Television series

The Neighborhood

Name: The Neighborhood
Genre: Comedy, Family
Released: 2018
Cast: Beth Behrs, Max Greenfield, Cedric the Entertainer, Tichina Arnold, Sheaun McKinney

Comedy
Light-hearted

A well-meaning white family from Michigan moves to a Black neighbourhood in Los Angeles, where their overeager friendliness crashes against the justified wariness of their neighbours. The Neighborhood is a sitcom about culture clash, good intentions gone wrong, and the slow work of actually listening. It's warm without being saccharine, funny without punching down, and genuinely interested in why people don't automatically trust each other.

TVMaze rating

3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a warm, old-fashioned half-hour sitcom where the comedy comes from a stubborn, decent neighbor and a family trying a little too hard to be liked, and you enjoy suspicion slowly thawing into affection.

Skip it if the broad, punchline-first rhythm and a sweetness that can tip into lesson-giving may grate if you want edge, bite or surprise from your comedy.

What it asks of you: Each episode runs only half an hour, so it is light on commitment per sitting, though its warmth builds slowly across eight seasons and rewards staying put.

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

If you liked this

Schitt's Creek2015

A fish-out-of-water family comedy that earns its heart through character work rather than mockery. Like The Neighborhood, it's about people learning to see past their own assumptions and actually connecting with their new community.

But The first season leans harder on the family's snobbery as the joke. It takes time to find its warmth, and some viewers never stick around long enough.

Living Single1993

A neighbourhood sitcom centred on a tight-knit Brooklyn brownstone community. It balances humour with genuine affection for its characters and their varying backgrounds, showing what real community actually looks like.

But The pace and references are distinctly '90s. If you're looking for something contemporary in feel, the production values will date it for you.

Kim's Convenience2016

A Toronto-set sitcom about a Korean-Canadian family running a convenience store. It handles cultural specificity with both comedy and dignity, and captures the exact tension between insularity and opening up that The Neighborhood explores.

But Only five seasons before cancellation, so you'll finish it wishing there was more. The abrupt ending frustrated many viewers.

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

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Dear White People2014

Both use comedy to explore how people build community across difference, and both centre the perspective of those already in the space—not the newcomers.

A sharp, funny ensemble film about Black students at an Ivy League university navigating identity, community, and who gets to define Blackness. It's a completely different setting but the same central insight: belonging isn't simple and good intentions matter less than actual listening.

But It's a satire aimed at a specific audience and assumes cultural literacy. If you're not familiar with the dynamics it's satirizing, some of the comedy will pass you by.

black-ish2014

An upper-middle-class Black family navigating identity, belonging, and what it means to fit in—or whether you should try. It's sharper and more politically engaged than The Neighborhood, but asks similar questions about community and home.

But It can tip into preachiness when balancing comedy with social messaging. The tonal shifts aren't always smooth.

Happy Days1974

The template for the sitcom about finding your people and building community. It's relentlessly earnest about friendship and belonging, with genuine warmth underneath the period comedy.

But It's very much a 1970s network sitcom, which means broad performances and sitcom logic. The comedy hasn't aged as well as the heart has.

Everybody Hates Chris2005

A semi-autobiographical comedy about a Black teenager navigating a predominantly white school in Brooklyn. It's sharper and more pointed about race than The Neighborhood, but animated and funny rather than preachy.

But Only ran for two seasons, and the animation style is deliberately crude and jarring. Some people find it visually uncomfortable to watch.

Superstore2015

A workplace ensemble comedy set in a big-box store where a genuinely diverse cast becomes a found family. It's warm without being saccharine, and funny while treating its characters with real dignity.

But The tone shifts between sitcom lightness and surprisingly heavy social realism. This tonal inconsistency bothers some viewers more than others.

The Drew Carey Show1995

A sitcom about a guy finding his place in Cleveland with a close circle of friends who become his real community. It's unpretentious and genuinely interested in the small moments of connection between people.

But It's aggressively '90s in a way that actively works against it now. The humour is broad and the production feels dated in a way that doesn't read as charming.

Reno 911!2003

A mockumentary comedy about misfits working together in a small Nevada sheriff's department. It finds genuine affection for its characters while never losing the comedy, much like The Neighborhood does.

But The humour is often absurdist and sometimes mean-spirited. It's also structurally loose and doesn't always land, which can make it frustrating to watch.

Uncle 'Bar' at Barbershop2000

Both understand that a neighbourhood is a real place with real history and culture, not a blank backdrop. Both centre the people already there.

A film set in a Black barbershop on the South Side of Chicago, where community gathering, storytelling, and real talk create genuine connection. It's warm and funny and centered on the actual life of the neighbourhood, not outsiders trying to join it.

But It's two hours of sitcom-style ensemble comedy in film form, which means it doesn't have the dramatic structure many viewers expect. Some find it meandering.

Atlanta2016

Both are genuinely interested in how community actually works, but Atlanta captures that complexity through formal risk-taking where The Neighborhood uses warmth.

Donald Glover's series is formally inventive—sometimes sitcom, sometimes drama, sometimes absurdist—about young Black men in Atlanta building community and making their way. It's funnier and wilder than The Neighborhood but asks the same question: what does belonging actually look like?

But It shifts tone drastically between episodes and sometimes prioritizes strangeness over narrative clarity. If you need consistent tone and plot, it will frustrate you.