Recently I binge watched Abbot Elementary, and I couldn’t get enough of it, watched the British version of ghosts and it was quite good too.
I have tried “what we do in the shadows” and it wasn’t to my liking.
What are your suggestions about a light comedy series of the same genre ?
Mix of both light and deeper shows here, mostly character-driven:
Scrubs - Show about a group of residents at a hospital navigating their first few years of training.
Cougar Town - Show about 40somethings in western Florida, the name has nothing to do with the show after the first five or ten episodes. Same creator as Scrubs. Focuses on the core group navigating life at 40 in Florida and their ridiculousness.
Community - Show about a community college in Colorado that gets increasingly experimental in its story telling. Show focuses on the antics of the core group.
Better Off Ted - Another show about 40somethings, this time in the corporate world. The name, like Cougar Town, has almost nothing to do with the actual show. Focuses on how this group tries to keep ahead of their soul crushing jobs for a corporation that’s literally evil.
Happy Endings - This time about 30somethings in Chicago who are all friends, two of whom are about to get married when the bride runs away at the altar. Really turns into putting this group into various scenarios to see how it plays out.
New Girl - Show about a teacher in LA who moves into a loft with three guys (sometimes a fourth) and their subsequent misadventures in the city.
30 Rock - Show about the cast and crew of an SNL-style variety show airing weekly on NBC out of 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York, grows increasingly absurdist over times.
Arrested Development - About the son of a real estate tycoon who gets arrested for so many crimes and how he tries to keep the family business going despite the incompetence of the rest of the family (and occasionally his own incompetence).
Bored to Death - About a writer who solves mysteries with his publisher and best friend (two different people).
Only Murders in the Building - Show about three residents, two older and one younger, of a classic New York residential building that discover they like the same murder mystery podcasts and then start their own true crime podcasts when they discover a murder occurred in their building.
Veep - About a put-upon Vice President of the United States and the general incompetence of her office and the administration. Surprisingly insightful satire of the actual executive branch in the United States.
Silicon Valley - Show about a group of guys in Silicon Valley and their VC partners trying to build a startup.
Happy to recommend more if you’ve got something more specific you’re into.
Thanks for the write up. Saving this post to come back to!
Sillicon valley has a nice chunk of nice characters. And i love how a few of them interact with each other.
But a shit ton of the main story is so shitty, and the maincharacter? I just wish he would drop dead.
And almost aal seasons have basically the same ending. And its not interesting.
I fricken love community and silicon valley!
Great list!
I just want to add that the corporation in Better Off Ted is not just “literally evil”, but cartoonishly evil. This ain’t “What if The Office, but Amazon” - there are episodes about running mad-science experiments on their own employees. But in a funny way!
The whole cast is great and the surreality of the villainy on display helps make the whole thing have a fairly light tone, even while it seems dark just from an episode synopsis perspective.
Booked to death is one of my favorites, Ted Danson steals the show there.
Perfect typo
Righteous Gemstones (one of my favorite comedy shows of all time)
Brooklyn 99
Superstore
Community
The Good Place
Parks & Recreation
Who wants to suck an old man’s dick?
And What they do in the shadows
I miss Superstore :(
Was about to say Righteous Gemstones. So good!
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The Good Place is the best thing humanity has done.
It’s a different feel, but not completely, from HIMYM, but How I Met Your Father isn’t bad either, and Hillary Duff is really enjoyable in that role.
I don’t know how many executives Michael Schur had to hogtie, to not only get this show made and bring it to a conclusion, but he will forever have my gratitude.
It’s wild how many things other shows would make a whole season out of that they burned in half an episode.
… tbh, I was surprised when I found out that Blake Bortles is real.
Also: yay, taking moral philosophy halfway seriously!
“Picture a wave” 😭
Taskmaster
I’ve only seen clips of this and want to watch it. Looks so good. Anyone US-based know if this is on any streaming service?
They have most of their stuff on YouTube. You can watch most of their full seasons start to finish.
Letterkenny!
And I suggest you let that one marinate.
Git ur self a Puppers! Shorsry is pretty good there eh!
Fuck you shoresy!
I wish you weren’t so awkward bud.
lol
Can confirm!
I’m very critical of comedy, so it’s rare to find a show I like, but some of my favorites are:
Flight of the Conchords
The mighty boosh
Parks and rec
Taskmaster
Arrested development
Seinfeld
Louis
Louis
If you’re referring to Louis CK’s show, it’s called Louie. OP would probably have better luck finding it that way.
That is helpful, thanks mate.
Arrested development is pure comedic genius. Everytime I watch it I discover new jokes.
I think you should leave on Netflix
I hope you fucking die, Harley Jarvis!
I don’t know what to tell ya bud, we’re just shooting funerals and showing the ones where the bodies fly out.
I didn’t do shit! I didn’t rig shit!
FOR 53 SECONDS I HONESTLY THOUGHT THERE WERE MONSTERS ON THE WORLD.
Modern ones would probably be:
Shrinking
Only Murders In The Building
Jury Duty
Ted Lasso - completed
The Good Place - completed
Jury duty was a pleasant surprise, hope they come out with some new seasons
Ted Lasso, season 1, is spectacular. Season 2 wasn’t bad, either, but I felt they were stretching it a bit.
Anyway, one of the best comedy series in the past decade.
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The Good Place (a show about moral philosophy and the afterlife. This may sound dry, but watch the first couple episodes. They’re not very long, trust me)
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Good Omens (based on a Terry Prachett novel about an angel and a demon who become friends and then have to thwart the coming of the end-times to save humanity and their relationship)
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Columbo (it’s more detective show than comedy, but it’s about a bumbling detective who seems to know whodunnit within 5 minutes of showing up to the crime scene, but then spends +45min whittling away at the murderer’s psyche until they either crumble and confess, make a mistake, or he finds the evidence he’s been looking for)
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Monk (also comedic detective show, this one about a detective suffering from severe OCD after his wife died in a carbomb. I know the premise sounds dark, trust me, the shows’ really funny and generally fairly light)
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Psych (aaand another comedic detective show, this time about a man who’s extremely perceptive and tries to help the police out on a case, but is too good at it and is accused of being the murderer. He then comes up with the claim of being a psychic to avoid getting arrested and then proceeds to get contracted by the cops as a psychic detective)
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UK Top Gear/The Grand Tour (comedy car shows)
If you feel like you need something dark and disturbing, but with a bit of humor to it:
- Utopia (2013 UK version, NOT THE 2020 AMAZON VERSION) This series is one of the best shows I’ve watched, but it’s also possibly the darkest, most disturbing TV show I’ve ever watched. The pandemic only made it worse. I put this here, however, because while it’s primarily a conspiracy thriller, there is a fair amount of black comedy in it. I want to recommend watching it, even just for the relatively unique use of framing and cinematography, but jesus christ this show does not shy away from showing you things most directors would leave to the imagination.
Very much Psych and all the subsequent movies are top of the list.
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Not new, but new to me… Vice Principals on HBO Max was so good… So much better than Eastbound and Down. Danny Mcbride and Walton Goggins’ chemistry was amazing, and one of the best bromances ever.
It’s a bit vulgar, so that may dissuade some people. It’s only 2 seasons but it’s the best comedy series I’ve watched for a while.
Righteous Gemstones is pretty hilarious as well- John Goodman and Danny McBride, Adam Levine, Walton Higgins and more.
- Brooklyn 99 - my favorite
- Superstore
- Modern Family
- 2 broke girls
- Community
- a classic one: The Office
Superstore really caught me off guard. Wasn’t expecting much but it was hilarious. I wish Blockbuster followed it’s quality.
I agree that Superstore was surprisingly funny.
Same! I didn’t like it at first but it grow on me and loved it in the end.
Detectorists - light hearted, warm and funny show about the lives of metal detector enthusiasts. Got to be my favourite British show to come out in years.
I recommend What we do in the shadows
Seriously? Go reread the original post.
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Green Wing. It’s a British sitcom set in a hospital. There’s absolutely nothing medical-related in it; the hospital is just the place where everyone works - a backdrop and nothing more. It’s somewhere between a sketch show, a soap opera and a comedy drama - it’s surreal, exaggerated and definitely has a lot of “sketch-like” scenes, but the characters are fleshed out and consistent, and have proper emotional arcs.
It has an absolutely fantastic cast, and a lot of them have gone onto have very successful careers since then. Olivia Coleman, for one, but I’m sure you’ll recognise Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan, Michelle Gomez and Mark Heap - if not their names then at least their faces.
It has an incredible editing style and score, too. Like, it’s impossible not to notice how good they are, even if they’re not something you’re usually remotely interested in. In particular, it makes heavy use of slow-motion and fast-forward at the start and end of scenes, with the brilliantly catchy score as the only audio, which really highlights the actors’ body language as well as making for great transitions between scenes.
It’s laugh-out-loud funny, memorable and surprisingly endearing for such a surreal show. I always found it surprising that Black Books - which is also fantastic (and also stars Tamsin Greig) - managed to find an American audience but Green Wing never seemed to. Both are on par with each other, I think.