Audiences tend to love familiar sitcoms because they can be viewed as a good suspension of disbelief. There’s nothing better than watching a fun bit of comedy that doesn’t remind viewers of anything in reality, and allows them to completely escape into a fantasy world.While many great drama showshave succeeded because of their realism, sitcoms tend to be much more superficial in their overarching narratives.
That being said,there’s a point where sitcoms become completely unreasonable due to financial realities.Althoughit’s important for most sitcomsto keep their characters in positions of good economic standing in order to ensure that the story doesn’t face any major hurdles, it does stretch the audience’s patience when there seems to be no recognition of the ways in which the economy actually works. Here are the ten most financially unrealistic sitcom characters, ranked.
10Tom Haverford, ‘Parks and Recreation’
Played by Aziz Ansari
Parks and Recreationmay have started off as an attempted spinoff ofThe Office, but the beloved NBC sitcom eventually proved to be a relatively clever satire of the chaotic things that happen in a city government office. No character onParks and Recreationwas quite as charming as Tom Haverford, asAziz Ansarigot his breakout role on the series. However,Tom seems to be able to afford a luxurious lifestyle,despite almost never showing up to work and doing his job.
Tom’s lifestyle becomes even more unrealistic due to the constant schemes and parties he attempts to stage, often with the help of his best friend John Ralphio (Ben Schwartz). He may beone ofParks and Recreation’smost likable characters, but there’s no way that Tom’s lifestyle would work if the show attempted to be any more realistic.
Parks and Recreation
9Penny Hofstader, ‘The Big Bang Theory’
Played by Kaley Cuoco
The Big Bang Theorywas unique among television sitcoms because it turned the “geek” characters, who were often used as comic background players, and turned them into the central protagonists. While Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Raj (Kunal Nayyar),and Howard (Simon Helberg) all hold down solid jobs at the university, Penny (Kaley Cuoco) works a series of working class jobs that barely provide her within a reasonable income.Penny is somehow more financially stable than Sheldon and Leonard,despite the erratic ways that she spends her money.
The Big Bang Theorylater addressed Penny’s lifestylewhen she gets married to Leonard,thus allowing them to benefit from each other. However, it’s still somewhat unrealistic that Penny would be able to indulge herself and shake off responsibilities without having to put in the work to provide for herself. It doesn’t make the show any less entertaining, but it doesn’t necessarily make it feel authentic.
The Big Bang Theory
8Rachel Green, ‘Friends’
Played by Jennifer Aniston
Friendswas arguably the biggest sitcom of the 1990s, and no one benefited more from the show’s success thanJennifer Aniston.The “girl next door” quality that Rachel Green had turned her into the sitcom star of a generation, even if the parameters of her lifestyle felt completely unrealistic.Rachel somehow manages to avoid getting fired and affords an expensive lifestyle in a nice New York apartment, even though she constantly avoids any responsibilities.
To the show’s credit,Rachel’s erratic financial choices become a storyline in the later seasons.Monica (Courtney Cox) begins to express her frustration with Rachel’s decision when the subject of who pays their apartment lease becomes a major storyline. Rachel’s irresponsibility also becomes a subject of debatewithin her romance with Ross(David Schwimmer), who finds himself unable to connect with her erratic decision-making process.
Played by Seth MacFarlane
American Dad!quickly differentiated itself fromSeth MacFarlane’s other animated comedy show,Family Guy, by including a strong element of science fiction since its pilot episode. The alien Roger, who MacFarlane also voiced, is forced to wear a number of disguises to mask his origins so that he can live with the Smith family. However,Roger consistently proves that he cannot keep track of his different personas, as some characters like “Ricky Spanish” take on lives of their own,resulting in some of the show’s best running gags.
Roger is also somehow able to run a nightclub in the Smith family’s attic,which rarely impedes Stan, Francine, Haley, and Steves’ daily lives. WhileAmerican Dad!has always seemed to pride itself on being erratic with its sense of humor, the strange parameters surrounding Roger’s different personalities pushed the show into more surrealist territory.
American Dad!
6Hank Kingsley, ‘The Larry Sanders Show’
Played by Jeffrey Tambor
The Larry Sanders Showwas a groundbreaking sitcom, as it was one of the first comedy shows thatattempted to show a realistic “behind the scenes” look at the life of a fictional talk show host(Gary Shandling). While Shandling’s real life mirrored that of the character he played, the undeniable scene stealer of the show wasJeffrey Tamboras Larry’s sidekick, Hank. However,there’s no reason that Hank would have been able to hold down his job as Larry’s co-host given the amount of headaches he causes for the production.
Between announcing his marriage live on air, attempting to hold an odd tribute to his father, and having a leaked sex tape,Hank is constantly putting himself in financially dubious situations that would put him out of work in any other profession.While it resulted in many of the show’s funniest moments, it also eroded any sense of authenticity that it may have had.
The Larry Sanders Show
Watch on Max
5Erlich Bachman, ‘Silicon Valley’
Played by T.J. Miller
Silicon Valleywas a hilarious series byMike Judgethat analyzed the rise of tech culture in California. While the series was praised for its authentic examination of how startups were founded, the character of Erlich Bachman (T.J. Miller) seemed inserted in the series purely for comic relief.Erlich possesses very little tech skills, yet somehow finds himself in a leadership position in the Pied Piper company, despite constantly wasting its money on unsustainable investments.
Erlich ultimately became a distraction in the series,as his strange schemes and money laundering attempts ended up wrecking havoc on the other characters’ personal lives as they attempted to stand out amidst other disruptors.Silicon Valleyended up improving as a series after Millerleft the show in the later seasons, which killed off Erlich and wrote him out of the story entirely.
Silicon Valley
4Cosmo Kramer, ‘Seinfeld’
Played by Michael Richards
Seinfeldmay beJerry Seinfeld’s semi-autobiographical window into his own life as a comedian,but there wasn’t a bigger fan favoritethan his noisy neighbor, Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards). Richards tended to get significant cheers from the audience whenever he appeared on-screen, as viewers could bet that he was about to do something completely ridiculous. However,Kramer’s luck soon proved to be a miracle as he managed to avoid serious financial repercussions for his various mistakes.
Kramer always seems to be pulling off different schemes that go hilariously awry, leaving him nearly penniless and forced to ask Jerry to bail him out. Considering that Kramer actually finds himself framed for murder in one of the show’s most hilarious episodes, it’s entirely unrealistic that he would be able to maintain a costly apartment in New York City in the 1990s.
3Moe Syzlack, ‘The Simpsons'
Played by Hank Azaria
There may not be a bigger sad sack inThe Simpsonsthan Moe Syzlack, the lonely owner of “Moe’s Tavern.” While he is best friends with characters like Homer, Barnie, Lenny, and Carl,Moe almost never charges his patrons for their business when serving them drinks.Moe’s Tavern is constantly put in financial hardship because no one ever wants to pay him for the services that he provides. Moe’s brief stab at fame with the “Flaming Moe’s” drink only ends up backfiring when Homer becomes the one to benefit.
Moe ultimately proves to be too ignorant to recognize when he’s being conned,as Bart constantly makes fun of him by planning prank calls that play upon how easily impressionable he is. Whilesome of the better seasons ofThe Simpsonsinvolve Moe stepping out of his shell, he ultimately finds himself in the same place that he started.
The Simpsons
2NoHo Hank, ‘Barry’
Played by Anthony Carrigan
Barryis a comedy series so dark that it’s almost hard to classify it as a traditional sitcom. Although the storyline involving Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) and his attempts to be taken seriously as an actor are treated with gravity, the show does insert some unexpected humor when NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan) ends up taking control of the Checynyan mafiain one of the show’s most pivotal episodes.However,NoHo Hank quickly proves himself to be an incompetent leader who has no way of maintaining the mafia’s finances.
NoHo Hank ends up wasting the mafia’s resources when he stages a joint agreement with the Bolivans,who opt to spend their time playing recreational sports instead of actually working towards the goals of their criminal empire. NoHo Hank is eventually forced to go down a darker path in the show’s final season as a result of Barry’s fanaticism, but it’s unlikely that he would have been able to maintain his leadership position for very much longer either way.
1Stevie Janowski, ‘Eastbound & Down’
Played by Steve Little
Eastbound & Downtracks the incredible rise and fall of Kenny Powers (Danny McBride), a self-obsessed former baseball player who somehow reinvents himself as a high school teacher, criminal boss, family man, and talk show host. Kenny’s coworker Stevie Janowski (Steve Little) views him as a hero, and swears to support him in all of his most ridiculous endeavors.Stevie is constantly taken advantage of by Kenny, making it completely unrealistic that he would ever be able to maintain his home and family life.
Eastbound & Downoften satirizes how theleast likely people can succeed in a capitalistic society,but Stevie’s success manages to still feel like a step too far. Despite showing no business, social, or ethical qualities, Stevie is able to maintain a healthy lifestyle without ever having to pay serious consequences for the mistakes that he always seems to make.
