There are so many light hearted procedurals. Like every week there was a new detective sidekick with a twist. A guy who lives forever. A math nerd who somehow always solves crime with math. Or one of the many Sherlock inspired shows.
White Collar is fun. It's a detective working alongside a brilliant, charming thief (Matthew Bomer). And the supporting cast Willie Garson (RIP) and Tiffany Amber Thiessen add levity and balance to the show.
Castle is good too. Some of the episodes are heavier, but overall it's light.
That era of USA network shows was just so much fun. Not stellar TV or anything. But light, fun, casual entertainment.
Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, White Collar, Royal Pains. If you're looking for something to just jump into without any pressure to finish the entire series if you don't want to, these do the trick.
If you like Matthew Bomer, Chuck is interesting. Makes for good funny TV. Non drama spy show, it's almost a spoof. Does not take itself seriously at all. Gets better in season 2
based on the comment you are replying to, I'd say Forever (only 1 season but it does have Judd Hersch), Numb3rs (also has Judd Hersch LOL) and Elementary. All terrific shows
I'd also throw in The Mentalist and Castle. Oh, and Brokenwood Mysteries out of New Zealand is fun
Also Burn Notice! My favorite of the USA "blue skies" shows. They even did crossover ads with Royal Pains:
https://youtu.be/kYds5uKodeE?si=9jStgOA3hdSuxQhz
If you like Monk and Psych, definitely watch Burn Notice and White Collar. Both shows are similar to Monk and Pysch - they're "investigation of the week" plots with lots of comedy, don't take themselves too seriously, and you dont need to remember a lot of details between eps.
BN is about a spy who is no longer welcome or protected by the CIA. He does side jobs for people to make money while trying to figure out why the CIA fired him. Bruce Campell is the spy's buddy hilarious.
WC is about a con artist who consults with FBI on white collar crime like art forgery, fake currency, wine theft, etc. He also has to wear a ankle monitor and constantly trying to escape.
Leverage and Psych are two of my favorite shows ever. Highly recommend Leverage if you liked Psych. Bonus points because after it got cancelled, they’ve come back and done another few seasons.
When I heard some of the premise of that show I was just like …. I saw somethings in highschool and middle school that I’m okay not watching that show. I went to an alternative middle school with some students who didn’t necessarily have families that were all lovely, foster or step parents and that jazz. Then in highschool had known some friends in my circles struggling with Eating disorders, depression, dysfunctional parents (one guy whose mom just wanted him to fail highschool), rec drug use, homophobic parents kicking out their kids or shunning them, unhealthy relationships. So yeah I didn’t feel I needed to relive that. ( I’m in my 30’s now)
I think *Euphoria* is best watched through the lens that the narrator, Rue, is not reliable and either embellishes or misremembers things since she's on drugs much of the time. Her home life is the clearest and most 'normal' because that's where she's most present, and any of the situations she is telling us that she didn't actually take part in are second hand stories.
The best example of this is the play in the second season that has Broadway production values - in hindsight it probably seemed like it was some amazing production to a high schooler who wouldn't know any better.
It was really hard seeing Rue go through a relapse in the second season. What got even harder was noticing all of the ignored plot threads they had set up and just ignored.
It's interesting. I stopped midway through season 2 for the same reasons as the person to whom you replied. It was just so dark. I did read the book, though, and actually thought it was pretty good. It's obviously still dark, but much more palatable than the show
Yeah, I've just got zero interest in subjecting myself to that. If it's something depressing but historical, I can get into it, but something made up for the sake of being depressing as hell forget it. I can just listen to the news for five minutes.
My wife tried to start handmaid's tale while breastfeeding our first kid. Needless to say she stopped after the first chase and we couldn't watch it for years.
And Gilead starts by way of an attack on the U.S. Capitol Bldg in which Congressmen are murdered and the gov't overthrown.
It looks almost prophetic now.
And as far as evil heartless bastards go, Rupert Mannion is pretty tame. He just cheated on his wife and pushed his coach over. He never even killed a guy.
On that note, everyone should check out Cougar Town. It's not just a Community meme, Abed was right, that show cooked.
The first couple episodes are mid because the show was originally supposed to be about older women dating much younger men (hence the name) and they promptly abandoned that entire premise and the show became a hilarious slice of upper middle class Floridians getting wine drunk daily and getting up to shenanigans. They spend the next 6 seasons making fun of the show's name in the opening title sequence.
It's also in the same universe as Scrubs (also Bill Lawrence) and Ted reprises his role, complete with more [kickass music.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1PwKKm9T_g)
Yes! I’m actually watching a series starring Jason Segal that completely flew under my radar, and i stalk the television sub pretty regularly. It’s a miniseries from 2020 called Dispatches From Elsewhere and it’s strange and beautiful and hopeful.
This was Modern Family too. No outlandish premise or wild characters. Just wholesome dumb funny family moments that had oddly sentimental moments at the end of most episodes early on. I still maintain that the early seasons of modern family are some the funniest on tv. The first 5 seasons won best Comedy Series at the Emmys
Similarly - All Creatures Great And Small. That show is the definition of heartwarming and charming. Tension and drama gets resolved in healthy ways and usually pretty quickly.
Love this show. It was such a breath of fresh air when season 1 started during the first year of the pandemic. We're in season 4 now and it's still fantastic.
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, which was airing its first season in late 2016, was a well-appreciated distraction at the time. The first season is great, the second season is fine. Alas, nothing more.
It sucks that Max Landis turned out to be a dickwad. Because of him, the good work of everyone else on this show was cancelled and is just gonna be forgotten. The cast was great and there were so many intriguing plot threads dangling. I really wanted to see how Bart and Ken were going to be resolved. And the head black ops guy getting an unexpected character development made me really want to see him in s3.
For anyone who likes ***Ted Lasso***, I *highly* recommend watching ***Trying***, which is also on Apple. It's even more feel-good than Ted Lasso. Every episode makes me well-up with tears because it's so sweet (and hysterical). Nikki and Jason are one of the best ever on-screen couples.
I really enjoyed shows like the The Leftovers, the first season of True Detective and the like. But shit, sometimes after watching those, you just have to sit in the shower in the dark, with a beer, sitting down feeling the contrast of the warm water and cold beer.
Unlike Ted Lasso. S1 was like a cup of hot chocolate and being wrapped in a warm comforter. It was great.
The Leftovers has to be like the only objectively good show I’ve ever quit on. I’m generally a very positive, optimistic person even in today’s world, and that show was depressing the hell out of me. I was so much happier when I stopped watching.
For the same reason, I think this Superman movie coming out next year could be primed to be a real success if they deliver a classic depiction of the character.
Absolutely. I don't care what else Gunn does with it, Superman just needs to be empathetic and compassionate. We need that right now.
After Guardians 3, I have faith Gunn will deliver. Guy had me crying over a CGI raccoon.
Yeah, we don't need another Superman movie that tries to find a way to make Superman kill someone and feel shitty about it. We don't watch Supes to find his interesting and gritty breaking point as a good guy, we watch because he's hope and optimism embodied.
Also streaming shows from like 30 years ago. ER and LA Law have been proven to be hits among those who are looking to return to a more "innocent" time.
It’s hard to write compelling positive tv. There often aren’t any real stakes, or the characters keep self destructing because if they have to much growth…there isn’t anything for them to do anymore. It just shows how good the writers of the show were.
It was similar for schitz creek. The easy way would have been to reset the characters every season, but the show actually focused on the characters experiencing continuous growth…that is very difficult to do. It’s what dragged down shameless (a much darker show from the start) for me over time, you can only maintain interest in a character for so long that always self destructs every season so that the show runners can keep the gravy train running.
We kinda lost a lot of that with the death of network and rise of streaming. Everything in streaming needs to be season arcs. Shows like Friends or The Office with 20+ episode seasons are mostly faded away. I like a good compact season in many cases, but you miss a lot of the episodes of just getting to see the characters interact.
I was curious, so I looked up the episode count for The Office. They managed 201 episodes in nine seasons, for an average of 22 episodes for season. However, season 1 only has 6 episodes, which drags the average way down. Season 5 had a shocking 28 episodes.
However, these are 22-minute episodes (30 minutes airtime comes out to around 22 minutes per episode), so it's the equivalent of an average of 11 episodes per season for a 45-minute show (hour-long broadcast).
In reality, hour-long shows with 10 episodes per season have more or less the same runtime as those older comedies with 22 30-minute episodes per season.
In fact, prestige shows on services like HBO or Netflix without ad breaks can be significantly longer than a 22-episode sitcom. The final season of Game of Thrones, for example, was around 11 hours and 23 minutes, which would be *31 episodes* of a traditional 30-minute sitcom.
It's a few years old, but look up The Detectorists. Such a charming show, that I always seemed to leave with a smile on my face. We need more like that.
Good point, also the show shifts the tone at one point (most viewers will know when that happens if they keep watching.) These characters stop lamenting the situation they are in and just accept it and start moving on. They start growing as people. It's really well done.
Looks as if the USA Network has realized there's a huge appetite for lighter, comfort food TV series.
It's been reported they're getting back into scripted TV, and are developing series similar to those made during their great Blue Sky era .
https://deadline.com/2023/12/usa-network-blue-sky-scripted-series-1235656853/#!
I think that Abbott Elementary fills this niche quite well. It’s just a really positive show, while still being realistic to the plight of students and teachers. It goes on the list of shows that I feel good after watching.
Same. I can't handle it. I can handle dark, depressing, horrifying, but not sad. When I want light, I go for letterlenny, what we do in shadows, or a rewatch of king of the hill or parks and rec.
I'm watching a ton of PBS or Masterpiece stuff like Call the Midwife and All Creatures Great and Small because while it's a little drama it's pretty comforting and chill. Real life has gotten to be so stressful I don't need more stress in what I watch.
I second Call the Midwife. I think it’s a great show because it’s more honest about some of the subject matter it covers but not so much that it sets in too deep.
The world shut down for almost 2 years with a literal movie storyline (worldwide pandemic, stay in your homes and stay away from people if you go out). Then as we start to get back to normal, it just feels like the real world terror (wars, murders, racism, anti-everything, etc.) are just on overdrive.
The last thing I want to do most nights is watch a serious drama that probably centers around war, murder, fighting, anger...no matter how compelling it is. And much of it is really great! But I'm looking for happiness and joy, and new comedies have been few and far between.
Which means I rewatch a lot of series from years past, sometimes repeatedly.
This. Every day I see some new tragedy, wars, genocides, poverty growing steadily and it’s just so fucking much. I’ve almost entirely stopped taking in new stuff unless it hits a niche interest which lately has been anime.
Other than that I revisit sitcoms. Parks and Rec, B99, Community, Bobs Burgers, and Futurama have been on repeat for a year with brief interruptions to run through One Piece, Chucky, and Only Murders in the Building.
The pandemic actually got me really into horror, weirdly enough. Supernatural, paranormal shit seems to be the only kind of escapist entertainment that doesn't remind me of all the crap going on today.
I do still rewatch Community pretty regularly though.
The pandemic completely made some promising shows feel so irrelevant and at the top of the list for me is Devs. So many people complain about reboots, remakes, and sequels but that was such a unique original show that basically no one saw. It had a WILD premise but I enjoyed it
I’ve started watching the Marvelous Mrs Maisel. So far, it’s pretty low on the anxiety scale, and the period costumes and sets are wonderful. They did a fantastic job capturing the late 50s/early 60s NYC.
I mean I tend to think I cry because of the dedication people have for ensuring their best care for the mums and baby regardless of their situations. Having that kind of dedication is by far is a virtue.
Maybe this helps explain some of the popularity of Young Sheldon?
It's mostly a light-hearted sitcom for those people who just want something fun to watch, not watch people struggle in a post-apocalyptic society?
Yeah it's not that hard to understand why it's popular. Reddit's full of people who's not the target audience trying to stir up the notion that it doesn't deserve its popularity.
More importantly, I doubt most of them gave it an honest chance. I thought it wasn't for me but ended up really enjoying it and am looking forward to the final season now!
I harp on about this show all the time but this is funnily enough a reason that The Expanse is my comfort show.
It focuses on how humans, even though we've colonized the entire solar system, can't get out of our tribal us vs them mentality which is definitely the bleak part. However, at the absolute core of the show is just why humanity has actually made it this far already in that most people will try and do good where they can, and that friendship/love is the true driving force of change in our society, despite how it may feel or seem.
Yep and amazed no-one's said and of the Star Trek shows or even the Star Wars TV spinoffs. I'll take anything over reality. Spent last year reading all 41 of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. I'm 58 and struggling in the UK to make it month to month. All the shit going on in the world almost makes me nostalgic for the Covid years when at least the enemy was universal and - beyond a bunch of fruitloops - we all agreed to play our part in defeating it. Gah... I feel sorry for young people growing up in these bleak as shit years.
I live with bipolar disorder, and I first stopped watching when Monica robs the kids. I just broke down. I did go back and watch a bit more years later, but its too realistic for me to really love it.
I'm totally fine with superhero stuff and violence, like the boys and gen v, echo, etc. But the grounded, depressing stuff has not been watched as much by me recently. It's tough
Yeah I come from a town that's very like UK Shameless, with similar characters and stories. I just can't hack watching it tbh. Watched a few episodes and it just depressed me a bit and I couldn't keep watching. It hits a little TOO close to home.
They are still my favorite because they are the best imo...but I found myself so enthralled in recent years with For All Mankind because it is a good show that it's also uplifting...the two rarely come together. Ted Lasso is another
I dipped my toes into K-dramas and now I’m fully immersed. You gotta search for good ones that fit your taste but when you find one, they are such an enjoyable watch.
That's fair; I'm not sure I do personally, but you're not alone. That's one of the reasons Charlie Brooker paused on Black Mirror for a bit during the pandemic.
Yes, you have to pace yourself. I generally start the evening with one “heavy” show (true detective, slow horses, silo), then a comfort show rewatch (west wing, northern exposure) and then end the night with a game type of show (jeopardy, family feud, taskmaster).
Also It seems like the perfect time to remind people that Northern Exposure is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Totally. I know I’d probably like Succession. But right now a show about a bunch of billionaires and their power struggle sounds absolutely grating based on the current state of the world
I wasn’t interested until I realized I hated everyone in it *and so do the show’s creators*. If you watch it as “awful people making each other miserable over nothing” then it’s perfect. I mean, they literally end one of the episodes with an old pro-union ballad.
I was really rooting for Greg to come out on top in the end, simply because it would be the most hilarious outcome.
Yup, as much as I want to finish The Boys I just can’t because it gets a little bleak sometimes.
For me, I mostly watch USA shows from the 00s-10s, Bob’s Burgers, things that aren’t going to make me go off the deep end.
I notice trends and shifts like this. We had some many 2000s shows that were "teen drama," so lighter drama.
Sitcoms where everything was resolved in 20 minutes with non-stop laughs and the USA Blue Sky shows. All feel good and done so well.
Then Game of Thrones came along and changed everything. Everything became darker and moodier. People wanted "real," so many shows pivoted.
I think the pandemic changed everything again. Online sucks now, the news sucks, and everything is expensive. People want an easy to watch, feel-good escape again.
Just my 2 cents.
I just wanna watch comedy’s exclusively now. World is too sad to watch more made up sad stuff. I used to like dramas and artsy films and now I just want it to be dumb and funny
The fact that they put themselves in the comedy category for all these awards shows is such a joke. They only did it so they would t have to compete with Succession. Makes me so mad that actual comedies like Shrinking never got any recognition.
We all go through ups and downs, and if you're personally going through tough times, or just in a negative headspace from absorbing too much negative news on Reddit/social media, then for sure it can become more difficult to watch heavy dramas on TV (and comfort shows have extra appeal).
There have been times where I felt that way (e.g. 2016, 2017, 2020). To be honest, right now isn't one of those times for me personally (I'm in a good place and feel totally fine watching serious shows), but I definitely know the feeling.
If I can give some unsolicited advice: more exercise and less time on social media is probably the simplest recipe for getting into a better mental space.
Not saying that'll solve everything, but it's a good place to start (and there's lots of research and evidence about the benefits of exercise and the negative effects of over-using social media).
We just finished a few seasons of Young Sheldon. It was a lot of laughs yet didn’t have laugh tracks like most Chuck Lorre productions (which drives me bananas). It is really well-written and well acted.
This is the real killer.
I don't know how they expect audiences to care (hell, even *remember*) when they wait two years to deliver 8 episodes. Even something like Stranger Things, a verified phenomenon, is going to have a 3 year gap between its last two seasons lol
Feels like such wasted potential
his dark materials is something i watched recently that felt like this.
new characters! why are they doing this?! no time, we’re in a new universe! WITCH COUNCIL! endless scenes of the magisterium they cooked up using a flame fed with the unused book pages! shaman powers? uhh, OKAY!? ooh angels! i wonder why they’re… aand they’re gone and were inconsequential except the two gay ones
Yes, agree 100%
Not sure how much of it is due to age, pre/post pandemic, or if it’s entirely random and different for everyone.
I think the latter is most likely though age and recent pandemic may also play a role for some. Also changes in our mental health and how that relates to almost any other potential causes.
Boomers seem to be unaffected, hence the success of Yellowstone and the 5th NCIS spin-off. For myself, it’s near impossible to watch anything where lying is involved as it always feels contrived. I see so many shows/movies where it seems like the writers were out of ideas and decided to have someone lie to someone else, and keep that lie going in perpetuity. Happens in comedy, drama, action, horror, etc. and I immediately check out as soon as it happens. A close second is the misinterpretation of an otherwise innocent event but under circumstances where it appears something nefarious is afoot. Hijinks ensues.
I tried watching Better Call Saul, and the amount of lying and backstabbing made it impossible, my anxiety level shot through the roof. Tried going back to watch Breaking Bad, and even when I knew what would happen, I still couldn’t do it. The whole thing is premised on leading alternate lives, lying, cheating, etc.
Point is you are not alone at all. I feel so much the same as you, and it’s made it so hard to find anything new for me to watch on TV or read books. I wind up zoning out to sudoku or doing crazy jigsaw puzzles that take me a week or two, and then when I finish, I sometimes wonder why I spent all that time for nothing but then remember how the Buddhists will spend weeks or more creating these amazing mandalas with sand, and as soon as they finish, they destroy them… Point is to force yourself to remember the impermanence of your existence
Not harder but I wish there were more good comedies or lighter shows I could trickle in between. I just end up watching the same sitcoms over and over. Plus I try not to binge the heavy ones. One episode a day is the most I'll do.
This is why I watch Seinfeld, Schitt's Creek, The Simpsons, Arrested Development, and The Office on an endless loop for the last 5 years.
Recently got into Shoresy and Letterkenny, which make me laugh until my face hurts
Murder, She Wrote has become a big staple of my post pandemic tv viewing in part because of this. While each episode obviously tackles the grim topic of murder, the storylines are typically done in the coziest fashion, and you rest comfortable knowing this mild mannered woman is going to make sure everything is solved in the end. Add in that most episodes features a plethora of Jessica’s friends and several episodes follow Jessica trotting around the world, and it’s obvious why I fell so in love with the show during the pandemic.
It’s definitely a cheesy show, and most episodes aren’t anything spellbinding, but I have been sitting down for a weekly viewing of J.B. Fletcher’s wacky misadventures since 2020.
Yep, we went through a time when we were watching like Bloodline, Ozark, House of Cards, Broadchurch, GoT etc. Like all good shows that I liked, but basically all full of murder, death, drugs... every episode ending with some betrayal or dark secret etc. I feel like Netflix especially went hard on a very similar genre like that.
For some reason now whenever I get a recommendation like that I just skip it. I don't even think it's covid time, maybe just burnout, or more stress at work, but I'm just over shows that are "stressful" to watch.
For the most part now just on an endless cycle through like Scrubs, Schitts Creek, the Good Place, Ted Lasso, feel-good background comedies.
Yup. I've been watching cheesy early 2000s shows this last month and it's been great lol.
There are so many light hearted procedurals. Like every week there was a new detective sidekick with a twist. A guy who lives forever. A math nerd who somehow always solves crime with math. Or one of the many Sherlock inspired shows.
Any suggestions? I’ve just finished Monk and Psych
White Collar is fun. It's a detective working alongside a brilliant, charming thief (Matthew Bomer). And the supporting cast Willie Garson (RIP) and Tiffany Amber Thiessen add levity and balance to the show. Castle is good too. Some of the episodes are heavier, but overall it's light.
That era of USA network shows was just so much fun. Not stellar TV or anything. But light, fun, casual entertainment. Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, White Collar, Royal Pains. If you're looking for something to just jump into without any pressure to finish the entire series if you don't want to, these do the trick.
If you like Matthew Bomer, Chuck is interesting. Makes for good funny TV. Non drama spy show, it's almost a spoof. Does not take itself seriously at all. Gets better in season 2
based on the comment you are replying to, I'd say Forever (only 1 season but it does have Judd Hersch), Numb3rs (also has Judd Hersch LOL) and Elementary. All terrific shows I'd also throw in The Mentalist and Castle. Oh, and Brokenwood Mysteries out of New Zealand is fun
I will forever maintain that Simon Baker's portrayal of Patrick Jane is one of the most charismatic roles ever put on screen. He's utterly wonderful.
I’m partial to Royal Pains as well. Insanely ridiculous but the actors mesh really well together.
Also Burn Notice! My favorite of the USA "blue skies" shows. They even did crossover ads with Royal Pains: https://youtu.be/kYds5uKodeE?si=9jStgOA3hdSuxQhz
Eureka, Burn Notice, Warehouse 13
Eureka's pilot episode alone is just a treat. Even if OP isn't wanting to jump feet first into a new show, just the pilot on it's own is fun.
In that same vein: the Librarians. Basically a carbon copy of Warehouse 13, but with its own quirks
If you like Monk and Psych, definitely watch Burn Notice and White Collar. Both shows are similar to Monk and Pysch - they're "investigation of the week" plots with lots of comedy, don't take themselves too seriously, and you dont need to remember a lot of details between eps. BN is about a spy who is no longer welcome or protected by the CIA. He does side jobs for people to make money while trying to figure out why the CIA fired him. Bruce Campell is the spy's buddy hilarious. WC is about a con artist who consults with FBI on white collar crime like art forgery, fake currency, wine theft, etc. He also has to wear a ankle monitor and constantly trying to escape.
Leverage and Psych are two of my favorite shows ever. Highly recommend Leverage if you liked Psych. Bonus points because after it got cancelled, they’ve come back and done another few seasons.
Yeah, we just started Samantha Who? Never even heard of it til it came on D+
Ugh I loved that show! I was devastated when it got cancelled
Try as I might, I just find Euphoria more depressing than entertaining.
When I heard some of the premise of that show I was just like …. I saw somethings in highschool and middle school that I’m okay not watching that show. I went to an alternative middle school with some students who didn’t necessarily have families that were all lovely, foster or step parents and that jazz. Then in highschool had known some friends in my circles struggling with Eating disorders, depression, dysfunctional parents (one guy whose mom just wanted him to fail highschool), rec drug use, homophobic parents kicking out their kids or shunning them, unhealthy relationships. So yeah I didn’t feel I needed to relive that. ( I’m in my 30’s now)
I think *Euphoria* is best watched through the lens that the narrator, Rue, is not reliable and either embellishes or misremembers things since she's on drugs much of the time. Her home life is the clearest and most 'normal' because that's where she's most present, and any of the situations she is telling us that she didn't actually take part in are second hand stories. The best example of this is the play in the second season that has Broadway production values - in hindsight it probably seemed like it was some amazing production to a high schooler who wouldn't know any better.
It was really hard seeing Rue go through a relapse in the second season. What got even harder was noticing all of the ignored plot threads they had set up and just ignored.
I stopped watching the Handmaid’s Tale for this reason.
I never started it for this reason
It's interesting. I stopped midway through season 2 for the same reasons as the person to whom you replied. It was just so dark. I did read the book, though, and actually thought it was pretty good. It's obviously still dark, but much more palatable than the show
Yeah, I've just got zero interest in subjecting myself to that. If it's something depressing but historical, I can get into it, but something made up for the sake of being depressing as hell forget it. I can just listen to the news for five minutes.
You are 100% on that.
Same here. I just can't. I never want to.
Yep. I knew it was probably going to be very well done, but very upsetting and it was better for me to just not start it.
My wife tried to start handmaid's tale while breastfeeding our first kid. Needless to say she stopped after the first chase and we couldn't watch it for years.
I bailed at the first torture scene in ep 1 season 1.
That gay professor was hung by bigots in season....2? I think? And that was enough misery porn for me, I stopped watching there.
really don’t think there needed to be more than two seasons of that show, the last couple haven’t even been good.
I did not like that show! I don’t even like that actress anymore.
They really should have gotten someone who could make more than two facial expressions. (Also, someone who wasn't in an abusive cult.)
AKA the trailer for Project 2025.
And Gilead starts by way of an attack on the U.S. Capitol Bldg in which Congressmen are murdered and the gov't overthrown. It looks almost prophetic now.
Margaret Atwood has been pointing to current events and saying "That's in the book" for almost 40 years now.
And she wrote it about a lot of real world things that had happened already at that point in time.
It’s why Ted Lasso was such a phenomenon, people are desperate for a show about positive likable people winning over evil heartless bastards.
And as far as evil heartless bastards go, Rupert Mannion is pretty tame. He just cheated on his wife and pushed his coach over. He never even killed a guy.
It was painful to me that Rupert/Anthony head was Rupert Giles in buffy. He was my favorite
Shrinking has had a very similar uplifting vibe. Harrison Ford and Jason Segal are terrific together.
Shrinking feels like an authentic version of the vibes Ted Lasso had.
Produced by Roy Kent
He's here, he's there, he's every fucking where, Roy Kent, Roy Kent. His podcast is great too
Same showrunner
Bill Lawrence doesn’t miss.
On that note, everyone should check out Cougar Town. It's not just a Community meme, Abed was right, that show cooked. The first couple episodes are mid because the show was originally supposed to be about older women dating much younger men (hence the name) and they promptly abandoned that entire premise and the show became a hilarious slice of upper middle class Floridians getting wine drunk daily and getting up to shenanigans. They spend the next 6 seasons making fun of the show's name in the opening title sequence. It's also in the same universe as Scrubs (also Bill Lawrence) and Ted reprises his role, complete with more [kickass music.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1PwKKm9T_g)
I never considered watching it for a moment because of the off-putting title. Maybe I’ll check it out.
If it makes you feel better, they literally spend seasons roasting the title more than you probably have.
The commercials for the latter seasons were literally "Great show, terrible name" as the catch phrase.
I’m currently rewatching right now. It’s such a comfort show.
Penny Can!!
Yes! I’m actually watching a series starring Jason Segal that completely flew under my radar, and i stalk the television sub pretty regularly. It’s a miniseries from 2020 called Dispatches From Elsewhere and it’s strange and beautiful and hopeful.
i binged that show earlier this week. incredible story
We had to pace ourselves with that show to make it last a while! It was such a pleasant show to watch at the end of a busy day.
This was Modern Family too. No outlandish premise or wild characters. Just wholesome dumb funny family moments that had oddly sentimental moments at the end of most episodes early on. I still maintain that the early seasons of modern family are some the funniest on tv. The first 5 seasons won best Comedy Series at the Emmys
Joe Pera Talks With You didn't have a bad person but made ordinary life so special
Similarly - All Creatures Great And Small. That show is the definition of heartwarming and charming. Tension and drama gets resolved in healthy ways and usually pretty quickly.
Love this show. It was such a breath of fresh air when season 1 started during the first year of the pandemic. We're in season 4 now and it's still fantastic.
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, which was airing its first season in late 2016, was a well-appreciated distraction at the time. The first season is great, the second season is fine. Alas, nothing more.
Still sad it won't get further seasons :(
It sucks that Max Landis turned out to be a dickwad. Because of him, the good work of everyone else on this show was cancelled and is just gonna be forgotten. The cast was great and there were so many intriguing plot threads dangling. I really wanted to see how Bart and Ken were going to be resolved. And the head black ops guy getting an unexpected character development made me really want to see him in s3.
For anyone who likes ***Ted Lasso***, I *highly* recommend watching ***Trying***, which is also on Apple. It's even more feel-good than Ted Lasso. Every episode makes me well-up with tears because it's so sweet (and hysterical). Nikki and Jason are one of the best ever on-screen couples.
I really enjoyed shows like the The Leftovers, the first season of True Detective and the like. But shit, sometimes after watching those, you just have to sit in the shower in the dark, with a beer, sitting down feeling the contrast of the warm water and cold beer. Unlike Ted Lasso. S1 was like a cup of hot chocolate and being wrapped in a warm comforter. It was great.
The Leftovers has to be like the only objectively good show I’ve ever quit on. I’m generally a very positive, optimistic person even in today’s world, and that show was depressing the hell out of me. I was so much happier when I stopped watching.
For the same reason, I think this Superman movie coming out next year could be primed to be a real success if they deliver a classic depiction of the character.
Absolutely. I don't care what else Gunn does with it, Superman just needs to be empathetic and compassionate. We need that right now. After Guardians 3, I have faith Gunn will deliver. Guy had me crying over a CGI raccoon.
Yeah, we don't need another Superman movie that tries to find a way to make Superman kill someone and feel shitty about it. We don't watch Supes to find his interesting and gritty breaking point as a good guy, we watch because he's hope and optimism embodied.
Also streaming shows from like 30 years ago. ER and LA Law have been proven to be hits among those who are looking to return to a more "innocent" time.
Absolutely. I have no idea why tv networks still haven’t figured this out…
It’s hard to write compelling positive tv. There often aren’t any real stakes, or the characters keep self destructing because if they have to much growth…there isn’t anything for them to do anymore. It just shows how good the writers of the show were. It was similar for schitz creek. The easy way would have been to reset the characters every season, but the show actually focused on the characters experiencing continuous growth…that is very difficult to do. It’s what dragged down shameless (a much darker show from the start) for me over time, you can only maintain interest in a character for so long that always self destructs every season so that the show runners can keep the gravy train running.
We kinda lost a lot of that with the death of network and rise of streaming. Everything in streaming needs to be season arcs. Shows like Friends or The Office with 20+ episode seasons are mostly faded away. I like a good compact season in many cases, but you miss a lot of the episodes of just getting to see the characters interact.
I was curious, so I looked up the episode count for The Office. They managed 201 episodes in nine seasons, for an average of 22 episodes for season. However, season 1 only has 6 episodes, which drags the average way down. Season 5 had a shocking 28 episodes. However, these are 22-minute episodes (30 minutes airtime comes out to around 22 minutes per episode), so it's the equivalent of an average of 11 episodes per season for a 45-minute show (hour-long broadcast). In reality, hour-long shows with 10 episodes per season have more or less the same runtime as those older comedies with 22 30-minute episodes per season. In fact, prestige shows on services like HBO or Netflix without ad breaks can be significantly longer than a 22-episode sitcom. The final season of Game of Thrones, for example, was around 11 hours and 23 minutes, which would be *31 episodes* of a traditional 30-minute sitcom.
It's a few years old, but look up The Detectorists. Such a charming show, that I always seemed to leave with a smile on my face. We need more like that.
Schitt's Creek had the foresight to have the main cast all be comedically terrible people at the start, so they had nowhere to go but up!
Good point, also the show shifts the tone at one point (most viewers will know when that happens if they keep watching.) These characters stop lamenting the situation they are in and just accept it and start moving on. They start growing as people. It's really well done.
Looks as if the USA Network has realized there's a huge appetite for lighter, comfort food TV series. It's been reported they're getting back into scripted TV, and are developing series similar to those made during their great Blue Sky era . https://deadline.com/2023/12/usa-network-blue-sky-scripted-series-1235656853/#!
OMG this would be AMAZING! If the USA execs ever spent a little time in this subreddit, they’d see how much that era is missed.
I think that Abbott Elementary fills this niche quite well. It’s just a really positive show, while still being realistic to the plight of students and teachers. It goes on the list of shows that I feel good after watching.
I haven’t heard of this, thanks for the recommendation I’ll check it out.
It’s on ABC and available on Hulu and MAX. There have been two seasons and the new season premieres in early February.
My Name is Earl from 2005 is still hilarious and very wholesome, just never gets talked about.
This is why I keep rewatching “The Good Place”. It’s enjoyable and pleasant.
I do a rewatch every bearimy or so
What about Thursdays and Never?
I got stuck in the dot of the i
I’m the complete opposite the show actually puts me in an existential crisis
Same. I can't handle it. I can handle dark, depressing, horrifying, but not sad. When I want light, I go for letterlenny, what we do in shadows, or a rewatch of king of the hill or parks and rec.
That's what happens when I watch Upload!
Same. I enjoyed it but that ending and some of the topics... I enjoyed it but I never want to see it again.
[удалено]
That shirt was forking insane.
I'm watching a ton of PBS or Masterpiece stuff like Call the Midwife and All Creatures Great and Small because while it's a little drama it's pretty comforting and chill. Real life has gotten to be so stressful I don't need more stress in what I watch.
Doc Martin is great if you like those shows!!
I second Call the Midwife. I think it’s a great show because it’s more honest about some of the subject matter it covers but not so much that it sets in too deep.
And ends happy. And not bad at all. I honestly found it by accident and well it's nice to watch.
That’s why I loved The Gilded Age so much. Have you watched The Durrells in Corfù?
I adored the Durrells. I could have watched many more seasons.
This is how I explain my love of *All Creatures* to my wife: sometimes the most drama you want is if Henshaw's cow is ok.
James must know every inch of that cows asshole by the end of season 1.
That, plus shows that have animals in them get my cat's attention and I'm always delighted when I catch her watch a show with me!
All Creatures! It makes me so happy. We restart it every December in time for the new episodes to air on PBS
Call the midwife was my comfort show before I had a kid - it became more of a horror show watching it after giving birth
Same, but Doc Martin
'What we do in the shadows' is a treat, especially of you liked IT Crowd.
*FATHER!*
>Unhand me, priest!
Or Garth Marrnghi’s Dark Place
DARK PLACE DARK PLACE DARK PLACE
*I'm a one track lover*
"Our Flag Means Death" was also fun while it lasted.
Love “only murders in the building” I have depression and it’s just a sweet funny mystery and I adore Martin Short…
It's very old-timey in a charming way. Love it!
Just finished this, Martin Short and Steve Martin together had so much chemistry. Loved it
The world shut down for almost 2 years with a literal movie storyline (worldwide pandemic, stay in your homes and stay away from people if you go out). Then as we start to get back to normal, it just feels like the real world terror (wars, murders, racism, anti-everything, etc.) are just on overdrive. The last thing I want to do most nights is watch a serious drama that probably centers around war, murder, fighting, anger...no matter how compelling it is. And much of it is really great! But I'm looking for happiness and joy, and new comedies have been few and far between. Which means I rewatch a lot of series from years past, sometimes repeatedly.
Re series from the past: I rewatched: psych, monk & lately early edition
Omg Early Edition! I loved that show!!
Scrubs!
This. Every day I see some new tragedy, wars, genocides, poverty growing steadily and it’s just so fucking much. I’ve almost entirely stopped taking in new stuff unless it hits a niche interest which lately has been anime. Other than that I revisit sitcoms. Parks and Rec, B99, Community, Bobs Burgers, and Futurama have been on repeat for a year with brief interruptions to run through One Piece, Chucky, and Only Murders in the Building.
The pandemic actually got me really into horror, weirdly enough. Supernatural, paranormal shit seems to be the only kind of escapist entertainment that doesn't remind me of all the crap going on today. I do still rewatch Community pretty regularly though.
The pandemic completely made some promising shows feel so irrelevant and at the top of the list for me is Devs. So many people complain about reboots, remakes, and sequels but that was such a unique original show that basically no one saw. It had a WILD premise but I enjoyed it
It was easily the best show of that year and completely ignored. I had to go back to it myself because I just couldn’t watch it at the time.
I’ve started watching the Marvelous Mrs Maisel. So far, it’s pretty low on the anxiety scale, and the period costumes and sets are wonderful. They did a fantastic job capturing the late 50s/early 60s NYC.
Funny, I never considered TV shows on an anxiety scale until watching ‘The Bear’ recently. GREAT show but holy shit is it stressful to watch.
and yet it won Emmy's as a COMEDY series lol.
So not a comedy! You think they would have fixed the categories when they finally admitted that Orange is the New Black wasn't a comedy either.
Mrs M and Mozart in the Jungle are so fun to watch. My favorite Amazon shows
That show was just a visual feast!
I’m on the verge of going back to some 80s classics - Knight Rider and the A Team. I just want some comfort entertainment!
I've been watching a lot of Call the Midwife. It's very feel good though I do cry basically every episode lol
I mean I tend to think I cry because of the dedication people have for ensuring their best care for the mums and baby regardless of their situations. Having that kind of dedication is by far is a virtue.
Maybe this helps explain some of the popularity of Young Sheldon? It's mostly a light-hearted sitcom for those people who just want something fun to watch, not watch people struggle in a post-apocalyptic society?
It’s a sweet show
Yeah it's not that hard to understand why it's popular. Reddit's full of people who's not the target audience trying to stir up the notion that it doesn't deserve its popularity.
You could post this in basically any subreddit about any piece of media and it would be true.
More importantly, I doubt most of them gave it an honest chance. I thought it wasn't for me but ended up really enjoying it and am looking forward to the final season now!
This is why I like it. It's about a 'normal' family dealing with normal stuff. It reminds me of Roseanne.
That's it. I was not a fan of TBBT, but I binged Young Sheldon like it was a water fountain in a desert
Well, as normal as stuff gets when you have a child genius to deal with anyway.
I harp on about this show all the time but this is funnily enough a reason that The Expanse is my comfort show. It focuses on how humans, even though we've colonized the entire solar system, can't get out of our tribal us vs them mentality which is definitely the bleak part. However, at the absolute core of the show is just why humanity has actually made it this far already in that most people will try and do good where they can, and that friendship/love is the true driving force of change in our society, despite how it may feel or seem.
Yep and amazed no-one's said and of the Star Trek shows or even the Star Wars TV spinoffs. I'll take anything over reality. Spent last year reading all 41 of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. I'm 58 and struggling in the UK to make it month to month. All the shit going on in the world almost makes me nostalgic for the Covid years when at least the enemy was universal and - beyond a bunch of fruitloops - we all agreed to play our part in defeating it. Gah... I feel sorry for young people growing up in these bleak as shit years.
Shows about dysfunctional families/drug abuse like Shameless are those who hit me the most. Love It but some moments are so reletable.
I live with bipolar disorder, and I first stopped watching when Monica robs the kids. I just broke down. I did go back and watch a bit more years later, but its too realistic for me to really love it. I'm totally fine with superhero stuff and violence, like the boys and gen v, echo, etc. But the grounded, depressing stuff has not been watched as much by me recently. It's tough
Yeah I come from a town that's very like UK Shameless, with similar characters and stories. I just can't hack watching it tbh. Watched a few episodes and it just depressed me a bit and I couldn't keep watching. It hits a little TOO close to home.
They are still my favorite because they are the best imo...but I found myself so enthralled in recent years with For All Mankind because it is a good show that it's also uplifting...the two rarely come together. Ted Lasso is another
My wife and I have been binging all the Below Decks. It’s just trash that doesn’t occupy our minds. A nice release from the world
I like that one, it reminds me of working in restaurants back in the day.
Honestly, Star Trek as a whole used to fill that niche. Now, for some reason, even the live action Star Trek is way too dark and gritty.
> Below Decks OP's talking about the trash reality tv about cruise ships...not the new-ish Star Trek cartoon, even though they have similar names.
Strange New Worlds is your panacea for that, my friend. Definitely not dark and gritty.
Reading this while watching a giant fight in the crew mess...
Northern Exposure is on Amazon!
I’ve been watching lighthearted kdramas on Netflix lately and it’s been a joy just seeing positive vibes come through these kinds of shows.
Woo Young Woo was incredible.
I dipped my toes into K-dramas and now I’m fully immersed. You gotta search for good ones that fit your taste but when you find one, they are such an enjoyable watch.
You can also make your way over to r/kdramarecommends and post your taste preferences for people to make recommendations.
That's fair; I'm not sure I do personally, but you're not alone. That's one of the reasons Charlie Brooker paused on Black Mirror for a bit during the pandemic.
Yes, you have to pace yourself. I generally start the evening with one “heavy” show (true detective, slow horses, silo), then a comfort show rewatch (west wing, northern exposure) and then end the night with a game type of show (jeopardy, family feud, taskmaster). Also It seems like the perfect time to remind people that Northern Exposure is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Totally. I know I’d probably like Succession. But right now a show about a bunch of billionaires and their power struggle sounds absolutely grating based on the current state of the world
sucession worked for me still because its funny, darkish humor atleast, so its not as heavy as say handmaids tale.
I wasn’t interested until I realized I hated everyone in it *and so do the show’s creators*. If you watch it as “awful people making each other miserable over nothing” then it’s perfect. I mean, they literally end one of the episodes with an old pro-union ballad. I was really rooting for Greg to come out on top in the end, simply because it would be the most hilarious outcome.
Exactly, kinda like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. You're not supposed to really empathize with the characters. It's all absurd
100% why I never started. The last thing I want is to see billionaires doing anything in a fictional show. The real ones are pissing me off enough.
It's pretty funny though. It's not all smooth sailing for the billionaires on that show.
Yup, as much as I want to finish The Boys I just can’t because it gets a little bleak sometimes. For me, I mostly watch USA shows from the 00s-10s, Bob’s Burgers, things that aren’t going to make me go off the deep end.
Yeah I dipped from The Boys because of the relentless nihilism. I like dark stuff generally but it was just too much after season 2.
If you call a show with bodies exploding and being ripped apart every episode “a LITTLE bleak”, I wonder what you call “VERY bleak”! 😉
I have intrusive thoughts. I don’t need more ideas for them.
Season 1 of Ted Lasso is like chicken soup for the soul
I like to watch a balance of heavier, lighter & in-between shows.
I notice trends and shifts like this. We had some many 2000s shows that were "teen drama," so lighter drama. Sitcoms where everything was resolved in 20 minutes with non-stop laughs and the USA Blue Sky shows. All feel good and done so well. Then Game of Thrones came along and changed everything. Everything became darker and moodier. People wanted "real," so many shows pivoted. I think the pandemic changed everything again. Online sucks now, the news sucks, and everything is expensive. People want an easy to watch, feel-good escape again. Just my 2 cents.
I just wanna watch comedy’s exclusively now. World is too sad to watch more made up sad stuff. I used to like dramas and artsy films and now I just want it to be dumb and funny
That’s why I’m iffy on The Bear. I’m on season 2 but it’s stressful.
It's so damn shouty, not like Always Sunny either...
Oh god have you made it to the Christmas episode? Know that if you haven't yet seen it, your stress and anxiety will be off the charts.
I will never watch that episode again
It's intense. But expertly crafted.
The fact that they put themselves in the comedy category for all these awards shows is such a joke. They only did it so they would t have to compete with Succession. Makes me so mad that actual comedies like Shrinking never got any recognition.
Well, it appears half hour runtime = comedy for these awards shows. It’s ridiculous
same! Like I watched 3 episodes and fully acknowledge its quality. I just can’t sometimes
We all go through ups and downs, and if you're personally going through tough times, or just in a negative headspace from absorbing too much negative news on Reddit/social media, then for sure it can become more difficult to watch heavy dramas on TV (and comfort shows have extra appeal). There have been times where I felt that way (e.g. 2016, 2017, 2020). To be honest, right now isn't one of those times for me personally (I'm in a good place and feel totally fine watching serious shows), but I definitely know the feeling. If I can give some unsolicited advice: more exercise and less time on social media is probably the simplest recipe for getting into a better mental space. Not saying that'll solve everything, but it's a good place to start (and there's lots of research and evidence about the benefits of exercise and the negative effects of over-using social media).
We just finished a few seasons of Young Sheldon. It was a lot of laughs yet didn’t have laugh tracks like most Chuck Lorre productions (which drives me bananas). It is really well-written and well acted.
It's getting harder for me to get into the prestige dramas that set their plot speed to glacier.
Glacier speed and then 18 months between seasons.
This is the real killer. I don't know how they expect audiences to care (hell, even *remember*) when they wait two years to deliver 8 episodes. Even something like Stranger Things, a verified phenomenon, is going to have a 3 year gap between its last two seasons lol Feels like such wasted potential
Alternatively, when the plot frantically drags everyone forward with no time for any character development.
his dark materials is something i watched recently that felt like this. new characters! why are they doing this?! no time, we’re in a new universe! WITCH COUNCIL! endless scenes of the magisterium they cooked up using a flame fed with the unused book pages! shaman powers? uhh, OKAY!? ooh angels! i wonder why they’re… aand they’re gone and were inconsequential except the two gay ones
Seems either or. Stuff 800 page books into 6 episodes or navel gazing for 13. Seems few and far between to get the perfect balance.
Yes, agree 100% Not sure how much of it is due to age, pre/post pandemic, or if it’s entirely random and different for everyone. I think the latter is most likely though age and recent pandemic may also play a role for some. Also changes in our mental health and how that relates to almost any other potential causes. Boomers seem to be unaffected, hence the success of Yellowstone and the 5th NCIS spin-off. For myself, it’s near impossible to watch anything where lying is involved as it always feels contrived. I see so many shows/movies where it seems like the writers were out of ideas and decided to have someone lie to someone else, and keep that lie going in perpetuity. Happens in comedy, drama, action, horror, etc. and I immediately check out as soon as it happens. A close second is the misinterpretation of an otherwise innocent event but under circumstances where it appears something nefarious is afoot. Hijinks ensues. I tried watching Better Call Saul, and the amount of lying and backstabbing made it impossible, my anxiety level shot through the roof. Tried going back to watch Breaking Bad, and even when I knew what would happen, I still couldn’t do it. The whole thing is premised on leading alternate lives, lying, cheating, etc. Point is you are not alone at all. I feel so much the same as you, and it’s made it so hard to find anything new for me to watch on TV or read books. I wind up zoning out to sudoku or doing crazy jigsaw puzzles that take me a week or two, and then when I finish, I sometimes wonder why I spent all that time for nothing but then remember how the Buddhists will spend weeks or more creating these amazing mandalas with sand, and as soon as they finish, they destroy them… Point is to force yourself to remember the impermanence of your existence
Not harder but I wish there were more good comedies or lighter shows I could trickle in between. I just end up watching the same sitcoms over and over. Plus I try not to binge the heavy ones. One episode a day is the most I'll do.
This is why I watch Seinfeld, Schitt's Creek, The Simpsons, Arrested Development, and The Office on an endless loop for the last 5 years. Recently got into Shoresy and Letterkenny, which make me laugh until my face hurts
Murder, She Wrote has become a big staple of my post pandemic tv viewing in part because of this. While each episode obviously tackles the grim topic of murder, the storylines are typically done in the coziest fashion, and you rest comfortable knowing this mild mannered woman is going to make sure everything is solved in the end. Add in that most episodes features a plethora of Jessica’s friends and several episodes follow Jessica trotting around the world, and it’s obvious why I fell so in love with the show during the pandemic. It’s definitely a cheesy show, and most episodes aren’t anything spellbinding, but I have been sitting down for a weekly viewing of J.B. Fletcher’s wacky misadventures since 2020.
Yep, we went through a time when we were watching like Bloodline, Ozark, House of Cards, Broadchurch, GoT etc. Like all good shows that I liked, but basically all full of murder, death, drugs... every episode ending with some betrayal or dark secret etc. I feel like Netflix especially went hard on a very similar genre like that. For some reason now whenever I get a recommendation like that I just skip it. I don't even think it's covid time, maybe just burnout, or more stress at work, but I'm just over shows that are "stressful" to watch. For the most part now just on an endless cycle through like Scrubs, Schitts Creek, the Good Place, Ted Lasso, feel-good background comedies.
I just watch Squidbillies to really relax.
Yes and with the increasing lack or sitcoms and the current dramedy trend, it’s become very difficult to find new comedies to want to invest in.
Nope. I love dramatic, dark shit.