Television series
Little America
- Social drama
- Dip in and out
Little America is an anthology series that tells individual stories of immigrants building lives in the US, drawn from real accounts. Each episode is self-contained but collectively forms a portrait of contemporary American experience. It's warm and unsentimental, balancing humor with genuine stakes. For anyone who wants to understand a country through the people who chose to live in it.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like warm, observant anthology stories where each half-hour settles on one ordinary person's gamble, mistake or small triumph, and the humour comes from real life rather than jokes.
Skip it if you want a sustained plot that builds toward one big reveal, since each episode is self-contained and the stories stay modest, quiet and occasionally sentimental.
What it asks of you: Roughly half-hour episodes that take their time: unhurried scenes, each one arriving at a single life and staying there for a while, with a light touch throughout.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Master of None2015
Aziz Ansari's series shares the same appetite for intimate character studies across cultures and cuisines, exploring identity and belonging through warmth and specificity rather than preaching.
But Some episodes feel slight, and the heavy reliance on Ansari's own sensibility can occasionally overwhelm the broader stories being told.
Chewing Gum2015
Michaela Coel's comedy-drama about growing up Nigerian-British in London has that same vital energy—funny, awkward, tender—capturing the friction between cultures without ever losing sight of joy.
But The humor is deliberately crude and the pacing is deliberately jagged, which can feel chaotic if you're looking for something tidier.
Godless2017
A Western built around a town run by women, told through interlocking stories. It has Little America's gift for finding drama in everyday choices and community conflict without melodrama.
But The plot can feel secondary to character moments, and if you want a tight narrative arc, this meanders.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Little America
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Minari2021
Both insist that immigrant stories are American stories, and both trust the specific emotional details of one family or person to reveal something universal, rather than explaining or defending the experience.
Lee Isaac Chung's film follows a Korean-American family trying to build a farm in rural Arkansas. It's anchored in the same immigrant specificity as Little America but operates as intimate family drama rather than anthology, letting you live inside one story's texture and pain.
But It's deliberately quiet and sparse, with long stretches of agricultural labor and family tension; there's no plot to lean on, just accumulated feeling.
More like this (7)
The Farewell2019
Lulu Wang's film about a Chinese family keeping their grandmother's terminal diagnosis secret balances comedy and heartbreak with the same cultural specificity and humor that Little America nails.
But The emotional weight builds slowly, and the film's pacing prioritizes mood over plot momentum, which won't satisfy those wanting narrative drive.
Never Have I Ever2020
Mindy Kaling's coming-of-age series centers an Indian-American teenager with the same specificity and humor Little America brings to immigrant stories, never leaning on stereotypes.
But It's built for a younger audience, and the show occasionally settles for easier emotional beats than it should.
Russian Doll2019
Natasha Lyonne's time-loop series uses magical realism to explore identity, belonging, and connection in New York. It's inventive where Little America is grounded, but equally human.
But The surreal premise and heavy drinking protagonist won't appeal to anyone wanting straightforward drama, and the second season divides viewers.
Everything Sucks!2018
A short-lived comedy-drama about high school theater kids has Little America's warmth and ensemble spirit, refusing to punch down at its characters while celebrating their strangeness.
But It was cancelled after one season, so there's unresolved potential; the humor skews pretty juvenile in places.
Kim's Convenience2016
This Canadian sitcom about a Korean-Canadian family running a convenience store finds comedy and heart in cultural specificity without making the immigrant experience a heavy dramatic burden.
But It's gentler and more sitcom-shaped than Little America; if you want weightier stakes, this might feel too light.
Reservation Dogs2021
Sterlin Harjo's series about Indigenous teens in rural Oklahoma shares Little America's commitment to specificity and humanity, finding both comedy and tragedy in overlooked communities.
But The pacing is deliberate to the point of slowness, and violence arrives without warning, so it's not a comfort watch despite its warmth.
Arranged2007
Both are built on genuine access to lives most mainstream media caricatures or ignores, refusing to make the 'different' characters explain themselves or prove they belong.
This indie documentary follows two teenage girls—one Muslim, one Hasidic Jewish—through arranged marriages in New York. It's observational, funny, and completely unsentimental about cultural tradition, identity, and choice.
But It's shot on a tiny budget with no narrative arc, just life unfolding; some viewers find documentary formlessness frustrating.
People
Writing
- Emily V. GordonCreator
- Kumail NanjianiCreator
- Lee EisenbergCreator
Production
- Alan YangExecutive Producer
- Arthur SpectorExecutive Producer
- Emily V. GordonExecutive Producer
- Joshua DavisExecutive Producer
- Joshuah BearmanExecutive Producer
- Kumail NanjianiExecutive Producer
- Lee EisenbergExecutive Producer
- Sian HederExecutive Producer