10 Best Carol Burnett TV Shows and Movies, Ranked

Carol Burnett is an Emmy-winning actress and comedy icon who became a household name during the late 1960s with her infamous variety sketch comedy series, The Carol Burnett Show, making her one of the first women to host a show. Born in San Antonio, Texas, Burnett and her family eventually moved to Los Angeles, where she studied theater and musical comedy at UCLA. After establishing herself on the Broadway stage, she made her television debut on The Garry Moore Show as a series regular. While Burnett continued to dominate the world of television, she also appeared in various popular films, including The Front Page, Annie, and Noises Off…

Today, Burnett continues to work and most recently starred on Apple TV’s Emmy-nominated series, Palm Royale, starring Kristen Wiig, Ricky Martin, and Laura Dern. At the impressive age of ninety-one years old, Burnett has maintained a successful and steady career for over several decades. Out of her entire list of television and film projects, such as The Twilight Zone and Better Call Saul, these are the ten best Carol Burnett TV and movie roles!

10 ‘Annie’ (1982)

Directed by John Huston

Burnett stars as the cruel alcoholic Miss Hannigan in John Huston‘s film adaptation of the 1977 Broadway musical comedy Annie. Set in New York City during the Great Depression, the film follows the story of a young girl, Annie (Aileen Quinn), who lives at an orphanage poorly run by Hannigan. When the secretary of a billionaire, Oliver Warbucks (Albert Finney), arrives at the orphanage, she selects Annie as the lucky child who gets to spend one week living at Warbucks’ home.

Annie is a humorous family film, but most of the comedy gold comes from Burnett’s performance as the lush supervisor, showing off her incredible physical and slapstick comedy, which essentially provides a bit of a redeeming quality to her ratchet character. The movie earned generally positive reviews from critics, including Roger Ebert, who gave the film three out of four stars, noting Burnett’s performance as one of the film’s best.

Rent on Amazon

9 ‘The Lucy Show’ (1962-1968)

Created by Bob Carroll Jr., Madelyn Davis, and Bob Schiller

Burnett appeared in several episodes as a shy librarian and Lucille Ball‘s roommate, Carol Bradford, on The Lucy Show, which was Ball’s follow-up series to her iconic sitcom, I Love Lucy. The two find themselves in ridiculous antics and tough situations that all result in the classic humor of Ball that audiences know and love. Burnett plays more of a straight character who compliments Ball’s traditional wacky, loud self, creating a perfect blend of a comedic duo.

While they are pure magic on camera, Ball was also Burnett’s mentor and a huge influence on her life and comedy career. Ball often appeared on The Carol Burnett Show and Burnett also appeared in Ball’s 1968 sitcom, Here’s Lucy. According to an interview with Turner Classic Movies, Burnett’s mother named her after the Queen of Screwball Comedy, Carole Lombard, who, ironically, was Ball’s mentor, bringing three of Hollywood’s greatest female comedians full circle.

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8 ‘Mad About You’ (1992-1999)

Created by Paul Reiser and Danny Jacobson

Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt star in the hit 90s sitcom Mad About You as a married couple, Paul and Jamie Buchman, who live happily together in New York. With the unwavering support of their friends and their faithful canine roommates, Murray, Paul, and Jamie learn to grow as both a married couple and as mature individuals who never seem to have a dull moment in their fast-paced lives.

Burnett plays Jamie’s mother, Theresa Stemple, with another comedy legend and star of All in the Family, Carroll O’Connor, as her husband and Jamie’s father, Gus. The stars appeared in eleven episodes, making their debut in season 5, episode 6, ‘Jamie’s Parents,’ where they stay with the young married couple for a few days and abruptly announce that they’re separating. Burnett and O’Connor are a hilarious bickering duo who take shot after shot at each other with witty one-liners and relentless sarcasm, deeming them to be one of the most underrated guest star duos in television history.

7 ‘Better Call Saul’ (2015-2022)

Created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould

Bob Odenkirk stars in the Breaking Bad spin-off series, Better Call Saul, which is set six years before the events of Breaking Bad but also gives viewers a look into Saul’s movements after the original series. Burnett guest stars as an elderly woman, Marion, who crosses paths with Saul after his trouble in Albuquerque and is now living under the alias of Gene Takavic in Omaha, Nebraska.

Burnett stands out as the highlight of the series’ final season of Better Call Saul with a riveting dramatic performance that also brings some comic relief to the intensity leading up to Saul’s fate. The role showcases Burnett’s incredibly marginalized range as a dramatic actress, making it one of her most memorable television roles in recent years. Even though she takes on an against-type role, Burnett still manages to add a touch of deadpan, dry humor, and spontaneity to her character, especially the scenes she shares with Odenkirk, which stand out as some of the season’s best.

6 ‘Noises Off…’ (1992)

Directed by Peter Bogdanovich

Burnett stars in Peter Bogdanovich‘s dramatic comedy, Noises Off… with an ensemble cast consisting of notable names including Michael Caine, John Ritter, and Christopher Reeves. The movie tells the story of a group of eccentric actors starring in an upcoming Broadway production, but as the premiere approaches, each character is stuck in their own drama, such as having a lack of confidence in their talent, feeling they are past their prime, or the inability to stay sober.

Noises Off… is a frenzy of a comedy featuring Burnett at the top of her game as a veteran actress who believes she is past her prime. Burnett goes beyond the traditional over-the-top dramatic antics of a star who senses that their light is about to be extinguished, conveying essentially a humorous Norma Desmond-type character. While most critics felt the film would have been better suited for the stage, they still praised the overall performances in the film, naming Burnett as one of the standout performances.

Rent on Amazon

5 ‘Law & Order: SVU’ (1999- )

Created by Dick Wolf

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has always managed to get some A-list guest stars, but Burnett’s role as the seemingly grieving widow and former dancer, Birdie Sulloway, in season 10, episode 16, ‘Ballerina,’ is by far one of the show’s most unforgettable guest appearances. In another against-type role, Burnett portrays the wealthy but charitable Sulloway as a victim of unlucky circumstances after becoming a widow for the second time when she learns that her husband has been murdered, but in reality, she is the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Her performance is alluring, adding a unique shock value to the episode as she slowly reveals her true colors as a conniving black widow who manipulated her “nephew,” played by Scream star Matthew Lillard, to do her dirty work for decades. Burnett’s guest appearances reign as one of the series’ top-tier performances by a guest star, which earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, cementing it as one of her finest television roles of all time.

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4 ‘The Twilight Zone’ (1959-1964)

Created by Rod Serling

Burnett enters the Fifth Dimension in season 3, episode 36, ‘Cavender is Coming,’ as a down-on-her-luck young woman, Agnes Gerp, who is visited by her guardian angel, Harmon Cavender (Jesse White), who, if he is successful in helping her, will receive his wings. Similar to the dynamic of George Bailey and Clarence in Frank Capra‘s It’s a Wonderful Life, Gerp is given a life of luxury, but she soon realizes she prefers her humdrum life over high society.

There are very few humorous episodes in Rod Serling‘s groundbreaking sci-fi series, The Twilight Zone, and Burnett’s episode ranks as one of the series’ top comedic episodes with a heartfelt message. Burnett delivers an endearing and sentimental performance, but she still brings a sense of deadpan and dry humor, which doesn’t take away from the wholesome theme of the episode. Dozens of established and up-and-coming stars appeared in Serling’s The Twilight Zone, but Burnett’s performance was highly underrated and easily one of the actress’s best.

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3 ‘The Front Page’ (1974)

Directed by Billy Wilder

Burnett stars alongside Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in Billy Wilder‘s underrated comedy, The Front Page, which is based on the popular 1931 stage play by the same name. Lemmon takes on the role of a star news reporter, Hildy Johnson, who decides to resign and finally settle down, but when his editor (Matthau) learns about his plans, he goes to extreme lengths to keep his star reporter on board. When an inmate on death row escapes from his cell, Johnson’s reporting instincts naturally kick in, delaying his departure and upcoming wedding.

Burnett stars as a friend of the inmate, Mollie Malloy, who soon finds herself entangled in the series of events, but unlike the other characters, Burnett’s character brings the melodrama to this dramedy, making it one of her most impressive performances. With a comedic talent such as Burnett, it would be hard to keep a straight face around a duo like Lemmon and Matthau, but she effortlessly executes her character without bringing down the film’s humor.

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2 ‘Palm Royale’ (2024- )

Created by Abe Sylvia

In her most recent television role, Burnett stars in the Apple original series, Palm Royale, as Norma Dellacorte, who is the Queen of Palm Beach, but when she ends up in a coma, her nephew, Douglas (Josh Lucas), and his new wife, Maxine (Kristen Wiig), arrive to care for her and hopefully inherit her estate. As Maxine tries to fit in with the city’s elite, Norma slowly starts to get better while her secrets begin to slip out of the closet.

Burnett utterly shines as Norma Dellacorte who, once she is conscious, is unable to speak clearly, allowing Burnett to showcase her physical comedy to the full, near-perfect extent with humorous nonsense ramblings and facial expressions that make her a comedic delight in this spectacular series. The best part about Burnett’s character is similar to her portrayal of Birdie Sulloway, and as she effectively fools everyone with her helpless, frail act, she finally reveals her cards, which left audiences jaw-dropped. Burnett recently received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her showstopping performance, qualifying Norma Dellacorte as one of her greatest television roles.

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1 ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ (1967-1978)

Created by Carol Burnett

Burnett made history with the monumental comedy sketch series, The Carol Burnett Show, which featured a stellar line-up of guest stars such as Debbie Reynolds, Mickey Rooney, and Jonathan Winters and reoccurring players including Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, and Vicki Lawrence. Burnett takes on various characters, most notably Eunice Harper Higgins, who was the main character in the show’s popular skit, ‘The Family.’ She also appeared to impersonate popular public figures and characters like Queen Elizabeth II and Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With the Wind.

While the show is considered to be a staple in popular pop culture, it also skyrocketed Burnett’s career and broke down barriers for women in the industry as well as the comedy genre. The Carol Burnett Show ran for eleven seasons, winning twenty-five Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Variety Series—Musical, Outstanding Achievement by a Performer in Music or Variety for Korman, and Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Music or Variety. Even though Burnett played a vast variety of different roles in The Carol Burnett Show, all of them spoke to her incredible talent and versatility as a gifted performer but also captured her genuine, kind nature, which made her America’s favorite funny sweetheart.

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