If you're like me, then you've spent hours watching and re-watching your favorite sitcoms on Netflix whenever you have time to kill. And somewhere between your third re-watching of "Friends," and your fourth re-watching of "How I Met Your Mother," you ask yourself if you'll ever find another show that you can really sink your teeth into. I know the fear of watching an episode of "2 Broke Girls," or an ad for a remake of "Uncle Buck," or God forbid anything by Chuck Lorre and believing that the age of TV comedies was over. But fear not, for I come to you now with a list of shows, still on the air, that will restore your faith in television.
1. "Angie Tribeca."
" The Office" and "Parks and Rec" alum Rashida Jones stars in this TBS detective comedy. Written by Steve Carell and Nancy Walls Carell, Angie Tribeca is one of the most wonderfully absurd shows I've watched in years. And this is coming from someone who was raised on "Family Guy" reruns. Every scene of every episode is jam-packed with so many over the top jokes, that you wonder how they manage to put a full season together without running out of material. But so far, they've managed to do it. It's quirky and dumb and just so much fun that you can't help but enjoy it. Not to mention they have a dog cop, and Dean Cole plays detective D.J. Tanner. Oh, and the name of every episode is a pun! God, I love this show so much.
2. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."
Speaking of cop comedies, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" is still on the air and going strong. I will admit that when the show was first announced, I had my misgivings. I was worried that Andy Samberg was just going to be Adam Sandler 2.0 coming out of "SNL." That is to say, someone who cranks out another movie every year, where if you are foolish enough to pay money to see it, it might be able to make you laugh. But I will happily admit I was wrong. Like "Angie Tribeca," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" is no stranger to absurd comedy, the main difference being that "Nine-Nine" will forgo some of the most farcical jokes in favor of a surprisingly well-developed storyline, and richer characters. I don't catch every episode, but I know that when I do I'm in for, at the very least, an amusing 30 minutes. This show is like pizza: even when it's bad, it's still pretty good. And that shouldn't be hard to believe with the supporting cast of Terry Crews, Joe Lo Truglio, and the ever-hilarious Chelsea Peretti.
One of the reasons I know this show should be on this list is because I needed two GIFs to get my point across. And believe me, it was difficult to pick only two.
3. "Wrecked."
I admit, I may be reaching a bit by putting this "Lost" parody on the list, but dang it, I think it's funny. Another TBS original, "Wrecked" follows a group of tourists on a plane that mysteriously crashes on an island in the Pacific. The reason I say this show may be a reach for this list is because it's only a few weeks old. There is still plenty of time for "Wrecked" to run out of material and start rehashing cliches and become just another show that you see promos for and wonder, "How is that still on the air?" But I guess I'm an optimist, and on this island full of misfits and wacky characters, I see some promise. But who knows, maybe the show will crash and burn like its primary plot device.
4. "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee."
The third TBS show on my list, for those of you keeping track. However, before anyone accuses me of playing favorites, it should be known that Samantha Bee and her show have more than earned a spot on this list. John Stewart's "Daily Show" was so popular for so long, that it spawned several very similar heirs, all of them clamoring to fill the void left by Stewart. While "Full Frontal" may not be the closest in appearance to "The Daily Show," it is, in my opinion, the best one out there. John Oliver's show is a close second, and Larry Wilmore's "Nightly Show" is...well it's just bad. Is that still on the air? Is it? Oh well. But Samantha Bee, true to the show's name, just lets it all go right in your face. She spends half an hour shouting about whatever story or issue has earned her ire that week, and it is a truly wonderful sight to behold. She's brash, and bold, and boisterous, and other such B words, and it is wonderful. Her show is almost cathartic to watch.
5. "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
My dad doesn't like much current television because nowadays it's all "just a bunch of horrible people doing horrible things to each other." There is no show that better fits that description than "Always Sunny." When I first came across the show, I agreed with my dad, and didn't care much for it, but for some reason the antics of these truly terrible people kept me coming back for more, much like the patrons of the fictional Paddy's Pub that the show follows. Created by, written by, produced by, and starring Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, "Always Sunny" follows a group of mostly friends that call themselves "The Gang" on their endless quest to get what they believe the world owes them. The true beauty of the show is how it handles topics that most might consider sensitive or taboo, as casually as you might ask for a glass of water at a restaurant. I find both to be quite refreshing. "Always Sunny" is a very smart show that pretends to be dumb, about dumb people that pretend to be smart.
6. "Silicon Valley."
"Silicon Valley," or as I like to call it, "what The Big Bang Theory was supposed to be," follows a group of software engineers as they form a business and try to make it big. Now, while most of the jokes are tailored to a particular audience, the humor of the show is undeniable. Unlike all of the other sitcoms on this list, "Silicon Valley" does not rely on over-the-top absurdist humor, but instead uses genuine characters in believable circumstances to create something undeniably funny. But that is to be expected when the entirety of the main cast is made up of extremely talented comedians. It would take some truly bad writing to make this show suck. Series creator Mike Judge, who gave us such gems as "Idiocracy" and "Office Space," outdoes himself here.
7. "Rick and Morty."
Saving the best for last, we have "Rick and Morty," the only animated show to grace this list. Series creators and writers Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland are the masterminds behind one of the all-around best shows on television in years. Those of you familiar with Dan Harmon will remember him as the creator of NBC's "Community," and as one of the funniest and most "out there" showrunners there is. Those of you who have seen any of the work by Justin Roiland floating around the internet know that it is Dan Harmon that reins in the crazy on "Rick and Morty." Despite outward appearances, this show is so much more than just a funny cartoon show. It has incredible intelligence for a cartoon on Adult Swim. Its humor is dark, its stories are insane, its characters are relatable, and its messages are hard hitting. It is endlessly quotable, its jokes can be exaggerated to the point of nonsensical, or so subtle it may take a second viewing to get them, or anywhere in between. It's a good show, and it knows it.
"Rick and Morty" can also be deeply philosophical, with messages way too profound for what the show presents itself as a simple cartoon. It can be all of that and more, and just when you think you understand what you're watching, it still manages to surprise you. With all of this going on at once, "Rick and Morty" is either one of the best TV shows of all time...or one of the worst.
