The Best 2000s ABC Comedy Shows, Ranked

Before streaming queues and “Skip Intro” buttons took over our lives, there was a magical era when you actually had to be on the couch at 8 p.m. sharp. For a lot of viewers in the 2000s, that meant tuning in to ABC for a reliable dose of comfort comedyfamily hijinks, sharp workplace satire, and the kind of quirky dramedies that made you laugh one minute and ugly-cry the next.

While networks like NBC and CBS often hog the spotlight in sitcom history conversations, ABC quietly built a stacked lineup of comedies that still hold up shockingly well today. From suburban dads who try (and fail) to have it all under control to amnesiac heroines attempting a personality reboot, the best 2000s ABC comedy shows were funny, unexpectedly heartfelt, and surprisingly experimental for “network TV.”

Below is a ranked list of standout 2000s ABC comedy showsheavily informed by fan rankings, critical reception, and the way these series have lingered in pop culture. Think of it as your nostalgia-fueled watchlist, curated for anyone who misses appointment TV… or just wants something to binge that isn’t another true-crime documentary.

Why 2000s ABC Comedies Still Matter

ABC’s 2000s comedy slate had a very specific flavor. A lot of its shows were family-centered or character-driven, but they weren’t afraid to mix in drama, satire, or even soap-operatic twists. Many of these comedies tackled real-life themesidentity, work-life balance, marriage, parentingjust wrapped in a laugh track (or occasionally, a single-camera format and snappy cold opens).

What makes them especially rewatchable now is that they sit in a sweet spot: modern enough not to feel ancient, but “vintage” enough to count as comfort TV. They’re also a fun time capsule of early-2000s fashion, technology (remember flip phones and massive desktop monitors?), and pre-social media culture.

The Best 2000s ABC Comedy Shows, Ranked

1. Samantha Who? (2007–2009)

On paper, Samantha Who? sounds like a drama: a woman wakes up from a coma with retrograde amnesia and slowly discovers she used to be… kind of awful. In practice, it’s a sharp, warm, and very funny high-concept sitcom. Christina Applegate plays Samantha Newly, a 30-something executive who decides to use her “blank slate” as a chance to become a better personwhile her old life, old friends, and old habits keep crashing back in.

Airing on ABC from 2007 to 2009, the show built humor around Samantha’s attempts to reconcile “Old Sam” (selfish, manipulative, and not great at relationships) with “New Sam” (genuinely trying her best, but hilariously clueless). Supporting turns from Jean Smart and Melissa McCarthy add extra comedic muscle. The series never got the long run it deserved, but its blend of heart, character work, and high-concept storytelling explains why it tops many fan-driven rankings of 2000s ABC comedies.

2. Scrubs (ABC run: 2009–2010)

Yes, Scrubs started on NBC, but its eighth and ninth seasons aired on ABCwhich is why it absolutely counts in the 2000s ABC comedy conversation. This hospital-set “dramedy” followed young doctor J.D. and his colleagues at Sacred Heart, mixing surreal cutaway gags with surprisingly emotional storylines about life, death, and growing up in your twenties and thirties.

By the time it landed on ABC, Scrubs was already a fully formed cult favorite, known for its unique visual style, quick-fire jokes, and devastatingly good emotional payoffs. Those ABC seasons gave long-time fans closure (season 8’s finale is still widely praised) and kept the show’s signature balance of absurdity and sincerity intact. If you like your comedy with a side of existential crisis, this one belongs near the top of your list.

3. Ugly Betty (2006–2010)

Ugly Betty is technically a dramedy, but its sharp humor and vibrant tone make it a core part of ABC’s 2000s comedy identity. The show follows Betty Suarez, a smart, big-hearted assistant from Queens who lands a job at a high-fashion magazine where she is, to put it mildly, not what anyone expected.

America Ferrera’s performance anchors the series, balancing fish-out-of-water comedy with surprisingly nuanced stories about class, body image, family loyalty, and ambition. The fashion-world satire is delicious, but what really makes Ugly Betty stand out is how often it uses its comedic setup to deliver genuine emotional gut punches and wins for the underdog. It’s funny, campy, and quietly revolutionary in the way it centers a Latina heroine who doesn’t conform to typical TV beauty standards.

4. Whose Line Is It Anyway? (ABC era)

If you grew up in the 2000s, there’s a good chance you fell asleep more than once with ABC’s version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? riffing in the background. The improv format is simplecomics perform games and sketches based on audience suggestionsbut the speed and skill of Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, Wayne Brady, and company turned it into appointment TV.

While the U.S. version premiered in the late ’90s, it remained a core piece of ABC’s early-2000s lineup and helped the network stand out in unscripted comedy. No plot, no continuity, no character arcsjust pure chaos, quick jokes, musical bits, and recurring gags that fans still quote. In a sea of multi-camera sitcoms, Whose Line gave ABC a different flavor of comedy that aged surprisingly well.

5. 8 Simple Rules (2002–2005)

Originally titled 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, this family sitcom became one of ABC’s most memorable 2000s comedies for both its humor and the way it navigated real-life tragedy. The series centers on the Hennessy family, with John Ritter as the overprotective dad tryingand often failingto manage teenage daughters, shifting dynamics, and his own anxieties.

After Ritter’s sudden death, the show pivoted to explore grief and adjustment within the family, bringing in Katey Sagal, David Spade, and James Garner as emotional and comedic pillars. The result was a sitcom that could be light and goofy one week and deeply affecting the next. Its place near the top of many nostalgia lists isn’t just about laughsit’s about how human it felt.

6. My Wife and Kids (2001–2005)

My Wife and Kids stars Damon Wayans as Michael Kyle, a dad on a “tragically funny” quest for a perfect traditional family that never quite cooperates. Airing on ABC from 2001 to 2005 over five seasons, the show took a classic multi-camera setup and injected it with Wayans’ stand-up sensibility and physical comedy.

The series tackled everything from teen dating to discipline, blended families, and generational clashes, but always in a way that kept things light and accessible. It’s also a key early-2000s example of a Black-led sitcom on a major network, with storylines that balanced universal family chaos with specific cultural details. The result: a show that’s both warm and legitimately funny, even on rewatch.

7. According to Jim (2001–2009)

If you picture “ABC sitcom dad” as a slightly stubborn, sports-obsessed guy who loves his family but hates being wrong, you’re basically picturing Jim from According to Jim. The series follows a blue-collar husband and father whose shortcuts, white lies, and stubbornness constantly land him in troublewith his wife, his in-laws, or his kids.

Running for eight seasons on ABC throughout the 2000s, it became one of the network’s most reliable comedy performers. Critics often called it formulaic, but that formulaeasy jokes, familiar domestic bickering, and predictable but satisfying resolutionswas exactly what many viewers wanted. It’s the sitcom equivalent of reheated comfort food: you know what you’re getting, and that’s the point.

8. Desperate Housewives (2004–2012)

Is Desperate Housewives a comedy, a soap, or a mystery drama? The answer is: yes. While it’s heavier on plot than your typical sitcom, it deserves its spot here because so much of its identity rests on dark comedy and social satire. Set on Wisteria Lane, the series follows a group of suburban women dealing with secrets, scandals, and the sheer absurdity of “perfect” neighborhood life.

The show’s humor comes from its heightened, almost cartoonish take on PTA politics, marriage conflicts, and suburban rivalries. Even when murders and cover-ups enter the chat, it keeps a wry, self-aware tone. For ABC, it was a game-changerhelping to define the network’s brand in the mid-2000s and paving the way for other dramedies that weren’t easily pigeonholed.

9. George Lopez (2002–2007)

George Lopez is another cornerstone of 2000s ABC comedy, following a working-class Mexican American family in Los Angeles. George plays a factory manager juggling a demanding job, a fiery mother, a loving (and very patient) wife, and kids who always seem to be one step away from trouble.

What made the show stand out is the combination of traditional, joke-driven sitcom structure with stories rooted in Latino family life, generational trauma, and identity. It never stopped being funny, but it didn’t shy away from heavier topics either. For many viewers, it was the first time they saw a family on network TV that looked and sounded like their own.

10. Life with Bonnie (2002–2004)

Life with Bonnie flew under the radar, but it’s a gem if you like performance-driven comedy. Bonnie Hunt plays a daytime talk show host trying to balance her chaotic studio life with an equally chaotic home life. The show blends scripted scenes with semi-improvised bits, especially during the “on-air” segments of her fictional talk show.

It never became a ratings monster, but it drew praise for its looseness and Hunt’s natural comedic timing. If you’re into comedy that feels like you’re watching very funny people just barely keep things together, this is a fun deep cut from ABC’s 2000s catalog.

11. Dharma & Greg (ABC in the Early 2000s)

Though Dharma & Greg premiered in 1997, it ran into the early 2000s and was still part of ABC’s comedy identity at the start of the decade. The show centers on free-spirited yoga instructor Dharma and straight-laced lawyer Greg, who impulsively marry on their first date and then have to figure out how to actually build a life together.

The comedy comes from culture clasheshippy vs. corporate, bohemian in-laws vs. uptight blue-bloodsbut it’s grounded by genuine affection between the leads. As a bridge between ’90s and 2000s ABC comedy, Dharma & Greg is a reminder that the network has long been comfortable marrying romance, sitcom structure, and social commentary.

12. Better Off Ted (2009–2010)

If you like your humor extremely dry, slightly absurd, and very anti-corporate, Better Off Ted is the most underrated ABC comedy of the late 2000s. The show is set inside Veridian Dynamics, a soulless mega-corporation where ethics go to die and ridiculous R&D experiments are just another Tuesday.

Jay Harrington plays Ted Crisp, a good guy trying to survive morally questionable projects and an icy but hilarious boss played by Portia de Rossi. The show leaned into satire, fake corporate commercials, and fourth-wall-breaking narration. It never found a huge audience during its 2009–2010 run, but it’s become a cult favorite for anyone who has ever sat in a fluorescent-lit office and thought, “This could be a dystopian sci-fi movie.”

13. Hope & Faith (2003–2006)

Hope & Faith is peak 2000s ABC family comedy energy. The premise: Faith, a washed-up soap opera star, moves in with her sister Hope, a suburban mom with a husband, kids, and a life that does not need celebrity-level chaos. Naturally, chaos arrives anyway.

Kelly Ripa and Faith Ford make a solid odd-couple duo, with storylines that lean into sibling rivalry, showbiz absurdities, and the everyday mess of raising kids. The show was part of ABC’s revived TGIF-style comedy block and felt like a bridge between ’90s family sitcoms and the slightly sharper, quirkier style that would define later shows. It may not be the most groundbreaking series here, but it’s one of the most “curl up on the couch and relax” options.

How to Watch These 2000s ABC Comedies Today

The good news: many of these shows are still easy to find. Several ABC comediesespecially Scrubs, Ugly Betty, and My Wife and Kidshave lived long second lives on streaming platforms, cable reruns, or digital purchases. Reboots and revivals (like the upcoming Scrubs return) keep interest high and introduce these series to new audiences who weren’t around for the original runs.

For a modern viewer, they’re also surprisingly bingeable. Episodes are short, story arcs are clear, and you don’t need to take notes like you’re watching prestige drama. You can drop into a random episode of George Lopez or According to Jim and follow along in seconds, or you can commit to the longer emotional journeys of series like Ugly Betty or Desperate Housewives.

What It Felt Like to Watch These Shows in the 2000s (Experience & Nostalgia)

Part of the charm of 2000s ABC comedies isn’t just the shows themselvesit’s the way people watched them. Before everything was on-demand, you planned your evening around new episodes. If you missed the big twist on Desperate Housewives or a particularly unhinged improv run on Whose Line Is It Anyway?, you didn’t just hit “rewind.” You compared notes at school or at work the next day, trying to reconstruct the funniest moments from memory.

For families, shows like My Wife and Kids, 8 Simple Rules, According to Jim, and George Lopez often became shared rituals. You’d hear the opening theme, someone would yell for everyone to hurry up and sit down, and suddenly the living room became a tiny, weekly comedy club. Parents laughed at the “adult” jokes, kids laughed at the slapstick or teen drama, and everyone had about 22 minutes where phones weren’t competing for attentionbecause half the time, phones were still just… phones.

Even the ad breaks were part of the experience. You’d sprint to grab snacks during commercials, argue over who got the “good spot” on the couch, and sometimes discover new movies, products, or other shows you’d end up watching later. There was a rhythm to it: cold open, theme song, joke run, emotional beat, fade out. When a show became part of your weekly routine, its characters started to feel like extended family.

Shows like Samantha Who? and Ugly Betty resonated with viewers who saw pieces of themselves in flawed, complex main characters trying to figure life out. Better Off Ted felt especially sharp if you were just starting to navigate corporate life, recognizing exaggerated versions of your own boss or company policies. And Hope & Faith or Life with Bonnie scratched the itch for viewers who liked “grown-up” protagonists juggling jobs, kids, and identity without giving up on silliness.

Rewatching these series today, you notice things you missed the first time: early appearances by actors who later became huge stars, jokes about technology that now feel adorably outdated, and episodes that quietly tackled topicslike workplace ethics, body image, or cultural identitythat are still relevant. At the same time, the shows remain easy comfort viewing. You don’t have to “keep up” week to week; you can just drop back into that era whenever you feel like escaping.

In a streaming world where it’s easy to scroll for 30 minutes and watch nothing, there’s something refreshing about a curated list of 2000s ABC comedy shows that you already know will deliver. Whether you start with the heartfelt chaos of 8 Simple Rules, the off-the-wall satire of Better Off Ted, or the glow-up arc of Samantha Who?, you’re tapping into a time when the biggest decision of the night was which channel to leave the TV onrather than which of 500 series to sample.

So if you’re in the mood for nostalgia, comfort, or just a good laugh that doesn’t require a 10-episode investment, this ranked lineup of 2000s ABC comedies is your built-in watch order. Grab a snack, imagine you can’t pause or rewind, and let the network-era vibes do the rest.

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