Television series
Delocated
Delocated is a gloriously absurd Adult Swim comedy about a witness protection family in New York City who must wear ski masks and speak through voice modulators at all times. Jon Glaser's deadpan performance anchors this surreal, deliberately low-stakes show that treats ridiculous premises with complete sincerity. It's for people who love comedy that doesn't explain itself and finds humour in constraint rather than chaos.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you enjoy deadpan sitcoms where the humor comes from the awkward logistics of a bad idea, and you don't mind a show that plays its premise straight while the characters squabble over it.
Skip it if the humor is low-key and keeps circling the same awkward beats, so if you want quick punchlines or big set pieces, its dry rhythm may feel like it's going nowhere.
What it asks of you: Episodes run about fifteen minutes, so this is a light time investment, but the jokes land in quiet pauses and you need to stay with them.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia2005
Like Delocated, it's a comedy built on absurd constraints and escalating character chaos. The gang's terrible decisions create darkly comic situations with real consequences, played completely straight. You'll recognize the DNA immediately.
But It's more broadly cruel than Delocated and relies heavily on shock value. If you find the show's meanness off-putting, this will feel like a bigger assault.
Arrested Development2003
Shares Delocated's commitment to premise-first comedy and layered jokes that reward close attention. Both shows understand that constraints (whether legal or financial) create better comedy than freedom. Gob's incompetence echoes Jon's resigned suffering.
But The humour is more densely packed and reference-heavy. If you prefer your comedy breathable and sparse, this will feel exhausting.
30 Rock2006
Fast-paced workplace absurdity with a similar willingness to spend entire episodes on ridiculous premises. Liz Lemon's deadpan navigation of chaos mirrors Jon Glaser's resignation in the face of the surreal.
But Aims for broader accessibility and mainstream laughs. Some find it scattered and exhausting rather than focused.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Delocated
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Rubber2010
Both treat impossible premises with complete sincerity and refuse to wink at the audience. The humour lives in commitment, not in the premise itself.
A feature film about a sentient killer tire with no backstory or explanation. Like Delocated, it commits entirely to an absurd premise and refuses to break character or explain itself. Same era, same philosophy about constraint creating comedy.
But This is avant-garde and genuinely tedious at points. The joke of 'no explanation' works better in fifteen-minute chunks than ninety minutes. Patience is required.
More like this (7)
The Eric Andre Show2012
Adult Swim comedy that shares Delocated's gleeful commitment to making viewers uncomfortable through sheer weirdness. Both treat the absurd with complete sincerity and find humour in constraint and repetition.
But This is significantly more chaotic and aggressive. If you like Delocated's relatively controlled weirdness, Eric Andre's anarchic energy might feel like too much.
Strangers with Candy1999
Early 2000s comedy built entirely on a single absurd premise executed with deadpan commitment. Amy Sedaris's character suffers with the same resigned acceptance Jon Glaser brings to his witness protection situation.
But The acting style is deliberately wooden in a way that takes adjustment. Some find it grating rather than charming.
Nathan for You2013
Documents absurd real-world scenarios with complete sincerity, much like Delocated's deadpan treatment of the ridiculous. Both shows find comedy in watching people commit fully to impossible situations.
But It's a docu-comedy that relies on real people's reactions rather than scripted comedy. If you prefer pure fiction, the reality aspect might undercut the humour.
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace2004
British comedy about a fictional TV show, played with such commitment to its terrible premise that the sincerity becomes the joke. Shares Delocated's love of executing a dumb idea perfectly.
But The parody of 1980s horror requires some genre familiarity to fully land. It's also quite short and British in sensibility, which doesn't universally translate.
The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret2010
A character trapped by his own decisions in increasingly absurd situations, played with the same resigned suffering Glaser brings to Jon. Both shows are fundamentally about failure and humiliation played for laughs.
But It gets progressively darker and more uncomfortable. The comedy becomes harder to find in later seasons as the premise grows genuinely depressing.
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson2019
Both shows understand that the funniest version of an absurd rule is to follow it completely and never acknowledge its absurdity. The constraint is the comedy.
Sketch comedy from an SNL writer that prioritizes awkward escalation and character commitment over punchlines. Each sketch builds on a ridiculous constraint until it becomes unbearable, much like Delocated's ski mask rule.
But The humour is almost entirely based on discomfort and secondhand embarrassment. If you need to feel good watching comedy, this will exhaust you.
Stalker1979
Both explore what happens when characters accept impossible rules without question. Both find depth in constraint rather than freedom. One is funny, one is profound, but they're asking the same structural question.
Tarkovsky's sci-fi about a guide leading people through a mysterious zone toward a room that grants wishes. It's a profound meditation on desire and constraint disguised as science fiction. Like Delocated, it takes an impossible premise and explores its emotional consequences.
But This is a slow, meditative, subtitled 163-minute film. It's the opposite of comedy in tone. If you're coming from Delocated for comedy, this will feel like a genre whiplash.
