I’m stockpiling feelgood TV comedies to dip into over the next week and months ahead, noting their best seasons/episodes. For instance I think “Schitt’s Creek” (on Netflix) starts to find itself in Season 2, because it leans less on Chris Elliott, while Annie Murphy really starts to shine and Catherine O’Hara gets even nuttier. We rewatched “Happy Endings” (on Amazon) last night. Damon Wayans Jr. is such a treasure (in the above clip he’s visiting the dentist, where he is a star patient.) That show is only 3 seasons long so it’s hard to cherry-pick, but you can skip the pilot if you don’t want to waste time.
Hit me with your top reliable rewatchable funny shows, where people can stream/buy them, and where to dive in to get right to the good stuff.
I'm a broken record everywhere on this one, but Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. It's new, it's delightful, it's been described as "an exploration of non-toxic masculinity," Ten episodes, really finds its feet in the second ep but the first is fine, paced incredibly well--problems get SOLVED!
Ted Lasso is a literal balm for the soul. I could feel soft little angel kisses brushing my cheeks each time someone behaved rationally or kindly or sweetly.
I highly recommend “I’m Sorry” on Netflix. It’s like if Larry David were a mom. Also, “Workin’ Moms” and “The Let Down” are very funny woman-centric comedies.
The Babysitters Club on Netflix hits the sweet spot of both being everything I remember those books being as a kid while also being perfectly updated to the present. It is so great!!! But also happy sobbing. But so great.
I recently discovered "Teenage Bounty Hunters" on Netflix - sounds like a trashy reality show but is in fact a spot-on scripted comedy. Of-the-moment without being a painful reminder; strong 'Veronica Mars'-but-funny vibes. Highly recommended! Unfortunately it's only the one season, and Netflix didn't renew it.
Derry Girls, baby! and watch with captions b/c they talk fast in a HARD accent.
Also - Call Your Agent. Will suck you in and the funny is sort of spread throughout. PEN15 on Hulu. 30 Rock will always do the trick. Deft. loved the Comeback as noted below. BRILLIANT show is W1A - a BBC sendup of the BBC and media ,now, generally. It stars Lord Downton Abbey Hugh Bonneville and a lot of others you may spot in other Britcoms ... enjoy.
So this isn’t a “funny” show per se although there are funny moments, but I recently watched every season of Halt and Catch Fire on Netflix. It’s set in the early 80s and follows the characters through the late 90s. I also recommend all three seasons of the Ewan McGregor-driven motorcycle road trip show (Long Way Round, Long Way Down, Long Way Up) on AppleTV. Long Way Up is new and new épisodes drop on Friday. It is travel-based and all filmed pre-COVID obviously.
OMG if anyone hasn't seen PEN15 on Hulu yet, what a treasure awaits you—I think it might be the best show I've ever seen. It is so tender and yet so hysterically funny. There are only two seasons so far and they're both great, but give yourself at least a couple of episodes to get used to how bizarre it is to watch two 30-something women play themselves as 12-year-olds.
Another contender for best show of all-time is The Comeback on HBO, which was cancelled after its first season in 2005, then brought back for a second season in 2014, and is one of the smartest, cringe-iest, and funniest commentaries on modern media, aging, celebrity, and the dissonance between reality and reality TV.
Idk if either of these quite qualifies as "feel-good" but they make ME feel good! The Comeback, in particular, picks at some of the scabs of life... but I think the cleverness and the LOLs, plus the ultimate redemption of the characters, makes it an overall happy story.
PEN15 is just straight-up a beautiful story about female friendship (with some early 2000s nostalgia), I could not recommend it more highly.
New Girl! It's on Netflix. I'd start at episode 6 in season 1 if you're not a completist. It's the first Thanksgiving episode, so it's very seasonal for rn. I loved it from the beginning, but it definitely got better as the relationships developed. I did a google, and starting with season 1 episode 20 is also a common rec. How most people seem to feel about Friends is how I feel about New Girl. These people are my bros! I have them on in the background all of the time to just hang.
The first season of Ted Lasso, which just ran on Apple TV+, is really smart and sweet. A great show about a guy who just wants to help everybody become a better version of themselves, and how he wins over a skeptical world. And if you don’t know much about English soccer, don’t worry. It’s not at all a barrier of entry.
Parks and Rec (start in Season 2 as they had not found their groove in Season 1) is pretty joyful and low stakes. I read an article that described it as a live-action Simpsons and that's pretty spot on.
I'd also recommend Plebs which you can stream on Amazon-- it's British, takes place in Ancient Rome with Ancient Roman problems, but discussed with modern dialogue. It can be cringey, but it's usually not too painful and I laughed a lot.
I think the first season of The Good Place is a perfect season of television. DO NOT GOOGLE IT BEFORE YOU START. There’s a companion podcast hosted by Marc Evan Jackson that is also delightful. Following seasons are ambitious and I loved a lot of the episodes, but nothing was great as the first.
Also I’ve started watching Gossip Girl for the first time and I’m weirdly enjoying it? It’s like chewing bubblegum.
Also if you want something weird, Laid is a great black comedy with Alison Bell where her exes start dying in weird ways and she has to figure out why.
I'm rewatching The Detectorists with my husband, who is watching for the first time. He doesn't like a lot of sitcoms, but this is so gentle and offbeat and he's into it. It's only two seasons and it's English, so there are about 12 episodes total. It used to be on Netflix but we're watching on Amazon Prime now (unfortunately with commercials that cut in awkwardly, but it's not a dealbreaker). For years, Freaks and Geeks was my "comfort" show to rewatch, but it's been a while. I might turn back to that soon, although I'm not sure if it's still on Netflix like it used to be.
I recently watched Kim’s Convenience on Netflix and really enjoyed the whole thing although the first season was the best, I thought. Very charming and low key.
I LOVE Kim's Convenience. I watched it right before or after (I forget) Derry Girls and was like "I guess my thing is culturally-specific comedies from cultures I'm not part of."
First off, Damon Wayans Jr. is AWESOME in Happy Endings and this is the exact scene I send to people to make that argument! Love the whole series and agree, I would start after the pilot (I fell in love with it in s1e7 where Penny accidentally attracts a hipster while wearing her laundry day clothes. For me, my feel good/comfort show is Gilmore Girls, which you can watch on Netflix, and I too would recommend skipping the pilot because the characters were a lot harsher and more unkind to each other than they really were the rest of the series. Also fun for me is that I watched it when it first aired, which is going on 20 years now, and the Gilmore Girl that I empathize with the most has *definitely* changed in the interim
So happy to see some love for my fave, Happy Endings (I’m still on S3 because I’m parceling it slowly). My big quarantine comfort watch was all 10 seasons of Bob’s Burgers ((on Hulu). I’d seen a few random episodes previously but watched as a whole, it’s so delightful. I also give a strong second to Ted Lasso. A balm in these times.
Upload on Amazon is funny but also cute and endearing. I can't believe I'm saying this but Lucifer (Netflix) is actually good, somewhat ranchy humor--not sure if I'd call it feel good but it's definitely TV candy. Already mentioned but worth calling out again is I'm Sorry (Amazon or Netflix, can't remember).
On Netflix, I recommend "Cinderella and the Four Knights" and "Crash Landing on You" (both K-dramas). I also love Call the Midwife. All of these involve sadness and dark themes but are fundamentally optimistic about reconciliation, love, and of course tiny little babies.
Glee. It's got sad/emotional parts too, but also a lot of fun & singing & dancing. All 6 seasons are currently on Netflix. I'm on Season 3 right now and it's the best one so far.
A friend got me onto "Mum," which you can watch with a BritBox sub on Amazon Prime (you can do a free trial!) - it is, as advertised, very British, but I watched it over and over for the bougie types getting angry about shitty bread, the humiliations of middle-class-dom, and ofc the middle-aged mum romance - an absolute slow burn over three seasons, and so funny
I'm a broken record everywhere on this one, but Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. It's new, it's delightful, it's been described as "an exploration of non-toxic masculinity," Ten episodes, really finds its feet in the second ep but the first is fine, paced incredibly well--problems get SOLVED!
Ted Lasso is a literal balm for the soul. I could feel soft little angel kisses brushing my cheeks each time someone behaved rationally or kindly or sweetly.
+1 to this. I loved every bit of it! The earnest and positive interactions...so unexpected, funny, and soothing.
I highly recommend “I’m Sorry” on Netflix. It’s like if Larry David were a mom. Also, “Workin’ Moms” and “The Let Down” are very funny woman-centric comedies.
Can't rec I'm Sorry hard enough.
3rd for I'm Sorry. Good stuff
I'm Sorry reminds me so much of my own parenting foibles, but like funny. Love.
The Babysitters Club on Netflix hits the sweet spot of both being everything I remember those books being as a kid while also being perfectly updated to the present. It is so great!!! But also happy sobbing. But so great.
I recently discovered "Teenage Bounty Hunters" on Netflix - sounds like a trashy reality show but is in fact a spot-on scripted comedy. Of-the-moment without being a painful reminder; strong 'Veronica Mars'-but-funny vibes. Highly recommended! Unfortunately it's only the one season, and Netflix didn't renew it.
Loved it! I’m SO SAD it didn’t get renewed!
Derry Girls, baby! and watch with captions b/c they talk fast in a HARD accent.
Also - Call Your Agent. Will suck you in and the funny is sort of spread throughout. PEN15 on Hulu. 30 Rock will always do the trick. Deft. loved the Comeback as noted below. BRILLIANT show is W1A - a BBC sendup of the BBC and media ,now, generally. It stars Lord Downton Abbey Hugh Bonneville and a lot of others you may spot in other Britcoms ... enjoy.
DERRY GIRLS!!!! (It's not just the accent, it's the slang, but that's half the pleasure.)
OMG I love michelle on there!
So this isn’t a “funny” show per se although there are funny moments, but I recently watched every season of Halt and Catch Fire on Netflix. It’s set in the early 80s and follows the characters through the late 90s. I also recommend all three seasons of the Ewan McGregor-driven motorcycle road trip show (Long Way Round, Long Way Down, Long Way Up) on AppleTV. Long Way Up is new and new épisodes drop on Friday. It is travel-based and all filmed pre-COVID obviously.
OMG if anyone hasn't seen PEN15 on Hulu yet, what a treasure awaits you—I think it might be the best show I've ever seen. It is so tender and yet so hysterically funny. There are only two seasons so far and they're both great, but give yourself at least a couple of episodes to get used to how bizarre it is to watch two 30-something women play themselves as 12-year-olds.
Another contender for best show of all-time is The Comeback on HBO, which was cancelled after its first season in 2005, then brought back for a second season in 2014, and is one of the smartest, cringe-iest, and funniest commentaries on modern media, aging, celebrity, and the dissonance between reality and reality TV.
A big "pro" for both of these shows right now is that they take place pre-2016.
Idk if either of these quite qualifies as "feel-good" but they make ME feel good! The Comeback, in particular, picks at some of the scabs of life... but I think the cleverness and the LOLs, plus the ultimate redemption of the characters, makes it an overall happy story.
PEN15 is just straight-up a beautiful story about female friendship (with some early 2000s nostalgia), I could not recommend it more highly.
Bob's Burgers. *mic drop*
on Hulu.
New Girl! It's on Netflix. I'd start at episode 6 in season 1 if you're not a completist. It's the first Thanksgiving episode, so it's very seasonal for rn. I loved it from the beginning, but it definitely got better as the relationships developed. I did a google, and starting with season 1 episode 20 is also a common rec. How most people seem to feel about Friends is how I feel about New Girl. These people are my bros! I have them on in the background all of the time to just hang.
Any episode from the the first three seasons of Arrested Development are my go to for feelgood TV.
The first season of Ted Lasso, which just ran on Apple TV+, is really smart and sweet. A great show about a guy who just wants to help everybody become a better version of themselves, and how he wins over a skeptical world. And if you don’t know much about English soccer, don’t worry. It’s not at all a barrier of entry.
Parks and Rec (start in Season 2 as they had not found their groove in Season 1) is pretty joyful and low stakes. I read an article that described it as a live-action Simpsons and that's pretty spot on.
I'd also recommend Plebs which you can stream on Amazon-- it's British, takes place in Ancient Rome with Ancient Roman problems, but discussed with modern dialogue. It can be cringey, but it's usually not too painful and I laughed a lot.
I like to pretend that the first season doesn't exist in Parks and Rec world.
Agreed.
I think the first season of The Good Place is a perfect season of television. DO NOT GOOGLE IT BEFORE YOU START. There’s a companion podcast hosted by Marc Evan Jackson that is also delightful. Following seasons are ambitious and I loved a lot of the episodes, but nothing was great as the first.
Also I’ve started watching Gossip Girl for the first time and I’m weirdly enjoying it? It’s like chewing bubblegum.
I love The Good Place--Ted Dansen at his best. Rewatching now and it's just as funny.
Also if you want something weird, Laid is a great black comedy with Alison Bell where her exes start dying in weird ways and she has to figure out why.
I'm rewatching The Detectorists with my husband, who is watching for the first time. He doesn't like a lot of sitcoms, but this is so gentle and offbeat and he's into it. It's only two seasons and it's English, so there are about 12 episodes total. It used to be on Netflix but we're watching on Amazon Prime now (unfortunately with commercials that cut in awkwardly, but it's not a dealbreaker). For years, Freaks and Geeks was my "comfort" show to rewatch, but it's been a while. I might turn back to that soon, although I'm not sure if it's still on Netflix like it used to be.
I recently watched Kim’s Convenience on Netflix and really enjoyed the whole thing although the first season was the best, I thought. Very charming and low key.
I LOVE Kim's Convenience. I watched it right before or after (I forget) Derry Girls and was like "I guess my thing is culturally-specific comedies from cultures I'm not part of."
First off, Damon Wayans Jr. is AWESOME in Happy Endings and this is the exact scene I send to people to make that argument! Love the whole series and agree, I would start after the pilot (I fell in love with it in s1e7 where Penny accidentally attracts a hipster while wearing her laundry day clothes. For me, my feel good/comfort show is Gilmore Girls, which you can watch on Netflix, and I too would recommend skipping the pilot because the characters were a lot harsher and more unkind to each other than they really were the rest of the series. Also fun for me is that I watched it when it first aired, which is going on 20 years now, and the Gilmore Girl that I empathize with the most has *definitely* changed in the interim
So happy to see some love for my fave, Happy Endings (I’m still on S3 because I’m parceling it slowly). My big quarantine comfort watch was all 10 seasons of Bob’s Burgers ((on Hulu). I’d seen a few random episodes previously but watched as a whole, it’s so delightful. I also give a strong second to Ted Lasso. A balm in these times.
Happy Endings. It's been pretty much all I've watched for a year.
Upload on Amazon is funny but also cute and endearing. I can't believe I'm saying this but Lucifer (Netflix) is actually good, somewhat ranchy humor--not sure if I'd call it feel good but it's definitely TV candy. Already mentioned but worth calling out again is I'm Sorry (Amazon or Netflix, can't remember).
Moone Boy, based on Chris O’Dowds childhood in Ireland. So funny and cute and silly.
On Netflix, I recommend "Cinderella and the Four Knights" and "Crash Landing on You" (both K-dramas). I also love Call the Midwife. All of these involve sadness and dark themes but are fundamentally optimistic about reconciliation, love, and of course tiny little babies.
Ok so my favorites are:
Great British bake-off (Mel and Sue > Noel and Sandi > Noel and new guy (matt?))
Great British bake offs holiday specials
Schitts creek
The office
30 rock
Sugar rush (mindless and great background chatter)
(Ya girl is basic )
Glee. It's got sad/emotional parts too, but also a lot of fun & singing & dancing. All 6 seasons are currently on Netflix. I'm on Season 3 right now and it's the best one so far.
A friend got me onto "Mum," which you can watch with a BritBox sub on Amazon Prime (you can do a free trial!) - it is, as advertised, very British, but I watched it over and over for the bougie types getting angry about shitty bread, the humiliations of middle-class-dom, and ofc the middle-aged mum romance - an absolute slow burn over three seasons, and so funny