Some days you need a laugh more than others. When you are feeling stressed, sometimes the best medicine is to find a quick (30 minute show) of the best funny TV shows and comedy sitcoms to change your mood in no time.
To go from stressed to laughing in that short of an amount of time, just requires a little preplanning. Because why should you wait until you are desperate?
You can plan ahead and have a list of the best funny TV shows ready to go when you need some stress relief. All you have to do is read through this quick overview of the different types of comedies and narrow down the list to what you are in the mood to watch today.
Below are the different types of the best comedy series you can choose from:
- Romantic Comedy (Rom Com)
- Workplace Comedy
- Family Comedy
- One of a Kind Comedy (Unique)
You can use this list of TV comedies to have as your backup go-to fix for what to binge watch next. (Please see below for where to find all of these shows and bookmark this page for later!)
Romantic Comedy TV Shows
Romantic ensemble TV Comedy shows like “Friends” and “New Girl” focus on relationships between friends and particularly those of a romantic variety. Whether it is Ross and Rachel from “Friends” or Nick and Jess on “New Girl”, the story lines center around the dating lives of the characters.
Both series take place in metropolitan areas with a coffee house (Friends) and a bar (New Girl) as the settings, although most of the action takes place in their apartments.
“Friends” was first popular in the 90’s and has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. This show has one of the most famous ensemble TV casts of all time with Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt Leblanc and David Schwimmer all starring. (With the recent passing of Matthew Perry, many of the scenes are especially poignant now as the friends group will never be the same.)
“Friends” is truly a classic with the series running for 10 years. And, luckily the series is just as good on the 2nd (or 3rd) watching. By the end of the series, you will need a score card to keep up with who has dated who among the friends on the show.
“New Girl” which aired from 2011 until 2018 on Fox, stars Zooey Deschanel as Jess. She goes to live in an apartment with several other guys (Jake Johnson as Nick, and other cast members Max Greenfield and Lamorne Morris). Hannah Simone plays her friend. Over time the friends become like a family to each other much like the series “Friends” did as well.
Finding laughs in the workplace
Another popular scenario for situation comedies is to find laughs through the workplace. For that reason, there are a ton of workplace comedies. Popular workplace comedies include “The Office”, “Community”, “Parks and Recreation”, “News Radio”, “Cheers” and “Wings”.
Each show has their own unique workplace setting. In “The Office” it is the paper company, Dunder Mifflin. For the others, it is a community college for “Community”, a parks and recreation office for a small town in Indiana in “Parks and Recreation”, “News Radio” takes place in a radio station office, “Cheers” takes place in Sam Malone’s bar in Boston, and “Wings” is set in a regional airport office.
Most people have seen the more recent ones like “The Office”, “Community” and “Parks and Recreation”. However, if you haven’t seen “Cheers”, “Wings” and “News Radio” you are in for a fun watch. All of these workplace comedies have elements of romantic entanglements and coworkers fighting and then making up.
While Jim and Pam’s romance in “The Office” was a focus during the show, it isn’t the main focus and this is true in each of the other shows as well. There is usually at least one main couple pairing in each show and the disruptions that come along with it. (Two other workplace comedies worth checking out – “Taxi” and “WKRP in Cincinnati”).
These comedies are all true ensemble shows. “The Office” aired from 2005 to 2013 and starred mostly unknown actors in the beginning. Of course, most people now know who Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson and Ed Helms are today.
“Parks and Recreation” aired from 2009 to 2015, and starred Amy Poehler from SNL fame as Leslie Knope among a slew of others who are now famous – Chris Pratt, Nick Offerman, Rashida Jones, etc.
The ensemble aspect is also true for all of the other shows and launched many other careers over the years. “Community” – with Joel McHale and Chevy Chase launched Ken Jeong’s career and he went on to be in the movie “The Hangover”.
Working Woman Special Mention – “30 Rock”
If you haven’t seen Tina Fey in “30 Rock”, you need to do so. While Tina Fey was hilarious in “Saturday Night Live”, she really gets to shine in “30 Rock”. Fey wrote, starred in and produced the show at various times.
The show is a show within in a show – Fey’s character Liz Lemon is a writer/producer for a SNL inspired comedy and she works at the headquarters for NBC at 30 Rockefeller in NYC, hence “30 Rock”. Fey is part of an ensemble cast including Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy, Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan and Jane Krakowski as Jenna Maroney.
The show follows Liz Lemon’s life including her dating, home life, and co-workers. The writing on this show is top-notch and Fey and Baldwin’s scenes are usually surprising, funny and realistic (women and her boss troubles) all at the same time.
Some of the funniest (and realest) scenes are Liz trying to be a professional female in a man’s world while also attempting to keep her private life together. This ensemble show is both a workplace and romantic situational comedy. (Fey also produced “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” with Ellie Kemper.)
Comedies About Families
“Everybody Loves Raymond”, “Modern Family”, “The Goldberg’s”, “The Middle”, “Malcolm in the Middle”, “Blackish” and “American Housewife” are all comedies focusing on family life, which appears to be a great breeding ground for lots of funny stories.
From differences between generations, the difficulties in juggling parenting with marriage, and just finding the funny in the everyday situations we all experience, these shows will make you laugh.
This list includes some older classics like “Everybody Loves Raymond”, but there are also some newer takes on the family comedy formula with “Modern Family”, “Schitt’s Creek” and “Arrested Development”.
“Schitt’s Creek” and “Arrested Development” would technically be for the 14 plus crowd as they have stories and situations geared more to adults. However, they are well worth the watch. If you are going to be an adult, you might as well get the benefits that go with it – like getting to watch hysterically funny shows.
Truly Original TV Shows to Make You Laugh Out Loud
While all of the shows on the list are originals, a few have gone above and beyond the normal scope of the situation comedy. “The Good Place”, “Absolutely Fabulous” and “Samantha Who” are comedies that have taken the original mold of a sitcom and broken it wide open. The reasons why they are different than the rest depends on the show.
In “The Good Place”, the difference is the setting, as the show is set in Heaven. Kristen Bell’s character is sent to Heaven after she dies (which she finds questionable given her behavior) and the suspense surrounds her being found out.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have the drug and alcohol excess of “Absolutely Fabulous” (as shown in the Giphy above). “Absolutely Fabulous” is a British comedy with very broad accents and even bigger physical comedy. Edwina and Patsy are a duo you won’t soon forget as they stumble through life.
“Derry Girls” is another funny one to check out. It is set in Ireland and is about a group of teenagers who go to a Catholic high school. It is quite funny.
“Samantha Who?” is a two-season series (which is too bad because it is so good), that has the main character played by Christina Applegate as an amnesiac who remembers bits of her life in each episode. Applegate is a veteran of TV comedies having starred in “Married with Children” (as one of the children) and she now stars in “Dead to Me” which is now in its 2nd season.
Classic Comedy Series Favorites to Watch
If you want to watch some series that have stood the test of time, check out these classic comedy series:
- “Seinfeld” is an ensemble cast with Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Robards
- “Taxi” with Danny Devito, Judd Hirsch, Marilu Henner, Jeff Conaway
- “Golden Girls” with Betty White, Rue McClanalan, Estelle Getty and Bea Arthur
- “Malcolm in the Middle” with Jane Kaczmarek, Frankie Muniz, and Bryan Cranston
- “Ted Lasso” starring Jason Sudeikis is newer, but already a classic favorite with many people
- “The Simpsons” is an animated series but also one of the funniest TV shows you will ever see
Which Hilarious TV Show Should You Watch First?
Any of these shows would be well worth your time. However, if I had to pick from this very broad, eclectic list of funny TV shows, my all-time favorites would be: “Samantha Who”, “Absolutely Fabulous”, “Schitt’s Creek”, “30 Rock”, and “Everybody Loves Raymond”.
All five of these shows leave me with a grin on my face and my heart a little lighter at the end of the show. What more can you ask?
Best Comedy Series a.k.a. Funny TV Shows on Netflix
- “The Good Place”
- “New Girl”
- “Arrested Development”
- “Parks and Recreation”
- “Community”
- “Schitt’s Creek”
- “Dead to Me”
- “The Office”
- “Derry Girls”
Hilarious Comedy Series to Watch on Hulu
- “Arrested Development”
- “Cheers”
- “Community”
- “The Good Place”
- “Parks and Recreation”
- “30 Rock”
TV Shows To Make You Laugh on Amazon Prime
- “Schitt’s Creek”
- “Modern Family”
- “Friends”
- “The Good Place”
- “New Girl”
- “Community”
- “Arrested Development”
- “The Office”
- “Blackish”
- “Parks and Recreation”
Best Comedy Series TV Shows to Binge-Watch
- “Friends”
- “New Girl”
- “30 Rock”
- “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
- “The Office”
- “Community”
- “Parks and Recreation”
- “News Radio”
- “Cheers”
- “Wings”
- “Taxi”
- “WKRP in Cincinnati”
- “Everybody Loves Raymond”
- “Modern Family”
- “The Goldberg’s”
- “The Middle”
- “Blackish”
- “American Housewife”
- “Schitt’s Creek”
- “Arrested Development”
- “The Good Place”
- “Dead to Me”
- “Married with Children”
- “Samantha Who”
- “Absolutely Fabulous”
- “Derry Girls”
- “Ted Lasso”
- “The Simpsons”
- “Malcolm in the Middle”
If you are looking for something with romance and drama, check out the following TV shows:
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – available on Amazon Prime
Outlander – available on Starz
Poldark – available on Amazon Prime
So, what did I miss? What are your favorite TV Comedies? Add a note below in the comments to see what else needs to be included. Enjoy!
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