​On Sunday, Oct. 5, John Mulaney, standup comic and writer for SNL, will make his sitcom debut on Fox with his self-titled series, Mulaney. He’s not the only standup comedian to do so this season, with ABC’s Cristela making its series premiere Friday, Oct. 10 on ABC, starring Cristela Alonzo.

And these two are by far not the first standups to make their way from the stage to the TV screen, either. The tradition of pulling promising talent from comedy clubs to headline their own shows starts decades ago, and the tradition continues simply because it has worked. From Bob Newhart to Jerry Seinfeld, and Roseanne Barr to Louis C.K., both broadcast and cable networks have made household names out of us comedy nerds’ favorite headliners.

Before this season’s standups make their series debuts, Brief looks back on just a few other comics we all loved to watch.

Bob Newhart, The Bob Newhart Show:
Newhart, in his three-piece suit, helped CBS celebrate 50 years on the air.


Roseanne Barr, Roseanne:
Roseanne’s opening title sequence is recognizable to this day, panning around a typical day in her household, complete with dinner table fights and laughter.


Jerry Seinfeld, Seinfeld:
Seinfeld
went extra meta when it introduced the idea of a show about nothing… in a show about nothing.


Tim Allen, Home Improvement:
Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor got his own theme song on ABC for this musical promo.


Ray Romano, Everybody Loves Raymond:
Ray’s older brother embarrasses him when he does a Bill Cosby impression when CBS creates a lineup with both standups in one night.


Louis C.K., Louie:
Louis C.K. juxtaposes his onstage life with his family life in his FX series, which wrapped season four this summer.


John Mulaney, Mulaney:
This comedian mixes in his act from previous standup specials in his new show, premiering Oct. 5 on Fox, also starring legendary comic Martin Short.


Cristela Alonzo, Cristela:
Cristela brings her determination and wit to the new ABC comedy coming this October.

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