Recently I’ve been catching up on tv and some of the more mature/adult shows, which I’ve been…Enjoying? Seems like the wrong word, but they’ve all generally been cynical or dark.
For reference, I’ve just finished Better Call Saul, which got me to finally get around to finishing Breaking Bad, and I’ve also been doing a rewatch of the anime Monster as it’s been years since I last watched it.
So basically back to back dark shows.
I’ve already watched The Good Place, which nails what I’m describing, but it’s a little blunt with the sweetness, while I’ve watched some of Bee and Puppycat which seems like it’s closer to a nice middleground of sweet and real.
What are some of your go-to shows for this kinda vibe?
Ted Lasso
This is the answer right here. Show made me so happy I cried, regularly. Just absolutely fantastic all around.
Schitt’s Creek
Oh this is a fantastic show! While I do re-watch it, I would give anything to re-watch it from “scratch” again.
Psych
Monk
Taskmaster
Would I Lie to You?
Avatar The Last Airbender
Loremen podcast
Edited to add:
One Punch Man first season is hilarious.
The trifecta of 2010s animation: Regular Show, Steven Universe, and Adventure Time. There’s jokes and themes in these that are pretty adult, but the darker stuff is generally avoided.
1980s: Dogtanian and the 3 Muskehounds. Mysterious Cities of Gold. Best theme tunes ever, and very easy watching.
Taskmaster and WILTY are fantastic. These are some of my favorite “I want to watch something that I’ll enjoy but don’t need to actually care too much about” shows.
Bluey pretends to be for kids but it’s surely for adults.
No
Yes.
It’s so funny. Bandit is the best. I haven’t dentified with a cartoon dog so strongly since Mr. Peanutbutter.
For parents and kids, not childless adults.
I highly recommend Bob’s burgers!
Our Flag Means Death is upbeat in the first season. The second is more dramatic, but also fucking phenomenal. A romantic adventure comedy becomes a romantic adventure dramedy.
Great cast too! Surprisingly a lot of NZ & Maori representation
My Name Is Earl is my favorite go-to light-hearted and positive sitcom. Follows the story of a rather silly, ignorant redneck that begins to believe in karma, and so writes a list everyone he has ever wronged and goes about fixing it one by one.
It’s pretty good.
What We Do In The Shadows is my favourite show ever.
Letterkenny and Shorsey if not Archer. Trailer Park boys
If you love “the good place”, then I can only recommend “parks and recreation”. That is my all-time favorite show
Also recently I have started watching “Chuck”. It’s a action/comedy/spy series, there is ofcource action, guns and bombs. But Iam laughing so much each episode, I find myself rewatching some scenes.
I love sitcoms but beneath their light exterior they always have a heart of darkness, or at least a trace of one. But given your OP, I figure you can handle a teensy bit of a shadow side. Here are some generally upbeat shows with lots of laughs.
Catastrophe- I think it strikes the right balance of optimism in the face of doubt. It’s light but not saccharine. It’s my favorite sitcom.
It Crowd
Black Books
30 Rock
Black-ish
Adventure Time
Mentioned in lots of other replies:
Parks and Rec
New Girl (extremely underrated)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Brooklyn 99
Taskmaster
WILTY
deleted by creator
British panel (game) shows like Would I Lie to You and 8 out or 10 Cats Does Countdown. The game element is just an excuse for funny, interesting people to crack jokes and have a good time.
QI with Stephen Fry was absolute gold! Sandi is great too. Anything with David Mitchell is awesome. I think my favorite is Johnny Vegas, that guy is a riot. Bill Baily, Phill Juputus,Sean Lock coming to think of it there wasn’t anyone on that show I didn’t love.
I’ll add Taskmaster on the list, available for free on Youtube
Detectorists
Here’s a weird suggestion, watch all Mr. Bean shows. It’s like one season and few episodes.
Dial back & watch Blackadder. Rowan Atkinson before Mr Bean, plus, Dr House (Hugh Laurie), Stephen Fry supporting cast. Worlds better than Mr Bean IMO
Mr Bean is pretty universal no matter the audience. I quite enjoyed Blackadder but I also enjoy history and have grown up on exported British television so I could keep up with the it. Not sure as many could like Mr Bean. Still is amazing the cast and what they did after Blackadder.
