Most recommendation threads are filled with the same shows that premiered in the 2000's.
I'll bite on this a bit. My patience for sitcoms is perhaps a little higher than average because I have a fondness for stuff like Cheers.
- The Good Place - While the politics never get truly revolutionary, this sitcom does a very good job with pop philosophy and some decent twists along with good performances.
- Baskets - Mostly the vision of Zach Galifianakis, this one kind of fell under the radar because it also had Louie CK on the creative team during his exposure as a creep. He never shows up in front of the camera, so your milage may vary on this sadcom and whether you can deal with him being involved.
- Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp - David Wain and basically of the State alums can do no wrong. Absurdist humor played straight or melodramatic has a good sheen of satire at its heart. The follow-up series, 10 Years Later, doesn't hit quite as hard, but for fans it's still a must watch.
- Bob's Burgers - Don't know if you allow for animated shows to be true sitcoms, but I think it qualifies. Family comedy that constantly errs on the side of embracing being weird and an outcast. Occasionally too saccharine, but not that bad. If you want something a little different, but in the same vein, many of the creatives behind this one worked The Great North, which is also pretty good.
- Broad City - Despite the Hillary episode, this is genuinely a really funny slice of life show. In fact, I tend to view the Hillary episode in the lens of both of these women have been established as absolute messes that can do nothing right, so of course they are completely in the bag for Hillary Clinton.
- Catastrophe - Just the first season. It was clear Hogan and Delaney had something to say, said it and then found they had more success with it than they thought and came back for a bit of a mess for the second season. But if you like romcoms, you owe yourself a viewing of this one.
- The Righteous Gemstones - Almost more of a prestige TV series than a sitcom, you can't talk about comedy in TV in the last ten years without mentioning Danny McBride. I think this is his best work, but Vice Principals, which also meets the criteria of being in the last ten years, is also an incredible work.
- Party Down - Technically the third season came out in the last ten years. I'm stretching here a bit, but I think this show deserves all the accolades The Office gets.
Sadly, this form really peaked with Arrested Development and 30 Rock. I feel like as more people turn to short form video for laughs, the sitcom dies with that. There's also been a real drain on TV shows having consequences or friction, which is usually the most fertile ground for comedy. Look at shows like Ted Lasso that cannot allow a single character to be antagonistic for any long period of time. Ted eventually wins everyone over (even himself). There's a lot of that in TV across the board, but it's a death knell for the sitcom.
Oh, of course I hit post and then immediately remember Veep. Veep one of the most prescient and funniest shows of the last ten years.
And while I'm typing more. Anything by Nathan Fielder, while not a sitcom, has been hilarious. Likewise, the sort of reverse Nathan For You, Jury Duty, was also incredibly funny despite being more of a reality show than a sitcom.
Jury Duty
This show was actually great. I didn't think I'd like it, but it worked well. Funny, but also quite endearing.
Your other recs are good too. Veep may be one of my favorite shows.
Anything Nathan touches is good. Even that weird show he did with Emma Stone. I can't wait for the second season of the Rehearsal. Covid seemed to really fuck up his plan for it, so I'm curious what it will be like now.
For sure. The Curse was really good. Definitely not a sitcom, but had incredibly funny moments (and moments of other incredibleness).
The Rehearsal is such a great concept. You can almost see like Rehearsal season 0 at the end of Nathan For You and he was already cooking then.
Jury Duty had a surprising amount of heart. If I think someone may find Fielder's humor too mean spirited, I will still recommend Jury Duty for sure.
Toast of London (and Toast of Tinseltown, I guess)
Ghosts (the BBC one, not the American one)
Our Flag Means Death
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin
I love that they tell him to do it without the script, and he still has to look at the script.
While i agree, having lived in Sudbury I can only deal with so much.
Kim's has 2 absolutely hilarious episodes. Gaydar and the massager. I enjoyed it, but I don't think it's great because it doesn't have that many great episodes. What were your favorite episodes?
I don't know what it is, but I love them all. I am in the middle of my second watch-through on Netflix now and it's just like chicken soup for my tired brain at the end of a work day. Nothing super thought-provoking or challenging happens ever and I like that, lol. And the visitors to the store represent all walks of life and they all get treated nicely.
Much like schitts creek. I think Kim's is funnier than schitts, but the lgbt+ representation in schitts is down right utopian
It would be helpful to start with what you think is good in a sitcom. If you just want "what do people like most" then on balance the answer is 2 1/2 Men and Big Bang Theory, but I'll make the bold assumption that "unalloyed slop" is not in your set of good properties.
I'm also simply curious about the fate of the format. At this point it seems very possible to me that the sitcom didn't survive the switch to streaming. Podcasts are a likely assassin too.
The premier dates of 2.5 men and the BBT were also about 20 years ago.
At this point it seems very possible to me that the sitcom didn't survive the switch to streaming.
Idk, people still binge watch the office, parks and rec, Seinfeld, etc. because of streaming sites. For a newer example, Ted Lasso is a sitcom which embodies the streaming aesthetic (easy, vanilla, palatable, anesthetizing).
"The Office Movers" came out this year on some channel I never heard of. maybe Canadian. anyway, it's available on the high seas and cracked me up from start to finish. I hope they do a second season.
Avenue 5: Starring Hugh Laurie. A space cruise ship gets knocked off course and whacky hijinks ensue. It's made more complicated since the billionaire moron on board who owns the company hired a bunch of actors/celebrities instead of an actual crew to steer the ship.
Silicon Valley: Juuuuust turned 10 this year. A group of programmers discover a new compression algorithm that quickly becomes the target of venture capitalists.
Crazy Ex Girlfriend: I would have recommended this years ago, but now say avoid it because Rachel Bloom is a zionist who's too chickenshit to say it. She has done charity events for Isreal even after October 7th. Some of the cast have come out in support of Palestine, but Bloom plays the main character and has the majority of screen time.
Community: A lawyer who lied about completing his undergraduate degree to get into law school has his secret discovered. He now has to attend community college to earn his bachelor's or else he will be disbarred. A lot of memes here on Hexbear are from this show.
Bojack Horseman: Washed-up actor Bojack Horseman tries to get his shit together after a lifetime of bad decisions and regrets. It's funny as hell while being completely soul crushing with plotlines about mental health, addiction, abuse, and love. Some absolutely banger lines and superb writing that will stick with you the rest of your life.
Hacks: Former comedy superstar Deborah Vance is now much older and doing the same routine every week at a Las Vegas casino. Her spot is now under threat as her shows aren't bringing in the numbers they used to decades ago. A young Zoomer gets fired from her writing job in LA after tweeting a joke in poor taste. She and Vance have the same agent who decides to pair them together so they can salvage their careers. Initially both women hate each other but realize they're the same person in two different bodies born in different time periods. It's The Devil Wears Prada with some Seinfeld.
The Other Two: Teenager Chase Dreams becomes an overnight YouTube pop music sensation. He's immediately signed to a record label and quickly goes platinum as his debut album climbs to the top of the charts. However, his brother and sister are about a decade older and both are struggling to have careers in anything. Even their mom has more public clout. The show follows these two millennial fuckups as the rest of their family is showered in praise and superstardom.
The Baby: An evil baby finds his way into Natasha's life and causes catastrophe everywhere he goes. She can't get rid of him because she's the only one he doesn't seem to curse. Now, poor Natasha is stuck looking after the Antichrist.
Avenue 5 would have become great if they got another season to figure it out. It also had some unusual class commentary iirc. It deliberately showed just enough that I thought it would become a major plot point or theme but it never did.
Ye it seemed like they had a lot of material to work with but I'm guessing production costs and lack of viewers sent it to an early grave. I think a lot of people didn't know it existed. There wasn't much marketing for it.
The HBO merger with what's it called didn't help, either. The current CEO hates fantasy and sci-fi, preferring stuff like reality TV or dramas like Succession and The Undoing.
Are we considering Star Trek: Lower Decks a workplace sitcom? If so, please consider.
Detroiters got cancelled after only 2 seasons but is still well worth the watch
I don't know if these count, but:
Happy Endings: a great ensemble comedy that got overshadowed by the lesser "New Girl".
Other Space: a 1 season sci fi comedy masterpiece by Paul Feig that got thrown into limbo when Yahoo Screen went bankrupt. If you can find it it's so good.
Future Man: time traveling warriors from the future find a not very successful guy who beat a difficult video game that was actually a test to find the savior of humanity from a future devastating war. Great cast, great writing (kind of gross maybe). Check it out!
