For as long as television has existed, there has been footage that never made the final cut. This is mostly because things don’t always go according to plan in TV land. Hours are grueling, filming gets tiresome, and sometimes mishaps can bring a bit of levity to the process.
At best, these mistakes deliver an unintentional gag that eventually ends up in a blooper reel for audiences to enjoy.
Although every show is prone to a funny flub or two, it’s only natural that some of the best outtakes come from the sitcoms genre. However, there are also some dramas with superbly funny moments that also make the cut.
Check out our picks for the best television bloopers of all time below.
From start to finish, no one can withstand laughing at Tim Conway’s absurd elephant story. The longer it goes on, the more the cast begins to break.
This war dramedy is meant to have a serious tone with a bit of levity due to the story’s setting. But it’s not supposed to be this silly, which is why it’s great. Everyone is charmingly flippant with each other and curses like sailors instead of soldiers.
The outtakes here have it all, some bleeped swearing, the actors interacting with outside distractions, and the crew recovering from some serious stumbles and just rolling with the punches.
When the cast of Girlfriends fumbles a word, they create an entire language of humorous gibberish in the bloopers above. They also don’t mind dramatically telling their coworkers they’ve completely forgotten their lines.
There is three hours’ worth of Supernatural bloopers compiled on the internet, and it’s nothing short of a full-on sibling romper when Jensen and Jared take the scene. And then the bloopers evolved once Misha joined the cast.
What makes Martin bloopers so funny is that the best of them usually made it in the actual episodes. The cast breaks more than SNL, but it only enhances the ridiculous comedy the series is known for. One of our favorites is Martin continuously ruining the scene by singing Montell Jordan’s “This is How We Do It” at the height of its popularity. It was so funny that the rest of the cast referenced the outtake in the actual episode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-yquvudozw
Everyone on the set of Fresh Prince had a genuine love for one another that still shines through to this day. So watching them all flub their lines in extremely goofy fashion feels like a real window into their usual interactions.
The cast of Parks and Recs feels like a bunch of family members and siblings having fun in these bloopers. Our favorite outtake is April pretending to be Champion the dog, saying a bunch of inappropriate things to Ann.
It’s got to be hard to keep a straight face when you’re part of The Office, especially considering all the goofy things they have to say. Take the season 4 blooper reel (which includes scenes from the dinner party/flat screen TV episode); Steve Carell cannot essay he’s a good guy that runs over women with his car without busting out laughing.
The improv on this show is lethal in terms of funny, and sometimes even the most seasoned veteran is susceptible to break. Case in point, it’s always sunny. Even though the series is coming up on its 16th season, they’re still cracking each other up and having as much fun as when the show started.