Comedy recommendations

As a follow-on from the PWB/mid-life crisis thread this month:

I don't watch much comedy as a rule but I've found it's ideal for treadmill running: doesn't require too much concentration, never too far from a good laugh, flies by in no time at all.

Hit me with your recommendations for good comedy shows I might have missed. I've been working through Brooklyn 99 which is superb so anything along those lines would be ideal (I've already seen The Good Place). I've heard the US version of The Office is worth a watch. What else would you recommend?

Community, if you've never seen it. Never has a show thrown off the shackles of its initial premise so comprehensively about 5 or 6 episodes into Season 1. Season 4 is a disaster, and it goes rapidly downhill after that, but in its prime (the first paintball episode for example) there's not much to touch it. On amazon prime. It's basically by the same guy who did Rick and Morty, but even if you hate that, give it a go.

Arrested Development. Beads? Bees? This perhaps strays a bit close into technical comedy perfection, which means at times you're sitting there admiring it, rather than consuming it (and laughing at it). The first couple of seasons are brilliant in bits. It can be cringy, agonising watching at times though.

30 Rock. I have a total crush on Tina Fey, so may be biased. But once this gets going it's absolutely tremendous. The core cast are brilliant (Baldwin has never bettered his role in this), and once it starts getting confident it really cuts loose and gets amazingly creative. Season 2 and 3 are probably the best. If you're not liking it by Ross from Friends' Greenzo episode, I'd give up there. Kimmy Schmitt on Netflix has a similar vibe, but I never thought it was quite as good, though it has its moments.

Scrubs - dated in bits now, and has the American sensibility to bring "feels" into the comedy, but apart from Season 9 which we don't talk about, a very consistent, occasionally moving high water mark for medical comedies.

Parks and Rec. Season 1 is terrible. Season 2 onwards it's great. Similar vibe to the Office US (which I'm not very keen on, but my partner quite likes). My issue with it, perhaps, is that it isn't really escapism, and can seem a little bleak and close to home.

Chuck, just arrived on amazon. I like Chuck. The premise is someone in a fairly bland life is thrown into the world of spying. It's not a balls to the wall out and out comedy, but the core cast are really likeable, and it's good entertainment value (at least for the first Season or two).

Of those, I'd say if you've never watched it, give Community a go. But try to stick with it until you see the first flickers of the showrunners going "no, fuck this, let's do this instead". If you find it irritating, then fair enough, but you may find you absolutely love it.

Great! Thanks. Never even heard of Community or Chuck, and the others I know very little about, so that lot should keep me going for some time.

Have you watched Rick and Morty? That would also be a top recommendation.

The thing about Community is that while we've had stuff like Buffy doing a musical episode, there hasn't ever really been a half hour format comedy that has played with the constraints of what you're allowed to get away with quite as hard as Community has. You can see the DNA of Rick and Morty woven through it (indeed, it shares some of the same ideas in some of the episodes), but it's fantastic to watch Dan Harmon slowly deconstruct comedy tropes as he goes along. He was eventually chucked off it at the end of Season 3, possibly as a reaction to the level of bizarre he was pushing (and also him falling out with Chevy Chase). The problem with it, as you can see, is that by watching it and loving it you become a raving advocate for it and implore other people to watch it (while wishing you could watch it again for the first time) :D

Someone else here (maybe aniki?) I think doesn't like it though, so YMMV.

All I know about Rick and Morty is that it’s liked by all the worst people, so I’ve avoided it. I’d assumed it was the cartoon equivalent of Pepe the Frog.

Community is on Amazon Prime which is a bonus. I’ve got a season or so to go of Brooklyn 99 but will line this up next, you’ve got me intrigued now.

I would say if this in any way appeals, then Community is for you.

And yes, Rick and Morty is liked by a lot of twats - but it's still absolutely tremendous (again, once it gets into its stride). It's on Netflix. As we always say, give it until the Mr Meeseeks episode, and if it's not working for you by then, then move on.

Plus one for Community and Rick and Morty.

Cavalcade has covered all the great US stuff so I'll just chuck out a few British ones.

This Country - bias on this one as its filmed local to me. A mockumentary (yes they are overused but this one works perfectly) about two twenty somethings in a rural village still hanging about with school kids. Armando Iannuci described one episode (the letters) as being the best half hour of comedy he has seen in ages.

Derry Girls - I think this is a little overrated but still a great watch. Basically very similar to the inbetweeners but set in the early nineties with a predominantly female class and obviously in Derry. Takes some very brave steps comedy wise and also has the added nostalgic fun of the soundtrack.

Home - A brilliantly sweet and funny story about an illegal immigrant. Watch it with your Tory loving, vote leave, racist Uncle for extra fun.

All the twats who like Rick & Morty remind me of all the people who used to like Ali G without realising they were being made fun of.

The only (relatively obvious) thing I can think of that cav hasn't already mentioned is It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which is also on Netflix. That has to be a slightly guarded recommendation, because not only does it have a similarly slow start to many of the aforementioned (it's another 'it gets better after the first season' job), but it's important to remember that all of the characters are terrible, terrible people, so if you can't get on board with/aren't in the right mood for that, it's probably not going to work for you.

Is Peep Show on Netflix again at the moment?

Can't believe I forgot Always Sunny. Agree with the slow burn, but I don't think it would actually be a problem if you just started at the second season. Its actually kind of brilliant that there are all terrible people, its one of the few examples where a show with no sympathetic people can work. My sister actually used it in a Uni essay arguing that it was possible to have a succesfull narrative without a "hero".

Peep Show is on Netflix at the moment. Peerless if you are of our generation.

If we're going British, Plebs is a guilty pleasure.

Oh my god, and Norsemen of course. On Netflix. I'd add that as a must watch.

It's quite gentle but I really found myself enjoying Mum last Christmas when it was back up on iPlayer.
Over the last few months I've been catching up with Bob's Burgers since it's appeared on Prime. Used to be on the list of regular torrents but since that whole practice was written off as too time consuming it's been nice to be reacquainted with the show.

More recently my girlfriend has been watching The Let Down. It's about parenting so mileage may vary but I jumped into the last few eps of the second series and really enjoyed the episodes I saw. Going back to the beginning I doubt I'd have stuck with it but there's an episode late on where the main couple go to a vineyard and I lost my mind laughing during one scene.

We also watched the Netfilx show Friends From College which has one of the most awful first seasons of all time but the second is excellent. It makes no sense; there was no writers strike to blame for season 1 but they really pulled season 2 out of the bag… and then it got cancelled.

Futurama is up on Amazon now, I've been sneaking episodes in here and there while knitting over lunch in the office.

I loved Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt but your milage may vary. There's only 4 seasons and it's pretty bingeable.

Red Dwarf?

I don't know if standup counts for this thread, but I wanted to throw out a recommendation for Hasan Minhaj's Homecoming King special on Netflix. It's the most profoundly I've been impacted by a comedy set since I heard Tig Notaro's Live.