Television series
Onion News Network
- Satire
- Light-hearted
- Dip in and out
The Onion's deadpan fake news show that treats absurdity as breaking news. Half-hour episodes of perfectly executed satirical reporting—anchors, correspondents, graphics and all—selling impossible stories with absolute conviction. For people who love their comedy surgical and their targets institutional. Sharp, quick, and satisfyingly cynical about how news actually works.
If you liked this
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson2019
Sketch comedy built on the same principle: commit completely to a ridiculous premise and never break character. Robinson's bits escalate with horrifying logic, achieving comedy through deadpan conviction rather than obvious jokes.
But Some sketches are deliberately uncomfortable and antagonistic. The humor is deliberately ugly in places, which isn't for everyone.
Parks and Recreation2009
Mock-documentary comedy that loves its institutions even as it mocks them. The specificity of government bureaucracy, the absurd earnestness of midwestern politics—all treated with real affection underneath the satire.
But Takes a while to find its footing; early seasons are uneven. The tonal shift toward sincerity might feel like betrayal if you want pure cynicism.
Veep2012
The inverse angle on politics: what if everyone involved was incompetent and terrible? Vicious, dialogue-driven satire where every character is simultaneously powerful and pathetic. Armando Iannucci's writing is relentlessly clever.
But Relentlessly mean-spirited; no one to root for or believe in. Wall-to-wall profanity and cruelty might exhaust rather than delight you.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Onion News Network
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Network1976
Both treat the news apparatus itself as the subject. Network is the serious version of the same insight: the machinery of news production is the real story, not what's being reported.
Paddy Chayefsky's 1976 prophecy about news as entertainment and media as madness. A desperate newsman, a network willing to air anything for ratings, chaos treated as programming. It's what Onion News Network is riffing on—the template that shows nothing has changed except the outlet.
But Heavy, angry, and structurally very 1970s. The satire is blunt rather than clever, and the bleakness never lets up. Depressing in ways that feel relevant rather than entertaining.
More like this (6)
30 Rock2006
Fast-paced comedy about media production itself—the chaos behind the curtain of a sketch show. Liz Lemon navigating absurd network executives and impossible people. Genuinely funny without needing to take itself seriously.
But Jokes come so thick they often miss; quantity substitutes for precision. Some cultural references are dated enough to require footnotes now.
The Colbert Report2005
Stephen Colbert as a fascistic cable-news buffoon, a character so precisely observed it became prophetic. The satire works because the character is utterly convincing—you have to think about what's being mocked.
But The bit outstayed its welcome after a few years; the repetition becomes laborious. Requires you to remember what real cable news sounded like in 2005.
Superstore2015
Not satirical but similarly committed to mining comedy from institutional absurdity. A retail warehouse as civilization: petty power plays, corporate indifference, and human dignity in impossible conditions. Funny and genuinely moving.
But Slides between comedy and pathos in ways that don't always land. The earnest humanism might feel like a betrayal if you want your satire mean.
Strangers with Candy1999
Amy Sedaris as a recovering addict returning to high school. Deliberately terrible acting plays against razor-sharp writing. Comedy built on commitment to a deeply stupid premise rather than winking at the audience.
But Very dated; some of the shock comedy feels gratuitous now. The acting is intentionally bad in ways that genuinely make it hard to watch.
The Saddest Music in the World2003
Same DNA: deadpan formalism deployed for comedy. News Network uses the lexicon of TV news the way Maddin uses documentary framing—as a straightface for the absurd. Both are about form deliberately misapplied to nothing.
Guy Maddin's surreal black-and-white mockumentary about a 1930s competition for the world's saddest music. Shot on deliberately fake-looking film stock with narrative framing that constantly breaks apart. Deadpan commitment to impossible logic.
But Genuinely difficult to parse; the narrative is willfully incoherent. The aesthetic is deliberately cheap-looking in ways that make it hard to sit through. Some will find it pretentious.
Succession2018
Both understand that institutions are absurd not despite being serious, but because they are. Succession applies the Onion's insight to drama instead of comedy: the real world is already too ridiculous to parody.
Not a comedy, but the same satirical DNA applied with real stakes. Institutional power, media manipulation, the gap between appearance and reality. Jesse Armstrong creates a world where everyone is performing and nothing is real. Tragic version of the joke.
But Exhaustingly dark and morally vacant. The characters are designed to be unlikable; there's no comfort in watching them scheme. Four seasons of watching rich people fail is a commitment.
