Television series
Please Don't Eat the Daisies
Other titles called Please Don't Eat the Daisies: the 1960 film.
- Comedy
- Light-hearted
- Dip in and out
A sitcom about the pleasantly frazzled chaos of suburban family life, centered on Joan and Jim Nash juggling four kids, a big house, and the gentle absurdities of 1960s domesticity. Warm, silly, and genuinely affectionate about the people it portrays—less cynical than what came later, more grounded than pure slapstick. For anyone who loves the texture of early sitcoms and doesn't need a laugh track to feel like they're in on the joke.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you enjoy gentle, old-fashioned domestic comedy where the joke is a household running out of control, and you like the chatty, well-observed humor of Jean Kerr's book.
Skip it if you want a faster, sharper sitcom with modern pacing, since this is leisurely mid-sixties studio comedy with broad reactions and sitcom sweetness that can feel slight.
What it asks of you: Half-hour episodes that roll along at a comfortable clip, mild in tone and free of real darkness, so it rewards settling in rather than close attention.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
The Dick Van Dyke Show1961
The gold standard of early sitcoms: witty, beautifully written, and genuinely moving without ever feeling sentimental. Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore have chemistry that makes you believe in their marriage and friendship.
But Shot on a soundstage in a way that feels very 1960s now. The pacing assumes patience; jokes land quietly, not with a bang.
Bewitched1964
Married couple with chemistry carries a show that somehow manages to be both absurd and touching. Elizabeth Montgomery's expressiveness makes even magical nonsense feel emotionally true.
But The magical premise can feel like filler when the heart of the show is really just a marriage tested by circumstance and personality clash.
I Love Lucy1951
The ancestral template for everything that came after: Lucille Ball's physicality and comedic timing are simply flawless, and the Lucy-Ricky dynamic still feels alive and unpredictable.
But Heavily stylized and theatrical—this is comedy as performance, not naturalism. Some gags go on well past their welcome.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Please Don't Eat the Daisies
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Apartment1960
Both are about the private absurdities of domestic life and marriage, but where Daisies shows us the inside of suburban contentment, The Apartment shows us the loneliness underneath corporate and romantic aspiration. Same era, opposite angles on the same life.
Billy Wilder's perfect-pitch comedy about a bachelor sharing his apartment up the corporate ladder. Simultaneously hilarious and deeply humane, with a romantic core that actually earns its weight.
But Made in 1960 but feels timeless—the comedy is smart and fast, which can feel thin if you're expecting either schmaltz or sarcasm to anchor it.
More like this (7)
That Girl1966
An unmarried woman living in New York with her own life and career before that became the default—Marlo Thomas is spirited and funny, and the show has real warmth beneath the sitcom mechanics.
But The boyfriend character exists mainly to be exasperated by her antics. If you're looking for a full relationship, you won't find it here.
Family Affair1966
Uncle Bill raises three orphaned kids with gentleness and humor; surprisingly moving for a sitcom, and Brian Keith brings real grace to a potentially cloying premise.
But Heavy on sentimentality by modern standards. The kids are very much written as cute supporting players, not full characters.
Here Come the Brides1968
A frontier-set family sitcom with genuine heart and odd charm. Takes its premise seriously enough to actually tell stories, not just sketch variations on a theme.
But Tonally confused—it can't quite decide if it's a sitcom or a drama. Loses momentum as it goes on.
My Three Sons1960
Fred MacMurray at his most likable, raising three boys with no mother—the show is genuinely about fatherhood and family rather than just jokes, with real affection between characters.
But Very traditional in its values; the show can feel quaint or preachy about how family ought to work.
The Munsters1964
A family sitcom where everyone is a monster—the premise is silly but the family is fundamentally kind and loving, which gives the show unexpected warmth. Fred Gwynne is magnificent.
But Purely silly; there's no attempt at depth or insight. If you want character development, this is not your show.
Scenes from a Marriage2021
The inverse of Daisies: same domestic subject, but this strips away the sitcom's warmth and optimism to ask what a marriage really is. Where Daisies finds comedy in chaos, Bergman finds sorrow in detail. Watching both shows you what tone choice actually means.
Bergman's six-episode chronicle of a marriage across twenty years—funny, brutal, tender, and more honest about how two people actually live together than anything before or since.
But Swedish, subtitled, and utterly bleak about infidelity, drift, and the gap between what we promise and what we deliver. Not a comfort watch.
Parenthood1989
Both are about the comedy and sorrow of raising kids and being married, but Parenthood treats it as drama with humor rather than a sitcom. It's what happens when you take the Nash family's life entirely seriously—all the same ingredients, but rearranged into something you can't quite laugh away.
Ron Howard's film about an extended family across three generations—chaotic, funny, heartbreaking, and genuinely wise about the accident of being raised by imperfect people. Steve Martin, Dianne Wiest, and Rick Moranis are extraordinary.
But Very long (two hours twenty minutes), emotionally demanding, and doesn't shy away from real damage alongside real love. Asks a lot of you.
