List Rules Only comedies currently on TV or streaming that are either in season or expected to return
If you are someone who thinks that modern sitcoms are too lowbrow, this list will give you hope. For audiences tuning into television to laugh and be intellectually stimulated at the same time, shows like Louie on FX and Review on Comedy Central are sure to entertain. Highbrow humor is still on the rise, as new shows like Last Man on Earth have truly impressed audiences who are tired of lazy jokes and broad humor.
But what smart sitcoms are currently on the air? Highbrow funny TV can often be found on premium cable channels like HBO (which offers political satire with a show like Veep), and Showtime (which offers meta-humor with Episodes starring Matt LeBlanc). Some of that same meta-humor can be seen in Lisa Kudrow’s The Comeback, as well as the reliably intelligent comedy series Portlandia.
These award-winning highbrow sitcoms are not limited to subscription-only channels. In fact, the comedy writing on The Goldbergs, Broad City, and Community (from NBC to Yahoo) are all impressive and witty. Highbrow comedy shows also include animated series like Bojack Horseman on Netflix, Robot Chicken on Adult Swim, and Archer on FX.
So if you're ready to be tickled and impressed, check out the shows on this list of current smart comedy shows. Vote up the ones you like the best!
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The Simpsons The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by the ...more
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Archer Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial Archer (FXX, 2009) is an American adult animated black spy sitcom created by Adam Reed. The adventures and mishaps of secret agent Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) and his colleagues, who are ...more
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Veep Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial Veep is an HBO television comedy series, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, set in the office of Selina Meyer, a fictional Vice President, and subsequent President, of the United States. The series ...more
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kaykan added Modern Family Modern Family is an American television sitcom that premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009, which follows the lives of Jay Pritchett and his family, all of whom live in suburban Los Angeles. ...more
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carlybobarly added Bob's Burgers Bob's Burgers is an American animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Belchers—parents Bob and Linda, and their children Tina, Gene, ...more
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It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FXX, 2005) is an American television sitcom created by Rob McElhenney. The series follows "The Gang", a group of five depraved underachievers: twins ...more
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Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is an American television sitcom created by Mike Judge, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky. The series focuses on six young men who found a startup company in Silicon Valley. The ...more
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Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is an American sitcom created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock and starring Ellie Kemper that has streamed on Netflix since March 6, 2015. Originally set for a 13-episode ...more
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Brooklyn Nine-Nine Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox, 2013) is an American police television sitcom created by Dan Goor and Michael Schur. Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg), an immature but talented NYPD detective in Brooklyn's ...more
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Louie Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial Louie is an American comedy-drama television series on the FX network that began airing in 2010. It is written, directed, edited, and produced by the show's creator, stand-up comedian Louis ...more
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The Middle The Middle is an American sitcom about a working-class family living in Indiana and facing the day-to-day struggles of home life, work, and raising children. The show premiered September 30, ...more
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Kevin Klinker added Rick and Morty Rick and Morty (Adult Swim, 2013) is an American adult animated science-fiction sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon. Cynical mad scientist Rick Sanchez and his fretful, easily ...more
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The Goldbergs The Goldbergs is an American television sitcom that premiered on Tuesday, September 24, 2013 on ABC. The series was created by Adam F. Goldberg and stars Wendi McLendon-Covey and Jeff Garlin. ...more
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New Girl New Girl is an American sitcom television series that premiered on Fox on September 20, 2011. Developed by Elizabeth Meriwether under the working title Chicks & Dicks, the series revolves ...more
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Robot Chicken Robot Chicken (Adult Swim, 2005) is an American stop motion sketch comedy television series created by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich. Pop culture references fly thick and fast as stop-motion ...more
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kaykan added Black-ish Black-ish (ABC, 2014) is an American sitcom created by Kenya Barris. A family man (Anthony Anderson) struggles to gain a sense of cultural identity while raising his kids in a predominantly ...more
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The Last Man on Earth The Last Man on Earth is an American post-apocalyptic comedy television series created by and starring Will Forte. The series premiered on the American broadcast network Fox on March 1, 2015. ...more
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Portlandia Portlandia is a satirical sketch comedy television series, set and filmed in and around Portland, Oregon; it stars Carrie Brownstein and former Saturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen. The ...more
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Luke Albright added The Orville The Orville (Fox, 2017) is a science fiction comedy-drama series created by Seth MacFarlane. Ed Mercer (MacFarlane) is captain of the U.S.S. Orville (ECV-197), a mid-level exploration starship ...more
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BoJack Horseman BoJack Horseman is an American animated sitcom created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. The series stars Will Arnett as the eponymous character, BoJack Horseman. The supporting cast includes Amy ...more
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head_wizard added Master of None Master of None (Netflix, 2015) is an American comedy-drama web television series created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang. The personal and professional life of Dev (Aziz Ansari), a 30-year-old ...more
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Luke Albright added Future Man Future Man (Hulu, 2017) is an American comedy television series directed by Brandon Trost, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg. Josh Futturman (Josh Hutcherson), a janitor by day and a gamer by night, ...more
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Broad City Broad City (Comedy Central, 2014) is an American comedy television series, created by Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. Two Jewish American women in their twenties experience adventures of ...more
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Grace and Frankie Grace and Frankie (Netflix, 2015) is an American comedy-drama web television series created by Marta Kauffman and Howard J. Morris. Finding out that their husbands have been romantically ...more
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Dallas Valerian added Lucifer Lucifer (Fox, 2016) is an American fantasy police procedural comedy-drama television series. It features a character created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg taken from the comic ...more
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Dallas Valerian added BrainDead BrainDead (CBS, 2016) is an American political satire science fiction comedy-drama television series created by Robert and Michelle King. Documentary filmmaker Laurel Healy (Mary Elizabeth ...more
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head_wizard added Transparent Transparent is an American comedy-drama television series produced by Picrow for Amazon Studios that debuted on February 6, 2014. The series was created and directed by Jill Soloway. The story ...more
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Nathan For You Nathan for You (Comedy Central, 2013) is an American docu-reality comedy television series created by Nathan Fielder and Michael Koman. Business school graduate and consultant Nathan Fielder ...more
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head_wizard added You're the Worst You're the Worst (FXX, 2014) is an American comedy-drama television series created by Stephen Falk. Jimmy (Chris Geere), a self-involved writer, and Gretchen (Aya Cash), a self-destructive Los ...more
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The Comeback Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial The Comeback is an American television comedy-drama series produced by HBO that stars actress Lisa Kudrow as sitcom actress Valerie Cherish in modern-day Los Angeles, California. It was created ...more
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Review Review is an American mockumentary comedy series starring Andy Daly as professional critic Forrest MacNeil, who provides reviews of real-life experiences. The series was created by Daly, and is ...more
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Girls Watch for Free with Amazon Prime Free Trial Girls is an American television series that premiered on HBO on April 15, 2012. Created by and starring Lena Dunham, Girls is a comedy-drama following a close group of twenty-somethings living ...more
