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Discover the best comedy shows on Netflix for your next binge

Netflix has original comedies and sitcom classics

Steven Yeun and Ali Wong in Beef.
Netflix

Comedies are often the gateway to the wonderful world of TV. I remember frantically turning on ABC Family after school to watch a rerun of Full House each day. I stayed up late to laugh with George Lopez in his self-titled sitcom on Nick-at-Nite. TV comedy series serve as the appetizer for fans to dive into more complex series, but sometimes a sitcom or a comedy is good enough to satisfy audiences all on its own.

Netflix is home to some of the best comedy series available today. Not many streamers have the expansive library of original series and classic oldies to serve multiple generations of fans. These are the best comedy shows on Netflix to try out. If you don’t like at least one of these, then “NO SOUP FOR YOU!”

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BEEF (2023)

BEEF
tv-ma
1 Season
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Stars
Steven Yeun, Ali Wong, Joseph Lee
Created by
Lee Sung-jin
Watch on Netflix

BEEF is the darkly comedic road rage series that premiered on Netflix in 2023 to critical acclaim. A depressed man and an overly stressed woman engage in a game of back-and-forth that goes far beyond their wildest thoughts after an argument in a parking lot. With eight Emmy Awards on the mantle and a second season on the way with a new cast, this show stands as one of the pinnacles of Netflix’s original programming. 

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
tv-14
8 Seasons
Genre
Comedy, Crime
Stars
Andy Samberg, Melissa Fumero, Terry Crews
Created by
Michael Schur, Daniel J. Goor
Watch on Netflix
Police shows aren’t often feel-good experiences, especially with the controversy surrounding real-life political turmoil and law enforcement in the last decade. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is able to flip this negativity on its head with a chaotic, fun group of characters. The police department in this show has their differences, but they love each other and give an example of what cop culture could look like in an ideal world. 

Grace and Frankie (2015)

Grace and Frankie
tv-ma
7 Seasons
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Stars
Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen
Created by
Howard J. Morris, Marta Kauffman
Watch on Netflix

Comedy legends Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda are outstanding in this buddy comedy about two older women who find solace in each other after div0rcing their husbands. Both actresses received Emmy nominations for their performances. Grace and Frankie is a great LGBTQ+ series and one of the best Netflix original shows to come out in the last ten years.

Seinfeld (1989)

Seinfeld
tv-pg
9 Seasons
Genre
Comedy
Stars
Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Michael Richards
Created by
Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David
Watch on Netflix

Seinfeld maintains its status as a 1990s classic while garnering new viewers in the 2020s because the show bluntly embraces its style of humor and doesn’t compromise its punchlines the way so many contemporary sitcoms do. Jerry, George, Kramer, and Elaine aren’t good people, but these four friends struggle with much of the mundane daily activities that afflict human existence, from finding where you parked to warding off nasty restaurant workers.

Arrested Development (2003)

Arrested Development
tv-ma
5 Seasons
Genre
Comedy
Stars
Jason Bateman, Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett
Created by
Mitchell Hurwitz
Watch on Netflix
Jason Bateman and Will Arnett found their comedic claims to fame on this sharp satire of American wealth and nepotistic family dynamics. The Bluth family thinks they have all the money in the world, but without family patriarch George Bluth they don’t really know which end is up. People who love Succession might also love Arrested Development.

That '90s Show (2023)

That '90s Show
tv-14
2 Seasons
Genre
Comedy
Stars
Kurtwood Smith, Debra Jo Rupp, Callie Haverda
Created by
Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner, Gregg Mettler, Lindsay Turner
Watch on Netflix
While it was only given two seasons on Netflix, That ’90s Show served as a worthy follow-up to the much more famous That ’70s Show. Starring a new cast of teens as they navigate the 1990s, this series captures the quirks of the decade while applying a proper amount of nodding to the parent series with cameos and regularly returning actors. Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp are even better as Kitty and Red Foreman than 20 years ago.

How I Met Your Mother (2005)

How I Met Your Mother
tv-14
9 Seasons
Genre
Comedy
Stars
Josh Radnor, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel
Created by
Craig Thomas, Carter Bays
Watch on Netflix

How I Met Your Mother was the bridge between Friends and New Girl in the line of romantic sitcoms about a group of young lovers traversing their 20s and 30s with laughter and chaos. This show’s unique angle is how it tells the story from a past-tense point of view with a narrator. Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Segel are the best actors in the cast featuring plenty of talented folks. How I Met Your Father has helped keep this show relevant, too.

Young Sheldon (2017)

Young Sheldon
tv-pg
7 Seasons
Genre
Comedy, Family, Drama
Stars
Iain Armitage, Zoe Perry, Lance Barber
Created by
Chuck Lorre, Steven Molaro
Watch on Netflix
Sheldon Cooper seems like an impossible character to play. Jim Parsons made this non-neurotypical nerd one of TV’s favorite sons in The Big Bang Theory, but Iain Armitage showed that he could also add to Sheldon’s story in this underrated prequel. Young Sheldon uses a different style than its predecessor but sticks to the script to create an extended universe that we didn’t know we needed for the CBS sitcom.

The Bernie Mac Show (2001)

The Bernie Mac Show
tv-pg
5 Seasons
Genre
Comedy
Stars
Bernie Mac, Jeremy Suarez, Camille Winbush
Created by
Larry Wilmore
Watch on Netflix

The late Bernie Mac was one of dozens of stand up comics who got their own sitcom in the 1990s and 2000s. The Bernie Mac Show developed a cult following for its brash sense of humor and ability to turn tropes upside down. Mac plays a fictional version of himself, one who must figure out how to be a father to his nieces and nephews on the fly.

Orange Is the New Black (2013)

Orange Is the New Black
tv-ma
7 Seasons
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Stars
Taylor Schilling, Natasha Lyonne, Uzo Aduba
Created by
Jenji Kohan
Watch on Netflix

Orange is the New Black revolutionized original comedy programming on Netflix and even blazed a trail for the streamer in other genres. Set in a women’s prison, the show features dark humor and a lot of likable characters who figure out how to live their best lives behind bars.

Movie images and data from:
Shawn Laib
Shawn Laib is a freelance writer with publications such as Den of Geek, Quote.com, Edge Media Network, diaTribe, SUPERJUMP…
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