OT: Under-the-radar comedy series

[Tommyboy]

Letterkenny (on Hulu)

Canadian comedy about life in a small rural town in Ontario province. Main group is the hicks, and chronicals their interactions with the skids (goofy local meth/drug users), the hockey players, and other groups.

Often very crude (but hilarious humor), but very smartly written scripts by main actor & director (Jared Keeso, Jacob T) somehow keeps it from being too non-PC.

Lots of Canadian & Hockey lingo…don’t be afraid to pause & Have this dictionary open during first few episodes. It’ll help!

Slang Terms

The Letterkenny and Letterkenny Problems dialogue makes extensive use of slang, including many words and phrases from hockey or general Canadian or rural usage. This main list focuses on shorter cryptic slang terms used in casual dialogue, whose meanings are not necessarily obvious from their...

letterkenny.fandom.com

I love Letterkenny, but can only watch so much at a time as the interactions between the groups are always the same. Just slightly different jokes. Still really funny, but need to space it out. Though I am constantly driving my son crazy with "toooooo beeeeee faaiirrrrrrrr..." anytime he says it. Allegedly.

 

[Fatroony5]

Came here to mention Crashing, that's my go-to recommendation for under the radar shows. Shame it got canceled, but the three seasons definitely have enough of an arc to them to make it feel like you're watching almost a full series.

Judd Appatow has been a part of so many good comedy projects, it’s crazy looking back on how many funny things he made. Especially that run with like Knocked Up, 40 year old virgin etc. anything he makes or is involved with I probably will watch; even King of Staten Island was a good watch and I’m not much of a Davidson fan.

 

[Jay-Bone]

Most mentioned already, but a few others:

TV: Reno 911, Upright Citizens Brigade, Kids in the Hall

Movies: Bottle Rocket, Clerks, Wet Hot American Summer

 

[Fatroony5]

Love Ted Lasso. Dave keeps popping up on my radar, but I haven't looked at it yet. I'll give a it shot when I work through my current binge Burn Notice.

I'm on season 4. At first, it was great, but now the formula of 3 minutes of season narrative, 39 minutes of episode narrative, 3 minutes of season narrative + cliff hanger is getting old. It didn't feel as contrived watching weekly.

Dave is good but it’s pretty different. A blend of comedy, drama, really awkward parts. I was very familiar with Lil Dicky and have been following him for awhile so I kind of knew what to expect. I’m sure there are some that don’t love it, but I definitely think it’s a good watch.

 

[UConnSean]

Nathan For You

This is one of my favorite shows of all time hands down - masterpiece

 

[CL82]

Well it definitely gets points from me because it and "Smoke on the Water" are the only songs I can play on piano, but the name is kind of a bummer, and it always makes me melancholy when I hear it. Although I loved that series, too, it was pretty heavy when I was a kid. You never just got the laughs without experiencing some gravitas along the way.

I would throw the "Baretta" theme in the mix, along with the theme from "Welcome Back Kotter."

This topic should definitely be it's own thread. (Best TV themes, not "songs 8893 can play on the piano" which would be decidedly shorter.)

FWIW are you watching McCartney 3-2-1 on Hulu? You'd like it. It's 27 minutes a show of Paul McCartney and a producer sitting in front of a sound board, with McCartney talking about various Beatles songs. A ton of interesting stuff, like on a Hard Day's Night a particular riff was too hard to play, so they played it half time and an octave lower and then doubled it.

Another interesting bit was McCartney thought on mastering the piano. He says 'find middle C and then play three fingers spaced every other key and you've got a chord. Move is over three and you've got another chord. Do it four more times and you've got six chords and with six chords you should be able to write enough songs."

I'm enjoying it.

 

[8893]

This topic should definitely be it's own thread. (Best TV themes, not "songs 8893 can play on the piano" which would be decidedly shorter.)

FWIW are you watching McCartney 3-2-1 on Hulu? You'd like it. It's 27 minutes a show of Paul McCartney and a producer sitting in front of a sound board, with McCartney talking about various Beatles songs. A ton of interesting stuff, like on a Hard Day's Night a particular riff was too hard to play, so they played it half time and an octave lower and then doubled it.

Another interesting bit was McCartney thought on mastering the piano. He says 'find middle C and then play three fingers spaced every other key and you've got a chord. Move is over three and you've got another chord. Do it four more times and you've got six chords and with six chords you should be able to write enough songs."

I'm enjoying it.

I've watched four of the six episodes and am enjoying it well enough, in that I can enjoy almost anything about the Beatles. We've discussed it in the Entertainment Forum a bit. I still can't help but think how much better it could have been, and how little Rubin adds. The historical footage still is the most enjoyable part for me, although I appreciate that I learn a little something new each series.

 

[awfuldan]

Anyone else enjoying The White Lotus on HBO right now? Not strictly a comedy, but definitely super funny and uncomfortable.

Will also second Pen15, I Think You Should Leave, and Nathan For You.

 

[ET7774]

Episodes (Showtime)

 

[NorwalkHusky]

Kim's convenience on Netflix

 

[Waquoit]

Maybe Suicide is Painless from MASH should be in the discussion, but I'd rank it 4th.

Not for me, besides not liking it, it came from the movie. Crime shows Peter Gunn, Hawaii Five-O, Mission Impossible and SWAT have it beat, imo.

 

[CL82]

Not for me, besides not liking it, it came from the movie. Crime shows Peter Gunn, Hawaii Five-O, Mission Impossible and SWAT have it beat, imo.

Yeah, this definitely needs to be a thread. All good choices.

 

[UCfor3]

Anyone else enjoying The White Lotus on HBO right now? Not strictly a comedy, but definitely super funny and uncomfortable.

Will also second Pen15, I Think You Should Leave, and Nathan For You.

White Lotus is excellent!

 

[QDOG5]

Flight of the Conchords
What We Do in the Shadows
Fleabag
My buddies and I got rained out on a golf trip to Florida and watched Bottle Rocket(twice), we still Ca-Caw Ca-Caw each other ten years later.

 

[JCSuperstar]

If you've never seen it, Mr. Show on HBO is an all time favorite. When it first came out I only knew the Bob and Dave from The Ben Stiller Show, needless to say, everyone blew up since then.

 

[QDOG5]

I watched the documentary on the Dana Carvey show recently. Does anyone know where I can watch the old episodes?

 

[Hey Adrien!]

I've just learned about Joe Pera a few days ago and his "grandfatherly" delivery is exactly what I need right now. He has a show on Adult Swim and here's one clip I've particularly enjoyed.

 

[auror]

I love Letterkenny, but can only watch so much at a time as the interactions between the groups are always the same. Just slightly different jokes. Still really funny, but need to space it out. Though I am constantly driving my son with "toooooo beeeeee faaiirrrrrrrr..." anytime he says it. Allegedly.

That's what I apreciates about you.

 

[MTHusky]

Best theme song for a comedy was Gilligan's Island's. It explained all the characters and what happened to them to become stranded. Best comedy's were MASH, Corner Gas & Cheer's.

 

[Kembacity]

If you've never seen it, Mr. Show on HBO is an all time favorite. When it first came out I only knew the Bob and Dave from The Ben Stiller Show, needless to say, everyone blew up since then.

Even Jay Johnston... on January 6th which was hard to swallow

 

[Greedo]

It’s not under the radar but Ted Lasso is absolutely hilarious, probably my favorite show going right now. This season isn’t as funny but I like Dave a lot as well.

A few Under the radar: Crashing, Insecure, Barry, seasons 1/2 of Master of None, Nathan for you.

Here are some others I just like as shows that maybe not everyone has seen: Atlanta, Ramy (ATL and Ramy aren’t that funny but good shows to watch), Eastbound and Down, Freaks and Geeks, Bernie Mac Show, Reno 911, Robot Chicken, I could go on and on.

The first season of Dave had me rolling. This season is just super cringy and painful without any of the hilarious moments.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Huge in France. This show has a lot of potential, but season 1 was in 2019 and only had 8 episodes.

I really hope there is a second season.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

I think you should leave with Tim Robinson Netflix

This. This. 100% this.

I Think You Should Leave is the purely funniest show on TV. Not every sketch works, but it is so, so insane, and so, so funny. Every comedian I know LOVES this .

This sketch is a great introduction to the brilliance of the show:

Seriously, watch it. The episodes are like 15 minutes.

 

[tzznandrew]

Modern Family and The Office are two shows that are constantly re-running on various channels and I find myself watching pretty much all the time.

Cheers is my all-time favorite show with added bonus that Rebecca attended “the University of…Connecticut”. The Fighting Insurance Salesmen! (Show reference)

THIS WEBSITE IS FREE! I LOVE IT SO MUCH!

 

[storrsroars]

This. 100% this.

I Think You Should Leave is the purely funniest show on TV. Not every sketch works, but it is so, so insane, and so, so funny. Every comedian I know LOVES this .

This sketch is a great introduction to the brilliance of the show:

Seriously, watch it. The episodes are like 15 minutes.

The definition of "brilliance" sure has changed over the course of my lifetime.