Recently I’ve been catching up on tv and some of the more mature/adult shows, which I’ve been…Enjoying? Seems like the wrong word, but they’ve all generally been cynical or dark.

For reference, I’ve just finished Better Call Saul, which got me to finally get around to finishing Breaking Bad, and I’ve also been doing a rewatch of the anime Monster as it’s been years since I last watched it.

So basically back to back dark shows.

I’ve already watched The Good Place, which nails what I’m describing, but it’s a little blunt with the sweetness, while I’ve watched some of Bee and Puppycat which seems like it’s closer to a nice middleground of sweet and real.

What are some of your go-to shows for this kinda vibe?

    • Crackhappy@lemmy.worldEnglish
      14·
      1 year ago

      This is the answer right here. Show made me so happy I cried, regularly. Just absolutely fantastic all around.

    • eightpix@lemmy.world
      5·
      1 year ago

      Take it from a die-hard cynical realist, Ted Lasso is heartwarming and inspiring in just the right measure without being terribly saccharine or campy. Very well written as well. The third season faltered a bit in the beginning, I thought, but it ended well.

    • isu712@lemmy.world
      31·
      1 year ago

      This is a great suggestion! A show with a great heart. Start with season 2 though. Season 1 tried to be like The Office and that turned a lot of people off. Parks and Rec finds its own voice in season 2.

    • jaspersgroove@lemm.ee
      21·
      1 year ago

      Anything created by Michael Schur really, along with Parks and Rec he also did Brooklyn Nine Nine and The Good Place, both of which are funny and full of heartwarming moments compared to a lot of other shows these days.

      He did The Office too but I think he hadn’t quite hit his stride when he did that show, it has its moments but to me The Office leaned way too heavily on secondhand cringe humor.

  • bloopernova@programming.devEnglish
    311·
    1 year ago

    Taskmaster

    Would I Lie to You?

    Avatar The Last Airbender

    Loremen podcast

    Edited to add:

    One Punch Man first season is hilarious.

    The trifecta of 2010s animation: Regular Show, Steven Universe, and Adventure Time. There’s jokes and themes in these that are pretty adult, but the darker stuff is generally avoided.

    1980s: Dogtanian and the 3 Muskehounds. Mysterious Cities of Gold. Best theme tunes ever, and very easy watching.

    • Chozo@kbin.social
      14·
      1 year ago

      Taskmaster and WILTY are fantastic. These are some of my favorite “I want to watch something that I’ll enjoy but don’t need to actually care too much about” shows.

  • Candelestine@lemmy.worldEnglish
    27·
    1 year ago

    My Name Is Earl is my favorite go-to light-hearted and positive sitcom. Follows the story of a rather silly, ignorant redneck that begins to believe in karma, and so writes a list everyone he has ever wronged and goes about fixing it one by one.

    It’s pretty good.

    • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
      6·
      1 year ago

      One of my favorite shows of all time. The jokes are non stop. Many are in-your-face slapstick, but others are subtly slid into the dialogue. It’s a smart comedy about stupid people. I consistently found myself hoping that everything would work out for this bunch of morons, but at the same time, laughed when they got what they deserved.

    • metaphortune@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      Worth noting: you don’t have to know Star Trek to love this show! Sure, it helps, you’ll get a few deep cuts here and there, but it is still an absolute joy.

  • Very_Bad_Janet@kbin.social
    23·
    1 year ago

    I love sitcoms but beneath their light exterior they always have a heart of darkness, or at least a trace of one. But given your OP, I figure you can handle a teensy bit of a shadow side. Here are some generally upbeat shows with lots of laughs.

    Catastrophe- I think it strikes the right balance of optimism in the face of doubt. It’s light but not saccharine. It’s my favorite sitcom.

    It Crowd

    Black Books

    30 Rock

    Black-ish

    Adventure Time

    Mentioned in lots of other replies:

    Parks and Rec

    New Girl (extremely underrated)

    Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

    Brooklyn 99

    Taskmaster

    WILTY

    • TheSambassador@lemmy.worldEnglish
      41·
      1 year ago

      Wow we might be the same person, except I haven’t watched Black-ish or Black Books. I’ll have to look into those.

        • TheSambassador@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          1 year ago

          Well you didn’t mention The Good Place, but from your username I assume you’ve watched it :) .

          Ted Lasso is really great throughout and has a really positive viewpoint while still dealing with tough subjects.

          Starstruck (you’ll recognize Rose Matefeo) is a great lightish comedy.

          Crazy ex girlfriend

          Santa Clarita diet

          For animated stuff, these are all top-tier:

          • Over the Garden Wall
          • Gravity Falls
          • Steven Universe
          • Avatar The Last Airbender
          • Legend of Korra
          • Very_Bad_Janet@kbin.social
            1·
            1 year ago

            Thank you - I’m adding these to my list! And yes, I’m a Good Place fan. I didn’t mention it because OP mentioned recently seeing it.

    • mindbleach
      2·
      1 year ago

      Black Books, absolutely. There’s an episode where a shop owner gets beaten senseless by skinheads… because he asked them to. And then he had to trick them into it because they were too stupid to get the idea. Any show that can pull that off and still have an unironic laugh track is exactly the release OP needs.

      Oh hey, the episode Grapes of Wrath is on Youtube.