We have shared the list of the top English comedy series of the 21st century today. It has been compiled by our Focus Magazine (FM) team but it is not an exhaustive list of the same.
Certainly, there are many more comedy shows to be discussed on FM. Maybe in the coming days, we shall add many more comedy shows to the list, both in English and other languages. As the world is celebrating World Laughter Day, today; we are sharing the said list of comedy shows. Well, World Laughter Day is usually celebrated on the first Sunday of May worldwide. Incidentally, the celebration of this day started in 1998 in India. To choose the top comedy series in the English language, we have set the cut-off year as Y2K, 2000. These series are in no particular order. We simply enjoyed these comedy shows.
# Derry Girls – Top English Comedy Series
Poster of the Derry Girls
Synopsis (summary) of the Derry Girls
Set against the backdrop of the Northern Ireland Troubles, this comedy series follows a group of five friends {Erin Quinn (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), Orla McCool (Louisa Harland), Clare Devlin (Nicola Coughlan), Michelle Mallon (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell), James Maguire (Dylan Llewellyn)} as they navigate their teens in the early 1990s.
So, the personal exploits of a 16-year-old girl Erin Quinn (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) and her family and her teenage friends contend with the universal challenges of being a teenager during the Troubles in the early 1990s in Northern Ireland.
Video clip of the Derry Girls
Key details of the Derry Girls
| Genre | Comedy |
| Telecast Years | 2018 to 2022 |
| Seasons | 3 – Three seasons |
| Episodes | 19 – Nineteen episodes |
# Fleabag – Top English Comedy Series
Poster of the Fleabag
Synopsis (summary) of the Fleabag
A dry-witted woman, known only as Fleabag (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), has no filter as she navigates life and love in London while trying to cope with tragedy. The angry, grief-riddled woman tries to heal while rejecting anyone who tries to help her, but Fleabag continues to keep up her bravado through it all.
Comic actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge stars as the titular character in the series, which is based on Waller-Bridge’s 2013 one-woman show of the same name.
Video clip of the Fleabag
Key details of the Fleabag
| Genre | Comedy, Drama |
| Telecast Years | 2016 & 2019 |
| Seasons | 2 – Two seasons |
| Episodes | 12 – Twelve episodes |
# Modern Family – Top English Comedy Series
Poster of the Modern Family
Synopsis (summary) of the Modern Family
Told from the perspective of an unseen documentary filmmaker, the series offers an honest, often hilarious perspective of family life.
Parents Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell) and Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen) yearn for an honest, open relationship with their three kids. But a daughter who is trying to grow up too fast, another who is too smart for her own good, and a rambunctious young son make it challenging.
Claire’s dad, Jay Pritchett (Ed O’Neill), and his Latina wife, Gloria Pritchett (Sofía Vergara), are raising two sons together, but people sometimes believe Jay to be Gloria’s father.
Jay’s gay son, Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), and his partner, Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet), have adopted a little Asian girl, completing one big — straight, gay, multicultural, traditional — happy family.
Three different but related families face trials and tribulations in their own uniquely comedic ways.
Video clip of the Modern Family
Key details of the Modern Family
| Genre | Comedy, Drama, Romance |
| Telecast Years | 2009 to 2020 |
| Total Seasons | 11 – Eleven |
| Total Episodes | 250 – Two Hundred Fifty |
# The Big Bang Theory – Top English Comedy Series
Poster of the The Big Bang Theory
Synopsis (summary) of the The Big Bang Theory
Physicists Leonard and Sheldon find their nerd-centric social circle with pals Howard and Raj expanding when aspiring actress Penny moves in next door.
Mensa-fied best friends and roommates Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), physicists who work at the California Institute of Technology, may be able to tell everybody more than they want to know about quantum physics, but getting through most basic social situations, especially ones involving women, totally baffles them.
How lucky, then, that babelicious waitress/aspiring actress Penny (Kaley Cuoco) moves in next door. Frequently seen hanging out with Leonard and Sheldon are friends and fellow Caltech scientists Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar).
Will worlds collide?
Does Einstein theorize in the woods?
Video clip of the The Big Bang Theory
Key details of the The Big Bang Theory
| Genre | Comedy, Romance |
| Telecast Years | 2007 to 2019 |
| Seasons | 12 – Twelve Seasons |
| Episodes | 280 – Two Hundred Eighty Episodes |
# Schitt’s Creek – Top English Comedy Series
Poster of the Schitt’s Creek
Synopsis (summary) of the Schitt’s Creek
A wealthy couple — video store magnate Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy) and his soap opera star wife Moira Rose (Catherine O’Hara) — suddenly find themselves completely broke. With only one remaining asset, a small town called Schitt’s Creek, which the Roses bought years earlier as a joke, this once-wealthy couple must give up life as they know it.
With their two spoiled children in tow and their pampered lives behind them, the Rose family is forced to face their newfound poverty head-on and come together as a family to survive.
Video clip of the Schitt’s Creek
Key details of the Schitt’s Creek
| Genre | Comedy |
| Telecast Years | 2015 to 2020 |
| Seasons | 6 – Six Seasons |
| Episodes | 80 – Eighty Episodes |
# Barry – Top English Comedy Series
Poster of the Barry
Synopsis (summary) of the Barry
Disillusioned at the thought of taking down another “mark,” depressed, low-level hitman Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) seeks a way out. When the Midwesterner reluctantly travels to Los Angeles to execute a hit on an actor who is bedding a mobster’s wife, little does Barry know that the City of Angels may be his sanctuary. He follows his target into acting class and ends up instantly drawn to the community of eager hopefuls, especially dedicated student Sally (Sarah Goldberg), who becomes the object of his affection.
While Barry wants to start a new life as an actor, his handler, Fuches (Stephen Root), has other ideas, and the hitman’s criminal past won’t let him walk away so easily.
Video clip of the Barry
Key details of the Barry
| Genre | Comedy |
| Telecast – Year | 2018 to 2022 |
| Seasons | 4 – Four seasons |
| Episodes | 32 – Thirty Two episodes |
# Mom – Top English Comedy Series
Poster of the Mom
Synopsis (summary) of the Mom
Bonnie (Allison Janney), a recovering alcoholic, focuses on her marriage to her husband, Adam (William Fichtner), and on what she wants to be now that she’s finally grown up. Now more than ever, Bonnie depends on the support of her friends, including the wise Marjorie (Mimi Kennedy), the wealthy and sometimes misguided Jill (Jaime Pressly), the overly emotional Wendy (Beth Hall), and her foster sister, Tammy (Kristen Johnston), who was recently released from prison.
Collectively, they help each other overcome their mistakes and stay sober in the face of whatever life throws at them.
Video clip of the Mom
Key details of the Mom
| Genre | Comedy, Drama, Romance |
| Telecast – Years | 2013 to 2020 |
| Seasons | 8 – Eight seasons |
| Episodes | 170 – One Hundred Seventy episodes |
# Fresh Off The Boat – Top English Comedy Series
Poster of the Fresh Off The Boat
Synopsis (summary) of the Fresh Off The Boat
Based on chef Eddie Huang’s best-selling memoir of the same name, “Fresh Off the Boat” takes a humorous look at the lives of immigrants in America.
In the 1990s, Eddie (Hudson Yang), a hip-hop-loving 11-year-old, relocates with his parents and two brothers to suburban Orlando from the Chinatown section of Washington, D.C. As Eddie’s dad, Louis (Randall Park), pursues the American dream by opening a Western-themed restaurant named Cattleman’s Ranch Steakhouse, Eddie and the rest of the family including his mother Jessica (Constance Wu) try to acclimate to their new, strange surroundings.
Video clip of the Fresh Off The Boat
Key details of the Fresh Off The Boat
| Genre | Comedy |
| Telecast – Years | 2015 to 2019 |
| Seasons | 6 – Six seasons |
| Episodes | 116 – One Hundred Sixteen episodes |
# Two and a Half Men – Top English Comedy Series
Posters of the Two and a Half Men (as there are two distinct parts of the show)
Synopsis (summary) of the Two and a Half Men
Chiropractor and single father Alan Harper (Jon Cryer) lives in a beachfront house with divorced Internet billionaire Walden Schmidt (Ashton Kutcher), who bought the house following the untimely death of Alan’s brother, Charlie Harper (Charlie Sheen). As they acclimate to their living arrangement, the tightly wound Alan finds himself taking on a mentor role with Walden, whose lifelong dependence on being taken care of has left him a bit naive.
Despite his unsuccessful romantic history, Alan also tries to help Walden overcome his limited experiences with dating. Berta (Conchata Ferrell), a sharp-tongued, unapologetic housekeeper, is also featured in the series.
Video clips of the Two and a Half Men
Key details of the Two and a Half Men
| Genre | Comedy |
| Telecast – Years | 2007 to 2014 |
| Seasons | 12 – Twelve seasons |
| Episodes | 262 – Two Hundred Sixty-Two episodes |
# Abbott Elementary – Top English Comedy Series
Poster of the Abbott Elementary
Synopsis (summary) of the Abbott Elementary
A group of dedicated, passionate teachers {Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson), Gregory Eddie (Tyler James Williams), Jacob Hill (Chris Perfetti), Melissa Schemmenti (Lisa Ann Walter) & Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph)} — and a slightly tone-deaf principal (Ava Coleman (Janelle James)} — find themselves thrown together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life.
Though these incredible public servants may be outnumbered and underfunded, they love what they do — even if they don’t love the school district’s less-than-stellar attitude toward educating children.
So, go ahead and follow a group of teachers brought together in one of the worst public schools in the country, simply because they love teaching.
Video clip of the Abbott Elementary
Key details of the Abbott Elementary
| Genre | Comedy |
| Telecast – Years | 2021, 2022 & onwards (it is still being telecasted) |
| Seasons | 2 – Two seasons, so far |
| Episodes | 35 – Thirty Five episodes, so far |
And, please note that we have seen all the comedy series (sitcoms) mentioned above and we loved them. They are hilarious and perfect to watch today.
In case you wish to marathon-watch, then start with Derry Girls, as it is just too funny and endearing. Laugh & Enjoy!
Featured & Other Images: Derry Girls – Top English Comedy Series | IMDb.
