Television series

Harlem

Name: Harlem
Genre: Comedy
Released: 2021
Cast: Grace Byers, Meagan Good, Jerrie Johnson, Shoniqua Shandai, Tyler Lepley

Comedy
Light-hearted

A sharp comedy about four ambitious women navigating careers, romance, and friendship in Harlem. It's warm without being saccharine, funny without trying too hard, and genuinely interested in its characters' professional ambitions alongside their love lives. For anyone who wants their comedies smart, stylish, and centred on women who want more than just a man.

TVMaze rating

3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like comedies about friendship and romance where the glossy surfaces matter as much as the jokes, and you enjoy watching ambitious women juggle careers, dating and style in a city that feels lived-in.

Skip it if you want a tight, plot-driven sitcom with big laughs every minute, since this one leans on lifestyle texture, chatter between friends and a slower build than most half-hour comedies.

What it asks of you: Each episode runs about half an hour across three seasons, so it settles in as a companion you return to rather than a single weekend binge, with the pace easy and conversational.

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

If you liked this

Living Single1993

The spiritual ancestor: six friends in Brooklyn, New York, juggling work and dating with infectious chemistry. It has the same warmth, the same refusal to make romance the only plot that matters, and the same joy in watching smart women be silly together.

But Nineties production values and pacing will feel glacially slow if you're used to modern editing. The fashion holds up better than the jokes do.

Insecure2016

Both shows centre Black women's ambitions and friendships with real tenderness. Issa Rae's series has the same commitment to making career and creative dreams feel as important as romance, and the same willingness to let characters be complicated and flawed.

But Insecure gets darker and angrier as it goes. If you want something lighter throughout, this might veer too close to drama for comfort.

The Mindy Project2012

A romantic-comedy that actually respects its protagonist's career. Mindy Kaling built a show about a woman who wants love and professional success equally, with a friend group that feels genuine and a refusal to make feminism preachy.

But The supporting cast is thinner than Harlem's ensemble. It's more focused on one woman's story than on shared friendship dynamics.

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

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Chewing Gum2015

Both centre young Black women's ambitions and friendships as primary, with romance as one thread among many. Both resist American network comedy's urge to smooth everything into likability.

A British comedy about a young Black woman navigating sex, ambition, and friendship in South London with surreal, anarchic energy. It has Harlem's specificity and warmth but in a completely different register—stranger, raunchier, more formally inventive. Michaela Coel made something utterly original.

But It's much weirder and more sexually explicit. The tone is erratic and surreal, which can read as scattered if you're expecting conventional comedy structure.

Broad City2014

Two best friends in New York, absolutely refusing to grow up or apologise. It has the same anarchic energy, the same commitment to showing women's friendships as the emotional core, and the same New York specificity that makes the city feel like a character.

But It's much cruder and more surreal. If you want grounded realism, Broad City goes for absurdist chaos instead.

Girlfriends2000

Four best friends, gorgeous production design, and a commitment to comedy that doesn't shy away from cultural specificity. It's structured similarly to Harlem and has the same infectious group energy that makes you want these friendships to be real.

But Some storylines feel dated now. The pacing is slow by modern standards, and earlier seasons are much stronger than later ones.

Sex and the City1998

The template for stylish women in a major city navigating careers and dating. Yes, it's dated in ways. Yes, the materialism can feel hollow. But it earned its place by actually making women's professional lives and friendships matter alongside romance.

But It's deeply focused on wealth and consumption in ways that feel shallow now. Some attitudes toward men and relationships have aged very poorly.

The Morning Show2019

Women navigating ambition, power, and friendship in a high-stakes workplace. It takes its characters' professional struggles seriously and gives them room to be both brilliant and deeply flawed.

But It's significantly darker and more dramatic. If you want lightness, this is a serious workplace thriller, not a comedy.

Queen Sugar2016

Three siblings managing business, romance, and family in Louisiana with real depth and warmth. It balances professional ambition with emotional complexity in a way that feels honest, and the ensemble cast has genuine chemistry.

But It's considerably more dramatic than comedic. You're signing up for a family saga, not a comedy, though it has genuinely funny moments.

Master of None2015

Both shows use their city as a character and find comedy in the gap between ambition and reality. Both trust their audiences to care about work, friendship, and romance equally.

Aziz Ansari's show about a young creative navigating work, love, and friendship in New York with real emotional intelligence and visual flair. It's a comedy that trusts you to feel things, and it refuses to make the relationship status the only story that matters.

But The comedy is quieter and more observational. It's less interested in punchlines than in capturing the texture of a life, which can feel slow if you want laughs.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire2019

Both refuse to make women's lives secondary to men's desires. Both insist that female friendship, creativity, and ambition are interesting enough to build an entire story around.

A visual masterpiece about female desire, creativity, and connection. It's not a comedy at all—it's a quiet, gorgeous film about women making art and falling in love. But it has Harlem's commitment to centring women's internal lives and friendships as the story that matters most.

But It's slow, painterly, and tragic. If you want light entertainment, this is the opposite—a serious, melancholic film in French with subtitles.