Can You Name the Sitcom From One Line of Its Theme Song?

By: Beth Hendricks
Estimated Completion Time
6 min
Can You Name the Sitcom From One Line of Its Theme Song?
Image: NBC

About This Quiz

Admit it: You've got that one song that gets stuck in your head no matter what you do. Maybe it's "Call Me Maybe," or perhaps you're more old-school with "Who Let The Dogs Out?" Then, there's always "YMCA." (You can thank us for that one later.) For us, a lot of times, it's the lyrics to a popular television sitcom that we can't pass up when we're channel surfing.

Remember this one? "You take the good/You take the bad/You take them both and there you have ..." What about, "What would we do baby, without us?" Or maybe this classic, "I don't know just what went wrong/Those were the days." (You're at least humming along at this point, right?)

TV show theme songs have sure changed over the years. Today, most of them are instrumental, leaving a lot to the imagination. In previous years, however, theme songs had something to say — about the show itself, about the theme of what you were getting ready to watch — or they were a bit of entertainment before the main act.

Do you think you can dive deep into your memory bank and pull out the right shows to match these theme song lyrics? You and these tunes "go together like a horse and carriage!" Lend us your ears, and we'll sing you a song ... or at least provide one for you to guess! Cue up the jukebox!


1 friends
NBC
What are you watching if you hear, "When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month or even your year, but I'll be there for you"?
"Boy Meets World"
"Friends"
"Will & Grace"
"Home Improvement"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Perhaps the most iconic sitcom of the 1990s, "Friends" followed a group of six, well, friends — three guys and three gals — as they navigated all of life's challenges. The theme song is so iconic that you can't help but sing — and clap — along.

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3 golden girls
NBC
Do you recognize which show these lyrics are from: "Thank you for being a friend/Traveled down a road and back again"?
"3rd Rock from the Sun"
"Law & Order"
"The X-Files"
"The Golden Girls"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

We'll just cut to the chase: Not loving "The Golden Girls" is simply un-American! OK? Gosh. Alright, fine, it's not quite that serious, but we did spend a lot of time laughing along with the antics of Blanche, Rose, Dorothy and Sophia.

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5 brady bunch
ABC
Surely you know this one: "Here's the story of a lovely lady/Who was bringing up three very lovely girls." What show was about to start when that song came on?
"The Brady Bunch"
"The Jeffersons"
"Good Times"
"Welcome Back, Kotter"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Marsha, Marsha, Marsha! If you guessed "The Brady Bunch," you got it right! This iconic television series dominated the airwaves for five seasons, and then its reruns could be found almost daily on at least one channel.

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11 cheers
NBC
"Sometimes you want to go/Where everybody knows your name," but do you know where those lyrics are from?
"Cheers"
"Miami Vice"
"The Cosby Show"
"The Facts of Life"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The lyrics to the theme song for the sitcom, "Cheers," which ran from 1982 to 1993, are used to describe a place "where everybody knows your name." The song continues, "And they're always glad you came/You want to be where you can see/The troubles are all the same/You want to be where everybody knows your name."

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14 mary tyler moore show
CBS
"Who can turn the world on with her smile?/Who can take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?" What show were these words from?
"I Dream of Jeannie"
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
"Green Acres"
"That Girl"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Well it's you girl, and you should know it/With each glance and every little movement you show it," are the lyrics that follow those in the question, from none other than "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

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4 fresh prince
NBC
What sitcom was coming on after these lyrics, "Now this is a story all about how/My life got flipped turned upside down"?
"The Cosby Show"
"The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"
"A Different World"
"The Jeffersons"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Do we get some serious street cred by admitting we remember all of the lyrics to the start of the sitcom, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"? Because we do remember them! We're "chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool," in case you were wondering.

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7 gilligans island
CBS
What show were you getting ready to watch if you heard this line, "Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip"?
"Gilligan's Island"
"The Love Boat"
"Fantasy Island"
"Charlie's Angels"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Gilligan's Island," starring Bob Denver and Alan Hale Jr., among others, was a popular show that aired from 1964 to 1967. Cast away on an island, the tourists aboard the Minnow thought they were headed out for a "three-hour tour," only to find themselves shipwrecked.

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9 full house
ABC
"Whatever happened to predictability/The milkman, the paperboy, evening TV?" Do you know what show these lyrics are from?
"Frasier"
"Full House"
"Family Matters"
"Mad About You"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

These lyrics played at the start of "Full House," a sitcom that ran on ABC from 1987 to 1995. The popularity of the show helped spawn a sequel series that started in 2016 on Netflix. Hey, better late than never!

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8 addams family
ABC
The theme song for this show had a lot to say: "They're creepy and they're kooky/Mysterious and spooky/They're all together ooky ..." What show is it from?
"Taxi"
"The Munsters"
"The Addams Family"
"Maude"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

We went way back in the archives for this one, all the way back to the mid-1960s. The television series, "The Addams Family," was based on a series of cartoons that originally appeared in "The New Yorker."

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10 beverly hillbillies
CBS
What sitcom was starting when this song came on? "Come and listen to my story about a man named Jed/A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed"?
"The Andy Griffith Show"
"Happy Days"
"The Beverly Hillbillies"
"Gilligan's Island"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You have to go back to the 1960s to find "The Beverly Hillbillies." The show followed a once-poor family after they struck oil and moved to ritzy Beverly Hills, California.

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2 growing pains
ABC
"Show me that smile again/Don't waste another minute on your cryin','" are lyrics from the theme song of which sitcom?
"Growing Pains"
"Home Improvement"
"Family Matters"
"Dawson's Creek"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Growing Pains," which starred Leonardo DiCaprio at one point, as well as Robin Thicke's dad, Alan, was a television sitcom that aired from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. Of course, we watched it for teen heartthrob, Kirk Cameron.

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6 big bang theory
CBS
Can you identify this sitcom by its lyrics: "Since the dawn of man is really not that long/As every galaxy was formed in less time than it takes to sing this song"?
"The Big Bang Theory"
"Party of Five"
"Twin Peaks"
"Dawson's Creek"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The "Big Bang Theory Theme" was written and performed by alt rockers, the Barenaked Ladies. "The Big Bang Theory" was a wildly popular sitcom that concluded its run in May 2019.

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12 threes company
ABC
What sitcom's theme song began, "Come and knock on our door/We've been waiting for you"?
"Hill Street Blues"
"Three's Company"
"Dallas"
"Quantum Leap"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

If you missed out on "Three's Company" (or its reruns), you really missed out! "Three's Company" starred John Ritter and his two female roommates. The show aired from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s.

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13 the jeffersons
CBS
"Well we're movin' on up/To the east side," should bring back memories. What show is it from?
"The Cosby Show"
"The Jeffersons"
"Sanford and Son"
"Martin"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The 1975-to-1985 sitcom, "The Jeffersons," is one of television history's longest-running sitcoms. It featured George and Louise Jefferson, played by Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford.

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34 green acres
CBS
Where do these theme song lyrics belong? "Farm livin' is the life for me/Land spreadin' out so far and wide/Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside."
"Good Times"
"Green Acres"
"Taxi"
"The Bob Newhart Show"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Green Acres is the place to be" is the opening line of the theme song for the sitcom, "Green Acres." This show from the 1960s featured Eva Gabor and was created from a radio show titled, "Granby's Green Acres."

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23 all in the family
CBS
"Boy, the way Glenn Miller played/Songs that made the Hit Parade," was the start of the theme song for which television show?
"Magnum, P.I."
"Night Court"
"All in the Family"
"The A-Team"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"All in the Family's" theme song, "Those Were the Days," was actually performed by two of the show's actors, Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton. The show followed a working-class family in the 1970s.

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29 married with children
Fox
Can you guess which show these lyrics belong to? "Love and marriage, love and marriage/Go together like a horse and carriage."
"Married... with Children"
"Doogie Howser, M.D."
"Family Matters"
"Roseanne"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Just thinking about these lyrics transports us back to the opening credits for the FOX sitcom, "Married... with Children," which aired between 1987 and 1997. The theme song was written by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, but performed by Frank Sinatra.

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16 facts of life
NBC
What song was starting if you heard these lyrics: "You take the good, you take the bad/You take them both and there you have ..."?
"The Facts of Life"
"Quantum Leap"
"Dallas"
"Family Ties"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"The Facts of Life" was one of the most popular sitcoms on television in the 1980s. Jo, Tootie, Blair and Natalie were like the sisters we never had, but always wanted. They were corralled by Edna Garrett at Eastland School.

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30 saved by the bell
NBC
"When I wake up in the morning/And the alarm gives out a warning/And I don't think I'll ever make it on time," was the start of what popular Saturday show?
"The Wonder Years"
"Alf"
"Saved by the Bell"
"Dawson's Creek"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You still have our hearts, Zach Morris! "Saved by the Bell" was a popular Saturday morning sitcom that ran from 1989 to 1993. It introduced us for the first time to people like Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez and Tiffani-Amber Thiessen.

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17 wonder years
ABC
Singer Joe Cocker crooned, "Oh, baby, I get by with a little help from my friends/By with a little help from my friends," at the start of which sitcom?
"The Wonder Years"
"Step by Step"
"Roseanne"
"Alf"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"The Wonder Years," a sitcom from the early 1990s, utilized the singing talent of Joe Cocker for its opening theme song. The song, written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon of the Beatles, was our way of knowing Kevin and Winnie were on the way.

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15 that 70s show
Fox
The cast of this show is seen traveling in a vehicle while these lyrics play: "Hanging out, down the street/The same old thing, we did last week." Which sitcom is it?
"Ally McBeal"
"Blossom"
"Will & Grace"
"That '70s Show"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Contrary to how it might sound, "That '70s Show," was not actually filmed in the 1970s, but rather in the late-1990s and early-2000s. It featured numerous Hollywood A-listers, including Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher and Wilmer Valderrama.

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weeds showtime
Showtime
"Little boxes on the hillside/Little boxes made of ticky tacky," is the start of the theme song for which of these TV programs?
"Californication"
"Weeds"
"Dexter"
"Better Call Saul"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Weeds" was a Showtime program that aired from 2005 to 2012 and starred Mary-Louise Parker. The show was about a suburban mom who turned to selling marijuana to help support her family.

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18 happy days
ABC
"Goodbye gray sky, hello blue/'Cause nothing can hold me when I hold you," are lyrics that belong to which of these shows?
"Alf"
"The Brady Bunch"
"Happy Days"
"Night Court"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Sunday, Monday, Happy Days/Tuesday, Wednesday, Happy Days ..." Do you remember these lyrics to the sitcom, "Happy Days"? We know you at least remember "The Fonz, don't you?" Ayyyyyy!

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19 dukes of hazzard
CBS
What show are you watching if you hear this tune, "Just the good ol' boys/Never meanin' no harm"?
"Magnum P.I."
"Night Rider"
"St. Elsewhere"
"The Dukes of Hazzard"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Just the good ol' boys/Never meanin' no harm" referred to cousins Bo and Luke Duke from the smash hit, "The Dukes of Hazzard," which aired in the early 1980s. The song continues, "Beats all you never saw/Been in trouble with the law/Since the day they was born."

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20 mash
CBS
These melancholy lyrics, "Through early morning fog I see/Visions of the things to be/The pains that are withheld for me," come from which show?
"Green Acres"
"Who's The Boss?"
"Married... with Children"
"M*A*S*H"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"M*A*S*H" ran during the 1970s and centered on the story of a group of doctors during the Korean War. Did you know that "M*A*S*H" stands for "Mobile Army Surgical Hospital"? Learn something new every day!

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21 diffrent strokes
NBC
Which show starts, "Now, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum/What might be right for you, may not be right for some"?
"Family Matters"
"Diff'rent Strokes"
"Family Ties"
"The Cosby Show"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It's another late 1970s/early 1980s sitcom here with "Diff'rent Strokes," which starred Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges. If you've ever seen the meme, "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?" it comes from this show.

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22 unbreakable kimmy schmidt
Netflix
Which show featured these lyrics: "I was outside cuttin' up bike tires with my grandson/When out of nowhere/Forty hundred police vehicles came bookin'"?
"My So-Called Life"
"Sabrina the Teenage Witch"
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" was a Netflix series that ran for four seasons, ending in January 2019. The series follows a young woman's life after she has been freed from a cult. Unbreakable, indeed!

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24 two and a half men
CBS
Which song's theme song featured these thought-provoking lyrics, "Men men men men/Manly men men men"?
"Two and a Half Men"
"Mad Men"
"The Third Man"
"Man of the World"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Two and a Half Men" had a good run on television, lasting 12 seasons before it concluded in 2015. The show starred Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer for a time before Sheen was ultimately replaced by Aston Kutcher.

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25 fraiser
NBC
Which show gave us these quirky theme song lines: "Hey, baby, I hear the blues a-callin'/Tossed salads and scrambled eggs"?
"Boston Common"
"The Single Guy"
"Frasier"
"Cheers"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Frasier," which starred Kelsey Grammer, first aired in 1993 and ran until mid-2004. The show was a spin-off from the wildly popular "Cheers," in which Crane left Boston and moved to Seattle to host a psychiatry radio show.

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26 malcom in the middle
Fox
This show's theme song repeats, "You're not the boss of me now," over and over. What sitcom is it from?
"Just Shoot Me!"
"Malcolm in the Middle"
"Hope & Gloria"
"Two and a Half Men"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The group, They Might Be Giants, sing the theme song titled, appropriately, "Boss of Me," for the FOX sitcom, "Malcolm in the Middle." Frankie Muniz starred as the show's titular character.

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27 scrubs
NBC
Can you guess which show these lyrics belong to? "I can't do this all on my own/No, I know, I'm no Superman."
"The Wonder Years"
"Scrubs"
"ER"
"Miami Vice"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Remember "ER?" Yeah, "Scrubs" was nothing like it, with its irreverent brand of hospital humor. It aired from 2001 to 2010 on NBC and starred Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke and Donald Faison, among others.

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31 wkrp
CBS
The theme song for which show began, "Baby, if you've ever wondered/Wondered whatever became of me"?
"The Bob Newhart Show"
"Good Times"
"WKRP in Cincinnati"
"Welcome Back, Kotter"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"WKRP in Cincinnati" was a sitcom that aired for four seasons from 1978 to 1982. The theme song continues, "I'm living on the air in Cincinnati, Cincinnati, WKRP." A sequel series, "The New WKRP in Cincinnati," aired in the early 1990s.

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32 whos the boss
ABC
What song are you watching if this song comes on? "There is more to life than what you're living/You take a chance and face the wind"?
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Who's the Boss?"
"Night Court"
"Remington Steele"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Hold us closer, Tony Danza! Danza starred in the show that called this song its theme, "Who's The Boss?" The song continues, "An open road and a road that's hidden/A brand new life around the bend."

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33 fame
NBC
Do you know which sitcom boasted these theme song lyrics? "I'm gonna live forever/I'm gonna learn how to fly, high."
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
"Flashdance"
"Fame"
"Maude"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The television program, "Fame," was created based on a movie by the same name that was released in 1980. The TV series followed from 1982 to 1987 and starred Debbie Allen, actress Phylicia Rashad's younger sister.

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35 love boat
ABC
You might "Set a course for adventure/Your mind on a new romance" in which of these sitcoms?
"Bewitched"
"Fantasy Island"
"Dallas"
"The Love Boat"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"The Love Boat soon will be making another run/The Love Boat promises something for everyone" are the two prior lines in the lyrics for the opening of the television program, "The Love Boat," which began in 1977 and aired for 10 years.

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NBC