Community
Community is my most recent obsession, and I cannot recommend it enough. The show centers on a seven-person study group at a community college and their antics, and it might be the funniest show I have ever watched. The characters have such great chemistry, the cast is full of crazy talented people (Alison Brie and Donald Glover, just to name a couple), and it is unlike any sitcom you’ve ever seen before. The show is constantly switching genre, thanks to the resident film buff of the group Abed Nadir who defines his life and relationships in terms of movie tropes.
If you don’t have time to watch the entire show, then I recommend AT LEAST watching the two-part paintball finale of season two—the first part is a spoof on the western film genre, and the second is Star Wars parody, and they are both equally hilarious.
DERRY GIRLS
If Community is the funniest show I’ve ever watched, Derry Girls is easily number two. The show centers on a group of friends who live in Northern Ireland during the Troubles (a violent period ethno-nationalist conflict between Ireland and England). However, instead of focusing entirely on the drama and terror of Northern Ireland in the 1990s, Derry Girl focuses on the comedy. One of the very first plot lines introduced is that James, one of the main characters, has to go to an all-girls school to avoid getting beat up for being English. If that doesn’t tell you how silly this show is, I don’t know what will.
I think the beauty of Derry Girls is that it is so rewatchable. There is a scene in the 2nd episode of season 2 that I watch every time I need a laugh, but I think I’ve watched the entire show through 5+ times.
THE SOCIETY
The Society is a modern take on William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, where after returning from a school trip, a group of high school students must figure out how to run their town without their parents or any other adults.
I think the best thing about The Society is how much the characters develop in their own personal goals, motives, and relationships. Without spoiling the show (because it is full of twists and turns), my personal favorite story lines were Kelly’s and Grizz’s—but almost every character was just as compelling.
Tragically, The Society was cancelled after one season due to financial concerns following the COVID-19 pandemic, so we will never truly figure out the mystery of New Ham. But don’t let this deter you from watching the show! Season 1 is truly flawless.
YOUNG ROYALS
I watched Young Royals at the beginning of the school year and I have not been able to stop thinking about it since. Because the original language is Swedish, I watched it with subtitles, but a cool thing about the show is that the original cast dubbed their English lines as well! The show is set at a Swedish boarding school and centers on the relationship between Wilhelm, Prince of Sweden, and Simon, a scholarship student who often feel ostracized by his peers.
It’s heartbreaking, adorable, and thrilling all in one—and unlike The Society, it’s coming back for a second season!! The cast announced that season two began production earlier this month.
american vandal
I saved the best for last. American Vandal is the perfect combination of good quality and underrated, that no matter who you recommend this show to they will (1) probably have never heard of it and (2) be OBSESSED with it when they watch it and thank you profusely for recommending it to them (this has happened to me several times). The show takes the form of a mockumentary that delves into equally silly “criminal” cases at US public high schools. Yes, it sounds like a weird concept, but trust me: it WORKS.
Two things about this show make it stand out to me
- It seems like the writers really understand the humor of high school students (especially of gen Z) in a way that I don’t get from a lot of other teen shows.
- The show, despite its ridiculousness, always manages to tackle important issues at the end of the season. It asks and answers surprisingly philosophical questions like Why do bad people do bad things, and how do they even become bad in the first place?