Some of our favourite TV shows for comedic relief.
Some of our favourite TV shows for comedic relief.
What is there to watch between those dark dramas, twisted sci-fi shows and true crime binges? The Herald's TV-watching team take a look at some faves that are a little lighter in tone.
The Mindy Project
I chewed through every episode of Making A Murderer in less than 24 hours. I've been catching up on Game of Thrones (yes, it took me a while to get on board) and I'm eager for season six to start in April. I even decided to work my way through all the episodes of Supernatural and The 100. Things are looking pretty bleak. Thank goodness for The Mindy Project, a show with the comedy vibe of New Girl, starring and created by the hilarious Mindy Kaling.
The show has been running since 2012 and has always been good for a giggle. It follows OB/GYN Mindy Lahiri (Kaling), a young(ish) woman living in Manhattan who works with a quirky cast of co-workers and dates a string of odd-ball guys. It's great fun. The Mindy Project also features some great guest appearances from stars like James Franco, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lee Pace and Kris Jenner (as herself).
All the episodes are available to bingewatch on Lightbox, and Hulu is supposedly continuing season four, though there has yet to be any air dates confirmed. Fingers crossed it keeps going. I need something to fill the time between all the murderers and maniacs. - Rachel Bache
The Detectorists
As great as Making a Murderer was, it's killed off television for me. It was so involving, so intense, so bloody bleak, I haven't been able to get into another show since. I've tried. I made it through one episode each of Jessica Jones, Homeland's fifth season, Les Resevants' second season and hyped sci-fi show The Expanse before giving up. They don't measure up. But there's light at the end of the tunnel. In the past week, I've watched just one thing: The Detectorists. And it's brilliant.
I only discovered this show thanks to this post on The Spinoff, but I'm so glad I did. It stars Mackenzie Crook (Gareth in The Office) as a down-on-his-luck metal detectorist. There's nothing complicated about this show, but it's so warm, inviting and weird, I can't get enough. Why it's taken so long to get here is anyone's guess: in the UK, two seasons and a Christmas special have already aired. Here, it's only available through iTunes, Apple TV and Neon, or on DVD. Yes, you might need to dust off your DVD player from the back of the shed to watch this on, but trust me, it's worth it. -Chris Schulz
Modern Family
Television has gotten so great these days that is simply demands you pay attention. But I've often spent all my attention by the end of the day. Mentally talking, I'm broke, With no attention left to spend on the intricacies of whichever TV epic I'm currently caught up in. So when I want to watch TV but don't particularly want to think about what I'm watching I switch on Modern Family. It's not a cool show. It's too slick. Too square. There's far too many hugs, life lessons and soppy endings crammed into every single episode.
But it does have one thing going for it; it's funny. Don't get me wrong. It's no LOLocaust. But at the very least I do know that I'm gonna get some good guffaws and a couple of chuckles out of every episode. Mostly from Ty Burrell's cluelessly optimistic father Phil, and Ed O'Neil's perpetually grumpy grandfather Jay.
Each season has an overriding arc but for the life of me I can't recall what happens in any of them. But as each episode has a lot going on they function perfectly well as stand alone viewing. I think in one season arc someone got married. Or didn't. I don't know. It doesn't matter. I wasn't thinking about it much at the time so I'll be damned if I'm gonna think about it now. I mean, not wanting to think about what's going on is the exact reason I watch this show in the first place. - Karl Puschmann
It may not have rated well enough to keep it's primetime slot on TV2 last year, but if you are looking for something light and entertaining, there is no better show than Galavant. A parody of Disney musicals and Game of Thrones in equal measure, the show about an obnoxious knight, his quirky companions and clueless villains is a pure joy to watch, full of plenty of fourth wall breaking and ridiculously catchy tunes.
The second season came to an end this week, but it still only has 18 half hour episodes in total: the perfect thing to binge-watch when you're looking for something light. The opening song from this season, which lampoons everything from its Emmy snubs through to low ratings, sums up why this show should be top of your list. -Ethan Sills
