Sure, we all know the big hitters. Parks and Rec. The Office. Brooklyn 99 (whose next season just got extended). However, if you’ve watched all of these shows and are desperate for more, no worries, there are other shows that can scratch that itch and bring some light to your day.
The Good Place – Netflix
Likely one of the more well known shows on this list, but not quite popular enough to make the ‘big hitters’ list. The show centers around Eleanor Shellstrop and as lovely as her actress Kristen Bell is, Eleanor Shellstrop is far from pleasant. So imagine her surprise when she dies and lands in “the good place,” where she most definitely does not belong. The first season centers around Eleanor trying to hide the fact that she doesn’t belong, convincing her supposed ‘soulmate’ to teach her ethics to support this effort.
Fresh Off The Boat – Hulu
Did you love Crazy, Rich Asians? Duh. Well the leading lady of Crazy, Rich Asians, Constance Wu, stars as Jessica Huang, the mother of an Asian-American family who moved from Washington D.C. to Orlando because her husband opened a steakhouse. The family is absolutely captivating and gut-busting hilarious, as Jessica bulldozes anyone who gets in the way of her family, and her husband just wants to be well liked. Meanwhile, her children strive for success and a place in their community in their own ways, even if those ways differ from their parents desires.
The Real O’Neals – Hulu
Gone too soon, The Real O’Neals was cancelled after its second season. The show centers around the O’Neal family, a picturesque Irish Catholic family that is seen as the pillar of the community. However, we learn in the pilot that they are not as perfect as they seem when the mother and father announce they are separating and the middle child, Kenny, comes out as gay. While the mother, Eileen, does struggle to accept Kenny, we do get to see her come to defend and accept him. One of the most heartwarming aspects, however, has to be the oldest son, Jimmy, who definitely falls into the dumb jock stereotype, is immediately and unflinchingly accepting and loyal to Kenny and willing to help and defend his brother at all times, often to a hilarious degree.
Superstore – Hulu
This show is the most similar show to the “big hitters” – a workplace sitcom with a slow burn endgame relationship where both parties of said relationship are the last to realize they belong together. In this case, the endgame couple features Amy, a young mother who has worked in retail for years, and Jonah, a college dropout who starts the show off confident that this is only a temporary gig. Surrounding them is there overly kind manager, overly aggressive assistant manager, teenaged mom coworker, and other various eccentric personalities with the chaos of working in a department store acting as the ever changing and amusing backdrop.
College and the world can be sucky and stressful and sometimes all it takes is 20ish minutes of purity to remind you the world isn’t all bad. Go forth and binge and find faith in this world.