'Ted' Cast Admits These Comedies Could Not Be Made Today | Sorry Not Sorry

Comedy never really stays the same. The changes have always been about what the jokes are built around instead of the actual humor. The structure can stay the same. The timing can still work. But the context is where things get hazy. That's where the "you couldn't make this today" argument comes from, which is something the cast of the Peacock series Ted discussed with JustWatch.

WATCH: 'Ted' Cast Admits These Comedies Could NOT Be Made Today!

When asked to name their favorite comedies that could not be made today, the cast readily shared their thoughts. "And the closest to that comedy way back when I was a kid would be Benny Hill," Alanna Ubach said, comparing the 1955 British sketch show to Ted. From there, Scott Grimes broadened it, grouping an entire era together.

"That's a great answer," Grimes said, agreeing with his co-star. "Late '70s early '80s… every single one of them... You can't do Three's Company anymore, even though it was hilarious. I laughed at it. And the women on that show allowed that type of humor. They were awesome actors. They got it. But you can't do that anymore. We've moved on from all that."

Ubach framed it slightly differently, saying the type of humor that existed in the sitcoms of yesteryear was simply a sign of the times. "The wonderful thing about [Three's Company] is it's a period piece. And so you can get away with things like that because those things happened back in the '90s." And Max Burkholder picked the 1974 film Blazing Saddles, the least problematic pick of the bunch.

Scott Grimes Is Wrong About 'Three's Company'

Three's Company still gets remembered as easy, surface-level comedy, and in a lot of ways, it is. The story begins when Jack Tripper (John Ritter) moves in with Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt) and Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers). Since their landlord, Mr. Roper (Norman Fell), disapproves of mixed-gender housing, Jack pretends to be gay, which leads to slapstick cover-ups.

Most of the jokes rely on sexual innuendo and physical comedy from the characters to punctuate their schemes and get themselves out of various dilemmas. Running gags were often based on Jack being gay and Chrissy's blonde moments. But the idea that "the women on that show allowed that type of humor" doesn't really line up with how the show actually functioned behind the scenes.

In the book Come and Knock on Our Door: A Hers and Hers and His Guide to Three's Company, DeWitt spoke openly about how the producers offered the women little to no respect, saying she ran into a "cement wall" when she offered input about the creative direction of her character. That does not sound like someone who is fully on board with the tone of a show.

According to Yahoo! Entertainment, Somers also didn't have a very good time on Three's Company. After asking for equal pay and a level of recognition that matched her role in the show, she was promptly written out, and Chrissy was replaced with a new character. So yes, people laughed. But framing it as something everyone involved was comfortable with is a factual misrepresentation.

Growth Is Not The Same As Humor Restrictions

The Benny Hill Show is often used as an example for a type of comedy that no longer exists, usually without much explanation beyond that. And while it's true that the jokes wouldn't land the same way now, that didn't come out of nowhere. While the show's sketch format had a major influence on a lot of what came after it, the way women were used within those sketches is troubling.

They weren't written as fully developed characters. Most of the time, they functioned as part of the setup or the visual punchline. That was the structure the show thrived on. Even at the time, it drew criticism for it. Conversations around sexism and objectification weren't added later. They were already happening while the show was still widely popular.

Audiences didn't just "move on from all that" years later. The discomfort was already there, and over time, it became harder to ignore or dismiss. So when people say "you can't do that anymore," it tends to flatten what actually changed. The mechanics of the comedy didn't stop working. What changed was how people responded to who the jokes were aimed at. And rightly so.

Blazing Saddles is also super cringey. The satirical comedy-Western follows railroad worker Bart (Cleavon Little), who is appointed as the first Black sheriff of the bigoted town of Rock Ridge. When the town is set to be demolished, Bart teams up with alcoholic gunfighter Jim (Gene Wilder) to defend it. There's obviously a lot wrong with that premise, but it would take days to unpack it all.

Why To Watch Comedies That Could Not Be Made Today (And What To Watch After)

Three's Company is still tolerable if you know what you're getting going in. Ritter's comedic timing is brilliant, and the structure keeps things moving before the misogyny ick fully kicks in. If that sounds like something you'd be into, Frasier (1993) offers a more balanced version of the same misunderstanding-driven format, with stronger character work across the board.

The Benny Hill Show is more uneven to go back to. You can see the influence it had, especially in pacing, but (depending on who you ask) it really hasn't aged well. Some of the jokes still work on a technical level, so if you want something from a similar era that holds together more consistently, Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969) is a better reference point.

Again, Blazing Saddles is the strongest of the bunch because it doesn't just rely on shock humor and is more deliberate in what it's doing. The movie targets specific ideas, and that distinction is what gives it more staying power. If that works for you, 1974's Young Frankenstein carries a similar precision, just with a different tone.