Ranked: TV Comedy Callbacks Worth The Wait

The Set-Up:This joke started in the first season, episode “Communication Studies,” when a character mentioned the name. The same happened in the second season, episode “Collaborative Calligraphy.” Each time, it was a quick moment.

The Payoff:The writers ofCommunityplayed the long game. The joke peaked in the third season episode “Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps.” When “Beetlejuice” is mentioned a third time, someone dressed as Tim Burton’s character walks by in the background, though the characters mostly ignore him.

How Long We Had To Wait:Fans waited three seasons to see this joke pay off. It was definitely worth the wait.

The Set-Up:From the start of The Big Bang Theory,the broken elevator shaped the set design. It became funny because no one knew why it was broken or why it stayed that way.

The Payoff:In the third season, viewers learned the truth. Leonard messed with jet fuel. Sheldon saved him by keeping the fuel in the elevator and did not report him. This reveal touched viewers because it showed why Leonard and Sheldon remained friends despite their differences and Sheldon’s odd habits.

How Long We Had To Wait:It took three seasons for the show to explain how the elevator broke.

The Set-Up:For all eight seasons, Newhartfocused on Bob Newhart’s character Dick and his Vermont inn..Dick and his wife Joanna are out of their element, but they bond with the odd town characters they live with.

The Payoff:The callback is sly. In the finale, the whole show turns out to be a dream from Newhart’s earlier character, Dr. Robert Hartley, who appeared in The Bob Newhart Show.Hartley’s wife, played by Suzanne Pleshette, appears. She thinks the dream is just Hartley eating Japanese food before bed.

How Long We Had To Wait:Viewers waited for the whole eight-season run. The payoff only works if you also saw The Bob Newhart Show,which ended in 1978.

The Set-Up:This joke began in the second season. Marshall and Barney bet on the truth about Robin’s past. Barney got punished for slapping Marshall because he thought he was right about her being a former adult film star, when she was actually a popstar. Marshall then got to slap Barney whenever he wanted, with no warning.

The Payoff:Marshall slapped Barney in seasons two, three, five, and seven. Marshall got three extra slaps in the series' ninth season, slapping Barney before his wedding to Robin. This ending hit hard because it showed Barney how lucky he was to marry Robin.

How Long We Had To Wait:The viewers ofHow I Met Your MotherViewers waited a long time for this joke's payoff, stretching across seasons two through nine of the show.

The Set-Up:The OfficeThe show plays the long game well. In season three, Dwight mentions the Schrutes always end up marrying while standing in their graves. This line is funny, but it seems like a throwaway.

The Payoff:In the series finale, Dwight and Angela stand in their graves reciting their vows. This amusing, dark joke shows the show's writing skill and the Schrute clan's unique sense of humor. It manages to be sweet and funny in a finale for The Officecould be.

How Long We Had To Wait:This payoff took a long time, running between seasons three and nine of the show.

The Set-Up:In the first season of Rick and Morty,Morty forces Rick to agree he chooses every tenth adventure. They use a punch card to track this system.

The Payoff:This joke finally paid off for Morty and the viewer in the episode “Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender.” Seeing Morty call the shots is funny, and seeing Rick lose his game is fun. The punch cards appear again in season seven when Rick questions the cards' truth, causing more chaos.

How Long We Had To Wait:This joke appeared in the first season, then the third, and again in the seventh.

The Set-Up:Foreshadowing shows Buster losing his hand across the second season of Arrested Development.Perhaps funniest, the third episode shows Buster saying, “Wow, I never thought I’d miss a hand so much” after finding his hand-shaped chair.

The Payoff:In the eleventh episode of the second season, this foreshadowing happens: Buster loses his hand to a seal. This moment is both hysterical and disturbing, given the dark humor in Arrested DevelopmentThis loss will haunt the poor guy for the rest of the series.

How Long We Had To Wait: Fans waited a season for a payoff they did not know was set up in earlier episodes. This works best during a rewatch.

The Set-Up: The surly Comic Book Guy character first appears in The Simpsons He appeared late in the second season. He made an immediate impression, capturing the stereotypical comic bookstore owner. He remained nameless for several seasons, just called Comic Book Guy.

The Payoff: In 2005, Comic Book Guy finally got a name. He told Ned Flanders, somewhat casually, his name was Jeffery Albertson. This delivery was so offhand and anticlimactic; people found it amusing, especially given how many others Simpsons Revelations were hyped.

The Simpsons Creator Matt Groening said he wanted Comic Book Guy's name to be Louis Lane, but he did not appear when the name was decided.

How Long We Had To Wait: The reveal took a long time. It stretched from season two (1991) to season sixteen (2005).

The Set-Up: This joke setup comes from the finale of Seinfeld which Larry David, star and creator of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Fans reacted poorly to that end to a classic sitcom, and it stays divisive.

The Payoff: In the seventh season episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, titled “Seinfeld,” David creates a reunion show for Seinfeld, showing what happened to the characters after the series ended.. This is ridiculously silly, something only a Seinfeld in-joke could be. Jerry Seinfeld himself says they messed up the earlier finale. This is a self-reflexive moment in a series known for its jokes and slyness.

Curb Your Enthusiasm's own series finale has many callbacks to Seinfeld's as well, including a scene where David and Seinfeld realize how they should have ended their original hit sitcom.

How Long We Had To Wait: Seinfeld ended in 1998. Viewers waited 11 years and seven seasons for Curb Your Enthusiasm for this callback to land. Then, another 15 years passed before the final joke in Curb's finale.

The Set-Up: This sinister joke started in the third season with a severed foot. It reappeared in several later seasons.

The Payoff: In the series finale, Elias seems to have been the serial killer all along because he has a foot on his person. This is darkly funny; he was a constant presence in the store but said very little. There is some doubt about this reveal since it is unclear if he murdered The feet belonged to people, or he was just a morbid collector. Either way, this ends a series in a bleakly absurd way.

How Long We Had To Wait: Audiences waited three seasons to learn who owned the detached feet.

The Set-Up: Tom Hanks' callback starts in the first episode. Like many great jokes, it appears in Veep, Absurdity colors Veep. After Selina uses the r-word in a speech, her team panics about the news. Press secretary Mike McLintock suggests they wait for bigger news, like Tom Hanks dying.

The Payoff: The series finale shows a time jump. Characters gather for Selina’s funeral. Selina died around 76. Hanks died at 88. This end is ignominious for Selina, who gave up everything for power. It also concludes the series darkly and hilariously.

How Long We Had To Wait: Fans waited seven seasons to see the show reference Tom Hanks’s death.

The Set-Up: Britta’s iPod Nano story began in season one. She faced scorn from teenagers over her portable CD player. The episode ends with a note hinting at her owning an iPod Nano years later.

The Payoff: Britta finally got the sought-after iPod in season five of Community, Britta inherits the device after Pierce leaves a polygraph. This offers a touching sitcom callback. Pierce loaded it with songs for Britta. She listened to it to calm down after Subway took over the college.

How Long We Had To Wait: Audiences waited five seasons to see this joke come true.

The Set-Up: The Douchebag Jar encourages Schmidt to stop his bad behavior. He must put money in every time he acts like a douchebag. The jar appears from the start. It fails to work much because Schmidt never feels shame.

The Payoff: The jar lasts until season five. Schmidt finally breaks it at his wedding instead of the glass. This ends the jar well, as Schmidt seems to control his worst habits, or at least enough for someone to marry him.

How Long We Had To Wait: Five seasons provided Schmidt time to grow as a character, making the wait for the payoff feel right.

The Set-Up: The famous goat inHow I Met Your MotherThe show first introduces the goat in season one. The future Ted tells his kids he found a goat in his bathroom on his 30th birthday.

The Payoff: The goat first appears in season three. Lily rescues the animal after learning it was going to be slaughtered. It shows again in season four when Ted finds the animal in his apartment and confronts it. This payoff works well because a goat appearing in a house is inherently funny, whether it is a 30th or 31st birthday. The discovery of the goat greatly affected Ted’s life, even though she hospitalized him.

How Long We Had To Wait: The goat appears first in season one, then shows up in seasons three and four.

The Set-Up: Appropriately enough,SeinfeldJerry and George have a dull talk about buttoning their shirts. This sets up a show known for being about nothing.

The Payoff: InSeinfeld,Jerry and George talk about shirts and buttons. This ends where it started. This banality fits a Seinfeld finale. It shows how little the characters learned from their time together or their final legal trouble.SeinfeldThe finale shows another sign of how little the characters learned from their time or their last legal issue.

How Long We Had To Wait: Fans waited a long time for this payoff. It occurs at the end of the ninth season. Before streaming and DVR, only devoted fans or those watching reruns caught the joke.

The Set-Up: In the seventh episode of season one, Ted Lasso suggests the team watch a movie or fight with pillows. They choose the movie. Lasso is disappointed, but it builds team bonds.

The Payoff: In the third season episode “Sunflowers,” the team struggles in Amsterdam. After spending the evening, they have the long-delayed pillow fight. This scene feels both touching and silly, which is exactly what you expect from a Ted Lasso episode.Ted Lasso.

How Long We Had To Wait: Given the short run ofTed Lasso - The wait for this callback was short. The setup was in season one; the payoff was in season three.

The Set-Up: One amusing moment in the early seasons ofSchitt’s CreekMoira tries to record a commercial for vintner Herb Ertlinger. In the episode “Wine and Roses,” Moira becomes very drunk, messing up her lines for the ad. This makes viewers laugh but disappoints Ertlinger.

The Payoff: Ertlinger’s wines appear again in season six’s episode “Moira Rosé.” Moira tries the drink again, mostly so he can name a wine after her. Moira and her son David bond, but Ertlinger’s wines remain bad, and Moira still cannot say his name right. Watching Catherine O’Hara and Dan Levy trade comedy energy shows how much things have changed since the start.

How Long We Had To Wait: Audiences waited for the whole show to get this joke’s payoff. This rewards those who stuck with the show from the beginning.

The Set-Up: Liza Minnelli’s Lucille Austero, known as Lucille 2, steals the show on the show. She also suffers from vertigo, calling it “the dizzies.” This character trait appears when she first appears in season one.

The Payoff: Season two reveals Lucille 2 owns a stock company called Standpoor. This joke works because it layers a reference to Lucille’s constant vertigo and flips the name of Bluth family rival Sam Sitwell. It also points to the credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s.

How Long We Had To Wait: The wait for this pun was short. Writers introduced the joke in just one season.

The Set-Up: Brooklyn Nine-Nine The show first introduces Richard and Dan, who are a mix of corgi and Rottweiler, in the first-season episode “Pontiac Bandit.” Captain Holt clearly dislikes them, but Boyle shows he will take them.

The Payoff: Richard and Dan appear in season two’s episode “Payback.” Because of Richard’s carelessness, Jake must help the precinct members. This involves washing Boyle's twin pups, which are bigger than they were in season one. Jake faces a tough job with the two, as Boyle points out they just watched Peabody and Sherman. The look on Jake’s face is worth the wait.

How Long We Had To Wait: It took only one season for viewers to learn what happened to Boyle’s pups.