I have just finished watching "Shrinking" and before that "The Good Place." Can the community point me to other comedy/drama shows? Laughing and crying go good together.
Mike Schur, the guy behind The Good Place has a new show called A Man on the Inside. I didn't find it quite as emotionally moving as The Good Place, but there's certainly some of that in there.
Seconded! I'm really looking forward to season 2
I found A Man on the Inside much better than The Good Place, but maybe because the former deals with an elderly man in a retirement home, and I just experienced my father's short stay in one. Also Ted Danson looks a bit like my dad.
I prefered it as well. Season 1 was really good.
But I think the good place kind of icked me because the philosophy in the show was pretty poor quality and if you know a lot about moral philosophy Chidi is just unbearable.
Ted Lasso, Schitts Creek
Not an expert here, but stuff like Ted Lasso?
An old one, and probably not everyone's cup of tea, but MASH had some heavy moments due to the setting. More on the very misogynistic side of things though
Definitely a product of its time. The point of the show was not elevating women or LGBTQ+ communities. It was about the pointlessness and evils of war broadly and of US Imperialism specifically. Knowing that makes the things that are unacceptable in a modern show a bit easier to tolerate.
There are a lot of shows like that. Movies too. I think that's why drama ages much better than comedy. I have great affection for Peter Seller's Pink Panther movies, but they don't hold a candle to Sidney Poitiet's In the Heat of the Night. One made jokes at the expense of vulnerable groups and the other shone a spotlight on the injustices one minority faced.
MASH is best when it does the latter. Those episodes carry the series. It's a good recommendation
Well said. I know there were some episodes that dealt with the reason why Houlahan was the way she was due to having to make it in a man's army and being cold and stern was how she built up her wall
Basically any Michael Schur show scratches this itch. The Good Place, A Man On The Inside, Brooklyn 99, Parks and Rec, etc... they all have this charm. They're about people who generally like and enjoy each other they want to support each other. Their shows about building people up and love and friendship.
I get that, but I dislike "sitcoms," where the story is different each week based on some situation that week. I much prefer a narrative that lasts the whole season, where the humor comes naturally rather than from goofy characters.
I guess "The Good Place" was marginal in that respect, but I enjoyed it anyway.
I wouldn't consider the good place in any way whatsoever to be a weekly sitcom with only situational stories. It was very clearly not marginal it was very clearly one large overreaching story. I would say the same holds true for basically every show I listed there. Some more than others of course. Parks and Rec and Brooklyn have more sitcom like feels perhaps but they do also still have large overreaching stories. Whereas a man on the inside is much like the good place in that it's solely one large overreaching story.
Scrubs
It's more on the funny end, but when it hits, it hits hard.
It’s getting rebooted.
I'm a little salty about this. They should just leave it to rest. It had a great 8 seasons, that's enough.
Bojack Horseman is both incredibly silly and emotional. IIRC, the show doesn't start to really find itself until toward the end of season 1 though.
The episode that finally convinced my wife to watch the whole thing with me was the one where BoJack goes underwater, but I think that's not until season 4.
After we restarted from season 1, she was even more into it than I was.
Bojack is what came to mind for me. I think both, Bojack and Good Place finale's came out near each other. I remember crying for both of them. Both had solid endings too.
While it is silly it's also incredibly dark. A lot darker than shrinking or the good place.
Just finished Marvelous Mrs Maisel. I think that might fit the bill?
Rehearsal
I've never heard of that what's it about? And what kind if humour?
It's a documentary style show and the premise is that host Nathan Fielder helps people "rehearse" for stressful life events by trying to predict and practice every possible outcome.
It's for the most part riotously funny just like his previous show Nathan For You but it has a lot more emotional depth.
Honestly, I didn't expect season 2 to be so emotionally impactful but it really was. I'm so used to everything with Nathan Fielder being so completely unhinged.
Deadloch. Dark humor and murder mystery
Not as good as Shrinking or Ted Lasso, but Stick is scratching that same itch right now.
the west wing is great. both laughed and cried and ive only watched the first 3 seasons so far
President Josiah Bartlet for president. Please
Season 3 is honestly a good place to stop.
Detectorists
Such a lovely show.
You’re looking to follow this guy: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Lawrence_(TV_producer)
I'm going to suggest a movie, The Informant!
Kidding with Jim Carrey and Judy Greer. A lot of dark humor and very sad circumstances, but I've laughed out loud several times. I think Jim Carrey is excellent in a bit more serious role.
Judy Greer is criminally underrated, she honestly deserves more success despite her success as a character actor.
She has a great minor role in Adaptation.
Agreed. I have enjoyed her roles in arrested development and archer. Two of my favorite shows.
Living With Yourself, Our Flag Means Death, Fleabag
The Unicorn
Only 2 seasons before it was cancelled, but it's Walton Goggins playing a widowed father getting back into the dating scene.
Platonic.
Afterlife is very good.
Superstore is pretty good