Comfort TV: Our 12 At-Home Feel Good Comedy Picks & Where to Watch Them
If you’re looking for some feel good TV to watch while staying at home, we have you covered with the perfect distraction — comedy series!
What better way to pass the time than to tune in to a show you know will make you laugh? Maybe you’re going to use this opportunity to check out a show you’ve been meaning to watch but haven’t yet. Or maybe your plan is to rewatch a favorite you already know you love.
Either way, scroll down below the TV Insider team’s picks for the best comedy shows (and where to watch them) — from classics like The Golden Girls and Frasier to newer favorites like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel to Schitt’s Creek.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video)
The spot-on jokes. Midge’s fabulous wardrobe. Her national tour. The award-winning comedy is a welcome return to a time in America when things were a little easier — and a lot funnier.
Grace and Frankie (Netflix)
If you’ve seen The Golden Girls so many times you can recite the dialogue, you should try Grace and Frankie. There are only two senior citizen women friends in this comedy — the invaluable Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as the title characters — but plenty of laughs. From their ongoing ideas to help other older folks, surviving new romances, and trying, but always loving, times with their grown children.
Joe Pera Talks With You (Adult Swim)
In this exceedingly gentle series, mild-mannered comedian Joe Pera plays an even milder-mannered version of himself, a choir teacher in Michigan’s upper peninsula who loves his grandmother and knows lots of facts about beans. In Pera’s world, even a routine trip to the supermarket is full of small pleasures worth remarking on.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
If not comforting then it is certainly reassuring to watch John Oliver put it all into perspective on Sunday nights. Right now it’s nice to know that there are still smart people out there who are clear-eyed about what’s going on and can turn what feels like hysteria into hilarity.
Would I Lie to You? (Prime Video, BritBox)
Competing on two teams, entertainers and other celebrities tell outrageous tales, and their opponents try to ascertain how honest they are. The droll observations, quick wits of the comedians and the quizzical expressions have us laughing so hard that this British panel show is salve for the soul.
Bunheads (Hulu, Amazon Prime)
The one-season wonder that originally ran on ABC Family stars Broadway triple threat Sutton Foster as a Vegas showgirl turned small town dance teacher. Lighthearted but not too frothy, the comedy-drama treats the joys and problems of adolescence with respect and humor. And did we mention the choreography?!
New Girl (Netflix)
Zooey Deschanel’s charming — but super awkward — Jess Day moves in with a posse of three guys while she’s rebounding from a major breakup. The resulting close-knit group of friends will make you want to throw a Zoom party with your own pals.
Kim's Convenience (Netflix)
The Canadian comedy, airing on Netflix in the States, follows the Kim family and the antics surrounding the convenience store they run in Toronto. Feel good comedy at its finest with an occasional heartfelt moment, too.
Frasier (CBS All Access, Hulu, Cozi TV, Hallmark)
With sharp wit matched only by its big heart, this award-winning spinoff of Cheers delivers big laughs in brilliantly farcical packages. As the bickering fussbudget Crane brothers, Kelsey Grammar (Frasier) and David Hyde Pierce (Niles) are perfection, even if we’ll never figure out how they possible came from crusty retired-cop dad Martin (John Mahoney). Enjoy with some tossed salad and scrambled eggs.
The Golden Girls (NBC)
It’s a throwback, but Dorothy (Bea Arthur) and Sophia (Estelle Getty) set the blueprint for hilarious mother-daughter banter. Through their witty, often combative, interactions, Dorothy and Sophia demonstrate a love for each other that is best expressed through jokes and gentle ribbing.
The Mindy Project (Hulu)
Mindy Kaling’s rom-com about a New York gynecologist looking for (and ultimately finding) love feels, at first, like a frothy escape but develops over its six seasons into heartfelt portrait of friends and family you won’t want to forget.
Schitt's Creek (PopTV, Netflix, IMDb TV)
The once wealthy Rose family, led by Emmy nominees Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy, hits rock bottom when they lose everything except the keys to adjoining motel rooms in the middle of nowhere. Watching them all grow closer — as the adult children (Dan Levy and Annie Murphy) finally grow up — will bring happy tears to your eyes.
