I need replacements for my favorite comedies.. please help! (TV, Movies)

February 25, 2016 7:00 AM

I recently watched Arrested Development for the 2nd time, and realized that I hadn't laughed so hard in ages. I've tried finding new comedy movies/series to enjoy since then, but haven't found any that really gave me any belly laughs like AD did. What movies/TV shows (or perhaps funny articles like from The Onion) made you laugh so hard you cried? Some of my likes/dislikes comedy-wise are inside.

Comedies are very hit-or-miss with me, and I don't seem to "get" a lot of comedies that are popular these days. but I'm definitely a fan of humor involving awkward situations, characters who are oblivious to their ineptitude (here's looking at you, Frank Drebin!), unintentionally bad movies, and dysfunctional families or friend groups. Here's an example of my tastes in funny:

Likes -

TV: Arrested Development, Curb your Enthusiasm, Always Sunny in Philadelphia, anything with David Mitchell in it, Seinfeld, Nathan For You, Mr. Show (Love!), One Punch-man, Early series of Trailer Park Boys, Gintama (The last two are funny anime that my son introduced me to).

Movies: Naked Gun (The first is one of the funniest movies I've seen), South Park: BL and Uncut, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spinal Tap, The Room, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Airplane!, Spaceballs, Groundhog Day, What About Bob, Miami Connection, Death at a Funeral (The UK version), Office Space, Galaxy Quest, Best in Show.

Comedy Publications/comics: The Onion, The Far Side, Life is Hell

Comedians: Dave Chappelle, Robin Williams, Norm Macdonald, Bill Burr, Conan O'Brian (and Jordan Schlansky :) )

Dislikes -

Not a big fan of Seth Rogen/James Franco movies, although I know they're popular. Same with Simon Pegg. Movies like Anchorman and Tropic Thunder.

I forgot plenty of favorites, but I think you get the idea. Please let me know of any suggestions you might have based on my tastes. The only real criteria is that whatever you saw made you laugh to the point of thinking "Wow, I haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time." Thank you.

posted by BuddyBoo to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (77 answers total)

30 Rock, the IT crowd, Keeping up Appearances
posted by sexyrobot at 7:02 AM on February 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

Peep Show
posted by bluecore at 7:04 AM on February 25, 2016 [3 favorites]

Broad City
posted by yellowbinder at 7:04 AM on February 25, 2016 [21 favorites]

Party Down!
posted by something something at 7:04 AM on February 25, 2016 [9 favorites]

Oops, you mentioned David Mitchell but I was scanning for Peep Show. Sorry!
posted by bluecore at 7:05 AM on February 25, 2016

Key and Peele
Rick and Morty
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Archer
Review
posted by 6ATR at 7:06 AM on February 25, 2016 [4 favorites]

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
posted by Captain_Science at 7:07 AM on February 25, 2016 [16 favorites]

Not a TV show, film, or Onion article, but what made me laugh so hard I cried? Laugh so hard my face hurt? Laugh so much I felt sick?
Monster Factory.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 7:08 AM on February 25, 2016 [2 favorites]

Parks and Rec
posted by amelliferae at 7:08 AM on February 25, 2016 [9 favorites]

the IT Crowd
Better Off Ted
Parks & Recreation (skip season 1)
posted by otters walk among us at 7:08 AM on February 25, 2016 [2 favorites]

If you're a fan of Naked Gun you will either love or hate Angie Tribeca.
posted by fuse theorem at 7:11 AM on February 25, 2016 [2 favorites]

This might be a little more dry humor than you'd like, but I love the subtle humor in Better Call Saul. Season 1 is now on netflix streaming, too.
posted by shortyJBot at 7:12 AM on February 25, 2016 [4 favorites]

Green Wing.

Nthing Parks & Rec and The IT Crowd.
posted by littlegreen at 7:12 AM on February 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

Black Books
The Goldbergs (although I thought I would hate it, I always end up laughing a lot at this show)
+1 for Kimmy Schmidt and Parks and Rec
posted by crocomancer at 7:13 AM on February 25, 2016

Agree on the IT Crowd.
Black Books
Father Ted
Fawlty Towers
posted by FencingGal at 7:14 AM on February 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

The closest thing I've found to Arrested Development is actually Portlandia. Similar outlandish characters and absurdist plot, similar biting satire, but coming from a place of love and laughing with, not at.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:15 AM on February 25, 2016 [4 favorites]

The Office (US and UK)
posted by Tanizaki at 7:15 AM on February 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

The Office, before Jim & Pam get married.
posted by WesterbergHigh at 7:15 AM on February 25, 2016 [3 favorites]

If you liked "Naked Gun", you should check out "Police Squad!", the six-episode sitcom that originated the character of Frank Drebin.
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:17 AM on February 25, 2016 [4 favorites]

Are you willing to go back in time to the 90s? I take utter joy in re-watching the Larry Sanders Show - it's such an important precursor to most of the great comedies of the 2000s. Plus you get to see everyone that was famous and hilarious back in the 90s like Phil Hartman, David Spade... etc.

PLUS you have Hank, played by Jeffrey Tambor. And he is brilliant.
posted by Dressed to Kill at 7:21 AM on February 25, 2016 [7 favorites]

Broad City
Another Period
posted by Shanda at 7:26 AM on February 25, 2016 [3 favorites]

Party Down is one of the best shows ever that nobody knows about. Adam Scott, Lizzy Kaplan, Martin Starr, Jane Lynch, Megan Mullahey, and a whole bunch of other people that you've seen play that guy in that thing. Very funny, great writing.

Silicon Valley
Broad City
posted by bondcliff at 7:28 AM on February 25, 2016 [5 favorites]

Veep
posted by Shanda at 7:28 AM on February 25, 2016 [7 favorites]

OH SECONDING VEEP! VEEEEEEEEP! (runs around in hysterical circles) VEEP VEEP VEEP!
posted by Dressed to Kill at 7:32 AM on February 25, 2016 [3 favorites]

Andy Richter Controls the Universe was a sort of magic surrealist office rom com that takes a lot of the very best of early Conan humor and applies it to a sitcom. It's pretty old, and didn't last nearly long enough, but it's hilarious.

Same universe: TV Funhouse.
posted by Juliet Banana at 7:33 AM on February 25, 2016 [2 favorites]

Definitely Modern Family for a take on dysfunctional modern families, as per title. But only up to season 3, as the material starts to get stale after that...

Also, for anime, try Ouran High School Host Club, which was released in the early 2000s, I think. There is a English dubbed version now, although I watched it in Japanese with subtitles. It's a really great subversive parody of the typical anime schoolgirl romance and homoeroticism. I could write entire academic papers on this. And hysterically funny too.
posted by moiraine at 7:38 AM on February 25, 2016

Wiki explains Ouran High School Host Club better: "The romantic comedy focuses on the relationships within and outside the Club and satirizes the clichés and stereotypes that endure in shōjo."
posted by moiraine at 7:40 AM on February 25, 2016

If you enjoy Naked Gun/Airplane! and Miami Connection, you might also go for Danger 5 (trailer) -- it's an Australian sitcom that marries the ZAZ gag-a-minute parody formula to a loving reconstruction of classic B-movies/genre TV. Both seasons are up on US Netflix now.
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:41 AM on February 25, 2016

Nthing Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Came to recommend everything by Greg Garcia
Raising Hope
My Name Is Earl

Also, 2nd Season of Slings and Arrows is one of the funniest things I've ever seen (but you need the setup of the also-funny first season)
posted by rw at 7:41 AM on February 25, 2016

If you like Parks and Rec: Master of None, the Aziz Ansari show, is really great.
posted by Huck500 at 7:41 AM on February 25, 2016 [8 favorites]

nthing The IT Crowd.
It's completely ridiculous, but hilarious
posted by JenThePro at 7:41 AM on February 25, 2016

+1 for 30 Rock. We're making our way through it as well, and we love it. Alec Baldwin is worth the price of admission.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 7:45 AM on February 25, 2016 [3 favorites]

nthing Party Down.
posted by furnace.heart at 7:48 AM on February 25, 2016

It's a cartoon and it totally cracks me up: The Amazing World of Gumball.
posted by dawkins_7 at 7:51 AM on February 25, 2016

The Stinky Feet Diaries
posted by bricksNmortar at 7:53 AM on February 25, 2016

Kroll Show! And Broad City.
I think we have similar taste. Since you like goofy movies and Arrested Development, I'm going to suggest the movie Run Ronnie Run. Really ridiculous David Cross movie. My husband and I still say, "No, you put the goat down" to each other about once a week.
posted by areaperson at 7:54 AM on February 25, 2016

Broad City
Master of None
Black Books
Some Girls
posted by Julnyes at 7:56 AM on February 25, 2016

Veep and Silicon Valley made me laugh harder than I have at TV in a long long time.
posted by Flamingo at 7:58 AM on February 25, 2016 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Ah yes - I also love Key and Peele and Better Call Saul. And I saw the new season of Mr. Show. Will check out some of the other recommendations mentioned so far. Keep them coming! :)
posted by BuddyBoo at 8:05 AM on February 25, 2016

Hyperbole and a Half. The link is to my favorite but they are all great.
posted by BoscosMom at 8:16 AM on February 25, 2016 [8 favorites]

Summer Heights High
posted by lock sock and barrel at 8:19 AM on February 25, 2016

Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist
Home Movies
Miranda (streaming on Hulu)
Strangers With Candy (also streaming on Hulu)
posted by TheCavorter at 8:21 AM on February 25, 2016 [2 favorites]

Again: Parks and Rec. I have heard that you can skip the first season if it becomes too tedious, but I made it through it just fine.
posted by dave*p at 8:23 AM on February 25, 2016

I like a lot of the same comedies as you, and had the same reaction to Arrested Development. (The main exception is I didn't like the one episode of It's Always Sunny that I've seen.) So here's what else I've laughed at:

• The Office (US) — especially seasons 2 and 3. The first season is also great but that was before the show had fully developed its personality and the secondary characters. So if you haven't seen (much of) the show, you might want to watch straight through seasons 2 and 3, then go back and see what the earlier episodes were like.

• Other obvious TV shows you didn't mention: 30 Rock (a very similar sensibility to Arrested Development), The Simpsons, Flight of the Conchords.

• The State, MTV's sketch comedy show from the '90s. Stella, which stars three of the cast members from The State, nominally playing themselves. Stella was unfortunately canceled after just one season, but the silver lining is that the show was always in its prime since it never had time to get old. If you love The State and Stella, then... Wainy Days, a web series about the dating life of one of the stars of Stella (David Wain, the director of Wet Hot American Summer). And Topics, a podcast where the other two stars of Stella (Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter) "talk about serious issues in a serious way." My favorite episodes of Topics: 10: time travel, 13: listener mail #3, 15: the nature of love, 29: the little things, 36: tugboats, trains, and trolleys, 43: the Connell Institute. Michael Showalter also wrote, directed, and starred in a sweet spoof of romantic comedies, The Baxter.

• Steve Coogan's TV shows: I'm Alan Partridge ("series 1" only — not "series 2," which was terrible), and Saxondale. He's mainly big in the UK. In I'm Alan Partridge, he plays a foolish radio show host, in a role that seems to have influenced the main character of The Office (which, of course, started in the UK too). In Saxondale, he's a totally different character, an aging former rock-band roadie who has self-destructive tendencies but a good heart — it's hard to believe you're watching the same actor.

• Classic Steve Martin.

• Classic comedy movies: Marx Bros. (Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, Duck Soup, A Night at the Opera), W.C. Fields (It's a Gift, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break), Charlie Chaplin (The Kid, Modern Times, The Great Dictator), Bringing Up Baby, Some Like it Hot.

• Comics: Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, Hyperbole and a Half, anything by Peter Bagge.
posted by John Cohen at 8:23 AM on February 25, 2016 [3 favorites]

Parks and Rec
Archer
The Simpsons (up to season 9)
The Office (Seasons 2 and 3 mostly)
posted by littlesq at 8:43 AM on February 25, 2016

Not sure if this is the type of comedy, but I find My Cousin Vinny to be hilarious. Witty one-liners, wonderful acting and a good plot.

Many people prefer the older series, but Steve Martin's Pink Panther movies are hugely funny - my family loves them too!
posted by theobserver at 9:02 AM on February 25, 2016

Arrested Development is one of my favorites too —so much that, for a long time, I thought it had forever ruined all subsequent sitcoms for me. I no longer believe that, since there are exactly three sitcoms I've liked since AD:

Parks and Recreation (which I've only come to appreciate in reruns; I didn't watch it in its original run)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Raising Hope — I'm not sure this qualifies as the "dysfunctional" you're looking for, as the main characters are warm and loving in their own bizarre way, but it very much meets the "characters who are oblivious to their ineptitude" criterion.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:06 AM on February 25, 2016

Another vote for Archer.
posted by mbrubeck at 9:11 AM on February 25, 2016

Also: Community. Give it a shot, it's a really well done show.
posted by dave*p at 9:12 AM on February 25, 2016 [2 favorites]

Burnistoun. It's Scottish so may take you a bit to develop an ear for it. All the episodes are findable on YouTube and it's very Mitchell and Webb at times.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:17 AM on February 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

What We Do In The Shadows. - Mocumentary about four vampires living in Wellington, New Zealand.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:19 AM on February 25, 2016 [6 favorites]

I like a lot of those shows, and other shows in my rotation include The Venture Brothers and Bob's Burgers.

I didn't notice if anyone recommended Grace & Frankie, but yes dysfunctional family, plus amazing cast.
posted by cabingirl at 9:21 AM on February 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

Oh I forgot about Malcolm in the Middle (I recently binged watched the whole series and it was excellent throughout the entire run).
posted by littlesq at 9:26 AM on February 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

We like a lot of the same things. Concur with: Community, Parks & Rec and Party Down. I've also enjoyed Brooklyn 99 for the dysfunctional friend group. It's light but there are a lot of good jokes.

What We Do In The Shadows is probably the best movie I've seen this year.
posted by jessamyn at 9:30 AM on February 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

John Mulaney's two stand-up specials on Netflix.

I laughed so hard at Angie Tribeca I actually cried from laughter. Same for What We Do In the Shadows. Like, genuine tears of mirth.

Bournistoun is a Scottish sketch comedy show that should still be on Netflix, hilarious once you calibrate your ear for the serious Glaswegian accents.

Catastrophe on Amazon Prime- I was skeptical but it turned out to be more darkly funny than anticipated, we binged it all in one night (ends on a really dissatisfying note, though).

Billy On the Street.
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 9:39 AM on February 25, 2016

I swear I searched the page and did not see my husband's almost verbatim suggestion of Bournistoun before I posted that...
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 9:40 AM on February 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

You should have binge-watched "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" a couple weeks ago when they put the whole thing up for a free weekend. It totally ticks your "oblivious to ineptitude" and "dysfunctional families" boxes, it's really well cast, and the music is great. It is, however, an hour long, so it's not as easily digested as your basic half hour.

"Veep" is really good but it is some of the sharpest, meanest satire ever made.

If you have Amazon Prime, check out "Catastrophe" and "Alpha House." The former is good on the dysfunction, and the latter absolutely soaks in characters' obliviousness (without being as acid as "Veep").
posted by fedward at 10:01 AM on February 25, 2016

Mitchel and Webb/Peep Show + Arrested Development are two of my favorite comedies.

I also enjoy (previously mentioned here, but nthing) and in my regular rotation:
Community (give it a few episodes, but the first three seasons frequently make me laugh out loud)
Archer (There are a couple of Pam episodes that a turn to when I need a laugh+ want vicariously kick some ass. Jessica Walters also has a role similar to her AD character)
Venture Brothers (similar to AD, I think it gains something on repeated viewings)
30 Rock (Will Arnett occasionally has a role, Alec Baldwin in phenomenal)
Parks and Rec (It took about a season to really come into it's own)

Newly Beloved:
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Grace and Frankie

Pleasantly Surprised:
Master of None
Brooklyn 99 (it's light, but perfectly cast. I'm not sure how it would hold up to repeated viewings, but does make me laugh out loud)

Some that I didn't see mentioned:
Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (David Cross and Will Arnett)
The Thick of it (Satire British government, must love listening to an angry Scottish man swear a lot)
posted by ghost phoneme at 10:06 AM on February 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

Seconding:
Broad City
Party Down
Parks and Rec
Master of None
The Thick of It

My new favorite show is Bojack Horseman. If you like dark humor, you will be laughing so hard you cry for sure. Great voice actors and sight gags as well.
posted by saul wright at 10:46 AM on February 25, 2016

"Better off Ted"

Surprised it wasn't listed yet since it also stars Portia de Rossi and is an amazing underrated comedy.
posted by anti social order at 10:54 AM on February 25, 2016 [3 favorites]

A Touch of Cloth is what you need if you like both Naked Gun and British comedy.

Children's Hospital is often brilliant, although the first couple of seasons are shaky.

Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter
Heat Vision & Jack
Walk Hard

Since you said Miami Connection, I say Rifftrax/MST3K. Manimal is also must-see.
posted by heatvision at 10:57 AM on February 25, 2016

If you have Netflix, they'll be getting seasons 1 and 2 of BBC's "Cuckoo" on March 7.
posted by haileris23 at 11:18 AM on February 25, 2016

Man Seeking Woman (YT Trailer, 2 minutes) is a has got me laughing a lot lately. I am one who can't handle a lot of cringeworthy TV, and they seem to know this, because while those moments happen all the time, they defuse quickly enough and then take it all to a strange fantasy place. It's most of the way through its second season.

The first 3 seasons (of 4) of the UK show Coupling is a truly fine sitcom. It was inspired by "Friends," but it's a lot more adult, and being commercial free is able to develop some truly rich situational comedy. The 4th season involves a cast change and some pregnancy drama; I didn't stick with it.

You've seen recs for Father Ted and The IT Crowd. It's only natural to recommend Graham Linehan's current project, "Count Arthur Strong," originally created and played by Steve Delaney. It's about Arthur, an aging and comically demented pensioner who used to be half of a famous vaudeville act, and Michael, the son of the now-deceased stage partner. Add a few truly bizarre local characters at the cafe where they hang out, and some ridiculous situation stuff. CAS was a radio series for 4 seasons , and has now done 2 seasons on TV.

"Garth Morenghi's Darkplace" and "Toast of London" are a couple Matt Berry shows that're worth checking out.
posted by Sunburnt at 11:24 AM on February 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

Flight of the Conchords and Archer were the two shows that sprung to mind for me.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a favourite on the movie front that wasn't mentioned earlier.

John Mulaney, Nate Bargatze, Hannibal Burress, and Mike Birbiglia for stand up.
posted by backwards guitar at 11:55 AM on February 25, 2016

Look Around You
posted by WeekendJen at 1:50 PM on February 25, 2016 [2 favorites]

NewsRadio
posted by homesickness at 2:11 PM on February 25, 2016

Am I really the first person to recommend the charming and gutbusting Garfunkel & Oates?
posted by fingersandtoes at 2:42 PM on February 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

I don't love AD as much as I have an almost slavish devotion to it and have memorized most of it. Recs I haven't seen yet mentioned:

The Riches: Eddie Izzard is the patriarch of a family of grifters.

Louie: Louie CK, divorced father in NYC.

Fawlty Towers: Classic British comedy with John Cleese as world's worst hotel owner.

The In Betweeners. Antics of four insanely obnoxious British high school boys.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 2:43 PM on February 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

Bojack Horseman!!

Hands down my favorite. Only 2 seasons to binge watch on Netflix, with season 3 on the way. Huge on continuity and dark humor. Often the darkness is only offset by the fact that half of the characters are anthropomorphic talking animals. No it's so good.
posted by ista at 2:51 PM on February 25, 2016

Since most everything else has been covered (and re-covered), His Girl Friday from the 40s, Trouble in Paradise from the 30s, One, Two, Three, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Dr. Strangelove from the 60s, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, and The Producers (60 plus 70s), Amelie, Hot Fuzz, Little Miss Sunshine from recent.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 2:55 PM on February 25, 2016

"Brooklyn 99" makes me laugh almost every time.

And my brother got me started on "Superstore" this past week and I'm really enjoying it.
posted by tacodave at 3:16 PM on February 25, 2016

Community! Out of what you listed I especially enjoy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and also Nathan For You and man, Community. No other show has made me laugh as much. I love Community, but if you watch it you can go ahead and skip season 4.

Also.... Comedy Bang! Bang!
posted by bananana at 8:37 PM on February 25, 2016

The Office has been recommended a few times but I popped in to say if you appreciate awkwardness, then the UK version is far superior to the US version.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 1:38 AM on February 26, 2016

OK not sure where you'd get it from outside of the UK (cough, YT) but I laughed so hard at Chewing Gum written by and starring Michaela Coel. The woman is a delight and a physical comedy genius.
posted by Ness at 2:51 AM on February 26, 2016

Corner Gas.
posted by james33 at 3:31 AM on February 26, 2016

I'll N'th Archer, but I warn you that I had to warm up to it. An initial mini binge watch of the first three episodes just made the characters seem too repititive. With putting some time inbetween episodes, by ep 8 of the first season I enjoyed mini binges.

I'll N'th Better Off Ted with no reservations. Well, a small reservation of it only having 2 seasons.

I'll N'th Community. My stomach still hurt the next day after the GI Joe episode.

Web series? The Legend of Neil, Journey Quest and Other Space gave me some belly laughs.

Any older cartoons? Earthworm Jim and Invader Zim hit my funny bone.

Reality: Kenny vs. Spenny.

I'll N'th parks and rec, but note, do not watch the first season. The first season is entirely unwatchable. It's not funny; it's only 6 episodes, and one of the major chacters doesn't come back for season 2. Despite none of the characters changing significanlty from season 1 to 2, whatever chemistry the show had from 2 onward was absent in season 1. You can pick up on the characters, and "plot" fast enough without it. While it's funny, there weren't a lot of belly laughs for me.
posted by nobeagle at 7:42 AM on February 26, 2016

If you like podcasts—or even if you don't—you should try My Brother, My Brother and Me "an advicecast for the modern era featuring three real-life brothers: Justin, Travis and Griffin McElroy." Justing and Griffin are the same guys producing Monster Factory mentioned in an earlier recommendation here.
posted by Gabriel R at 12:44 AM on February 29, 2016