Pop Culture Bracketology: Television, Comedy Region

With March Madness upon us, WEEKEND has gone a little bracket crazy. Over the next month, our staff will debate, discuss and argue their way through three 64-team pop culture-centric brackets to determine the best TV series on the air, the best active film director and the best music act of the moment. We will now post the pairings and starting next Monday, March 15, we'll begin weeding out the pretenders and celebrating the contenders. Posts will be updated accordingly.

For our television bracket, we are trying to figure out the best series on the air right now. The four regions are as follows: Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Action and Reality/Variety/Talk. Below are the pairings in the Comedy Region. Other pairings can be found in the right sidebar.

*UPDATED WITH STAFF COMMENTS*

Cory Barker: I'm pulling for Community in the comedy bracket. Anyone think it shouldn't take down Two and a Half Men?

Max McCombs: I'll agree.  I've only seen about 2 episodes of community, and they were fairly enjoyable. Two and a Half Men stopped being funny when the kid hit puberty.
 
I think I could make an argument for Psych over Modern Family.

CB: Ooooooooooh, I'd love that. I think Psych is criminally underrated. Criminally.

MM: I wholeheartedly agree. I know Modern Family is a critical darling, but the one episode I watched was thoroughly unmemorable and unfunny.

Austin Morris: Max, you must have caught one of the two or three mediocre-to-bad episodes of Modern Family, because outside of those it has been fantastic. However, I think that Psych has a consistent track record of being hilarious over multiple seasons, so I'd be disappointed but okay with a Psych upset.

Brian Marks: Also, I think Parks and Rec is way underrated, and better than Entourage. It's not just a copy of the Office anymore and Aziz Ansari is hilarious. Watching a pack of douchebags lost its appeal a long time ago.

..more to come!


1. "30 Rock" (NBC) vs.
16. "Hung" (HBO)

Someone wouldn't call "Hung" a comedy, but in the bad episodes of "Rock," it might not deserve the title either.

8. "How I Met Your Mother" (CBS) vs.
9. "Glee" (FOX)

Perhaps the most exciting match-up in the entire competition. The Barnacle or New Directions?

5. "Two and a Half Men" (CBS) vs.
12. "Community" (NBC)

The most popular comedy on television ratings wise versus the most popular comedy in old "Arrested Development" fan circles.

4. "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS) vs.
13. "Party Down" (Starz)

I can think of nothing witty or mean to say about either of these solid programs. Fail.

6. "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO) vs.
11. "It's Always Sunny in Philly" (FX)

These cable comedies usually make you laugh at the expense of the characters -- and we like doing that, right?

3. "The Office" (NBC) vs.
14. "Weeds" (Showtime)

Two veteran series that have lost a lot of their previous luster.

7. "Entourage" (HBO) vs.
10. "Parks and Recreation" (NBC)

One of these series wishes it could be 1/1000000000th as funny as the other. I won't tell which is which.

2. "Modern Family" (ABC) vs.
15. "Psych" (USA)

The nearly-universally loved newbie takes on the barely mentioned vet.