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.
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.
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.
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.
Seconded! I’m really looking forward to season 2
Ted Lasso, Schitts Creek
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
the west wing is great. both laughed and cried and ive only watched the first 3 seasons so far
Season 3 is honestly a good place to stop.
President Josiah Bartlet for president. Please
Just finished Marvelous Mrs Maisel. I think that might fit the bill?
Living With Yourself, Our Flag Means Death, Fleabag
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.
That sounds really unusual! Not heard of it thanks mate
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.
Detectorists
Such a lovely show.
Not as good as Shrinking or Ted Lasso, but Stick is scratching that same itch right now.
Deadloch. Dark humor and murder mystery
Afterlife is very good.
The Unicorn
Only 2 seasons before it was cancelled, but it’s Walton Goggins playing a widowed father getting back into the dating scene.
You’re looking to follow this guy: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Lawrence_(TV_producer)