Summer is the perfect time to slow down, gather the family on the couch, and revisit the animated shows that shaped how we think about family on screen. Before streaming originals and algorithmic recommendations, these five series did something remarkable: they made us laugh at ourselves, together. Whether you watched them first run or are introducing them to a new generation, they reward a rewatch in ways you might not expect.
The Flintstones (1960–1966)
The show that proved animation could carry a primetime audience — and that it could do it with a family at its center. Fred and Wilma Flintstone, Barney and Betty Rubble, a stone-age suburb, and a surprising amount of warmth beneath the slapstick. The Flintstones invented a template — the well-meaning but bumbling dad, the patient and sharp wife, the loyal best friend — that dozens of shows would spend the next six decades trying to replicate. Watch a few episodes back to back and you'll see just how tight the writing is.
The Jetsons (1962–1987)
The Flintstones' space-age twin, set in a gleaming 2062 full of flying cars and robot maids. George Jetson worrying about his job, Jane managing the household, Judy navigating teenage crushes, and Elroy building gadgets in his room — the future, it turned out, had exactly the same family dynamics as the past. The Jetsons is funnier than you remember, and its vision of technology as both liberating and anxiety-inducing feels more relevant now than it did when it first aired.
The Simpsons (1989–present)
Seasons one through ten remain some of the best television ever made, animated or otherwise. Homer's relationship with his kids — dumb but devoted, chaotic but loving — set the standard for every complicated TV dad that followed. The early seasons in particular have a sweetness that tends to get lost in the cultural conversation about the show's later years. Start from the beginning, and be prepared for how sharp, sad, and genuinely funny it still is.
King of the Hill (1997–2010)
Mike Judge's quietly remarkable show about a propane salesman in Arlen, Texas is the most underrated entry on this list. Hank Hill isn't a joke — he's a man trying to do the right thing in a world that keeps changing around him. The show's warmth toward its characters, even when it's laughing at them, is rare in any genre. Bobby Hill's arc across the series is one of the most genuinely moving portrayals of a father and son learning to understand each other on television. Summer reruns were made for this show.
Family Guy (1999–present)
Before it became a meme factory, the early seasons of Family Guy were genuinely inventive and surprisingly grounded in the chaos of family life. Peter and Lois's marriage, the kids navigating a house where the parents are barely in control — there's a real sitcom inside the absurdism. The first four or five seasons, including the run that got the show cancelled and then brought it back, are worth revisiting as a document of a show figuring out just how strange it could be while still keeping the family at the center.
All five shows are easy to find across major streaming platforms, and all five have the same essential quality: they're better with someone else in the room. That's what makes them worth coming back to.