Television series

According to Jim

Name: According to Jim
Genre: Comedy, Family
Released: 2001
Cast: Jim Belushi, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Larry Joe Campbell, Taylor Atelian, Billi Bruno

Comedy
Light-hearted

A sitcom about a boisterous construction-company owner who drives his elegant wife to distraction with his stubborn antics and arrested-adolescent charm. Jim gets away with things through sheer lovability while Courtney Thorne-Smith rolls her eyes with surgical precision. It's comfort food: predictable, warm, never particularly ambitious, and occasionally very funny.

TVMaze rating

3.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like a traditional family sitcom where the marriage bickering drives everything and the warmth comes from two people who clearly enjoy annoying each other.

Skip it if the jokes are broad and the husband-as-breadwinner setup sits at the centre, so if that grates, the sitcom machinery will feel creaky quickly.

What it asks of you: Half-hour episodes, and well over a hundred of them, so it rewards settling in for a long, easy run of familiar rhythms rather than close attention.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Everybody Loves Raymond1996

The gold standard of domestic sitcoms: a husband who infuriates his wife, but the writing is sharper and the family dynamics (especially the mother-in-law) cut deeper. You'll recognize the formula because Jim basically inherits it.

But It's slower and more character-driven than According to Jim. Less mugging, more awkward silence. Some people find it depressing.

The King of Queens1998

Same era, same DNA—a lovable slob married to an exasperated woman, kids in the background, working-class warmth. But it's funnier and weirder, with genuinely surprising detours and better supporting characters.

But Runs nine seasons and some find it repetitive by year six. The spouse-frustration dynamic can feel meaner than According to Jim intends.

Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again2004

Jim Belushi's actual spiritual home: stand-up comedy about ordinary men being stubborn and confused about modern life. It's what he'd do if he wasn't tied to a family sitcom script. Raw and unfiltered.

But It's a concert film, not a story. The humor is very broad and will feel even broader if you're not already sympathetic to the register.

Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from According to Jim

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Schitt's Creek2015

Both are about families that work because of genuine affection underneath the bickering, but Schitt's Creek earns every moment of warmth rather than assuming it.

A family forced to live as equals after losing everything: the opposite of According to Jim's secure suburban world. But the same underlying principle—people who annoy each other stay together anyway. Funnier, better written, and genuinely moving in ways that sneak up on you.

But The first season is slow and the humor is very Canadian and dry. It's not broad in the way Belushi's comedy is; you have to be patient.

Home Improvement1991

Tim Allen plays essentially the same character—a man-child who breaks things and gets in trouble—but it's smarter about why men are like this. The show has genuine philosophy underneath the gags.

But It's more concerned with being *smart* than being funny. And it starts to take itself seriously in ways that might feel boring if you just want jokes.

Roseanne1988

The blueprint for working-class family comedy with actual stakes. Roseanne is the opposite of Cheryl—tougher, angrier, less patient—and the show's willingness to let money and exhaustion be real makes it feel alive in ways Jim cannot.

But It's often angry and occasionally bleak. If you love the coziness of According to Jim, this will feel like a direct rebuke.

The Middle2009

Spiritually a descendant of According to Jim but with better writing and a real sense of how financial strain actually affects a family. The parents are competent but overwhelmed; the kids are not precocious, they're just real.

But It's warmer than funny. The humor is gentle and observational, which some find meandering.

Mike & Molly2010

A comedy that actually likes its characters and doesn't punish them for being ordinary. Jim Belushi regulars will recognize the tone immediately—it's gentle, it's about affection, and it's not trying to be smart.

But It's essentially a single-joke show that runs eight seasons. Some find it thin.

Rules of Engagement2007

Similar domestic comedy with slightly edgier banter between married couples. It has more personality than According to Jim and isn't afraid of darker jokes, but it stays warm at the center.

But The ensemble structure means less focus on the marriage that drives the show. Some of the supporting cast feels like padding.

Last Man Standing2011

Tim Allen's second swing at the blue-collar patriarch role, this time in a more deliberately old-fashioned family setting. If you like Belushi's warmth and Allen's exasperation, this splits the difference.

But It gets increasingly politically pointed as it goes, which some love and others find tiresome. The early seasons are better.

Rectify2013

Both trust that characters are worth spending time with simply because they're human, even when they're difficult; Rectify extends that patience to its absolute limit.

A quiet Southern drama about a man trying to live an ordinary life after prison, told with enormous generosity and patience. Zero jokes, but the same underlying warmth and belief in people's basic goodness that makes According to Jim work. It's what you'd watch if you wanted to sit with a character you loved and just listen.

But It's slow, serious, and deeply melancholic. If you watch According to Jim for laughs and brightness, this will feel like the opposite of what you want.