10 best NBC sitcoms in the post-Seinfeld era

Monday marks 20 years since “The Finale” dropped the curtain on Seinfeld.

Two decades later, the unprecedented anticipation tops the iffy reception as the last episode’s reflection on the series. A 2012 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll concluded that Seinfeld was still considered the all-time greatest sitcom. Four years later, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 5 among all TV shows.

And in 2014, IndieWire ran a column under the headline “How Seinfeld Revolutionized The Sitcom.”

The bar for all subsequent series, particularly those airing on NBC, could not have been more self-explanatory. With that said, several NBC sitcoms alone have kept the network a hotbed for scripted primetime comedy.

Since the first post-Seinfeld TV season in 1998-99, NBC has logged six Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Comedy Series. Its shows have combined for 30 nominations in that category.

Seinfeld set another precedent by winning three of the first four equivalent prizes bestowed by the Screen Actors Guild, beginning in 1994. None other than network contemporary Friends briefly disrupted that dynasty, and four other NBC ensembles have aggregated five more wins.

Granted, the last three award seasons have seen a lull for the network. But new and recently rebooted programs could blossom in full before too long. If nothing else, their critical and viewer receptions are not hurting.

So which NBC sitcoms have put together the most successful attempts at matching Seinfeld’s legacy? The following are ranked based on a combination of ensemble accolades from the Emmys, SAGs and Golden Globes plus their season-to-season audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes.

10. NewsRadio (1998-99)
The horrific death of Phil Hartman 16 days after the 1997-98 finale cast a pall over the final season. Just as Cheers addressed the unexpected passing of Nicholas Colasanto (Coach) in 1985, NewsRadio began one more season by dealing with the loss of Hartman’s character, Bill McNeal.

That fifth season proved the swan song of what Rotten Tomatoes declares an “underrated comedy” featuring a “sharp cast.” Overshadowed by Frasier, Friends and Will & Grace, NewsRadio never got sparkling glamour. But perhaps it would have shined brighter in another time or on another network if it had the chance.

9. Superstore (2015-present)
America Ferrara’s first full-time TV project since Ugly Betty was hardly the first show to shake off a rocky rookie campaign. In 2015-16, Superstore opened to unremarkable critical and audience median scores of 54 and 82 percent, respectively.

Since then, though, the critics have given it two consecutive perfect tallies. Meanwhile, the viewers’ rating has stabilized in the 80s range, currently at an all-time average of 86.

Time will tell if this lasts, let alone translates to any big-time hardware.

8. The Good Place (2015-present)
Much like Superstore, The Good Place is still a green program coming off a pair of well-received seasons. It too has yet to contend for major awards, but boasts an 87 percent audience approval so far.

If it can build on that foundation, it could surpass one or two of its not-too-distant NBC predecessors. That potentiality would be a credit to the combined vigor of Kristen Bell and veteran presence of a more seasoned NBC sitcom alumnus, Ted Danson.

7. Scrubs (2001-08)
Before transferring to ABC in 2008, Scrubs variously overlapped with Frasier, Friends, The Office and 30 Rock. At the precise midway point of its seven-year NBC partnership in 2004-05, it was not overshadowed by any of those four.

To its credit, it logged a solid 92.4 percent Rotten Tomatoes average audience approval in that time. But none of that translated to consistent award consideration.

As an ensemble, Scrubs was an also-ran at the 2005 and 2006 Emmys, then disappeared from the ballot. A new wave of top-notch primetime comedy on NBC and elsewhere was too much for it to match.

T-5. Parks and Recreation (2009-15)
Throughout its run, Parks and Rec had the ill fortune of competing against superior mockumentaries and established NBC cohabitants. At the time of its late-season premiere in 2009, 30 Rock and The Office were peaking as perennial hardware contenders.

On the other side of the summer, Modern Family arrived on ABC. The instant hit ran up five straight outstanding comedy Emmys from 2010 to 2014. HBO’s Veep, driven by Seinfeld alumna Julia Louis-Dreyfus, later spoiled Amy Poehler and company’s last bid for the big prize.

In terms of outstanding series accolades, Parks and Rec could only muster two Emmy nominations and one Golden Globe nod. That dearth of laurels notwithstanding, it was a clear-cut favorite among critics and viewers alike.

After sagging in its abbreviated rookie year, the show scored a lifetime audience approval of 91 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, the site’s critical score gave it a perfect 100 in four individual seasons.

T-5. Frasier (1998-2004)
Seinfeld won its lone Primetime Emmy for outstanding comedy series in 1993. Upon its arrival the subsequent fall, the Cheers spinoff set in Seattle usurped the crown and bested Seinfeld on the ballot four years running.

But as soon as its titanic network neighbor called it a run in 1998, Frasier’s dynasty ended at the four-year mark. In addition, from 1998 to its own finale in 2004, its audience approval cooled off to 87.3 percent.

With that said, Frasier merely downgraded from king to contender for the latter half of its run. It earned three more Emmy and two more Golden Globe nominations, and won the 1999 SAG award.

In summation, Frasier’s success in the post-Seinfeld era was the inverse of Parks and Rec’s later on. The latter had the viewer’s acclaim to compensate for a lack of accolades. The former boasted the opposite dynamic.

4. The Office (2005-13)
One of four NBC sitcoms to win an outstanding series Emmy in this century, The Office opened with fireworks. The adaptation of a successful namesake British series also won a SAG on its first try, and ultimately three-peated in that guild.

Accruing 89 percent audience approval in eight years, The Office stayed on the SAG ballot to the end. It never won another Emmy, but was under consideration from Seasons 2 through 6. In addition, it was up for a Golden Globe in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

3. Will & Grace (1998-2006, 2016-present)
Its first year back amidst a slew of reboots did not meet many reviews to pop corks about. Nonetheless, Will & Grace sustains a sound legacy through its first-run achievements.

Entering the NBC lineup on the heels of Seinfeld’s exit, the groundbreaking LGBT-related program enjoyed a sophomore surge in 2000. That award season saw the show claim both the Emmy and SAG in the best-sitcom category. It had previously contended for a Golden Globe in 1999, and has since added 15 more major nominations.

To date, outspoken critics and audiences have each combined to give the full run 86 percent approval. Most notably, the sixth season, which coincided with the Frasier and Friends swan songs, logged a perfect 100 audience score.

2. Friends (1998-2004)
Of the shows eligible for this list, the post-Seinfeld portion of Friends’ run is the most adored by audiences. Over its last six seasons, it tallied a 94.8 percent viewers’ endorsement score on Rotten Tomatoes. Individually, the penultimate season in 2002-03 logged the lowest score at a non-allergenic 93.

That regal position secures Friends’ spot above each equally or less decorated competitor. From its midway point to its finale, it eclipsed its declining contemporary cohabitant Frasier with 11 major best-sitcom nominations.

One of those nods yielded a victory at the 2002 Emmys. The rest chalked up to two Golden Globe, three Emmy and five SAG considerations.

1. 30 Rock (2006-13)
Like Poehler, Tina Fey followed her legendary Saturday Night Live tenure with a seven-season NBC sitcom. Her project accrued the same Rotten Tomatoes audience approval and many more accolades.

And whereas Frasier peaked in the mid-’90s, 30 Rock bagged multiple Emmys in the post-Seinfeld era. No other NBC program can make that claim.

In 2007, 30 Rock followed The Office’s act of winning the outstanding sitcom crown after its first season. But no one cropped up in a writer’s strike-shortened 2007-08 season to stop its dynasty before it began. The program repeated as champion in 2008 and 2009, then perennially finished among the runners-up behind Modern Family.

In addition to its Emmy title defense, 30 Rock garnered equivalent recognition from the Golden Globes and SAGs in 2008. The latter guild had it under consideration in each of its other six years of operation.