Television series

Angie Tribeca

Name: Angie Tribeca
Genre: Comedy, Crime
Released: 2016
Cast: Rashida Jones, Andrée Vermeulen, Jere Burns, Deon Cole, Hayes MacArthur

Angie Tribeca is a gleeful absurdist comedy masquerading as a police procedural. Each episode invents a ridiculous crime—ventriloquist murders, baker suicides, sentient yogurt—and plays it completely straight. It's silly without being dumb, anarchic without losing shape, and genuinely inventive. Perfect for people who loved 30 Rock's joke density but want something weirder.

TVMaze rating

3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy police-procedural parody played completely straight, where the deadpan cops take a ridiculous case with total seriousness and the jokes sit in the background details.

Skip it if you need a plot that tightens and pays off, since this one runs on gags and absurd escalation more than on clues you can solve along with the detective.

What it asks of you: Half-hour episodes that move briskly from bit to bit, asking you to keep pace with rapid-fire jokes and let the silliness stack up.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Brooklyn Nine-Nine2013

A police procedural comedy that actually cares about its characters while delivering sharp, rapid-fire humour. The show balances genuine emotion with laugh-out-loud absurdity in ways that feel effortless and earned.

But It's warmer and more sincere than Angie Tribeca—if you want pure anarchic weirdness without the heart, this will feel too earnest.

Ugly Americans2010

Gloriously weird animated comedy about monsters living in New York. Same commitment to nonsense, same willingness to end an episode with a completely unhinged punchline. Cult status for a reason.

But Animation is quite rough and the pacing is shaggy. Some sketches don't land, and it's less structured than Angie Tribeca—which is saying something.

Police Squad!1982

The spiritual ancestor of absurdist comedy procedurals. Every frame is gags, the deadpan delivery is impeccable, and it understands that the best jokes hide in background details. Hugely influential for good reason.

But It's 40 years old and moves at a very different pace. The humour is drier and more visual—if you need constant verbal jokes, it may feel slow.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Angie Tribeca

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Black Dynamite2009

Both treat their genre framework (detective procedural, action film) as a playground for comedy rather than a constraint. They're not parodies so much as joyful inventions using familiar scaffolding.

A blaxploitation parody that commits so completely to the genre language it becomes its own thing—gloriously absurd action mixed with ridiculous dialogue and genuine craft. Like Angie Tribeca's anarchic DNA applied to 1970s action films.

But Slow-burn comedy that requires patience and familiarity with the genre it's spoofing. The pacing is deliberately slack in ways that test tolerance for anything not plot-driven.

30 Rock2006

Rapid-fire joke machine about television itself, packed with absurdist scenarios and genre parodies. Tina Fey and company throw everything at the wall with anarchic joy and expert timing.

But The early seasons are better; it occasionally prioritizes jokes over character. If you want emotional weight, look elsewhere.

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp2015

David Wain's prequel to the cult film is packed with sketch comedy sensibility applied to serialized narrative. Bursting with joke density and willing to be completely ridiculous in service of character moments.

But The premise is thin, and it relies heavily on nostalgia for the original film. The tone is scattershot—some sketches land better than others.

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp poster

Review2014

Andy Daly plays a man paid to review life experiences while slowly destroying himself. Dark, smart, anarchically funny, and genuinely inventive about what a procedural format can do with absurdity.

But The humor is darker and more uncomfortable than Angie Tribeca. It builds dread as much as laughs, which isn't for everyone.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia2005

Chaotic, no-plot-whatsoever comedy following five terrible people. Pure improv energy, wild scenarios, and a complete disregard for structure. Endlessly inventive about creating disaster from nothing.

But It's crude, mean-spirited, and frequently gross. The characters have almost no growth, and the humour only works if you like cringe comedy.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia poster

Becker1998

A doctor-and-staff sitcom with faster pacing than you'd expect and genuine affection for its ensemble. Ted Danson leads a solid cast through snappy scripts with real joke construction underneath the procedural framing.

But This is the safest pick on the list—if you're after pure weirdness, this is conventional sitcom underneath its premise.

Severance2022

Both use a high-concept premise to examine workplace dynamics and absurdity. Where Angie Tribeca mines comedy from ridiculous crimes, Severance mines dread from a ridiculous corporate policy. Same structural DNA, opposite register.

A thriller where reality becomes increasingly unstable and wrong. Visually striking, genuinely unsettling, and structured around a central conceptual gimmick that unfolds across episodes. Completely absorbing.

But It's dead serious and increasingly bleak. There's no levity and no winking at the audience—if you want lightness, this is the opposite direction.

The Overnight2015

Both understand that comedy lives in commitment to premise escalation. They share the same DNA of 'what if we took this one idea and pushed it until reality breaks'—the same structure, different decibel level.

A suburban dinner party where everything progressively unravels in increasingly bizarre directions. Improvisational comedy grounded in character, with scenarios that escalate in ways you never see coming.

But It's sexually explicit and frequently uncomfortable in its humour. The awkwardness is the point, which means sitting with genuine discomfort rather than just being amused.