8 American Sitcoms Better Than The Conners

Image via MovieStillsDB Published Aug 28, 2026, 8:30 AM EDT Adrienne Tyler is a movies & TV features writer, with a focus on horror. She has written for Netflix, FanSided, & more. She was a regular guest on the Netfreaks podcast and was a YouTuber at some point. Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. Sign in to your ScreenRant account The Conners has earned a spot among the best sitcoms of all time, but there are other American sitcoms that are much better. The list of the best TV shows of all time includes various sitcoms, some of which have made TV history. Shows like I Love Lucy, Seinfeld, Friends, and How I Met Your Mother are some of the most influential sitcoms of all time, having shaped the genre into what it is now. One of the best sitcoms in recent years, as well as one of the most successful spinoffs in TV history, is The Conners. Created by Matt Williams, The Conners is a spinoff of Roseanne, and follows the title working-class family after the death of Roseanne. The rest of the family continues facing different daily struggles, but always with a good dose of humor. The Conners ran for seven seasons, from 2018 to 2025. The Conners was a critical success, and though viewership gradually declined as the show progressed, it was a consistently good show. However, despite all this, and while it doesn’t make the show any less good, there are other great American sitcoms better than The Conners, some of which were highly influential in the genre, with The Conners owing a lot to them. The Middle (2009-2018) MovieStillsDB Created by Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline, The Middle takes the audience to the fictional town of Orson, Indiana, to meet the lower-middle-class Heck family: mother Frankie (Patricia Heaton), father Mike (Neil Flynn), teenagers Axl (Charlie McDermott) and Sue (Eden Sher), and youngest son Brick (Atticus Shaffer). The show follows their daily struggles to balance work, life, personal relationships, and their chaotic home life. Each member of the Heck family has their own eccentricities and traits that can make them annoying at times, but they are all a big part of the show’s comedy and also what makes it so relatable. The Middle covers the typical tensions and dynamics of a family along with issues like financial stress and social pressure, but it doesn’t forget about parental love. Mom (2013-2021) Photo: CBS via MovieStillsDB Created by Chuck Lorre and Eddie Gorodetsky, Mom aired on CBS from 2013 to 2021, for a total of eight seasons. Mom follows Christy Plunkett (Anna Faris), a single mother who is ready for a fresh start in Napa, California, after struggling with substance-use disorder. Christy lives with her daughter, Violet (Sadie Calvano), and son, Roscoe (Blake Garrett Rosenthal), and she reconnects with her mother, Bonnie (Allison Janney), who is also in recovery. In addition to Christy attending meetings and doing her part in continuing with her recovery, Mom also follows her attempts at a normal life, her struggles with financial stress, family drama, and more, but all of this with a good dose of humor. Mom addresses serious topics like addiction, forgiveness, and guilt, giving a lot of depth to it without forgetting about making the audience laugh when the situation allows it. Last Man Standing (2011-2021) Patrick Wymore / ©Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection Last Man Standing ran for nine seasons from 2011 to 2021, first on ABC and later on Fox. Last Man Standing introduces viewers to Mike Baxter (Tim Allen), a senior executive and director of marketing for a sporting goods store chain in Colorado. Baxter lives with his wife, Vanessa (Nancy Travis), and their three daughters Kristin, Mandy, and Eve, and Kristin's baby son. Baxter is a conservative and old-fashioned man, but those beliefs are put to the test in a house full of women. Last Man Standing had a rough start, and it wasn’t the favorite of critics and general audiences, but with time, it found its footing and got better with every season. Last Man Standing brings together comedy, family values, and a loving father who is forced to confront his limiting beliefs and open his mind out of love for his family. Home Improvement (1991-1999) Home Improvement aired on ABC from 1991 to 1999 for eight seasons, and it’s widely considered one of the best TV shows of the 1990s. Home Improvement follows Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor (Tim Allen), a well-known Detroit TV host and self-proclaimed handyman who hosts Tool Time, a cable show about home improvement. Outside that, Tim does his best to balance his family life (with his wife and their three sons) with his other interests. Home Improvement was key in boosting Tim Allen’s career, introducing the world to his type of comedy. Home Improvement had mostly physical comedy and many running gags, perfectly balanced with its family side as Tim and Jill do their best to raise their three sons. Modern Family (2009-2020) One of the best sitcoms of the 2000s is Modern Family, created by Christopher Lloyd (the TV producer, that is) and Steven Levitan. Modern Family follows three different types of families – nuclear, blended, and same sex – living in Los Angeles, and connected through Jay Pritchett (Ed O’Neill). Thanks to this, Modern Family offers a fun look at different family dynamics, their interactions, and bonds with other families. This not only offers variety, but also makes Modern Family relatable and funny. Modern Family was a huge and consistent success with critics and general audiences, with most praise going to its sharp dialogue, performances, tone, likable and relatable characters, and how it portrays different types of families. Although Modern Family wasn’t safe from some controversies, it’s overall a consistently good show. Full House One of the best and most wholesome TV shows of all time is Full House, created by Jeff Franklin. Full House follows recently widowed father Danny Tanner (Bob Saget), who enlists his childhood best friend Joey (Dave Coulier) and his brother-in-law Jesse (John Stamos) to help him raise his three daughters: D.J. (Candace Cameron), Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin), and Michelle (Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen). With all of them in one house, the girls always have someone to rely on, but there’s also a lot of fun chaos all the time. Full House is one of the best family comedies of all time, with a perfect blend of drama, comedy, and heartwarming moments, as the show was never afraid to cover serious topics. Full House got a sequel series in 2016 titled Fuller House, but it failed to match the charm and greatness of the original show. Malcolm in the Middle (2000-2006) Created by Linwood Boomer, Malcolm in the Middle ran for seven seasons from 2000 to 2006, and it’s widely regarded as one of the best TV shows of all time. Malcolm in the Middle follows a dysfunctional working-class family formed by mother Lois (Jane Kaczmarek), father Hal (Bryan Cranston), and sons Francis (Christopher Kennedy Masterson), Reese (Justin Berfield), Malcolm (Frankie Muniz), and Dewey (Erik Per Sullivan). The show follows their daily lives as they all struggle to fit into society in their own ways, and they all often plot against each other. Malcolm in the Middle is one of the funniest sitcoms of all time, with brilliant writing, excellent performances, and strangely relatable characters, even if the situations they find themselves in wouldn’t happen to everyone. Malcolm in the Middle got a four-episode revival in 2026, and though it was well-received, it wasn’t as good as the original show. Roseanne (1988-1997) Of course, a sitcom better than The Conners is Roseanne. The show follows Roseanne Conner (Roseanne Barr) and her family as they struggle to get by on a limited income. Roseanne sees its characters worrying about paying the bills, making ends meet, and maintaining a good family dynamic, and while these themes can be heavy, Roseanne addresses them with a lot of humor without being disrespectful. There wouldn’t be The Conners without Roseanne, and while the show’s legacy is now tainted by its less-than-ideal finale twist, a failed revival, and Barr’s real-life controversies, it’s still one of the most notable and influential sitcoms of all time.