Top 20 Most Perfect Sitcom Casts of all time.
They say there’s magic in casting and who are we to argue? When it comes to any play, movie or tv show, casting is just as if not even more important than writing or any other part of a production because it’s that cast that really brings it all to life. Watching as much Tv as I have my whole life I have noticed that there are actually quite a few shows that nailed it all the way with pitch perfect casting of all parties which is why their shows lasted for so long and why they’re still so well beloved as a whole as opposed to shows where there were one or even several weak links that don’t hold up as well years later . To be honest, more often than not most tv shows have the one breakout character\actor and if lucky two that “carry” the show for most viewers while one actor or a few others either aren’t given a character strong enough to hold their own or the actor just wasn’t a good fit. But as the late great James Avery aka “Uncle Phil” once said, there is no truly successful tv show with one person that carries it, it’s the ensemble that pulls it all together and the shows I’m listing here weren’t carried by the one star but by the entire group where every single character, every single actor could carry their own storyline or if a sitcom could nail a joke. These are the casts where there was no weak link. And this doesn’t only include main casts, most of these also had impeccable casting with recurring actors\characters as well. But the most important aspect of these specific casts that I chosen is the chemistry factor. What separates these twenty in my opinion from other television casts with wonderful actors who still have good or even great chemistry is that the chemistry with these groups were beyond good or great, they were simply perfect together chemically and fed off each other onscreen and even offscreen better than any other sitcom casts in television history. And hereeeee we go!
20. Roc Cast.
The cast of Roc were four well trained theater actors three of which had worked together before but the magnetic chemistry all four these actors had was so crucial to the success of the experimental live show period of Roc in season 2 where they shot every episode of that season completely live with no cuts, edits etc. Without their professional training as individuals and their bond with each other as actors it all never would’ve worked.
19. 3rd Rock From The Sun Cast.
This comedy classic is sorely overlooked but its ensemble is truly one of the best put together and with such different comic styles of this particular cast it all mixed together like unique ingredients in a well made pot of soup. The main cast were perfectly supported by amazing recurring characters like Dick Solomon’s students, Vicki Dubcheck, Officer Don played by Wayne Knight and William Shatner’s Big Giant Head.
18. Barney Miller Cast seasons 3–8.
This cop comedy boasted an amazing ensemble of actors with all such different backgrounds that meshed so beautifully together. The chemistry of this cast was as diverse as the racial make up of its cast. There was certainly no weak link the group starting with season 3 and the show never lost its footing thanks to the consistency of the writing and especially its cast. The frequent guest casts and recurring characters were example of pitch perfect casting of that type of casting.
17. The Fresh Prince of Bel Air Cast.
Nothing seemed to be able to dethrone the prince of comedy, not even a big casting change that while still worked greatly wasn’t as pitch perfect without Janet Hubert Whitten’s portrayal of Vivian. Nevertheless, the cast of Fresh Prince even from seasons 4–6 still gelled as a believable, very funny family and created some classic tv moments together as a fully functional unit. Like James Avery said there is no show where one star carries it and it succeeds and Fresh Prince is a great example of that with the inexperienced rapper Will Smith being given his own show it was very important that he be surrounded with actual actors that could pick up his slack. Will fed off the energy from this stellar cast and the Banks family went on to become one of tv’s favorite families ever.
The cast is still super tight knit to this very day as evident by the much beloved reunion special that HBO Max released in November. The chemistry was still there and it was a joy to watch.
16. King of Queens Cast.
The dynamic between Kevin James, Leah Remini and the late great Jerry Stiller is stuff that dreams are made of, and the rest of cast of King of Queens were just as amazing. The cast did evolve over time with additions of Kevin James’ real life brother Gary Valentine and Mad Tv’s Nicole Sullivan joining the cast making it a perfect comedy ensemble. This is one of those shows where it’s impossible to pick a favorite character because each one brings something fun, quirky and hilariously funny to the table.
15. All In The Family Cast.
The Bunkers and Stivics were an amazing quartet with chemistry so raw and believable you can’t imagine one without the other four. They shared some truly hilarious moments and some brutally emotional moments and the chemistry these four shared made it all feel so real and genuine.
The show only got better whenever The Jeffersons or Ilene and her husband Frank would show up and only add some dessert to the already tasty and satisfying meal that the four already gave us.
14. The Jeffersons Cast.
This professionally trained group of actors all made magic together four 11 seasons. Being both one of the most racially diverse casts of the time as well as one of the funniest ensembles of the time.
13. Malcolm In The Middle Cast.
If any show made you believe that a wacky, hilariously dysfunctional but tight knit family was real it was Malcolm In The Middle. Boasting such a diversely talented cast with such impeccable comedic chemistry together and included amazing side characters like Lois’ mother Ida played by the late great Cloris Leachman, Hal’s poker buddies, Stevie, Malcolm’s other kreylboine buddies, Piama, Otto and Gretchen and many more.
12. Everybody Loves Raymond Cast.
Everybody Loves Raymond, but everybody also loves the Barones and the wacky adventures they all got into every week. The smartest thing to do when revolving a show around a comedian with little to no acting experience is to surround him with top notch actors and actresses to pick up the slack and it rubbed off on Ray Romano so well that he even won an Emmy for best actor in a comedy series in 2002. Everybody on the show were given such rich and fully fleshed out, hilariously funny characters which made their interactions together onscreen so much more enjoyable to watch.
11. Amen Cast.
This being Sherman Hemsley’s second sitcom triumph somehow managed to become a show with a cast as chemically perfect as Sherman’s previous sitcom The Jeffersons, some fans even think moreso. The fact that every cast member could’ve had their own show proves the stroke of genius in the casting. The bond between the actors onscreen was mirrored offscreen and to this day the remaining cast members of the series still consider themselves family.
10. The Wayans Bros Cast seasons 3–5.
The Wayans Bros is a great example of a show that needed time to figure itself and its cast out before it became spectacular and when it did figure out those things the results were… well, spectacular! The first two seasons of the show lacked a strong supporting cast for Shawn, Marlon and the late great John Witherspoon but season 3 changed all that when Anna Maria Horsford of Amen fame was brought in as security guard Dee Baxter and the rest is history.
The show also had amazing side characters like tacky pimp wardrobe wearing TC, sassy and no nonsense Grandma Ellington played by the late great Ja’net Dubois and overweight, lazy and dimwitted Dupree who contributed just as many laughs when they appeared as the four leads.
9. The Middle Cast.
Takes a stroke of real magic to make the audience believe that a fictional family could actually be a real, flesh and blood one and the cast of The Middle surely did that for 9 years. I have often thought that The Heck family are the most believable and most genuine tv family in over a decade and it’s because the cast just radiated that type of genuine chemistry with one another. The comic interplay between them is effortless and unique.
8. I Love Lucy Cast.
The originator of sitcoms has to have a place on this list because it’s also one of the best and funniest sitcoms ever and has an incredible cast of four brilliant comedic actors. Although Vivian Vance and William Frawley couldn’t stand each other in real life it only made their dynamic funnier, and the genuine marital chemistry of Lucy and Desi offscreen only made their onscreen marriage all the more believable and funny. Together the quartet made television history.
7. Martin Cast.
Speaking of chemically perfect ensembles, the cast of Martin took what was supposed to be a one man show and turned it into a killer comedy ensemble. Just like Jerry Seinfeld and Ray Romano, Martin Lawrence was smart and selfless enough to let his co stars, all of which could hold their own shine bright on the show making him look good and the overall show so much better. You could always tell how much fun this cast had together whenever we saw them break character and laugh, barely holding it together.
6. The Steve Harvey Show Cast seasons 3–6.
The Steve Harvey Show was a perfectly solid show the first year but once they brought in Terri J. Vaughn as Lovita Alize Jenkins and Lori Beth Denberg as Lydia Liza Gutman the show easily elevated to icon status. One of the funniest sitcoms ever made with a cast that fed off each other and were able to somehow form a unique and odd union with each other that worked wonders. I would go as far to say that the three ladies Wendy Raquel Robinson, Terri J. Vaughn and Lori Beth Denberg were the show’s secret weapons as they were three of the funniest women on television. Most of the cast are still very tight to this day and have gone on to work with each other multiple times since the show ended. If that’s not true chemistry I don’t know what is.
5. Seinfeld Cast.
One of the oddest pairing of actors ever with four completely different backgrounds: Jerry Seinfeld a star comedian with no real acting training, a sketch comedy actress, a theater trained commerical\sitcom actor and a slapstick physical comedian and theater trained actor. On paper this sounds like a recipe for disaster but this casting of leads became one of the funniest and most chemically perfect ensembles ever put together!
And Seinfeld also wins for perhaps the greatest and funniest recurring cast in television history from George’s nutcase parents to maniacal mailman Newman, you couldn’t pray for such an embarrassment of riches.
4. Frasier Cast.
The cast of Frasier was as cohesive a comedy ensemble as there ever was. The interplay and natural chemistry they each had gave us some truly hilarious moments in sitcom history. Once again, Kelsey Grammer gives us an example of true class and humility by letting his co stars take a lot of the glory for the show’s success because without Daphne, Martin, Roz and Niles the show and the Frasier character wouldn’t have shined as well as they did.
Frasier is another show that had a perfect list of recurring characters that often stole the show whenever they arrived.
3. Married with Children Cast.
The show was raunchy, crude, rude and so hilariously funny to boot! A show like Married with Children that was also on a network that when it started was seen as a nothing network somehow not only became a giant long running hit but managed to get the absolute perfect cast of actors that formed a chemistry unlike any other. Every character shined on this show from The Bundys to the neighbors, Marcy, Jefferson and Steve to Al’s No Ma’m group and every fat female shoe customer. This series struck gold in casting and has not been bettered since.
It’s also ironic how a tv family that was as dysfunctional as they come turned out to be one of the most close and tight knit group offscreen ever compared to the more “happy” tv families. The Bundys seem to have become inseparable in real life making their strong chemistry onscreen even more believable.
2. Sanford and Son Cast.
Sanford and Son is considered by many to be the funniest sitcom of all time and even if you argue that fact, you can’t argue that it had one of the all time greatest all the way around casts ever put together. Many of the cast members were fellow comedian friends of Foxx. Much like Married with Children and Frasier it is impossible to pick a favorite character on this show because every single character was hilariously funny and contributed so much juice to the show with their individual quirks and idiosyncrasies that if you didn’t have Fred, Lamont, Rollo, Bubba, Esther or Julio or Grady etc. The show would be incomplete and not nearly as strong . But I’d be remiss not to include the chemistry of Redd Foxx and Lawanda Page and how both of their characters and their chemistry could rival whole casts of brilliant sitcoms.
- The Golden Girls Cast.
The Golden Girls is as iconic and beloved now as it is still timelessly hilarious and that’s thanks to the immeasurable chemistry of its four leads. Together, Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sophia made fans laugh and cry together and the four actresses have almost become inseparable in pop culture. This series had the perfect combo of a perfect cast and perfect chemistry and for that it will always go down in history as one of television’s greatest and most enduring sitcoms of all time.
