Television series

The Great North

Name: The Great North
Genre: Comedy, Family
Released: 2021
Cast: Nick Offerman, Paul Rust, Aparna Nancherla, Will Forte, Jenny Slate

Comedy
Light-hearted

A Fox comedy about a single dad and his four gloriously weird kids in Alaska, trying to stay connected as they scatter toward their own dreams. It's *Bob's Burgers* energy transplanted north: warm, absurd, deeply fond of its characters, with a magical realism streak (hello, Alanis Morissette in the aurora). For people who love family comedies that don't condescend and aren't afraid of genuine weirdness.

TVMaze rating

3.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like loopy family sitcoms where the jokes come from a household's stubborn routines and deadpan asides, the way Bob's Burgers builds its laughs.

Skip it if you need a plot that tightens with every episode, since this is a loose, episode-to-episode comedy where the surreal detours often matter more than the story.

What it asks of you: Around thirty minutes an episode across five seasons, so it suits a relaxed evening pace and patience for absurd tangents that wander before they return.

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

If you liked this

Bob's Burgers2011

The spiritual ancestor: a single parent running a business while raising kids with radically different personalities and dreams. Same DNA of tender exasperation, surreal humour, and actual love underneath everything.

But If you've already watched eight seasons, you know the formula. The show can coast on character charm, which isn't always enough.

Schitt's Creek2015

A found-family comedy with real heart and a willingness to let weird characters be weird without punching down. Builds genuine emotional stakes underneath the absurdity and never loses sight of why you care.

But Takes a season to find its voice, and some of the early-episode humour lands awkwardly. The redemption arc is slow.

Hilda2018

A show about belonging and family that weaves the fantastical into everyday life without explaining it away. Gorgeous animation, genuinely strange folklore, and a protagonist figuring out where she fits.

But It's animated, so some viewers write it off immediately. Also darker and more serialized than The Great North, less comedic.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Great North

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Northern Exposure1990

Both use Alaska and magical realism as storytelling tools, not just settings. Both find profundity in the eccentric.

A show about outsiders learning to belong in a small Alaskan town, full of magical realism, surreal characters, and genuine wonder. Same northern setting, same commitment to weirdness as a way of life, same underlying humanism. The ancestor *Great North* is nodding to.

But The 90s aesthetic and pacing will feel glacial to anyone raised on prestige drama. Some episodes are actively strange in ways that don't cohere, and the tone wavers wildly.

Fleabag2016

A character study wrapped in comedy, about broken people trying to stay tethered to family. That same mix of profound loneliness and laugh-out-loud moments, with a protagonist who talks to someone only she can see.

But Bleak in ways The Great North isn't. Much shorter, and the tone can feel self-pitying if you're not in the mood for it.

Ginny & Georgia2021

A mother-and-daughter comedy-drama with chaotic energy and a sprawling cast of weird teenagers. Balances genuine family stakes with absurdist humour and doesn't take itself too seriously.

But Tonally uneven; lurches between sitcom and serious drama. Some episodes nail it, others feel like two different shows fighting for control.

Raising Hope2010

A sitcom about a chaotic multigenerational family raising a baby together. Weird, warm, and genuinely funny, with weird traditions and a commitment to loving its characters despite their flaws.

But Cancelled after four seasons. Feels dated now, and the humour sometimes relies on things the show later regrets making jokes about.

Our Flag Means Death2022

A comedy about misfits bonding into family aboard a ship, led by a man doing his best. Surreal, affectionate, weird in unexpected ways, with characters who don't quite fit anywhere else.

But Deeply niche humour, and some episodes veer into indulgence. The romance subplot divides people sharply.

Kim's Convenience2016

A family sitcom that finds endless comedy in how different people love each other despite fundamental misunderstandings. Warm without being saccharine, funny without cruelty.

But Relies heavily on cultural specificity, which some viewers find isolating. The show ended abruptly due to creative differences, leaving threads unresolved.

Superstore2015

A workplace ensemble where diverse misfits become family over time. Balances big laughs with genuine pathos, and trusts its characters to grow in unexpected ways.

But Takes several seasons to hit its stride. Early episodes feel more like generic workplace comedy, and some arcs peter out.

Undone2019

Both use a form of magical realism (Alanis in the sky, time distortion and ghosts) to explore how families talk about the things they can't say directly.

A rotoscoped adult animation about a woman discovering her family is weirder and more fractured than she thought, balancing surrealism with real emotional crisis. Same willingness to treat weird and mundane in the same breath, same use of magical realism as a window into family dynamics.

But Rotoscope animation is polarizing—some find it hypnotic, others headache-inducing. The show is much darker and more psychologically intense than typical sitcom fare.

Big Mouth2017

Both centered on kids at odd life stages and adults trying to keep up, both animated, both unafraid of the grotesque as a path to tenderness.

An adult animated comedy about weird kids figuring out who they are, with surreal advisors popping up throughout. Same crude willingness to let characters be genuinely strange, same investment in how families hold together when kids are becoming themselves.

But Aggressively crude—genital humour is basically the dialect. If that's not your lane, no amount of heart underneath will make it work.