Television series
Shrill
Shrill is a comedy about Annie, a fat woman navigating journalism, relationships, and family while refusing to shrink herself to fit the world's expectations. It's warm and funny without being saccharine, grounded in real problems and real stakes. For anyone who's felt invisible or inadequate, or just wants characters who are messy, smart, and genuinely likeable.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like comedy that finds its laughs in awkward, everyday humiliations and a heroine who is funny, prickly and slow to apologise for herself.
Skip it if you need fast plotting or constant punchlines, since its humour is gentle and it lingers on quieter, more awkward moments between the jokes.
What it asks of you: Half-hour episodes, three seasons of unhurried scenes that let an awkward silence run a beat longer than a sitcom usually would.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Fleabag2016
Chaotic young woman figuring out her life, strong comic voice, genuine warmth beneath the mess, and a protagonist you root for even when she's terrible. Shares Shrill's ability to be very funny and very sad at once.
But The fourth wall breaks can feel self-conscious if that's not your style. Some plots resolve in ways that might feel convenient.

Insecure2016
Issa Rae anchors a show about a millennial Black woman working through professional and personal frustration with wit and real feeling. Episodes are tight, characters feel lived-in, and the comedy never comes at anyone's expense—it comes from truth.
But Pacing dips in season two. If you're not invested in the characters by episode three, the slower moments won't hold you.

Schitt's Creek2015
A found family comedy that grows richer as it goes. Warm without being soft, it earns its sentiment. Rose family members are ridiculous but never contemptible, and that generosity of spirit makes it deeply comforting to watch.
But The first season is rough and plays mean-spirited humor. It takes real time to find its heart. Early jokes about Moira's appearance might age poorly for you.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Shrill
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
You're the Worst2014
Both center characters the world has written off, and spend their runtime proving the world was wrong. Both refuse the redemption-through-appearance arc entirely.
Two self-destructive people in Los Angeles discover they're not terrible when they're together. Sitcom structure with genuine character depth, switching between comedy and raw emotion without announcing the shift. Shrill and this share a belief that flawed people deserve love anyway.
But The first two episodes are genuinely awful—characters are cruel for cruelty's sake. If you judge a show early, you'll miss it entirely. Takes three episodes to understand its actual heart.

More like this (8)
PEN152019
High school comedy that's genuinely specific about class, appearance, and the gap between how you see yourself and how others do. Funny and surprisingly tender about adolescent shame.
But Abruptly cancelled after two seasons. If unresolved endings frustrate you, know what you're signing up for. Can feel uneven tonally.

Daria1997
A cynical girl whose worth isn't tied to her appearance or social status, surrounded by ridiculous people she observes with clarity. Comedy from intelligence and perspective rather than cruelty. Genuinely smart.
But MTV's animation budget shows. If you need visual polish or modern jokes, the '90s aesthetic and humor will date it for you.

Kim's Convenience2016
Warm comedy about a Korean-Canadian family running a convenience store. Everyone gets to be complicated, funny, and loved. Jokes land because you care about the people making them.
But Some later-season decisions disappointed fans. If you watch close to when those aired, you might want to stop before the ending.

Russian Doll2019
Dark comedy about a woman stuck in a time loop, gradually realizing the loop is less about supernatural mystery and more about reckoning with herself. Funny, smartly written, formally inventive.
But Tonally all over the place; heavy subjects hit suddenly. If you need comedy to stay light or plot to move quickly, the meandering episode structure might frustrate.

Broad City2014
Two women in New York making terrible decisions and having the time of their lives. Fast, stupid-clever, and genuinely affectionate about its characters' messiness and friendship.
But Humor can be abrasive and deliberately ugly. Sexual content is frequent and direct. Some sketches don't land; the show throws everything at the wall.

Love2016
Judd Apatow series about a woman and man building a relationship from mutual brokenness. Messy, unglamorous, occasionally very sweet. Good at capturing how people actually behave when nobody's watching.
But Slow and sometimes frustrating to watch; characters make terrible choices repeatedly. If you need forward momentum or likeable protagonists, this will test you.

Bridget Jones's Diary2001
Both films/shows insist their fat female protagonist is worth the lead role and a love story, without apology or self-consciousness. The radical act is simply centering her without fuss.
Romantic comedy that actually loves its heroine—her weight, her clumsiness, her failures—without trying to fix them. Renée Zellweger plays someone real, and the film knows she's the point. Genuinely funny and kind-hearted in ways rom-coms rarely manage.
But Structurally conventional. If you're tired of rom-com beats or need something formally experimental, this delivers exactly what its genre promised—which is the whole thing, but it's the whole thing.

Transparent2014
Both shows build comedy around people society has deemed marginal or unworthy, and insist on their complete humanity. Both refuse easy sentiment and let their characters be selfish and broken and still worth the story.
A trans woman coming out to her family triggers five seasons of Jewish family chaos, grief, and genuine reckoning with identity and mortality. Formally inventive, genuinely affecting, full of specific and complicated people. Comedy emerges from truth, not setup.
But Heavy emotional weight. Jewish family dynamics might be impenetrable if you're not familiar with that context. Some viewer frustration exists around how it handles trans representation—worth knowing before diving in.

People
Cast
Writing
- Park Hye YunExecutive Story Editor
- Clare O'KaneStory Editor
Production
- Aidy BryantCo-Executive Producer
- Craig DiGregorioCo-Executive Producer
- Dannah ShinderCo-Executive Producer
- Dave KingCo-Executive Producer
- Solomon GeorgioCo-Producer
- Victor NeumarkCo-Producer
- Aidy BryantExecutive Producer
- Alexandra RushfieldExecutive Producer
- Andrew SingerExecutive Producer
- Elizabeth BanksExecutive Producer
- Jesse PeretzExecutive Producer
- Lindy WestExecutive Producer
- Lorne MichaelsExecutive Producer
- Max HandelmanExecutive Producer
- Rob KleinExecutive Producer
- Alice MathiasProducer
- Dannah ShinderProducer
- David CressProducer
- Sudi GreenProducer
- Sudi GreenSupervising Producer
Recommended by
Transparent, Somebody Somewhere, Hannah Gadsby: Douglas, Hysterical, Tall Girl, Dumplin', Rosaline, My Big Fat Fabulous Life