The Queue
More content and cultural moments you won't want to miss
This is not an exhaustive list — just everything that came to mind, and everything I think is worth your time. Shows, specials, books, and more. Updated as I find new things worth recommending. If something catches your eye, the platform links will take you right to it.
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What I've Watched
Everything here is worth your time for one reason or another. Not a ranking — just a record.
Mockumentary & Documentary-Style Sitcoms
The format that started with The Office and never got old. Single camera, no laugh track, talking heads. These reward attention.
| Show | Watch On | Original Network | Years | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbott Elementary | Hulu | ABC | 2021–present | Teachers navigate a chronically underfunded Philadelphia public school. Best network comedy in years. |
| Arrested Development | Netflix | Fox / Netflix | 2003–2006, 2013–2019 | Dysfunctional Bluth family navigates financial ruin. Densely layered comedy — rewards rewatching. |
| Black-ish | Hulu | ABC | 2014–2022 | Upper-middle class Black family explores identity, culture, and race in America. |
| Grown-ish | Hulu | Freeform | 2018–2023 | Zoey Johnson navigates college life. Black-ish spinoff that stands well on its own. |
| Modern Family | Hulu | ABC | 2009–2020 | Three interconnected Los Angeles families. Ran a season too long but the peak years are great. |
| The Office | Peacock | NBC | 2005–2013 | Daily life at a paper company's Scranton branch. The show that launched a thousand mockumentaries. |
| Parks and Recreation | Peacock | NBC | 2009–2015 | Leslie Knope runs local government in Pawnee, Indiana. Optimistic, warm, endlessly rewatchable. |
| The Rise and Fall of Reggie Dinkins | Peacock | Peacock | 2023–present | Tina Fey-produced mockumentary. Verify current details — worth tracking down. |
| Welcome to Flatch | Hulu | Fox | 2022–2023 | Documentary crew follows eccentric residents of a small Ohio town. Based on British series This Country. |
| What We Do in the Shadows | Hulu | FX | 2019–2024 | Vampire roommates in Staten Island filmed documentary-style. Absurd and brilliant. |
Classic Sitcoms
The shows that defined the format. Multi-camera, laugh track, comfort viewing at its finest.
| Show | Watch On | Original Network | Years | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Big Bang Theory | Max | CBS | 2007–2019 | Socially awkward physicists and their more socially capable neighbor in Pasadena. |
| Cheers | Peacock | NBC | 1982–1993 | Boston bar where everybody knows your name. Still holds up completely. |
| George Lopez | Tubi (free) | ABC | 2002–2007 | Mexican-American family navigates life in the San Fernando Valley. |
| King of Queens | Peacock | CBS | 1998–2007 | Queens delivery driver and his wife navigate marriage and her overbearing father. |
| Roseanne | Peacock | ABC | 1988–1997 | Working-class Conner family in Lanford, Illinois. Groundbreaking in how honestly it showed real life. |
| Seinfeld | Netflix | NBC | 1989–1998 | Four neurotic New Yorkers navigate everyday life. Show about nothing that said everything. |
| That 70s Show | Netflix | Fox | 1998–2006 | Six teenagers growing up in 1970s Wisconsin. Great ensemble cast, genuinely funny. |
| Two and a Half Men | Paramount+ | CBS | 2003–2015 | Jingle writer, his uptight brother, and nephew share a Malibu beach house. |
| Will & Grace | Peacock | NBC | 1998–2006, 2017–2020 | Gay lawyer and his interior decorator best friend share a New York apartment. |
Network Comedies — Modern Era
Network television still producing genuinely great comedy. These belong in any conversation about the best of the format.
| Show | Watch On | Original Network | Years | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Rock | Peacock | NBC | 2006–2013 | Behind the scenes of a Saturday Night Live-style sketch comedy show. Tina Fey at her best. |
| Animal Control | Hulu | Fox | 2023–present | Seattle animal control officers and the wild situations that come with the job. |
| AP Bio | Peacock | NBC / Peacock | 2018–2023 | Harvard philosophy PhD loses everything and ends up teaching high school AP Biology. |
| Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Peacock | Fox / NBC | 2013–2021 | NYPD detective squad with an unconventional new captain. Great ensemble, great heart. |
| The Conners | Hulu | ABC | 2018–present | Roseanne spinoff. The Conner family carries on without her. Better than you'd expect. |
| The Goldbergs | Hulu | ABC | 2013–2023 | 1980s Philadelphia family through the youngest son's eyes. Nostalgia done right. |
| Good Girls | Netflix | NBC | 2018–2021 | Three suburban moms turn to crime to make ends meet. Ended too soon. |
| The Good Place | Netflix | NBC | 2016–2020 | Four humans navigate the afterlife. A comedy that actually teaches moral philosophy. |
| Great News | Peacock | NBC | 2017–2018 | Local news producer whose mom joins the team as an intern. Short-lived and underrated. |
| High Potential | Hulu | ABC | 2024–present | Single mom with exceptional IQ helps the police solve complex cases. Kaitlin Olson is great here. |
| Jane the Virgin | Netflix | The CW | 2014–2019 | Devout young woman is accidentally artificially inseminated. Telenovela format, earnest and funny. |
| The Mick | Hulu | Fox | 2017–2018 | Party girl becomes the reluctant guardian of her wealthy sister's three kids. |
| The Middle | Hulu | ABC | 2009–2018 | Middle-class Heck family in small-town Indiana. Underrated and deeply relatable. |
| The Mindy Project | Hulu | Fox / Hulu | 2012–2017 | OB/GYN with big personality navigates work and love in New York. |
| New Girl | Netflix | Fox | 2011–2018 | Quirky teacher moves in with three male roommates in Los Angeles. Nick Miller forever. |
| Superstore | Peacock | NBC | 2015–2021 | Employees at a big-box store in St. Louis. Underrated gem with real teeth on labor issues. |
| Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | Netflix | Netflix | 2015–2019 | Cult survivor moves to New York and rebuilds her life with relentless optimism. |
| Young Sheldon | Max | CBS | 2017–2024 | Young Sheldon Cooper grows up in East Texas. Warmer than Big Bang Theory, often better. |
Premium & Cable Comedy
HBO, FX, Showtime, and cable produced some of the most distinctive comedies ever made. These take more risks and it shows.
| Show | Watch On | Original Network | Years | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barry | Max | HBO | 2018–2023 | Hitman tries to leave the life and become an actor in Los Angeles. Bill Hader is extraordinary. |
| Baskets | Hulu | FX | 2016–2019 | Failed professional clown returns to Bakersfield to live with his mother. Zach Galifianakis at his most committed. |
| The Bear | Hulu | FX | 2022–present | Former fine dining chef takes over his family's Chicago sandwich shop. Watch the Season 2 Forks episode immediately. |
| Better Call Saul | Netflix | AMC | 2015–2022 | Jimmy McGill's transformation into Breaking Bad's Saul Goodman. Arguably better than Breaking Bad. |
| Broad City | Paramount+ | Comedy Central | 2014–2019 | Two best friends hustle through New York City in their twenties. Genuinely original. |
| Crashing | Max | HBO | 2017–2019 | Pete Holmes leaves his marriage and pursues stand-up. Essential for anyone interested in comedy. |
| Detroiters | Paramount+ | Comedy Central | 2017–2018 | Two lifelong friends run a struggling Detroit advertising agency. Sam Richardson and Tim Robinson. |
| Eastbound and Down | Max | HBO | 2009–2013 | Washed-up baseball pitcher Kenny Powers returns to his small-town North Carolina roots. |
| Girls | Max | HBO | 2012–2017 | Four young women navigate life, love, and failure in Brooklyn. Lena Dunham's defining work. |
| Hacks | Max | HBO | 2021–present | Legendary Las Vegas comedian mentors a young, struggling comedy writer. Jean Smart is flawless. |
| The League | Hulu | FX | 2009–2015 | Friends obsessed with their fantasy football league. Improv-heavy, chaotic, and very funny. |
| Nurse Jackie | Paramount+ | Showtime | 2009–2015 | ER nurse with a secret painkiller addiction. Dark, complicated, great performance from Edie Falco. |
| Reservation Dogs | Hulu | FX | 2021–2023 | Four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma scheme to get to California. Co-created by Taika Waititi. One of the most original shows in recent memory. |
| The Righteous Gemstones | Max | HBO | 2019–present | Dysfunctional televangelist family with a scandalous past. Danny McBride doing what Danny McBride does best. |
| Rooster | Max | HBO | 2026–present | Best-selling author arrives at his daughter's college to support her through a difficult time. Steve Carell. HBO's biggest comedy premiere in over a decade. |
| Shameless | Paramount+ | Showtime | 2011–2021 | Chaotic Gallagher family on Chicago's South Side. William H. Macy as Frank Gallagher is a performance for the ages. |
| Silicon Valley | Max | HBO | 2014–2019 | Awkward programmers try to build a startup. Aged perfectly — maybe too relevant now. |
| Veep | Max | HBO | 2012–2019 | Selina Meyer navigates life as US Vice President. Best political satire on television. |
| Vice Principals | Max | HBO | 2016–2017 | Two vice principals scheme to undermine their school's principal. Dark and committed. |
Streaming Originals
The post-Netflix era produced an enormous amount of great television. These are the ones that stuck.
| Show | Watch On | Platform | Years | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Mistakes | Netflix | Netflix | 2026 | Two directionless siblings get blackmailed into organized crime. Dan Levy and Laurie Metcalf. |
| Community | Netflix | NBC / Netflix | 2009–2015 | Study group at a community college forms unlikely friendships. Donald Glover. Dan Harmon. Essential. |
| Dave | Hulu | FX / Hulu | 2020–2023 | Rapper Dave "Lil Dicky" Burd pursues fame. Based on a true story, surprisingly great. |
| The End of the F***ing World | Netflix | Channel 4 / Netflix | 2017–2019 | Two teenagers on a dark, absurd road trip across England. British. Short. Unforgettable. |
| Free Bert | Netflix | Netflix | 2026–present | Bert Kreischer's family moves to Beverly Hills. Better than it has any right to be. |
| Friends from College | Netflix | Netflix | 2017–2019 | Harvard friends reconnect in their 40s in New York. Messy, complicated, underappreciated. |
| God's Favorite Idiot | Netflix | Netflix | 2022 | Mild-mannered IT worker is chosen by God to be his messenger. Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone. |
| Grace and Frankie | Netflix | Netflix | 2015–2022 | Two women bond when their husbands leave them for each other. Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. |
| Killing It | Peacock | Peacock | 2022–2023 | Down-on-his-luck man enters a Florida python-hunting competition for prize money. Craig Robinson. |
| Kim's Convenience | Netflix | CBC / Netflix | 2016–2021 | Korean-Canadian family runs a convenience store in Toronto. Warm, funny, and deeply human. |
| Master of None | Netflix | Netflix | 2015–2021 | Actor Dev navigates modern life, love, and identity in New York and Italy. Aziz Ansari. |
| Only Murders in the Building | Hulu | Hulu | 2021–present | Three strangers investigate a murder in their New York apartment building and make a podcast about it. |
| The Pentaverate | Netflix | Netflix | 2022 | Mike Myers plays multiple roles in a conspiracy comedy about a secret society. Divisive but committed. |
| Running Point | Netflix | Netflix | 2025–present | Woman unexpectedly takes over as president of an NBA team. Kate Hudson leads. |
| Schitt's Creek | Netflix | CBC / Netflix | 2015–2020 | Wealthy family loses everything and moves to the small town they once bought as a joke. Perfect ending. |
| Shoresy | Hulu | Crave / FX | 2022–present | Letterkenny spinoff following a foul-mouthed hockey player. You don't need to watch Letterkenny first. |
| Space Force | Netflix | Netflix | 2020–2022 | Generals prepare the newest US military branch. Steve Carell before Rooster. Better than its reputation. |
| Survival of the Thickest | Netflix | Netflix | 2023–present | Plus-size stylist rebuilds her life and career after a bad breakup in New York. |
| That 90s Show | Netflix | Netflix | 2023–present | Donna and Eric's daughter spends summer in Point Place with Grandma and Grandpa Forman. |
| Tires | Netflix | Netflix | 2024–present | Shane Gillis runs a family auto shop in New Jersey alongside his cousin. Short and very funny. |
| Too Much | Netflix | Netflix | 2025 | American woman moves to London and falls for a British man while still reeling from a breakup. Meg Stalter and Lena Dunham. |
| Workin' Moms | Netflix | CBC / Netflix | 2017–2023 | Group of working mothers navigate careers, parenthood, and relationships in Toronto. |
Comedy Dramas
Shows that blur the line between comedy and drama so successfully you stop asking which one they are.
| Show | Watch On | Original Network | Years | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beef | Netflix | Netflix | 2023 | Two strangers develop a dangerous obsession after a road rage incident. Ali Wong and Steven Yeun. |
Animated
| Show | Watch On | Original Network | Years | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Mouth | Netflix | Netflix | 2017–2023 | Animated comedy about middle schoolers going through puberty. More insightful than it sounds. |
| Rick and Morty | Max | Adult Swim | 2013–present | Genius scientist and his grandson travel through dimensions. Absurdist sci-fi comedy with real depth. |
Live Action & Alternative Format
Shows that don't follow a traditional sitcom structure. These either blur into reality or break the format entirely.
| Show | Watch On | Original Network | Years | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curb Your Enthusiasm | Max | HBO | 2000–2024 | Larry David improvises his way through social disasters in Los Angeles. Finished on its own terms. |
| Everybody's Live with John Mulaney | Netflix | Netflix | 2024–present | Weekly live late-night variety show on Netflix. Genuinely unpredictable and exciting. |
| It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Hulu | FX | 2005–present | Five terrible people run a bar in Philadelphia. The longest-running live-action comedy in US TV history. |
| It's Florida, Man | Max | HBO | 2024–present | Comedic reenactments of real Florida headlines, narrated by the people who lived them. Drunk History successor. |
| Letterkenny | Hulu | Crave | 2016–present | Small Ontario town, fast dialogue, ongoing feuds between social factions. Canadian and unlike anything else. |
| Murderville | Netflix | Netflix | 2022 | Will Arnett's unscripted murder mystery where celebrity guests have to actually solve the crime. |
| Norm MacDonald Has a Show | Netflix | Netflix | 2018 | Norm MacDonald doing what Norm MacDonald did. Watch it for what it is: one of a kind. |
Sketch & Short Form
Comedy in concentrated form. Some of the sharpest writing on television lives in 10-minute sketches.
| Show | Watch On | Original Network | Years | About |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bad Thoughts | Netflix | Netflix | 2025 | Tom Segura's sketch comedy special meets series. Darker than it looks. |
| Chappelle's Show * | Paramount+ | Comedy Central | 2003–2006 | Dave Chappelle's sketch comedy show. Still discussed because it was genuinely that good. |
| The Eric Andre Show * | Max | Adult Swim | 2012–2023 | The most chaotic talk show ever made. Deliberately uncomfortable and kind of brilliant. |
| I Think You Should Leave | Netflix | Netflix | 2019–present | Tim Robinson commits fully to absurd premises until they implode. Six episodes, fifteen minutes each. Perfect. |
| Key & Peele | Paramount+ | Comedy Central | 2012–2015 | Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele in sketch comedy that covered race, culture, and absurdity with precision. |
| Kroll Show * | Check availability | Comedy Central | 2013–2015 | Nick Kroll plays a rotating roster of characters in interconnected sketches. Underrated. |
| Mr. Show with Bob and Dave | Max | HBO | 1995–1998 | Bob Odenkirk and David Cross in interconnected sketch comedy. Ahead of its time and still influential. |
| Portlandia | Hulu | IFC | 2011–2018 | Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein satirize Portland's hipster culture. The dream of the 90s is alive. |
| SNL (Saturday Night Live) | Peacock | NBC | 1975–present | Fifty years of live sketch comedy. The institution that launched more careers than any other show in history. |
* These were noted as additional recommendations worth seeking out.
Books & Memoirs
I said I wasn't much of a reader. Then I discovered memoirs from people in comedy and entertainment. Now I can't stop.
- Bossypants — Tina FeyFind it here
- Hello, Molly! — Molly ShannonFind it here
- Famesick — Lena DunhamFind it here
- Lorne — Susan MorrisonThe definitive Lorne Michaels biography. Essential for SNL fans. Find it here
- Sick in the Head — Judd ApatowInterviews with comedians spanning decades. Find it here
- It's Always Something — Gilda RadnerFind it here
- Even This I Get to Experience — Norman LearThe legendary creator of All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, and more on a life in television. Find it here
- Directed by James Burrows — James BurrowsThe director of Cheers, Friends, Frasier, and Will & Grace on five decades of sitcom making. Find it here
- Gasping for Airtime — Jay MohrJay Mohr's insider account of his two years as an SNL cast member. Find it here
- I'm No Philosopher, But I Got Thoughts — Kevin NealonFind it here
- Live from New York — James Andrew Miller & Tom ShalesThe oral history of SNL. Find it here
- SNL: The Book (50th Anniversary Photo Collection)Find it here
This list is updated regularly. Not exhaustive — just honest. Last updated May 2026.