15 Shows Like ‘The Big Bang Theory’

After 12 impressive seasons, The Big Bang Theory (TBBT) ran its course on May 16, 2019. However, those who miss Sheldon’s (Jim Parson) naive genius were able to enjoy the prequel show Young Sheldon, which explored the famous character’s childhood. Throughout its glorious 279 episodes, The Big Bang Theory earned itself millions upon millions of viewers. Now, fans still continue to rewatch a few episodes once in a while to fill the dark hole in their watching schedules. But there are only so many times a person can watch reruns of their favorite show.

The Big Bang Theory soared to astronomical heights with its formula of nerdy humor, lovable characters, and witty banter. While multimedia has an enormous array of shows, there may never be a comedy series as big as The Big Bang Theory again. Thankfully, the increase in viewing content also means there are numerous similar shows you can watch whenever you miss The Big Bang Theory.

15 ‘The Flash’ (2014 – )

Created by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns

After a freak accident, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin), a forensic investigator in Central City, suddenly gains the power of superhuman speed. And he does what every man in his position would do — he gets a bulky red suit and decides to fight crime. The Flash is a part of a larger universe known as the Arrowverse, so it’s interconnected with other DC Comics-based shows like Supergirl and Arrow. Expect to see characters from and crossovers with the other shows.

Grant Gustin’s portrayal of the Scarlet Speedster strikes a chord with viewers, as he balances the everyday struggles of life with the extraordinary challenges of being a superhero. If you have a special connection to The Big Bang Theory, you might want to binge episodes of The Flash on Netflix after you finish your rerun. While they don’t have much in common in terms of style, genre, presentation, characters, or theme, it’s something to note that The Flash is Sheldon’s favorite superhero.

14 ‘Superstore’ (2015 – 2021)

Created by Justin Spitzer

One of the more underrated sitcoms in recent years, Superstore imbues a familiar story structure with a great cast chewing the scenery in a workplace setting that is resonantly mundane yet unpredictable enough to conjure plenty of wacky stories. It follows the employees of Cloud 9, a big-box chain store in Missouri, focusing on the challenges they face with customer service while juggling their personal problems and ambitions as well.

While Season 1 adheres a touch too closely to formulaic foundations, the following installments saw Superstore embrace its own unique identity and soar in quality as a result. Riotously funny yet always eager to tackle timely social issues head-on, the sitcom is a bold and hilarious series that uses its sublime cast to great effect to depict the modern workplace experience with aplomb. – Ryan Heffernan

Watch on Hulu

13 ‘Friends’ (1994 – 2004)

Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman

The ultimate sitcom about friendship and young adult life, Friends thrived through the 90s and early 2000s as one of the biggest series in television history, one that remains a cultural touchstone 30 years on since its premiere. It famously follows six friends who live in the same apartment complex in New York City, following their misadventures as they navigate the ups and downs of love and life.

While relatively simple, its template has been mimicked by plenty of sitcoms since, including The Big Bang Theory. Its ability to mix hilarity with heartfelt romance and even moments of sadness has seen it endure as one of the most iconic television series of all time, sitcom or otherwise. The chosen family dynamic and the many shared moments of friendship make Friends a terrific show for all lovers of simple, innocent comedy. – Ryan Heffernan

12 ‘The Good Place’ (2016 – 2020)

Created by Michael Schur

The Good Place follows four dead people as they attempt to settle into the ostensibly ideal afterlives they find themselves in until one confesses that her selection in “The Good Place” was a blunder. Then, as they try to prove how they belong in heaven, they discover that The Good Place is, indeed, their worst nightmare.

The Good Place nurtured a solid fanbase thanks to its compelling characters and fearless exploration of philosophical and ethical concepts. While substantially different from The Big Bang Theory, The Good Place tells a story where every character’s intelligence is needed, from science and philosophy to social skills and simple intuition. The feel-good show also celebrates heartfelt friendships, making the hole of loneliness smaller.

11 ‘Rick and Morty’ (2013 – )

Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon

A nerdy sitcom, Rick and Morty follows the story of a misanthropic and cynical mad scientist, Rick Sanchez, and his sci-fi adventures with his neurotic 14-year-old grandson, Morty. As the duo transit the infinite universes, they stumble into a wide range of thought-provoking and sidesplitting shenanigans.

If there was one thing that fans related to most in The Big Bang Theory, it had to be the creative humor. From science fiction to comic books to science itself, nothing was off-limits. Rick and Morty follow a similar theme, making hilarious jokes on existing movies, TV shows, and scientific concepts. Fans who can’t get enough of the series will be glad to know that an anime based on Rick and Morty is currently in production.

10 ‘New Girl’ (2011 – 2018)

Created by Elizabeth Meriwether

One of the best sitcoms like Big Bang Theory, New Girl tells the story of Jessica Day (Zooey Deschanel) as she moves into an apartment in Downtown LA’s Arts District with three men after finding her boyfriend with another woman and breaking up with him. What follows is a hilarious and chaotic apartment-sharing arrangement and an amusing will-they won’t-they between Nick Miller (Jake Johnson) and Jess.

But the magic of New Girl doesn’t stop with Jess and Nick, as the show’s supporting cast is equally delightful, with standout performances from Max Greenfield as the charmingly eccentric Schmidt and Lamorne Morris as the lovably goofy Winston. The chemistry between the cast members is palpable, nurturing a group dynamic that’s reminiscent of beloved shows like Friends and Seinfeld. Similar to The Big Bang Theory, New Girl features the ‘single male friends’ lives are changed forever after meeting a lively, newly single woman’ trope.

Created by Dan Harmon

A single-camera series airing from 2009 to 2014, Community depicts what becomes of an astonishingly random group of students at the Greendale Community College. Across its 110 episodes spread over six magnificent seasons, Community was full of fantastic pop-culture references and jokes, making it the kind of TV show The Big Bang Theory group would’ve enjoyed.

After being canceled by NBC after five seasons, Community was renewed for a final season and a Christmas special by Yahoo!, giving fans a last chance at goodbye. What’s more, a Community movie is also in the early stages of development, with the film’s script almost done as reported by its creator Dan Harmon. Much like The Big Bang Theory, the beloved show includes many scenes that take place at college, and features plenty of nerdy and niche tropes.

8 ‘Frasier’ (1993 – 2004)

Created by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee

A spin-off of another immensely popular sitcom in Cheers, Frasier surprisingly matched its originator series’ run of 11 seasons, excelling through the 90s and early 2000s as one of the most critically acclaimed comedy shows of all time. It follows psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) as he returns to his hometown of Seattle where he works as a radio talk show host. All the while, he clashes with his honest yet simple father, his snooty and pretentious brother, and his many colleagues and friends.

The series’ early seasons, in particular, are a goldmine of phenomenal wit and wonderful character design, both of which are complemented by the brilliant cast. Despite concluding in 2004, Frasier found a resurgent popularity on Netflix in the late 2010s, ensuring its comedic prowess remains perfect for modern audiences and making it a superb series for fans of The Big Bang Theory looking to start something anew. – Ryan Heffernan

7 ‘The IT Crowd’ (2006 – 2013)

Created by Graham Linehan

While it lasted only 25 episodes over four seasons, The IT Crowd enjoyed a long life of TV reruns before finally descending on Netflix. One of the best shows similar to Big Bang Theory, The IT Crowd follows the IT department of the international conglomerate Reynholm Industries, consisting of socially inept ultra-geek Moss (Richard Ayoade), somewhat normal but ultra-nerdy Roy (Chris O’Dowd), and their less intelligent, tech-clueless manager, Jen (Katherine Parkinson).

The show centers on a trio of friends, which is eerily similar to Sheldon, Leonard (Johnny Galecki), and Penny (Kaley Cuoco). The IT Crowd is more tolerant of nerdiness and is written by people who care about the same things as the characters – a stark contrast to The Big Bang Theory, where nerdiness was a mere distraction to be made fun of.

6 ‘Silicon Valley’ (2014 – 2019)

Created by Mike Judge, John Altschuler, and Dave Krinsky

In Silicon Valley, Richard Hendricks (Thomas Middleditch) is an engineer trying to build his own tech corporation, Pied Piper. As Richard and his friends work on developing a new technology giant, they manage to reveal how erratic and crooked the industry can be.

Attempting to steer through the cutthroat business world of California’s Big Tech, the socially-conscious geeks depicted in Silicon Valley are fully up-to-date and way more stylish. With 52 episodes spread over six seasons, the critically acclaimed HBO show Silicon Valley isn’t derivative of shows like The Big Bang Theory. From Silicon Valley’s bold narrative choices to its brave satire, Silicon Valley has cemented its place as a must-watch comedy for tech enthusiasts and comedy lovers alike. Perhaps it accurately represents what The Big Bang Theory could have been.

5 ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ (2013 – 2021)

Created by Dan Goor and Michael Schur

The Big Bang Theory was arguably the biggest and most defining sitcom of the 2010s, but a worthy challenger to that throne comes in the form of the police procedural workplace comedy series, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Following the quirky cops who work in Brooklyn’s 99th precinct, the hit series is an icon of modern television with its charming spin of cop show formulas and its brilliant comedy cast.

Given its rampant popularity that only grew greater as the series got deeper into the 2010s, it is a fantastic option for The Big Bang Theory fans simply because it was able to appeal to a universal audience during the same era. Rife with lovable characters and a playful sense of innocent comedy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is decisively a sitcom for modern audiences and an essential series for lovers of clever yet silly comedy. – Ryan Heffernan

4 ‘Modern Family’ (2009 – 2020)

Created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan

Quirky, painfully awkward at times, yet always loving and heartfelt, Modern Family is a perfect depiction of the difficult yet warm and reliable comfort of family life. The sitcom tracks three households in one extended family. Jay Pritchett (Ed O’Neill) is an older man who marries a younger Colombian immigrant and helps her raise her young son. His two adult children, Claire (Julie Bowen) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), also have tight-knit family relationships of their own.

With its eclectic range of lovable characters and its eagerness to engage with issues befalling families in today’s society, Modern Family stands alongside The Big Bang Theory as one of the defining sitcoms of the 2010s. Its incorporation of technology and how it has seen familial interactions evolve earned it high praise as well. As such, Modern Family is a brilliant and accessible sitcom for fans of smart yet grounded comedy that manages to be culturally insightful while maintaining family values. – Ryan Heffernan

3 ‘How I Met Your Mother’ (2005 – 2014)

Created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas

From 2005 to 2014, The Big Bang Theory shared space on the CBS schedule with How I Met Your Mother, another sitcom that featured a group of single friends as they fell in and out of love. With a series of flashbacks and flashforwards, the show tells the story of the long-lasting couple Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel) and Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), playboy Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris), Canadian news reporter Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), and Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor), as he narrates it to his children.

How I Met Your Mother managed to become a cultural phenomenon by charming the audiences with its inside jokes and running gags, making them feel as if they’re a part of the gang. Like The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother highlights stories and incidents that change people’s lives. There are jokes, gags, and even life lessons from How I Met Your Mother that are firmly part of pop culture today, highlighting the series’ enduring legacy.

2 ‘Stranger Things’ (2016 – )

Created by the Duffer Brothers

In 1980s Indiana, a group of youthful friends finds themselves witnessing supernatural forces and secret government exploits. They may unravel a series of extraordinary mysteries, searching for possible answers. They go on incredible adventures that uncover the deep history of their small town. It became an instant hit with its homage to 80s pop culture, from references to beloved classic movies to its synth-heavy soundtrack. This culminates in a world that feels both nostalgic and fresh.

In Stranger Thing’s best episodes, viewers will cry, laugh, and be enthralled in their mystic exploits. The Netflix original allows for complete absorption into the nerd culture and fantasy references-clad world. While it revolves around a group of children instead of full-blown geeks, Stranger Things can sometimes be downright hilarious. While the show might not be a comedy at its core, there is enough overlap in themes for fans of The Big Bang Theory to enjoy.

1 ‘Young Sheldon’ (2017 – 2024)

Created by Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro

While there is no news of a revival or reboot of The Big Bang Theory, its spinoff, Young Sheldon, is the closest to a continuation of the show. If you like Big Bang Theory, chances are you’ve checked out the prequel, which follows its most popular character, Sheldon Cooper’s (Iain Armitage) strange childhood in Texas, as he deals with a family who doesn’t understand or relate to him and attends high school several years early.

While it doesn’t involve any of the casts, except Jim Parsons’ narration, the show still touches on many of the same themes and provides similar humor. Whether it’s Sheldon’s touching bond with his father or his heartfelt conversations with his mother, Young Sheldon’s characters are endearing and relatable, making their triumphs and failures all the more moving. Plus, it provides insight into the fan-favorite character’s upbringing in a hilarious way.

NEXT: The Best ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Episodes, Ranked According to IMDb