Comfort sitcoms you can rewatch forever

Everyone needs a show they can put on after a long day without having to think about it. Comfort sitcoms are the television equivalent of a favourite jumper: familiar, reliable and somehow better each time. The best ones have characters you would happily spend time with, jokes that survive repeat viewings and a warmth that makes them feel like home. Here are ten sitcoms that have proved, again and again, that they are worth coming back to.

Friends (1994)

Friends1994 · Show Watchlist

Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, Friends follows six twenty-somethings navigating work, love and rent in Manhattan, mostly from the comfort of a coffee shop sofa. Across ten seasons the cast developed a chemistry that still feels effortless, and the show's catchphrases and running jokes are woven into popular culture. Its episodes are short, self-contained and easy to drop into at any point. Few shows are as reliably cosy.

Seinfeld (1989)

Seinfeld1989 · Show Watchlist

Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David's sitcom, often described as "a show about nothing", turns the tiny irritations of daily life in New York into intricately plotted comedy. Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer are not especially nice people, which is exactly why they are so much fun to watch. Episodes often weave several storylines together until they collide in a perfect final twist. Rewatching reveals how tightly constructed the writing really is.

Frasier (1993)

Frasier1993 · Show Watchlist

A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier sends psychiatrist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) home to Seattle, where he hosts a radio call-in show and ends up sharing his elegant apartment with his down-to-earth father, Martin. His equally fussy brother Niles, played by David Hyde Pierce, is one of the great sitcom creations. The show is famous for its farce episodes, in which misunderstandings snowball with clockwork precision. It is witty, literate and endlessly rewatchable.

The Office (2005)

The Office2005 · Show Watchlist

Adapted by Greg Daniels from the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the American Office is a mockumentary about the employees of a paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Steve Carell's Michael Scott is an excruciating but strangely lovable boss, and the slow-burning romance between Jim and Pam gives the show its heart. Its cringe comedy is balanced with real warmth. Many viewers keep it permanently on rotation.