cancel plans to stay home and catch their favorite shows. It was a huge turning point for how television was both made and consumed.

With a desire for something edgier, something that would appeal to younger audiences and not just middle America, networks like CBS took big swings. The results turned some series like Soap into cult classics and others like Three’s Company into beloved treasures. Either way, these shows deserve more credit than they get.

10 ‘Good Times’ (1974-1979)

Created by Mike Evans, Norman Lear and Eric Monte

Following a black family living in the Chicago housing projects as they strive to make the best of their situation, Good Times is one of the most revered ’70s black sitcoms. Florida & James Evans (played by Esther Rolle and John Amos, respectively) have three children they are struggling to raise both philosophically and financially. This paves the way for lively conversation and witty quips throughout each episode.

With a catchy theme song, a staple of ’70s sitcoms, that also addresses some of the more real issues of the times, Good Times provided an honest look at life in the Chicago projects. It was the first time a Black nuclear family appeared on television. Additionally, providing a positive portrayal of the daily life of a Black family, something also previously unseen on screen. Running for six seasons, this spin-off of Maude, which was a spin-off of All in the Family, set new standards of representation.

Good Times is streaming on Peacock in the U.S.

WATCH IT HERE

9 ‘The Partridge Family’ (1970-1974)

Created by Bernard Slade

Often compared to The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family showcased life in Hollywood through the lens of a musical family. While The Brady Bunch has more notoriety, even getting a silver screen re-imagining, The Partridge Family had more substance than fluff. Shirley Partridge (played by Shirley Jones) is a widowed mother working too hard, according to her son Danny (played by Danny Bonaduce), to take care of her family. Magic strikes when she joins her kids’ band and they make a hit record. The series balances life on the road with their cozy suburban life after their latest gig is over.

TV shows of the ’70s were not afraid to tackle the hard issues, in fact, most did. On the surface, The Partridge Family is a sweet, wholesome, family-friendly musical sitcom, but on closer inspection, the series found ways to approach hard-hitting, topical subjects in a digestible way. Music serves as the metaphorical sugar that makes the medicine go down, a pallet cleanser between acts and is also the mechanism that holds this family together. The series’ music proved to be a commodity of its own with record-topping sales around hits like “I Think I Love You” and many more. Casting David Cassidy as Keith Partridge didn’t hurt either, as Cassidy would become a teen heartthrob selling out stadiums on his own. The Partridge Family may be underappreciated, but its lasting legacy of fan clubs, merchandise and bubblegum music helped set the stage for future fandoms.

The Partridge Family is streaming on Tubi in the U.S.

WATCH IT HERE

8 ‘Mork & Mindy’ (1978-1982)

Created by Joe Glauberg, Garry Marshall and Dale McRaven

What started with one episode of Happy Days, landed the character of Mork (played by Robin Williams) an entire series. Mork & Mindy follows an alien from the planet Ork, named Mork, on a mission to study human behavior on Earth. After crashing his spaceship in Boulder, Colorado, he meets Mindy (played by Pam Dawber), a young journalist, who helps him adjust to life on Earth. From here, the series is filled with Williams’ iconic rapid-fire cadence, quick-witted improvisational skills, and talent for creating sound effects.

Mork & Mindy is the series that turned comedian-turned-actor Robin Williams into a household name. The character of Mork was originally designed to be Happy Days‘ response to the popularity of Star Wars, a suggestion from creator Garry Marshall‘s son. After a grueling casting process, Williams was discovered at the last minute and that one Happy Days episode launched an entire series. Mork & Mindy would air for four seasons and land Williams his first award win, the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical, of many to come.

Mork & Mindy is streaming on Prime Video in the U.S.

WATCH IT HERE

7 ‘Welcome Back, Kotter’ (1975-1979)

Created by Gabe Kaplan, Alan Sacks and Peter Meyerson

Based on the stand-up comedy and real life experiences of series creator and star Gabe Kaplan, Welcome Back, Kotter finds Gabe Kotter back at his old alma mater teaching social studies to a remedial class known as the Sweathogs. Being a founding member of the original class of Sweathogs puts Mr. Kotter in a convenient position to relate to and inspire his class. The real heart of the series is the relationship between Gabe Kotter and his wife Julie (played by Marcia Strassman).

Welcome Back, Kotter is another ’70s series that would launch a film star’s career, this time John Travolta. Travolta played the cool and overly confident Vinnie Barbarino, a character beloved by women and revered by men. Barbarino is the unofficial leader of the Sweathogs and often the center of attention, a role similar to one he’d soon play in the musical movie Grease. While Grease is a more dramatic portrayal of a similar group of high school students known as The T-Birds, Welcome Back, Kotter found inspiration for the Sweathogs in the Marx Brothers, which subsequently helped ease censorship concerns over the depiction of juvenile delinquency. This comedic approach quickly found ratings success, despite debuting to a brief boycott, landing notable guest stars like George Carlin, and the show’s characters, setting and format would go on to inspire sitcoms like Saved by the Bell and Abbott Elementary.

Welcome Back, Kotter is streaming on Tubi in the U.S.

WATCH IT HERE

6 ‘The Odd Couple’ (1970-1975)

Created by Jerry Belson and Garry Marshall

Proving that two opposite personalities make one hilarious sitcom, The Odd Couple paved the way for sitcoms like Will & Grace, Two and a Half Men, and the 2015 The Odd Couple reboot. Starring Tony Randall as the neat freak Felix Unger, and Jack Klugman as the slob Oscar Madison, The Odd Couple finds humor in contrast and dysfunction. Adapted from the Neil Simon play, then based off a movie of the same name, the ’70s series has something no other version has been able to capture: the undeniable chemistry between Randall and Klugman.

This was also
Garry Marshall’s first successful showrunner position
, back then known as writer and executive producer.

Airing for five seasons, The Odd Couple was never a Top 10 hit, or even a Top 30 hit, despite winning several Emmy Awards (two for Klugman, one for Randall). This was also Garry Marshall’s first successful showrunner position, back then known as writer and executive producer. Still relatively new to the business, Marshall’s experience creating The Odd Couple for television, including directing six episodes, and his killer instincts for solid entertainment would set him on a legendary path of success.

The Odd Couple is streaming on Pluto in the U.S.

WATCH IT HERE

5 ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ (1978-1986)

Created by Jeff Harris and Bernie Kukoff

Arnold (played by Gary Coleman) and Willis Jackson (played by Todd Bridges) are welcomed into the Drummond family after their mother passes away. Living in Manhattan is quite a change of pace from living in Harlem. While at its core, Diff’rent Strokes is a sitcom, the series was known for creating very special episodes to discuss more serious topics like alcoholism, racism, poverty, illegal drug use and more. It also broke ground for portraying an interracial family and the complexities of growing up a Black child navigating life and an unfamiliar environment.

Even with all the seriousness, the series permeated pop culture with one simple catchphrase “Whatchu talkin’ ’bout, Willis?” that sent audiences wild each week. Writers found a different reason to use the phrase, just once, each week. Sometimes addressed to Willis, sometimes to other characters and sometimes with other characters saying the phrase instead. With eight seasons, Diff’rent Strokes positioned itself to be one of the most entertaining sitcoms of the era, resulting in a spin-off series, The Facts of Life, that ran even longer than its predecessor.

Diff’rent Strokes is streaming on Roku in the U.S.

WATCH IT HERE

4 ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’ (1978-1982)

Created by Hugh Wilson

Long before NewsRadio, there was another sitcom about the misadventures of the staff of an AM radio station called WKRP in Cincinnati. WKRP was struggling financially, so the station’s new program director, Andy Travis (played by Gary Sandy), tried switching formats from easy-listening to rock and roll. This switch saved the station until Andy realized the station’s owner didn’t want it to be saved. The opportunity for situational antics, clashing personalities, and incredible music placement set this series on the path of remembrance.

After airing only eight episodes, CBS put WKRP in Cincinnati on hiatus. The series’ fate was unknown until disc jockeys around the country began heralding the series for presenting an accurate portrayal of radio station life. With this outpouring of love from DJs and music fans, CBS brought the show back relatively unchanged. What began as a wacky workplace comedy, developed into a more sophisticated series addressing issues in the music industry like payola and censorship, real-life issues like alcoholism and domestic violence, and even local Cincinnati news like the tragedy of the 1979 The Who concert where a stampede to first-come seating resulted in 11 deaths. Wilson and his team were poised and ready to bring WKRP in Cincinnati into the ’80s when the series was canceled after it’s fourth season, ending on a massive cliffhanger.

WKRP in Cincinnati is available for purchase on Amazon in the U.S.

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3 ‘Three’s Company’ (1976-1984)

Created by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross and Bernard West

Three’s Company is a story of two roommates, Chrissy (played by Suzanne Somers) and Janet (played by Joyce DeWitt), who ask a single male friend, Jack (played by John Ritter), to move in after their roommate Eleanor moves out. Chrissy and Janet’s landlord, Stanley Roper (played by Norman Fell), has an outdated view on unmarried men and women occupying one apartment together, leading to a cover story that Jack is gay. This storyline leads to heavily exaggerated and improbable situations, a reliance on physical humor and regular mockery of real-life scenarios. Leading to many moments modern-day audiences might find cringe-worthy.

Although Three’s Company may not fly by today’s standards, the series was risqué for its time, constantly pushing broadcast boundaries with its in-your-face dirty jokes and randy suggestiveness. Then there is Helen Roper (played by Audra Lindley), a symbol of modern womanhood, whose loud-and-proud sexual agency and spirit of acceptance has led people everywhere to celebrate this caftan-clad queen via annual Roper Romps all over America. While some repeated humor, like using someone’s sexuality as a regular punchline, is simply distasteful, without Three’s Company pushing comedic boundaries, we wouldn’t have many of today’s highest rated shows.

Three’s Company is streaming on Pluto in the U.S.

WATCH IT HERE

2 ‘Rhoda’ (1974-1978)

Created by James L Brooks, Allan Burns and David Davis

The world was introduced to Rhoda Morgenstern (played by Valerie Harper) during her time as a regular in the first four seasons of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Capturing hearts across America, CBS ordered a Rhoda spin-off, shooting Rhoda from sidekick to star. The series finds Rhoda back in NYC, reconnecting with family and falling in love. What started as a two-week vacation to visit family ends up with Rhoda moving back at the request of Joe Gerard (played by David Groh), a man she would eventually marry in one of the highest rated wedding episodes ever seen on television.

In a time when Jewishness on television was largely stereotyped, trivialized or whitewashed in a network effort to appeal to mainstream audiences, there was Rhoda Morgernstern. Rhoda proved there was more to a Jewish woman than the stereotype, offering something new, well-rounded, and fully imagined. She was one of the first Jewish characters to appear front and center in a sitcom. It was groundbreaking, relatable, entertaining, and, for a woman, would not happen again until fifteen years later when Fran Fine (played by Fran Drescher) would appear in The Nanny. Although Harper wasn’t Jewish herself, her portrayal felt believable. There was no Jewish shtick to Rhoda, she just was and that’s what made this sitcom special. That and this spin-off’s magical crossover moments are shared with The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Rhoda is currently not available for streaming or purchase in the U.S.

1 ‘Soap’ (1977-1981)

Created by Susan Harris

Most known for its parody stylings of the classic soap opera format, Soap had some of the wackiest, most absurd storylines. One week might involve a murder mystery, and the next be centered on an alien abduction. Following the story of two sisters and their dysfunctional families, the incredible ensemble of Soap held it together week after week with believable performances, brilliant timing, and characters so likable one even got a spin-off, Benson. This serial comedy format really brought Soap to life.

Creator Susan Harris learned from the best in the business though, with mentors like Norman Lear and Garry Marshall. At one point, “created by Susan Harris” became one of the most common phrases on television as Harris went on to create 13 comedies, including The Golden Girls. Known for her trailblazing style, Soap was no exception. This cult hit was among the first television shows to have a gay character (Jodie Dallas, played by Billy Crystal). More than that, Jodie’s sexuality was handled on screen with humanity as well as humor. The series was constantly tackling taboo topics, causing all sorts of issues for the network, and eventually led Harris to purposely include things in the script entirely unacceptable that she could use for bargaining to keep things she really did want included. That gumption paved the way for this ahead-of-the-curve comedy.

Soap is streaming on Tubi in the U.S.

WATCH IT HERE

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