Television series

Feel Good

Name: Feel Good
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance
Released: 2020
Cast: Mae Martin, Charlotte Ritchie, Lisa Kudrow

Feel Good is a sharp, tender comedy-drama about a recovering addict navigating a new relationship while rebuilding trust with herself. Mae Martin writes and stars as a stand-up comic caught between self-destruction and the terrifying possibility of genuine connection. It's intimate, funny, and unflinching about addiction—but never grim. For anyone who recognizes themselves in chaos.

TVMaze rating

3.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like romcoms that treat messy, self-sabotaging feelings with real honesty and sharp, deadpan jokes, and don't mind the romance being tested by recovery.

Skip it if you want a romance that lets its lovers coast on chemistry, since this one keeps prodding at compulsions and can feel like hard work when the jokes go quiet.

What it asks of you: Two seasons of 26-minute episodes make it an easy binge, though each one lingers on uncomfortable moments and rarely lets you off the hook.

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

If you liked this

Fleabag2016

Phoebe Waller-Bridge's scrappy protagonist also uses comedy as a shield while sabotaging her own happiness. Same breakneck pace, same fourth-wall-breaking charm, same willingness to be both hilarious and heartbreaking in the same scene.

But The second season gets much slower and more introspective. If you want consistent laughs throughout, the emotional depth might feel like a shift in tone.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend2015

Rebecca Bunch, like Mae, is a brilliant person whose brain works against her. Both shows understand addiction to love and self-sabotage with real compassion. Musical numbers here; stand-up here. Same DNA.

But It runs four seasons and the later ones lose momentum. The first season is genuinely perfect; what follows is still good but not quite as essential.

Lovesick2014

British comedy about a man processing a relationship through therapy and flashbacks, examining how we wreck things we care about. Shorter episodes, gentler tone, but the same interrogation of romantic self-sabotage and the gap between who we are and who we want to be.

But It's quieter than Feel Good and sometimes disappears into its own head. If you need constant momentum and laugh-out-loud moments, it can feel slow.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Feel Good

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

One Day2011

Both ask: what if the real person isn't the problem, and it's not about whether you love them—it's about whether you're capable of receiving love at the moment it's offered.

A film about two people connected across decades who are never quite in the right place at the right time. Like Feel Good, it grasps that love isn't just about chemistry—it's about timing, readiness, and the versions of ourselves we become. Funny and devastating.

But The tonal shifts are abrupt and the ending is bleaker than romantic comedies train you to expect. Some will find it manipulative rather than earned.

Atypical2017

Sam's journey of self-discovery alongside a complicated romance, with characters who genuinely care about each other but keep hurting each other anyway. Balances comedy and real emotional stakes without descending into pity.

But The parents' subplot becomes increasingly central in ways that bog down the main story. Some viewers find the later seasons lose focus on what made the early ones work.

Schitt's Creek2015

A found family slowly learning to be honest and vulnerable with each other. Starts as comedy, becomes something deeper. The emotional growth feels earned because the characters earn it through missteps and repair.

But The first season is quite broad and the humor less sophisticated. Patience is required; it rewards you for sticking with it, but not everyone wants to wait for a show to find itself.

Annie Hall1977

Woody Allen's masterpiece about two intelligent people who love each other and completely fail to make it work. Funny, painful, and deeply generous about human contradiction. The template for romantic self-sabotage on screen.

But It's Allen in full neurotic mode, which will feel dated to some. The romance exists mostly to showcase his anxiety. Also, the film itself may not be what you want to associate with.

Transparent2014

A family unraveling and slowly reassembling through honesty, secrets, and the courage to be seen. Like Feel Good, it insists that broken people deserve love and that healing isn't linear. Profound emotional work.

But It's intensely sad in stretches and doesn't balance drama with humor the way Feel Good does. The final season felt incomplete and controversial. It's heavy in a different register.

High Fidelity2000

Rob Gordon is a version of Mae—someone who uses lists and control to avoid intimacy. Funny, music-obsessed, and honest about how smart people can be completely dumb about love and growth.

But It's very much of its moment and the gender politics haven't aged gracefully. Some will find it more nostalgic artifact than resonant story.

Normal People2020

Two people who love each other but are shaped by shame and circumstance to sabotage themselves. Achingly intimate, visually stunning, and unflinching about how class and class anxiety poison connection.

But Very little plot; it's all mood and small moments. Incredibly bleak in places. If you need narrative momentum or lighter beats, the unrelenting intensity can exhaust rather than move.

Aftersun2022

Like Feel Good, it understands that addiction and self-destruction are often about love—the need for it, the terror of it, the way we hurt people through our hunger for care.

A father and daughter on holiday, slowly revealing how damage gets passed down and how love can coexist with inability to function. Shot like memory feels. Quiet, devastating, a masterpiece about what we can't say to people we love most.

But There is almost no plot. It's purely emotional and sensory. Viewers who need narrative clarity or resolution will find it maddening rather than moving.

Daria1997

Mae uses comedy as armor; Daria uses irony. Both shows suggest that the smartest people often protect themselves most aggressively, and that vulnerability isn't weakness—it's the only thing that actually works.

A cartoon about a girl whose intelligence and detachment shield her from connection. Hilarious, weird, and moving when it wants to be. A story about someone learning that cynicism is just fear with better jokes.

But It's a 90s cartoon, so the animation is basic and some references have calcified. The tone is deliberately flat, which some find soothing and others find blank.