These sitcoms had the best running jokes

If you know anything about The Office, it’s that Michael Scott is a ridiculous boss. One of his most ridiculous character traits happens to be one of the show’s best running jokes: his love for the classic “That’s what she said” joke. If there’s an opportunity for the innuendo to be made, Michael Scott will take it. 

Another great running gag on The Office is Jim constantly playing pranks on his co-worker and deskmate, Dwight. Whether he’s putting all of Dwight’s office supplies in jello or secretly conducting a Pavlovian experiment, Jim’s pranks are usually elaborate and always hilarious. 

In a call and response with an Office fan, Vance Refrigeration would be the automatic response to hearing the name Bob Vance. A member of the Five Families of Scranton Business Park and husband to Phyllis, Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration is talked about more than he’s seen. However, he’s still a venerable figure thanks to making his business name synonymous with his actual name. 

It’s a subtle running joke, but that’s what makes it so brilliant. In one of the earlier seasons, Tom notes that Ron always wears a red shirt the day after he has sex. It isn’t mentioned much throughout the series after that episode, but Mr. Swanson can be spotted in his red polo several times in Parks and Recreation. You know what happened if you turn on a random episode and Ron’s in red. 

Dr. Saperstein, played by the inimitable Henry Winkler, is part of multiple running gags in the show, like his feud with Tom. But the best one is his awful kids, Jean-Ralphio and Mona Lisa. Both are constantly costing Dr. Saperstein loads of money, and he tries to pawn them off occasionally. The gag makes for some of the show's best moments, like any time Mona Lisa begs her father for money. 

We’re first introduced to Jerry as Jerry Gergich, but as the series continues, he slowly evolves into different rhymes of his name, eventually even confusing himself on his actual identity. The cast felt so bad that so many running gags revolve around treating Jerry like dirt, they cast supermodel Christie Brinkley to play his wife. 

Arrested Development has some of the best running gags in sitcom history. In fact, this entire list could consist solely of the show’s jokes. One of the best jokes is about the banana stand, the random business venture that employs George Michael and sometimes Michael. One of George Sr.’s favorite phrases is “There’s always money in the banana stand,” and his progeny eventually find out they should’ve taken that statement much more literally. 

George Sr.’s time in jail is a major part of Arrested Development, so the writers incorporated a running joke there. Whether the message is coming from a guard or being repeated by George Sr. himself, everyone involved in the visit is well aware of the strict No Touching policy. 

There are literally dozens of them! Tobias suffers from Never Nudė, a debilitating syndrome that makes him incapable of being completely naked. His solution is to wear a pair of denim shorts. And he wears them everywhere — the shower, dressing rooms, the doctor’s office. Don’t get it twisted. It’s a condition. He doesn’t just like cutoffs. 

Despite clearly being the most rational member of his family, Michael is constantly being ragged on by his parents and siblings, particularly when it comes to dating. One way they mock him is by calling him a chicken through their unique chicken impressions, each one more strange and hysterical than the last. Has anyone in their family ever even seen a chicken? 

Jake Peralta is basically the human embodiment of a running joke. Several of Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s best gags come from the detective, including one of his catchphrases, “Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool.” Jake says it most often, but he says it so much it even spreads to Boyle and Captain Holt. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, indeed. 

Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s “Title of your sex tape” is their version of The Office’s “That’s what she said.” Jake Peralta aims the innuendo most often at Amy, but there are several other recipients. Even Captain Holt gets in on the joke by saying, “Title of your sextant tape.” But the best instance of the joke has to be Jake saying, “Title of our sex tape” after his first date with Amy. 

Perhaps one of the most famous running jokes in all of sitcom history, Joey was constantly hitting on women using his classic pick-up line, “How you doin’?” It was effective for the ladies’ man but made an even bigger impact on audiences. 

Another famous running gag in the Friends universe, Ross was constantly yelling, “We were on a break” at Rachel after their first breakup. Whether he was unfaithful was a major point of contention for the former couple. Fans still debate the issue to this day. 

Sitcoms of the 2000s might have perfected the running jokes, but we wouldn’t have the gags if it weren’t for the shows of the prior millennium that popularized the trope, like Full House. Michelle Tanner was responsible for the most adorable of all running jokes, responding to her family members with a thumbs up and a quick “You got it, dude.”

Most of New Girl’s running jokes were conceptual, and one of the very best was the douchėbag jar. The jar was introduced in the very first episode when the boys of the loft explained that every time Schmidt did or said something douchėy, he had to put money in the jar. The jar meets its end when Schmidt smashes it at his wedding to fulfill a Jewish tradition of stepping on glass. 

The Dunphys, like most Americans, live in a house with at least one thing that needs fixing. For them, it’s a step on their staircase. Phil is the most frequent victim, usually following up his trip with a quick “Gotta fix that step,” but every member of the Dunphy household fall prey to the broken step. 

Jenna Maroney is constantly trying to make moves in her career, even if that means taking a role in a movie with a ridiculous title that none of her co-workers can understand or pronounce. Eventually, everyone learns what it’s actually called, but the film still comes up throughout the series. 

Jack constantly advises his employees, and one of the worst pieces of advice is visiting Dr. Spaceman. Aside from being a terrible physician who hands out absurd pamphlets, the most laughable part of Dr. Spaceman is the pronunciation of his name. 

You don’t have to be a sitcom buff to know about the quintessential Family Matters running gag. Everybody’s favorite nerd, Steve Urkel, and his catchphrase “Did I do that?” is television iconography, and it’s even been referenced by other sitcoms a time or two. This list wouldn’t exist without Steve Urkel’s early contributions to the running joke.