The Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso premiered in 2020 and aired for three seasons to critical acclaim. The show drew viewers in with exceptional performances, outrageous humor, uplifting tone, and more. There is much buzz on social media about a fourth season of the series. But until then, viewers continue to look for another series to fill the void.
Comedy fans are always searching for another intelligent comedy to keep them entertained. Ted Lasso set the bar fairly high, but the list below will certainly give fans some new series to keep them entertained.
Lessons in Chemistry
This is a period drama with some comedy sprinkled in, but it is an exceptionally underappreciated series from Apple TV+. Based on the bestselling novel by Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry follows a brilliant chemist, Elizabeth Zott, who hosts a feminist cooking show in the 1960s where she teaches housewives scientific topics. Sadly, there are no plans for a second season for the series, which holds an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The series streams on Apple TV+ and stars Brie Larson, Lewis Pullman, Aja Naomi King, Stephanie Koening, and Patrick Walker.
Shrinking
Shrinking is another Apple TV+ series, this one was created by Bill Lawrence, Ted Lasso actor Brett Goldstein, and Jason Segel, who also stars. The story follows Segel's Jimmy Laird, a therapist grieving the loss of his wife, who decides to become much more involved in the lives of his daughter, friends, and patients with some brutal honesty. The results aren't always what he hoped, but it makes for great TV. The series has released two seasons and has been renewed for a third.
The series streams on Apple TV+ and stars Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams, Christa Miller, Michael Urie, Luke Tennie, Lukita Maxwell, and Ted McGinley.
Loudermilk
Led by Ron Livingston's Sam Loudermilk, this three-season series was created by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Mort for AT&T Audience Network for seasons 1 and 2 before moving to Prime Video for season 3. Loudermilk is a former music critic and recovering alcoholic who lives in Seattle and leads a substance abuse support group. He is a clever man whose dry humor and snarky comments are often taken as cruel, especially for people struggling with substance abuse. While not for everyone, this series is one comedy that features many laughs interwoven with series issues and tender moments.
Three seasons of Loudermilk are available to stream on Netflix. The series also stars Will Sasso, Anja Savcic, and Laura Mennell, with Brian Regan, Ricky Blitt, Timothy Webber, and more in recurring roles.
Derry Girls
Derry Girls is, without a doubt, one of the funniest series on Netflix. Set in the 1990s in Derry, Northern Ireland, during the end of The Troubles, a conflict lasting almost 30 years, Derry Girls is a Channel 4 series created by Lisa McGee. The story is influenced by McGee's own experience and follows a group of five teens who attend Our Lady Immaculate College, a fictional Catholic secondary school. Throughout the three seasons, the teens find themselves in absurd situations during a period of political unrest.
Derry Girls streams on Netflix and stars Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan, Jamie-Lee O'Donnell, and Dylan Llewellyn.
A.P. Bio
A.P. Bio is set in the fictional Whiltock High School in Toledo, Ohio. The comedy series aired for two seasons on NBC before moving to Peacock for the final two. The series follows Jack Griffin, played by Glenn Howerton, a Harvard professor fired from his philosophy professor position who returns to his hometown where he lives in his late mother's home. There, he secured an Advanced Placement Biology teacher position at Whitlock but is always looking for an opportunity to move away. The first season received mixed reviews but would earn positive praise in its remaining three.
The series streams on Peacock and Netflix, and also stars Lyric Lewis, Mary Sohn, Jean Villepique, Paula Pell, and Patton Oswalt.
The Good Place
The four-season fantasy-comedy, The Good Place, is an outstandingly original series that follows Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) who after her death, is place in a Heaven, of sorts, that is a utopian afterlife. Eleanor knows she didn't live a life worthy of the Good Place and does whatever it takes to keep her secret to herself to avoid going to the Bad Place. The series follows Eleanor as she tries to make amends for her past behavior to become a more ethical person. The story evolves throughout the seasons after Eleanor discovers a an afterlife altering truth.
The Good Place streams on Netflix and also stars Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, and Manny Jacinto with D'Arcy Carden as an advance artificial being.
The Great
The Great is an absurd period comedy which isn't for the faint of heart. This wildly funny, always crass story tells the "occasionally true" story of the rise of Catherine the Great of Russia (Elle Fanning). The Hulu series, which was touted as anti-historical, was created by Tony McNamara and based on a same-titled play. Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, who plays Emperor Peter III, have been praise for their performances and the series has received critical acclaim, especially in its second and third seasons.
The Great streams on Hulu and also stars Pheobe Fox, Sacha Dhawan, Charity Wakefield, Gwilym Lee, Adam Godley, Douglas Hodge, Belinda Bromilow, and more.