What are some of your favorite 30-mins or less non-sitcom tv shows?
April 20, 2020 3:53 PM Subscribe
I am looking for shorter tv shows available to stream (preferably on Netflix, Hulu, or HBO) that are not sitcoms. Some of my favorite shows are: Please Like Me, Nurse Jackie, My Brilliant Friend, Westworld, Succession, The Comeback, Silicon Valley, Dark, Years and Years, Black Mirror. Most of the type of shows I like are 45 minutes or longer (I have a long list of those to watch) but I’m hoping there are more great shows out there that I’m missing that are shorter. Thanks!
Russian Doll on Netflix. I think it's one of the best TV shows I've ever seen.
posted by carolr at 4:02 PM on April 20, 2020 [26 favorites]
posted by carolr at 4:02 PM on April 20, 2020 [26 favorites]
I'm not sure I know what a sitcom is anymore. Are you not wanting comedy at all? What We Do In The Shadows is comedy, though not your typical Living Room Set Comedy, and runs 25m/episode.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:05 PM on April 20, 2020
posted by Lyn Never at 4:05 PM on April 20, 2020
Enlightened on HBO! Laura Dern is perfection.
posted by wsquared at 4:10 PM on April 20, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by wsquared at 4:10 PM on April 20, 2020 [6 favorites]
Run (on HBO) is only two episodes in, but it's looking pretty good so far - it's a Phoebe Waller-Bridge created show.
posted by pdb at 4:17 PM on April 20, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by pdb at 4:17 PM on April 20, 2020 [6 favorites]
Midnight Diner Tokyo Stories is pretty great on Netflix. There is also a Mandarin version on YT.
posted by parmanparman at 4:19 PM on April 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by parmanparman at 4:19 PM on April 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
High Maintenance on HBO! It's a series of vignettes about life in New York seen through the eyes of a weed delivery guy. Episodes are a half hour.
posted by muddgirl at 4:34 PM on April 20, 2020 [9 favorites]
posted by muddgirl at 4:34 PM on April 20, 2020 [9 favorites]
Speaking of Phoebe Waller-Bridge: Fleabag.
Seconding Russian Doll and Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:38 PM on April 20, 2020 [4 favorites]
Seconding Russian Doll and Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:38 PM on April 20, 2020 [4 favorites]
Dead to Me on Netflix.
posted by Etrigan at 4:44 PM on April 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Etrigan at 4:44 PM on April 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Atlanta is 25-35 minutes per episode, IIRC.
posted by Candleman at 4:53 PM on April 20, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Candleman at 4:53 PM on April 20, 2020 [4 favorites]
Catastrophe, on Amazon Prime. 4 seasons, 6 episodes per season, each one 30 minutes. (And it's complete so that's all there is.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:59 PM on April 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:59 PM on April 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
Barry on HBO
posted by mmascolino at 7:36 PM on April 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by mmascolino at 7:36 PM on April 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
I'd recommend "The End of the F***ing World", on Netflix. Two short seasons, with episodes less than 30 minutes.
posted by applesurf at 7:53 PM on April 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by applesurf at 7:53 PM on April 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
Have you seen The Good Place? It is such an amazing show, in the thirty minute or less timeslot. Definately has an overarching plot. It is a bit of a different genre, but I've liked many of the things you've listed and loved The Good Place .
posted by AlexiaSky at 8:52 PM on April 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by AlexiaSky at 8:52 PM on April 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
Schitt's Creek
posted by Archipelago at 9:49 PM on April 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Archipelago at 9:49 PM on April 20, 2020 [2 favorites]
If you're lucky enough to have not seen The Good Place yet, now would be a good time to watch it. Ironically the short episodes make for easy bingeing.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:15 PM on April 20, 2020
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:15 PM on April 20, 2020
What don't you desire about sitcoms (situational comedies)? The laugh track?
'Better Off Ted' is brilliant, kind, funny, dorky-nerdy, sprinkled with just a little bit of bitterness for flavour.
'Barry' is a dark comedy about a hitman who doesn't want to be one anymore, but is just so gosh darn good at it. Episodes clock in at 30 minutes.
'Happy' (2017 with Christopher Meloni) might be outside of your interests...
'Cobra Kai' if you're of a certain age and you recall 'The Karate Kid' without rancor. Updated to the times, roles reversed (and reversed again, and... adulting is hard), coming-of-age stories, strong girl kids.
Similarly, 'Glow'/ 'G.L.O.W.' is very good. Strong, well written female roles. Of all kinds. Funny, humanistic.
'Con Man' - if you're a fan of Alan Tudyk, this shorts series is a must.
OMG, 'Jean-Claude Van Johnson' - What if Jean-Claude Van Damme was actually a secret agent who used being an actor as his cover, who went into retirement, and now has to try to become an actor again to use as a cover for being a secret agent. JCVD is an extremely good sport about it, and it is absolutely hillarious. And smart. Very smart, not just clever.
'Norsemen' and 'What We Do in the Shadows' are very very good, and are more of a parody of the sitcom. Both are kind of like 'The Office' for a Viking show and a Vampire show respectively. Both are clever beyond any sitcom without as much of the cringe of 'The Office' - and when there's cringe, it's on purpose.
posted by porpoise at 10:18 PM on April 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
'Better Off Ted' is brilliant, kind, funny, dorky-nerdy, sprinkled with just a little bit of bitterness for flavour.
'Barry' is a dark comedy about a hitman who doesn't want to be one anymore, but is just so gosh darn good at it. Episodes clock in at 30 minutes.
'Happy' (2017 with Christopher Meloni) might be outside of your interests...
'Cobra Kai' if you're of a certain age and you recall 'The Karate Kid' without rancor. Updated to the times, roles reversed (and reversed again, and... adulting is hard), coming-of-age stories, strong girl kids.
Similarly, 'Glow'/ 'G.L.O.W.' is very good. Strong, well written female roles. Of all kinds. Funny, humanistic.
'Con Man' - if you're a fan of Alan Tudyk, this shorts series is a must.
OMG, 'Jean-Claude Van Johnson' - What if Jean-Claude Van Damme was actually a secret agent who used being an actor as his cover, who went into retirement, and now has to try to become an actor again to use as a cover for being a secret agent. JCVD is an extremely good sport about it, and it is absolutely hillarious. And smart. Very smart, not just clever.
'Norsemen' and 'What We Do in the Shadows' are very very good, and are more of a parody of the sitcom. Both are kind of like 'The Office' for a Viking show and a Vampire show respectively. Both are clever beyond any sitcom without as much of the cringe of 'The Office' - and when there's cringe, it's on purpose.
posted by porpoise at 10:18 PM on April 20, 2020 [3 favorites]
I'm hooked on Better Things (FX show found on Hulu), a show co-created by its star Pamela Adlon, about a fictionalized version of herself (a working actress who had a lot more fame when she was younger, and also had a megahuge voice-acting gig or two) raising her fictionalized 3 daughters who, at the start of the show (currently nearing the end of Season 4) were about 9, 11, 15ish, as well as her mother who lives a couple houses over. There's some forward motion to their respective lives, but generally it's just "Sam" navigating through raising her 3 daughters to be functional women, occasionally dating, working, and managing her own problems and risking doing better. It's sometimes dark, sometimes deeply funny, often deeply touching, occasionally frustrating, and does a great job of depicting the chaos that regular life can bring (even if it exists in a heightened TV universe).
The other co-creator is the cancelled person Louie CK, a fact which I'm tempted to leave out in case it scares anyone away from this terrific terrific show; he also contributed to the writing for 2 seasons. CK and Adlon worked together as TV husband and wife in his 2006 show Lucky Louie, followed by her playing friend in 2010's "Louie," and they are dynamite together on screen and in the writer's room.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:34 PM on April 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
The other co-creator is the cancelled person Louie CK, a fact which I'm tempted to leave out in case it scares anyone away from this terrific terrific show; he also contributed to the writing for 2 seasons. CK and Adlon worked together as TV husband and wife in his 2006 show Lucky Louie, followed by her playing friend in 2010's "Louie," and they are dynamite together on screen and in the writer's room.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:34 PM on April 20, 2020 [1 favorite]
Undone on Amazon Prime is around 23 minutes per episode. I've only seen the first three episodes, but I'm liking it.
You might check out You're The Worst. It's funny a lot of the time but it's definitely not a sitcom. I think I was watching that on Hulu when I was in the US. It's a nominal 30 minutes.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 1:38 AM on April 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
You might check out You're The Worst. It's funny a lot of the time but it's definitely not a sitcom. I think I was watching that on Hulu when I was in the US. It's a nominal 30 minutes.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 1:38 AM on April 21, 2020 [2 favorites]
>"Bosch" has short episodes packed with goodness.
I agree it's packed with goodness. However, IMDB says episodes are 51 min. My downloaded season 5 episodes range from 45 to 50.
posted by Homer42 at 2:13 AM on April 21, 2020
I agree it's packed with goodness. However, IMDB says episodes are 51 min. My downloaded season 5 episodes range from 45 to 50.
posted by Homer42 at 2:13 AM on April 21, 2020
Easy on Netflix
Togetherness on HBO.
Both are excellent half-hour dramedies.
posted by fso at 4:45 AM on April 21, 2020
Togetherness on HBO.
Both are excellent half-hour dramedies.
posted by fso at 4:45 AM on April 21, 2020
Kim's Convenience
posted by kinddieserzeit at 6:31 AM on April 21, 2020
posted by kinddieserzeit at 6:31 AM on April 21, 2020
Brockmire on Hulu
Fleabag on Amazon
Both bill themselves as comedies, but the laughs are dark. Oh, so dark.
posted by slipthought at 6:58 AM on April 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Fleabag on Amazon
Both bill themselves as comedies, but the laughs are dark. Oh, so dark.
posted by slipthought at 6:58 AM on April 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Heh, I don't even like TV and came in here to recommend Russian Doll and Shrill but see I am behind. Strongly seconded. I also love the long-over Bored to Death.
posted by ferret branca at 7:09 AM on April 21, 2020
posted by ferret branca at 7:09 AM on April 21, 2020
I am not a football fan -- I don't understand the sport, I don't like the way the sport conducts itself, etc. -- yet I still watch Ballers. Yes, the show is problematic when it comes to its treatment of women as objects of the male gaze especially in club and party scenes, but there are also a couple of decent(ish) women characters so it's not 100 per cent testosterone (just 98.7 per cent).
I also watch Younger, which is a stupid romantic-comedy style show that's based on an absurd premise about a woman in her forties passing as a 20-something, climbing the career ladder and finding love. It's dumb and it's ridiculous, but somehow I keep coming back to it.
I think with both shows, the bench strength of the supporting actors helps makes the shows better than they have a right to be. The leads in both are also charismatic actors.
(And if anybody can come up with a more wildly divergent pair of recommendations, I salute your broad and eclectic taste.)
posted by sardonyx at 7:13 AM on April 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
I also watch Younger, which is a stupid romantic-comedy style show that's based on an absurd premise about a woman in her forties passing as a 20-something, climbing the career ladder and finding love. It's dumb and it's ridiculous, but somehow I keep coming back to it.
I think with both shows, the bench strength of the supporting actors helps makes the shows better than they have a right to be. The leads in both are also charismatic actors.
(And if anybody can come up with a more wildly divergent pair of recommendations, I salute your broad and eclectic taste.)
posted by sardonyx at 7:13 AM on April 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Joe Pera Talks With You is on amazon and youtube. Very short episodes and so good. More info. Here is one free episode on youtube.
posted by gudrun at 10:09 AM on April 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by gudrun at 10:09 AM on April 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
"Crashing" on HBO is about a comedian so it's of course comedic at times, but it's not a sitcom.
posted by Leontine at 12:40 PM on April 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Leontine at 12:40 PM on April 21, 2020 [1 favorite]
Futureman and Zomboat on Hulu
Righteous Gemstones on HBO
Inside No 9 on Britbox, Hulu
Utopia (Australian) used to be on Netflix, really funny if you can find it
Nobody's Looking on Netflix is... one of the most original and uplifting shows I've seen in a while. I passed over the recommendation for so long but I'm so glad I watched it.
Forever on Amazon
Lovesick on Netflix
Twenty Twelve and spinoff W1A on Amazon I think
You, Me & the Apocalypse - such an underrated show, it's a comedy, warning that season 1 ends on a cliffhanger and was cancelled
Crashing on Netflix
The Wrong Mans on Hulu
Younger, it's on Hulu now
Some 30-min oldies you didn't mention you've seen
Broad City
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Arrested Development
Veep
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Flight of the Conchords
New Girl, now on Netflix
Mozart in the Jungle on Amazon (I hated this buts lots of people loved it!)
Man Seeking Woman
Entourage is only 30 mins! (not actually recommended)
Scrubs (was there a laugh track? I don't think so)
Spaced on Hulu
Kath & Kim on Netflix
Party Down on Starz
posted by thebazilist at 6:38 PM on April 22, 2020
Righteous Gemstones on HBO
Inside No 9 on Britbox, Hulu
Utopia (Australian) used to be on Netflix, really funny if you can find it
Nobody's Looking on Netflix is... one of the most original and uplifting shows I've seen in a while. I passed over the recommendation for so long but I'm so glad I watched it.
Forever on Amazon
Lovesick on Netflix
Twenty Twelve and spinoff W1A on Amazon I think
You, Me & the Apocalypse - such an underrated show, it's a comedy, warning that season 1 ends on a cliffhanger and was cancelled
Crashing on Netflix
The Wrong Mans on Hulu
Younger, it's on Hulu now
Some 30-min oldies you didn't mention you've seen
Broad City
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Arrested Development
Veep
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Flight of the Conchords
New Girl, now on Netflix
Mozart in the Jungle on Amazon (I hated this buts lots of people loved it!)
Man Seeking Woman
Entourage is only 30 mins! (not actually recommended)
Scrubs (was there a laugh track? I don't think so)
Spaced on Hulu
Kath & Kim on Netflix
Party Down on Starz
posted by thebazilist at 6:38 PM on April 22, 2020
Steven Universe—no, seriously.
It’s a goofy animated kids’ show, but it’s also the best show about trauma and working through your feelings that I’ve ever seen.
posted by ocherdraco at 6:39 AM on April 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
It’s a goofy animated kids’ show, but it’s also the best show about trauma and working through your feelings that I’ve ever seen.
posted by ocherdraco at 6:39 AM on April 23, 2020 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by namemeansgazelle at 3:59 PM on April 20, 2020 [8 favorites]