Comedies & Light Dramas: All-Time Favorite TV Series
A list of my favorite comedies and light dramas. These shows all fall under the feel good banner.
If a light drama or comedy also falls under the Sci-fi, Superhero or Horror genres... they are on those lists and not listed here. This is to keep duplicates among my various lists to a bare minimum.
All active, ongoing series (if any) listed on top - otherwise in no particular order.
If a light drama or comedy also falls under the Sci-fi, Superhero or Horror genres... they are on those lists and not listed here. This is to keep duplicates among my various lists to a bare minimum.
All active, ongoing series (if any) listed on top - otherwise in no particular order.
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- CreatorPaul FeigStarsLinda CardelliniJohn Francis DaleyJames FrancoA high school mathlete starts hanging out with a group of burnouts while her younger brother navigates his freshman year.1 season / 18 episodes: Series Complete
- CreatorVictor FrescoStarsJay HarringtonPortia de RossiAndrea AndersIn an amoral science-based company, a manager tries to keep control of his scientists while being pressured by his shrewd boss.2 seasons / 26 episodes: Series Complete
Lem Hewitt (Malcolm Barrett) and Phil Myman (Jonathan Slavin) were two of the best socially awkward geeks ever produced for TV. Two of my all-time favorite characters.
Separately they were great characters. When they worked together as a team, they were an unstoppable force for the best kind of TV entertainment. - CreatorGregory Thomas GarciaStarsJason LeeEthan SupleeJaime PresslyA ne'er do well wins $100,000 in the lottery and decides to right all the wrongs from his past with his newfound realization!4 seasons / 96 episodes: Series Complete
Many years ago I bought an Amazon tablet and one of the first things I wanted to test was video streaming.
I'm not sure why I settled in this (unknown) show but I selected it with the intention of watching just a few minutes for general testing.
Those few minutes turned into a surprising binge-fest as I accidentally stumbled across one of the most entertaining TV shows of all-time. - CreatorGreg DanielsRicky GervaisStephen MerchantStarsSteve CarellJenna FischerJohn KrasinskiA mockumentary on a group of typical office workers, where the workday consists of ego clashes, inappropriate behavior, tedium and romance.9 seasons / 201 episodes: Series Complete
- CreatorLarry LevinStarsRon EldardGiancarlo EspositoChris MulkeyPaul Gigante leaves FBI to be a detective for rural Bakersfield, California PD But sophisticated Gigante.1 season / 17 episodes: Series Complete
I remember when this first came out. I saw the first few episodes and immediately fell in love with this series. It turns out that it was only the first few episodes I was ever going to watch in '93.
I had completely forgotten about this series until I came across it today (24aug2023). I'm so happy I did. This time around, I'll be able to watch the entire series.
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update, first week/Dec 2023: Got around to watching the entire series for the first time ever. It was as wonderful as those first few episodes I saw about 30 years ago.
I also found it odd that this show didn't feel like it aged that much. Maybe it was the small town feel or that it was so brilliantly written. Perhaps it was the impressive acting from the entire cast.
Whatever the reasons, I would put this series up against the very best light/fun series produced today. - CreatorJudd ApatowStarsJay BaruchelCarla GalloCharlie HunnamCollege freshman Steve Karp, his girlfriend and their fellow dormmates embark on one of the greatest experiences of their lives. Unfortunately for Steve, his lonely and recently divorced father is tagging along for the ride.1 season / 17 episodes: Series Complete
- CreatorAlec BergBill HaderStarsBill HaderStephen RootSarah GoldbergA hit man from the Midwest moves to Los Angeles and gets caught up in the city's theatre arts scene.4 seasons / 32 episodes: Series Complete
I loved the premise. The trailer, however, just didn't convince me this was a good series and so I decided to skip it. I would watch the trailer again and the occasional little snippets online from time to time and... nope... nothing.
Then one day, I decided to just start watching the series. The high ratings, great reviews were a factor. It was the interesting premise that really was the deciding factor - it kept calling to me.
I did not know what I was missing. So much better than the trailer and snippets indicated. Bingeable good, great story matched by equally great characters.
Bill Hader makes a good lead for this series. Anthony Carrigan and lots of the actors in his criminal sphere - give this series that extra something... making it a great series (for the first three seasons only).
Season 4 was a complete shift. It was watchable based on the strength of the previous seasons but this season alone would not make this list. - CreatorMichael SchurStarsKristen BellWilliam Jackson HarperJameela JamilFour people and their otherworldly frienemy struggle in the afterlife to define what it means to be good.4 seasons / 53 episodes: Series Complete
This series hits lots of checkboxes... it's creative, light, funny and overflowing with likable characters.
If you are looking to relax, engage your mind about the hereafter in a friendly way or just settle into a good place for the night... this is the show. - CreatorGregory Thomas GarciaStarsGarret DillahuntShakira BarreraPhillip GarciaHaving been previously incarcerated, Jack moves in with his former cellmate, Rooster, and is determined to turn his life around, just at the start of a global pandemic.1 season / 9 episodes: Series (likely) Complete
Sprung excels within the easy going, fun, light drama genre.
The magnificent work on the layered storytelling makes each episode feel so much longer in a good way, while covering lots of story. You have actively participating multiple characters within overlapping multiple storylines. Few shows are as densely packed.
The great scripts give each character enough depth that you wind up connecting with each for different reasons.
It's from Gregory Thomas Garcia (Greg Garcia) who brought us one of the great series of all-time: My Name Is Earl (2005). If you liked 'Earl', you are going to enjoy this series too. - StarsChris O'DowdRichard AyoadeKatherine ParkinsonThe comedic misadventures of Roy, Moss and their grifting supervisor Jen, a rag-tag team of IT support workers at a large corporation headed by a hotheaded yuppie.4 seasons / 25 episodes: Series Complete
- CreatorAwkwafinaTeresa HsiaoStarsAwkwafinaLori Tan ChinnBD WongWith help from her dad and grandmother, Nora Lum navigates young adulthood in Flushing, New York with her cousin.3 seasons / 27 episodes: Series likely Complete
Update (23jun2023): Saw the final episode of season 3 a few days ago. Everything about that episode said finale... No official word yet but I strongly feel the series is over.
If so...I already miss this show and its cast so much. I hope we get a season 4.
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I first saw Awkwafina in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) and fell in love with her comedic style and scene-stealing screen presence.
She has a quality that's equal parts charismatic, down-to-earth, funny and humble. An appeal that feels very approachable and real-world.
I started looking for anything else she may have done that might fall within my field of interest. So happy to have found this series. I watched the first 2 seasons as soon as I found them.
Loved it! Fun, relaxing, great characters and entertaining stories. Mostly... it's Awkwafina who is, in fact, Nora.
She's that really cool girl from Queens. - CreatorBrendan HuntJoe KellyBill LawrenceStarsJason SudeikisHannah WaddinghamJeremy SwiftAmerican college football coach Ted Lasso heads to London to manage AFC Richmond, a struggling English Premier League soccer team.3 seasons / 34 episodes: Series Complete
I finally decided to watch this series and it was a great experience. Great storyline, great characters and a nice optimism. - CreatorDavid GuarascioMoses PortStarsDan ByrdAdhir KalyanAmy PietzA young Muslim student from Pakistan is sent to live with a Christian family in Wisconsin as part of a foreign exchange program.1 season / 18 episodes: Series Complete
One of the great castings of all-time in Adhir Kalyan and Dan Byrd. - CreatorEmily KapnekStarsJeremy SistoJane LevyCarly ChaikinTessa Altman is used to the big city, but when her dad moves her away, she has to adapt to her new suburban life in Chatswin.3 seasons / 57 episodes: Series Complete
A superb cast that really deliver on their characters. A great script that keeps you engaged throughout its entire run. - CreatorRicky GervaisStephen MerchantStarsRicky GervaisMartin FreemanMackenzie CrookThe story of an office that faces closure when the company decides to downsize its branches. A documentary film crew follow staff and the manager David Brent as they continue their daily lives.2 seasons / 14 episodes: Series Complete
It took a few episodes to accept this series because I had already been strongly influenced by the US version. Mostly it was the different styles Ricky Gervais brought vs Steve Carell.
Also Dwight Schrute vs Gareth Keenan was a fun comparison.
Regardless... The UK (original) version is every bit as good as the US version but different enough that you feel like you're watching different shows. - CreatorSteven LevitanChristopher LloydStarsEd O'NeillSofía VergaraJulie BowenThree different, but related, families face trials and tribulations in their own uniquely comedic ways.11 seasons / 250 episodes, 1 special: Series Complete
- CreatorJohn EnbomDan EtheridgePaul RuddStarsAdam ScottKen MarinoRyan HansenA group of actors move to Los Angeles to make it big, but end up working as caterers.2 seasons / 20 episodes: Series Complete
- CreatorKelvin YuStarsBen WangYann Yann YeoChin HanJin Wang is an average teenager balancing high school and home life. When he meets a new foreign student on the first day of school, even more worlds collide as Jin is unwittingly entangled in a battle with Chinese mythological gods.1 season / 8 episodes: Series Complete
update, 06jan2024: Series cancelled after one season.
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High School, fantasy elements, coming of age, light drama, funny, family, friendships. Lots of good stuff here. - CreatorJames L. BrooksMatt GroeningSam SimonStarsDan CastellanetaNancy CartwrightJulie KavnerThe satiric half-hour adventures of a working-class family in the misfit city of Springfield.
- CreatorNeil GaimanStarsDavid TennantMichael SheenMiranda RichardsonThe End of the World is coming, which means a fussy Angel and a loose-living Demon who've become overly fond of life on Earth are forced to form an unlikely alliance to stop Armageddon.2 seasons / 12 episodes: season 3, finale
This was originally a 'one and done' miniseries. People liked it, they got another season as a result.
Maybe this isn't a bad way to go with most series... I don't like season-ending cliffhangers. If it's a good series, I'll come back for sure. If it's badly written, I will not come back... cliffhanger or not. - CreatorSteve CarellGreg DanielsStarsSteve CarellJohn MalkovichBen SchwartzThe people tasked with creating a sixth branch of the armed services: The Space Force.2 season / 17 episodes: Series Complete
That one episode in season one about a chimpanzee in space was probably one of the worst things I have ever seen in my life. It was horrific and painful to watch.
It's like they didn't care what they were producing or worse... openly admitting that they were mostly talentless hacks in it for the money grab. Mocking both their investors and the people watching the show.
The feeling that nobody cared about the quality of the production peaked with this episode.
Lots of the episodes bordered close to this line but I hung in there for some reason. The series seemed to get better (?) or it grew on me (?). In any case... giving it a second season (which I'll watch at some point - on the back burner for now).
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Season Two, update (02jan2023): Finished binge-ing the entire 2nd season during the day. It was that good! Not many TV series can take a bad first season and come back to produce an exceptional second season.
It was a funny, comfortable, comedy that was also an emotionally engrossing light drama at times.
I just don't understand this world. It gets renewed after a bad season 1. It gets cancelled after a great season 2. - CreatorAndy BreckmanStarsTony ShalhoubJason Gray-StanfordTed LevineThe series follows Adrian Monk, a brilliant former San Francisco detective, who now consults the police as a private consultant while battling with an obsessive-compulsive disorder.8 seasons / 125 episodes: Series Complete
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related Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie (2023)
Premiered December 8, 2023. Monk is back again and he's as good here as the Monk we all remember.
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related Little Monk (2009)
Adventures of a young Adrian Monk and his brother, Ambrose, as they solve mysteries at school. - CreatorChris FedakStarsJack Cutmore-ScottIlfenesh HaderaLenora CrichlowA famed magician uses his skills of deception to assist the FBI in solving high-profile cases.1 season / 13 episodes: Series Complete
- CreatorSteven LevitanStarsLaura San GiacomoEnrico ColantoniGeorge SegalHot-tempered journalist Maya got herself fired yet again. Unable to find a job anywhere else and facing eviction, she is forced to go work for Blush, her father's fashion magazine.7 seasons / 148 episodes: Series Complete
- CreatorPaul SimmsStarsDave FoleyStephen RootAndy DickThe workplace sitcom "NewsRadio" explores the office politics and interpersonal relationships among the staff of WNYX NewsRadio, New York's #2 news radio station.5 seasons / 97 episodes: Series Complete