Sitcoms have been doing musical episodes for a long time, with some shows embracing the format more than others. This list rounds up five episodes that show sitcoms can hold their own on the small-screen stage. Each one proves that a show doesn’t need to be a drama to make a great musical work.
Once More, with Feeling
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” isn’t a sitcom by the usual definition, but it shares the genre’s spirit of comedy, horror and romance. Its Season 6 musical episode, “Once More, with Feeling,” stands as a particular standout.
A demon called Sweet forces the Scooby Gang to sing their inner thoughts aloud. Buffy belts “Overture/Going Through the Motions,” a song about her depression after dying. The episode blends dark undertones with light, playful numbers. “I’ll Never Tell,” sung by Anya and Xander, dances like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers while they struggle with their uncertain romance. It’s a swinging, cheeky duet with retro rhythms that will make you sway along.
The episode also features other numbers, including a song about a vampire’s loneliness and a closing number that ties the story together. The music moves between dark and funny, giving the show room to explore both sides of its characters.
My Musical
“Scrubs” built its whole identity around fantasy sequences. Season 6 delivered 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 dreams the entire staff of Sacred Heart Hospital breaking into song during her stay.
Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez wrote the music together, with Marx co-creating “Avenue Q,” and Lopez later writing for “The Book of Mormon” and “Frozen.” The songs are cheerful and lively, full of big melodies and theatrical touches that recall Broadway classics.
The opening ensemble piece, “Welcome to Sacred Heart,” sounds like “Another Opening, Another Show” from “Kiss Me Kate.” Carla sings “For the Last Time, I’m Dominican,” defending her ethnicity that Turk always overlooks — it mirrors the saucy “Tango: Maureen” from “Rent.” “Everything Comes Down to Poo” sounds like an absurd Irving Berlin’s “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”
The clear highlight is “Guy Love,” J.D. and Turk’s ode to their very, very close friendship. It’s a playful, tongue-in-cheek tribute to the classic musical duet, built on light harmonies and a chorus that repeatedly returns to the simple idea of, well, putting it simply, guy love.
The Nightman Cometh
“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” has hosted a children’s beauty pageant and run an underground sweatshop across 18 seasons. “The Nightman Cometh” was an early episode, but it remains one of the most elaborate and craziest things the series ever did.
Charlie believes staging an original musical will earn the Waitress’ heart. He comes up with the strangest show you’ve ever seen a win. The majority of the “songs” are delivered through speak-singing, with words that appear to pour out of the main characters at random. This perfectly conveys the feel of amateur theater.
The lyrics don’t really make sense. Dayman is a “master of karate and friendship for everyone.” That’s what makes the slapdash musical so chaotically entertaining to watch. 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
The fever haze of “Influenza: The Musical”, drawn from “Even Stevens”, sends Ren’s mind wandering into a strange dream where she pictures her classmates, teachers, parents, siblings and friends gathered together to sing and dance. Every member of the cast commits fully to the elaborate musical sequences, which were composed by John Coda, with intricate choreography by Kim Blank.
Christy Carlson Romano has a sweet, lovely voice. She later took on the role of a Disney Princess on a national tour of “Beauty and the Beast”, playing Belle. Lyricist John Wise would go on to contribute songs to “Mad TV,” “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,” and “That’s So Raven.”
Principal Wexler’s opening number, “Morning Announcements,” is a jazzy-style song that establishes the fever dream’s tone.
What Makes These Episodes Work
When a show turns into a musical episode, actors can break free from their regular parts. It lets them display abilities that viewers might never have seen before. Writers also get an opportunity to show off their songwriting gifts. A fine Broadway production leaves you singing its songs for days afterward. The finest sitcom musicals manage the same trick.
The songs in these episodes are memorable for a reason. They capture character, plot and emotion in ways dialogue alone cannot. They also give the shows room to be bigger and weirder than normal episodes. “Once More, with Feeling” turns Buffy’s grief into a full-scale production. “My Musical” lets the patient’s imagination run wild. “The Nightman Cometh” makes Charlie’s obsession feel truly unhinged.
“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 Revival Question
Season 11 has renewed The new “Scrubs” revival, and while it hasn’t attempted a musical episode since then, the prospect of it doing so would be thrilling.
A Final Note
A musical episode is not something every show can manage. Those that try tend to succeed when they put in the work. These five episodes prove it, with songs that are toe-tapping, glittering and often unforgettable.
Whether you’re humming “Guy Love” or “I’ll Never Tell,” these shows know how to turn a sitcom into a Broadway-style show for the small screen.
Source material: “5 Musical Sitcom Episodes That Always Have Us Singing Along With Them,” TVLine.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.