Television series
Garfunkel and Oates
A half-hour comedy series following the real comedy-folk duo Garfunkel and Oates as they navigate the chaos of making music nobody asked for, relationships nobody understands, and a friendship that somehow survives both. It's warm, musically clever, and genuinely funny about the specific loneliness of choosing an unmarketable art form.
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Broad City2014
Two best friends making weird, smart comedy about their actual lives in New York. Like Garfunkel and Oates but in sketch form, with the same blend of crude humour, real affection, and the exhaustion of making it work.
But Sketch shows can be uneven, and this one leans hard into absurdism that doesn't always land. Some bits feel like they go nowhere.
Flight of the Conchords2007
A New Zealand comedy about a struggling folk duo trying to make it in New York. It's deadpan, musically ambitious, and finds comedy in the gap between artistic ambition and commercial reality. The same DNA.
But It moves slowly and relies on a particular kind of dry humour. If you need immediate laughs, it'll feel like waiting for a punchline that's still thinking about whether it wants to show up.
Schitt's Creek2015
A found-family ensemble about misfits who belong nowhere else but together. It's generous and genuinely warm about its characters while still being very funny. Same heart as Garfunkel and Oates, bigger canvas.
But The first season is rough and the show takes time to find its footing. Early episodes feel uncertain about what it wants to be.
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The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Master of None2015
Both are about people at the margins of show business finding their people and making meaning from the scraps they have. Both use music to say things dialogue can't.
A 30-minute comedy about a struggling actor figuring out his life, told with the same warmth, musical moments, and genuine affection for messy friendships. Same emotional frequency as Garfunkel and Oates but in a solo form and a little more vulnerable.
But It's more melancholic than funny, and the comedy often takes a backseat to thinking about meaning and time. Not everyone wants their comedy introspective.
More like this (8)
30 Rock2006
Fast, clever, deeply silly comedy about making art on a shoestring. Lots of songs and musical parodies, plus the same energy of two women sustaining each other through professional chaos.
But It's aggressively paced and throws in so many references that half will miss you. It can feel exhausting rather than fun.
Wet Hot American Summer2001
A comedy about a group making absurd music and performance art at summer camp. It has the same anarchic, musical sensibility and genuine affection for weirdos who just want to make stuff together.
But It's very 2001—the comedy style has aged. What felt fresh then can feel like you're watching someone's inside joke now.
Parks and Recreation2009
Character-driven comedy about people who care too much about things nobody else cares about. It finds warmth and humour in misfit friendships and small creative victories.
But It's earnest in a way that can tip into saccharine. Some will find the positivity exhausting rather than refreshing.
WKRP in Cincinnati1978
A vintage sitcom about a ragtag group at a radio station making their own culture despite nobody asking them to. It understands camaraderie and the weird family you make at work, plus it's genuinely funny.
But It's from 1978. The pacing, production values, and some of the humour feel very much of their moment. You're signing up for a period piece.
Peep Show2003
British comedy told entirely from inside two characters' heads as they navigate friendship, ambition, and failure. It's darker and meaner than Garfunkel and Oates, but the two-person dynamic is the entire show.
But It's mean-spirited and nothing goes right for anyone, ever. If you need characters to grow or stories to resolve, this will frustrate you.
Episodes2011
A British and American couple navigate the TV industry by trying to make a show together. Sharp, funny, about the real friction of artistic partnership and how success never looks like you imagined.
But It gets progressively darker and meaner as it goes. The later seasons lean into cringe and disappointment in ways some will find more depressing than cathartic.
Please Like Me2013
Both take the structure of a two-person intimacy—here between a son and his chaos—and find both humour and tenderness in being the person who stays when everything is falling apart.
An Australian comedy about a struggling comedian dealing with his mother's mental health and his own life falling apart, written by and starring Josh Thomas. It's devastatingly funny, deeply kind, and musically adventurous in unexpected ways.
But It deals with serious mental health and suicide. The comedy sits alongside real darkness, and some episodes are more sad than funny.
Inside Amy Schumer2013
Both Garfunkel and Oates and this sketch show use music and feminism as weapons. Both are about women refusing to make themselves palatable and finding an audience anyway, even if it's small.
Comedy sketches and stand-up about being a woman trying to make it in entertainment, often featuring original songs. It has the same gleeful irreverence about sex and ambition, the same refusal to pretend women in comedy are any less crude than men.
But Schumer's comedy style is aggressive and in-your-face. If you're sensitive to explicit material or don't love her particular rhythm, the show will feel one-note.
People
Cast
Writing
- Kate MicucciCreator
- Riki LindhomeCreator
Production
- David GlazierAssociate Producer
- David SoldingerAssociate Producer
- Dennis McNicholasExecutive Producer
- Fred SavageExecutive Producer
- Jonathan SternExecutive Producer
- Kate MicucciExecutive Producer
- Riki LindhomeExecutive Producer
- Franny BaldwinLine Producer