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!
Booked to death is one of my favorites, Ted Danson steals the show there.
Perfect typo
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.
I fricken love community and silicon valley!
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.
As someone on the spectrum that lives by his binges of situational comedy shows, allow me to give you my list I rotate through, in no specific order:
• How I Met Your Mother
• Scrubs
• Parks and Recreation
• Brooklyn 99
• 30 Rock
• Community
• New Girl
• The Office
• The Good Place
Some of these I will watch for months before moving on to another. If you have questions about any in particular, feel free to ask.
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.
Exactly! Not only that but I often will go out of my way to not guess where a show is going because I’ll get disappointed when they end where they began or just play to a trope. But The Good Place constantly elevated the story by going where it should and not what people are used to.
If you haven’t listened, The Good Place: The Podcast is a good listen for fans as well. (to anyone else, there are spoilers. I don’t remember the exact details of what/when, but I’d just watch the whole show before listening.)
… tbh, I was surprised when I found out that Blake Bortles is real.
Also: yay, taking moral philosophy halfway seriously!
“Picture a wave” 😭
Your list is missing Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I love all of those shows, but Iasip is at the top.
Took me a while to start watching IASIP but it’s amazing.
Great, saving this for the whole year, thanks
Yeah, every one of those shows serve a different purpose and fills a niche for me. Different moods for each show and they’re all equally amazing. Some are better character stories, some are better comedy writing, and some are just silly. Whatever your mood, I’d you’re wanting comedy, it’s all found here.
Righteous Gemstones (one of my favorite comedy shows of all time)
Brooklyn 99
Superstore
Community
The Good Place
Parks & Recreation
And What they do in the shadows
Who wants to suck an old man’s dick?
I miss Superstore :(
Was about to say Righteous Gemstones. So good!
Looked it up - “Follows a world famous televangelist…”
Lol wut?
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
Arrested development is pure comedic genius. Everytime I watch it I discover new jokes.
Just stop before the awful reboot Netflix seasons… Not up to snuff at all.
watching right now. easily 15 or so times all the way through and just caught a new joke now (george said howdee doodat’s it! when he was told the combination to his house arrest anklet)
There are dozens of us. Dozens!
Great, this will last me for the rest of the year!
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.
Ted Lasso is really funny and genuinely heartwarming. I would recommend just about anyone watch it.
Not sure about what constitutes a light comedy, but The Righteous Gemstones is a fantastic show I just got turned onto a few months ago. Good news is it just wrapped up season 3, so there’s plenty to watch.
Crazy that there’s so few comments on this thread and someone already took my suggestion lol. Gotta give a +1 for gemstones. Found out about it a couple of weeks ago and binged all 3 seasons. What’s nice about this show too is that each season feels complete with no cliffhangers. Gives a good stopping point if you need a break.
Another show we’ve been watching is Miracle Workers. Loved the first season but it kinda tampers off in season 3 for me
Agreed on how they end the seasons. Season threes ending however was so perfect I’m almost afraid season 4 will ruin it.
will give it a try thanks.
I know this is asking a lot, but if you remember will you come back and tell us what you think?
Hi, I watched about 3 episodes, and the show was okay. Not something I would call light comedy. as I like to have not too much drama in a show. I like to have as little comedy based on sex tropes and scandals as possible. that’s why I liked abott elementary more. but I might come back to it another time.
I binge watched “The good place” that others suggested here and it was pretty good and it had a few clever twists in it too.
-
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)
-
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)
-
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)
-
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)
-
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)
-
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.
-
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Shit, that’s on hulu only right? Might need to set sail me mateys!
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.
Peep Show
it’s as wet as an eagle
It’s Morrocan!
I recommend What we do in the shadows
Seriously? Go reread the original post.
This time they should enjoy it though.
But why male models?
Red Dwarf
The OG. Absolutely hysterical.
If you like that you should also check out Hyperdrive.
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!
If you want some quirky Britishness you might try Coupling. It was written by Steven Moffat, who you may remember as the head writer for Doctor Who during the Matt Smith era, and if you liked the humor during that run then you’ll probably love Coupling.
GUSSET
Superstore is a good comedy/satire about people working at a Walmart-type store.
