5 Musical Sitcom Episodes That Always Have Us Singing Along With Them

Television has had a rich history of musical episodes for decades now. Even dramas like "Grey's Anatomy" have gotten in on the musical trend, but sitcoms arguably lend themselves best to a little impromptu singing. While some audiences can't stand the singsongy change of pace, there's something special about TV characters telling a story through song and expressing their emotions by singing. Toe-tapping songs and glittering choreography turn any sitcom into a Broadway-style show for the small screen.

Musical episodes also give actors an opportunity to step outside of their usual roles and show audiences a different side of their characters, while letting the performers themselves showcase talents we might not otherwise get to see. Likewise, the writers get a chance to strut their songwriting skills. Any good Broadway show has tunes that you'll keep humming long after the curtain comes down, and the same is true for the best musical episodes in sitcom history. 

Although not a sitcom in the traditional sense, Joss Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" often has as much comedy as it does drama. The show balanced the strange alchemy of horror, romance, and humor with the hellish growing pains of being a teenage girl. "Buffy" also did a lot of experimenting, with the Season 6 musical episode, "Once More, with Feeling," being a particular standout. The demon Sweet makes the Scooby Gang suddenly have no choice but to sing their inner thoughts. Buffy murders vampires with her stake while simultaneously belting "Overture/Going Through the Motions," a song about her depression after her death. 

The episode balances the story's darker undertones with some light, playful numbers. One of the most memorable songs is "I'll Never Tell," with Anya and Xander singing directly to the audience and dancing like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers while grappling with the uncertainty of their romantic relationship. It's a swinging, cheeky duet with retro rhythms that will make you sway along. The musical episode is the perfect concoction, as theatre is just as dramatic, emotional, and campy as anything in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Fantasy sequences are the lifeblood of "Scrubs," but Season 6 gave us one of the best fantasies in the series — and it wasn't even J.D.'s. In "My Musical," a patient with a temporal lobe aneurysm imagines the entire staff of Sacred Heart Hospital breaking into song during her stay. The music was written by Jeff Marx of "Avenue Q" fame and Robert Lopez, who would go on to write for "The Book of Mormon" and "Frozen." The songs are catchy and exuberant, evoking the great Broadway classics with big melodies and theatrical flourishes.

The opening ensemble piece, "Welcome to Sacred Heart," sounds like "Another Opening, Another Show" from "Kiss Me Kate." Carla singing "For the Last Time, I'm Dominican," where she defends her ethnicity that Turk always overlooks, mirrors the saucy "Tango: Maureen" from "Rent." While "Everything Comes Down to Poo" sounds like an absurd Irving Berlin's "Puttin' on the Ritz." 

The standout is unquestionably "Guy Love," J.D. and Turk's ode to their very, very close friendship. It's a smooth, tongue-in-cheek take on the classic musical duet, with light harmonies and a chorus that keeps circling back to the idea of, well, putting it simply, guy love. The new revival of "Scrubs" — which has been renewed for a season 11 — hasn't done another musical episode yet, but it would be exciting to see them try to do this again.

Over the course of 18 seasons, the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" gang has gotten up to so many twisted hijinks, like hosting a children's beauty pageant and running an underground sweatshop. "The Nightman Cometh" was an early episode, but still remains one of the most elaborate and craziest things the series ever did. It's also one of the best episodes in the entire series. 

Charlie thinks putting on an original musical will be the way to win the Waitress' heart, but of course he comes up with the strangest show you've ever seen. There are lots of not-so-subtle sexual innuendos between a little boy, his stolen innocence from the princess and "The Nightman" (a cat-like creature), with a troll who gleefully oversees the boy and demands payment for all who wish to see him. 

Most of the "songs" are just speak-singing, with words that seem to randomly pour out of the main characters, which actually captures the vibe of amateur theater perfectly. The lyrics themselves don't really make sense (Dayman is a "master of karate and friendship for everyone"), but that's what makes the slapdash musical so chaotically entertaining to watch. "The Nightman Cometh" takes dark, uncomfortable humor and wraps it in a happy-go-lucky musical package, put on by a group of people with absolutely zero musical talent or range. The songs are weird and genuinely unforgettable while still feeling completely true to the ridiculous world of "Always Sunny," where they are always pushing boundaries.

"Influenza: The Musical" from "Even Stevens" has a lot of fun positioning Ren as more than just a strait-laced foil to Louis. The episode lets her get wacky as she imagines  — in the haze of her fever — her classmates, teachers, parents, siblings, and friends singing and dancing. The cast gives it their all in the elaborate musical sequences composed by John Coda, with intricate choreography by Kim Blank. Christy Carlson Romano has a lovely, sweet voice. She even went on to play a Disney Princess on a national tour of "Beauty and the Beast" as Belle. Lyric writer John Wise would go on to write songs for "Mad TV," "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie," and "That's So Raven." 

The opening number, "Morning Announcements," from Principal Wexler, is a jazzy-style song that ends with Louis lounging on a lawn chair, slurping on a frozen drink. There's a "Phantom of the Opera"/"Les Misérables"-style song fittingly titled "Master of the Gym," where the kids are put to the test, jump-roping and hopping over tires. "Sixth Period, – with the keyboard hitting on the beat and the characters repeating "sixth period, sixth period" before dragging out the end note — sounds just like the beginning of "I Wanna Be a Producer" from "The Producers" with the unhappy accountants.

The most beloved song has to be "We Went to the Moon in 1969," which has Ren improvise her school project with humorously matter-of-fact lyrics: "We went to the moon in 1969, not 1968, but the year after." Its deliberately simple melody and repetitive lyrics make it impossible not to sing along to. The historical fact became a core memory for a lot of millennial kids who are still trying to get the song out of their heads as adults.

"Community" is one of the best sitcoms ever made because it was never afraid to go meta or poke fun at what a sitcom genre could be, from its "Star Wars"-inspired paintball game episode to an iconic stop-motion Christmas special.  These experiments were part of what made the series so unpredictable, inventive, and genuinely funny. Season 3's "Regional Holiday Music" satirized Ryan Murphy's "Glee," which was a phenomenon when the episode aired in 2011. 

Mr. Rad, an overzealous glee club teacher, ropes the study group into the annual Christmas pageant. He even has a song where he, much like Mr. Schuester, flexes his musical prowess to convince Abed to join. The episode mocks "Glee" down to the random bearded piano player and the risers in the room. This episode is also stuffed with songs like a Christmas stocking. There's Donald Glover rapping "We Have to Save Christmas to Save Our Friends," which is filmed like an early-2000s music video with him rapping into the camera amidst extreme close-ups, and sleek, cool blue tones. Annie's "Santa Seduction" has her hilariously singing in a creepy, baby Betty Boop-like voice in a sexy Santa outfit to seduce Jeff.

"Baby Boomer Santa" might be the catchiest and all-encompassing song in the episode's soundtrack, moving from boogie-woogie to rockabilly to disco. The chorus is fittingly boppy, as Pierce (Chevy Chase) joins in, sounding like an even more gravelly Bruce Springsteen. Not only are the songs creative, but by spoofing "Glee," the episode shows how "Community" always had its finger on the pulse of what was currently going on in pop culture.