Three Underrated and Totally Binge-Able Comedies To Watch At Home Right Now.

Of my top five most hated sentences to ever hear; “there is nothing to watch” is number one. Yes, I put that above hearing “there’s going to be a 40-minute wait for spicy” at Popeyes and there’s only 20 minutes left of your lunch break. That is how infuriating those words are to me. We are living in an era where content is released almost daily, and streaming licenses have opened up a goldmine of content from televisions past. Hear me loud and clear friends: THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING TO WATCH.

There are so many underrated TV gems, past and present, and after listing all of my personal favourites, I’ve narrowed it down to three I imagine will bring anyone who gives them a try the same amount of joy and laughter they brought me. In these uncertain times, I’ve learned it’s important to keep yourself laughing in order to keep yourself from crying. If you are a self-proclaimed comedy connoisseur like me, you will love watching these shows with your roommates, family or significant other.

1. A Black Lady Sketch Show – HBO

This is a 30-minute sketch show created and written by comedian Robin Thede (The Rundown with Robin Thede) and executive produced by Issa Rae (Insecure). A Black Lady Sketch Show balances realism, absurdity and hilarity amazingly well. Each episode puts on display the hysterical range of Robin and the rest of the cast – Quinta Brunson (Buzzfeed), Gabrielle Dennis (Rosewood, Luke Cage), and Ashley Nicole Black (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee) – as they appear in different topical and silly situations. The show has been renewed for a second season, the entirety of its first season can be found on HBOMax or any HBO service available in your country. This show will keep you giggling in your bedroom, living room or anywhere room you’ve been binge watching your favourite shows from.

2. The Carmichael Show – NBC

So many great black sitcoms are from the 90’s. Remember Fresh Prince and A Different World? Whether you watched these beloved shows when they premiered or their re-runs on weekends, one thing has always been true, black television in 2000’s couldn’t keep up. Fast forward to the 2010’s and there were barely any black sitcoms on air at all. Until the Carmichael Show came out in 2015. The Carmichael Show centres around Jerrod Carmichael, who plays a fictionalized version of himself, and the daily discussions and conflicts he, his girlfriend and family find themselves in time and time again due to their strong and differing opinions. Before Insecure and Atlanta, Carmichael Show brought important contemporary discussions about race, gender and politics to our living rooms the same way A Different World and Family Matters did. The show had some critical acclaim and enough of a following to help it span 3 seasons but was ultimately cancelled by NBC in 2017. This is one of my go to shows to keep myself thinking critically and laughing uncontrollably during my time at home. All seasons are available for purchase on YouTube and Google Play.

3. High Fidelity – HULU

Last but certainly not least is the more recent show in the bunch, but still an underrated gem, nonetheless. High Fidelity stars Zoe Kravitz (Big Little Lies) in a reboot of the 90’s cult film of the same name. When the show was announced many thought Zoe would take on the role her mother, Lisa Bonet (A Different World, The Cosby Show), portrayed but in this reboot, she instead took on the role main role of Rob, record store owner and an unlucky hopeless romantic. The show follows Rob as she recounts her relationship failures, falls in and out of love and recommends some rad music to her customers. If you love good music, top five lists and people who can never seem to figure out love, this is the one for you. The entire first season was released for streaming on HULU on February 14th, 2020 and is still available now and totally worth it. (P.S. make sure you have your Shazam app ready, did I mention the music in this show is killer?).