# We need a new show to watch, and apparently we're way too picky

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\
**Created:** [January 11, 2022, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590 "2022-01-11T15:31:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![anny\_m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/41 "2022-01-11T16:43:56Z")

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We like _Awkwafina is Nora from Queens_ on Comedy Central. Her grandmother (who is a real highlight) does have a Chinese accent, but I think it’s more her phrasing than her pronunciation. Other characters IIRC don’t have accents.

I never thought of B.D. Wong as a comic actor, but he’s really good as Nora’s dad.

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**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/42 "2022-01-11T16:45:22Z")

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Neither of us has ever found Awkwafina even a little bit funny.

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**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/43 "2022-01-11T16:45:50Z")

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**New Girl** The plotlines are straight up soap opera, which is something I usually really hate but it’s a funny show and the cast is what makes it work. It’s not done like **Friends** , which I did not care for at all, it’s a bit darker brand of humor.

Not sure if it’s streaming anywhere right now. It used to be on everything.

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**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/44 "2022-01-11T16:46:42Z")

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I think she and my daughter already watched all (or most) of New Girl already. I didn’t, but the ads for it didn’t make it seem like I’d be interested.

We also couldn’t stand Friends.

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**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/45 "2022-01-11T16:50:13Z")

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Yeah I didn’t watch it when it was airing because the ads didn’t look great but it turned out to be good after I accidentally watched the first episode on one of the streaming services, Hulu maybe? (it automatically started playing after something else I was half-watching ended)

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**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/46 "2022-01-11T16:50:41Z")

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I just finished bingeing _You’re The Worst_ on Hulu. It’s painfully hilarious. The two leads are horrible people whose relationship is a continual trainwreck, and they don’t really improve until the very last episode when they get married. I don’t know how much your Mrs. will tolerate Jimmy, who’s British, but he’s perfect as an egotistical writer who verbally abuses his friends. He’s like a young Basil Fawlty. Gretchen is a force of chaos who doesn’t put up with his shit and becomes his worst nightmare when he pisses her off.

Even though I make it sound raucous, it’s really well produced and filmed. You see them use techniques like a continual long take between the characters from a single camera. Sometimes the cast members show other talents like singing and dancing that surprises you. Sometimes they dwell into more serious topics like drug addiction and PTSD. Sometimes they bring back what you thought was a McGuffin from a previous episode and make it important to the story.

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**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/47 "2022-01-11T16:53:59Z")

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I see you’ve enjoyed **Angie Tribeca** and **The Guest Book**. What about the other TBS shows **The Detour** and **Wrecked**? I found The Detour ran out of steam a bit, but Wrecked was very funny (and more than just a parody of Lost).

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**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/48 "2022-01-11T16:55:06Z")

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We tried watching You’re the Worst a few years ago. I believe we didn’t care for it, and the British character was a big part of it if I remember correctly

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**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/49 "2022-01-11T16:55:47Z")

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Never seen Wrecked. The Detour we tried twice, couldn’t get more than two episodes both times.

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**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/50 "2022-01-11T16:55:57Z")

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> [@hogarth](#):
>
> **Mythic Quest** on Apple+ is pretty good

I like Mythic Quest a lot. My wife Noped out after an episode and a half because the dysfunctional interpersonal dynamics of a tech company are so cringingly well rendered and she gets enough of that at her job. But I’d still recommend it. There are a couple of one-off episodes that are as good as anything airing on TV right now.

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**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/51 "2022-01-11T16:56:26Z")

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It’s extremely low budget, and absolutely idiotic in every possible way, probably even quite insulting to most if not all demographics, but **Trailer Park Boys** is oddly compelling, in a watching-a-train-wreck-in-slow-motion kind of way. It’s Canadian, and you’ll notice a lot of very Canadian stuff in it. If you’ve browsed comedies on Netflix I’m certain you’ve seen it all over the place. You’ll love it or you’ll hate it. I’ve yet to meet anyone who didn’t have strong feelings about it one way or the other.

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**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/52 "2022-01-11T16:57:19Z")

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I’ve never been able to figure out from the short trailers I’ve seen what kind of show Trailer Park Boys is even supposed to be. It’s a scripted show, right? Not a reality show about people living in a Trailer Park?

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**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/53 "2022-01-11T16:58:29Z")

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It’s a “mockumentary,” **The Office** -style. Characters address the camera directly fairly often. Everybody is a horrible person and a complete moron. Nothing they do ever goes their way or teaches them anything. Think “bad homemade trailer park **It’s Always Sunny** ” and you’re most of the way there.

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**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/54 "2022-01-11T16:58:42Z")

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> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#):
>
> > [@batsto](#):
> >
> > We turned the first episode of the Orville off halfway through, thinking we had misunderstood the premise of the show and that it was not, in fact, a comedy. Does it get better?
> 
> I would call it a “dramedy” and much of the humor depends on previous knowledge of Star Trek tropes.

Yeah, not a pure comedy _per se_; a _Star Trek_-style show with humor.

If you are open to “dramedies”—hour-long shows that aren’t sitcoms but do have quite a bit of humor—maybe _Boston Legal_ or _Psych_?

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**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/55 "2022-01-11T17:01:34Z")

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We actually watched Boston Legal, what seems like forever ago.

But we realized a while ago that we always get way more enjoyment out of a comedy series.  
(Lodge 49 was billed as a comedy series, and I guess sometimes it was—we almost bailed right away because it didn’t seem like it was going to be a comedy, until David Pasquesi showed up. )

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**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/56 "2022-01-11T17:05:04Z")

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> [@batsto](#):
>
> But we realized a while ago that we always get way more enjoyment out of a comedy series.

Are you into, or at least open to, sketch comedy?

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**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/57 "2022-01-11T17:07:54Z")

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Yeah…we’ve watched SNL religiously since the early 90s. We’ve watched all of the Kids In the Hall.  
We tried Broad City, and found the sketches very hit or miss and stopped watching.

We tried watching one recently, I forget the name of it, but turned it off after a short time because, while the sketch may have been otherwise funny, all of the actors seemed to screaming their lines at the top of their lungs for some reason. Can’t remember what show that was.

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**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/58 "2022-01-11T17:11:17Z")

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oh…and we’ve also already watched Portlandia and Documentary Now.

And people keep recommending What We Do in the Shadows, but we tried that and didn’t care for it.

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**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/59 "2022-01-11T17:14:15Z")

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House of lies? Archer? Atlanta? Last man on earth? What we do in the shadows?

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**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2022, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-need-a-new-show-to-watch-and-apparently-were-way-too-picky/957590/60 "2022-01-11T17:16:19Z")

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> [@What\_Exit](#):
>
> Both the British and the US version of **Ghosts** are really good and funny shows. The British version is on HBOMax. The US Version is top new sitcom this year and is on CBS.

I second Ghosts.

Also The Rookie, and Resident Alien.

One Kiwi show- The Brokenwood Mysteries.

I miss Lodge 49.

> [@Procrustus](#):
>
> Given the shows you like (we like many of the same) I think you’d like _The Good Place_ . Really well done, especially after you get into it a little bit.

Yep.

> [@Slithy\_Tove](#):
>
> Me, I always keep the subtitles on. Not just because of the Scousers and Geordies, etc.,

Yep, same thing. Acorn, however, does not always get the subtitles right.

> [@Raza](#):
>
> _Good Omens_ was fantastic.

_Abosotively._

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