Television series

Flowers

Name: Flowers
Genre: Comedy
Released: 2016
Cast: Olivia Colman, Julian Barratt, Daniel Rigby, Sophia Di Martino, Will Sharpe

Comedy

Flowers is a darkly comic portrait of a family held together by inertia and spite. Olivia Colman and Julian Barratt play a marriage that's curdled into mutual contempt, while their adult children orbit in their own disasters. It's uncomfortable, tender, and genuinely funny—a show that finds humanity in the spaces between arguments.

TVMaze rating

3.7

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy comedy that finds its laughs in cruelty, awkwardness and a family's stubborn refusal to admit how broken it is, the way Nathan Barley or Nighty Night does with bleak, deadpan embarrassment.

Skip it if you want warmth or a clear emotional payoff, since the humour is cold and uncomfortable, and the jokes often land on people who are hard to like.

What it asks of you: Twelve half-hour episodes across two series, so it is a small commitment, but you need to sit with discomfort and let the sharp, uneasy rhythm build rather than expecting jokes every few seconds.

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

If you liked this

Catastrophe2015

A marriage in freefall, told with real warmth and brutal honesty. Like Flowers, it understands that love and resentment can occupy the same room, and that comic timing matters more than likability.

But The early seasons lean heavily on cringe comedy about sex and infidelity. If you need your characters to be sympathetic first, this takes a while to earn that.

Fleabag2016

A dysfunctional family at the center, a protagonist who speaks directly to you, and a willingness to shift between comedy and something much quieter. The fourth-wall breaks let you feel less alone watching something uncomfortable.

But It's become so culturally dominant that watching it now feels like joining a conversation everyone's already had. The hype genuinely does precede it.

Schitt's Creek2015

Another wealthy family stripped of everything, learning to be human. The tone shifts from comedic to genuinely moving in ways that surprise you, and the ensemble cast creates real warmth amid the chaos.

But The first season is much broader and broader-comedy-adjacent than the rest. It takes a while to find its real voice, and some people never forgive that startup phase.

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

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

London Spy2015

Beneath the spy machinery, it's about the impossibility of truly knowing another person, and the small acts of tenderness that matter anyway. That's Flowers' entire thesis expressed through a different form.

A formally ambitious thriller that operates as character study. What seems like a conventional spy plot becomes something far more intimate—two people trying to connect while everything around them betrays that possibility.

But It's a very different genre from Flowers. If you want comedy, this is going to feel like a bait-and-switch toward something much darker and sadder.

Transparent2014

A family held together by secrets and old resentments, with a transformative revelation that forces everyone to reckon with who they actually are. Deeply felt, formally inventive, and genuinely moving.

But It's heavy. There's real trauma being unpacked here, and the comedy is sparse. This is homework that matters, not something you watch to feel lighter.

Parenthood2010

Multiple generations of one family navigating life, loss, and how to stay connected when you'd rather run. It's sentimental but earned, and the cast chemistry makes you believe in their bonds.

But It can feel like network television comfort food—safe, predictable, occasionally schmaltzy. If you're looking for edge, this is the opposite direction.

Togetherness2015

Two couples trying to make life work while everything pulls apart. It has Flowers' willingness to sit with uncomfortable silences and unresolved tension, plus a naturalistic acting style that makes small moments feel huge.

But It was canceled after two seasons on a cliffhanger, so you'll be left hanging. The pacing is deliberately slow, which some find meditative and others find tedious.

Getting On2013

Bleak, absurdist comedy set in a hospital ward. If you liked Flowers' refusal to make things likable and its dark humor about mortality, this shares that exact sensibility.

But It's genuinely difficult viewing. There's no catharsis, and the comedy comes from a place of real despair. Not something you watch to feel better.

Sick Note2017

Dark comedy about a man dealing with a family and a life that won't cooperate. Similar ensemble dysfunction, similar willingness to let things be genuinely uncomfortable between the laughs.

But It's lighter and less substantial than Flowers. If you're looking for something as emotionally honest, this might feel like it's riffing on the formula without the depth.

The Killing2011

Both understand that families are primary units of both comfort and damage. Both watch how people fail each other in small, cumulative ways. Both make space for the difficult silences.

A Danish crime series where the investigation is almost secondary to how grief and loss ripple through families and communities. It's bleak but hypnotic, and structured like a dark mirror of domestic life.

But It's slow, it's in Danish, and it's genuinely depressing in ways that will exhaust you. There's no levity. If Flowers felt heavy, this is the weight without the humor to offset it.