Lighthearted, upbeat shows for adults?

Recently I’ve been catching up on tv and some of the more mature/adult shows, which I’ve been…Enjoying? Seems like the wrong word, but they’ve all generally been cynical or dark.

For reference, I’ve just finished Better Call Saul, which got me to finally get around to finishing Breaking Bad, and I’ve also been doing a rewatch of the anime Monster as it’s been years since I last watched it.

So basically back to back dark shows.

I’ve already watched The Good Place, which nails what I’m describing, but it’s a little blunt with the sweetness, while I’ve watched some of Bee and Puppycat which seems like it’s closer to a nice middleground of sweet and real.

What are some of your go-to shows for this kinda vibe?

polluteyourjorts,

Gilmore Girls is a classic feel good show that I’m surprised hasn’t been mentioned. Its pretty campy occasionally, but sometimes that’s what you need.

Also Ed.

Dagwood222,

The Venture Brothers is hilarious.

morphballganon,

The first 4 seasons are good.

Candelestine,

My Name Is Earl is my favorite go-to light-hearted and positive sitcom. Follows the story of a rather silly, ignorant redneck that begins to believe in karma, and so writes a list everyone he has ever wronged and goes about fixing it one by one.

It’s pretty good.

Rhynoplaz,

One of my favorite shows of all time. The jokes are non stop. Many are in-your-face slapstick, but others are subtly slid into the dialogue. It’s a smart comedy about stupid people. I consistently found myself hoping that everything would work out for this bunch of morons, but at the same time, laughed when they got what they deserved.

AngryCommieKender,

“Everybody just calm down!”

The only real down note in the show.

Very_Bad_Janet,

I love sitcoms but beneath their light exterior they always have a heart of darkness, or at least a trace of one. But given your OP, I figure you can handle a teensy bit of a shadow side. Here are some generally upbeat shows with lots of laughs.

Catastrophe- I think it strikes the right balance of optimism in the face of doubt. It's light but not saccharine. It's my favorite sitcom.

It Crowd

Black Books

30 Rock

Black-ish

Adventure Time

Mentioned in lots of other replies:

Parks and Rec

New Girl (extremely underrated)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Brooklyn 99

Taskmaster

WILTY

sailormoon,
@sailormoon@lemmy.world avatar

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/a247f5bb-d2c1-425e-9c20-defd9bcbe180.png

TheSambassador,

Wow we might be the same person, except I haven’t watched Black-ish or Black Books. I’ll have to look into those.

Very_Bad_Janet,

Please watch them - they're very different but both great. What shows not on my list would you recommend?

TheSambassador,

Well you didn’t mention The Good Place, but from your username I assume you’ve watched it :) .

Ted Lasso is really great throughout and has a really positive viewpoint while still dealing with tough subjects.

Starstruck (you’ll recognize Rose Matefeo) is a great lightish comedy.

Crazy ex girlfriend

Santa Clarita diet

For animated stuff, these are all top-tier:

  • Over the Garden Wall
  • Gravity Falls
  • Steven Universe
  • Avatar The Last Airbender
  • Legend of Korra
Very_Bad_Janet,

Thank you - I'm adding these to my list! And yes, I'm a Good Place fan. I didn't mention it because OP mentioned recently seeing it.

Bebo,

Recently I watched and enjoyed Parks and Recreation and One Day at a Time (netflix series). Light hearted engaging content. Another recommendation: Schitt’s Creek.

doyadig,

Parks and Recreation. So funny. If you like the office you’ll love it!

amio,

If you're a weeb there's an entire genre of this stuff: iyashi-kei ("soothing type/genre"). I've enjoyed a bunch of them, though some of them get pretty saccharine if that's a worry. There's a large overlap with "slice of life", and a lot of these are set in school for whatever reason - YMMV. I like Azumanga Daioh, though the anime adaptation is a little aged. Nichijou is adorable and leans more into absurdism if that's your thing. "Yotsuba&!" is freaking precious, but manga only - same guy as Azumanga Daioh.

For non-weeb stuff I'll mention Brooklyn Nine-Nine, also Parks and Recreation once it hits its stride.

Candelestine,

If you’re gonna open it up to anime, then yeah, you crack open like a whole universe of “palate cleanser” shows. Anime likes to get really, really dark sometimes, and after a really rough episode sometimes you just need some sunshine and calm. Non Non Biyori is the example I always think of.

Xariphon,

Yotsuba&! might be the most precious thing I've ever seen. Anime-wise, I think "Sweetness and Lightning" comes closest.

ALostInquirer,

There’s a large overlap with “slice of life”, and a lot of these are set in school for whatever reason - YMMV.

I do enjoy anime, but a lot of them are like this and the reason’s pretty clear: the target audience is often skewed younger (i.e. teens/young adults). Are the ones you’ve suggested set in school, or…? It’s not a dealbreaker fwiw just not my first choice.

Cromartie High School is one of my occasional fallbacks for something silly & lighthearted, after all.

bravesirrbn,

Schitt’s Creek (was already mentioned but is worth mentioning again

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Superstore

Derry Girls

Wellmania (sadly Netflix did a Netflix and discontinued another great show after only one season)

Or just rewatch The Office or Parks & Recreation once again 😄

garbagebagel,

Superstore is severely underrated

FlyingSquid,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

It’s only one season, but Wonderfalls. It’s pure joy. And all the episodes are on Youtube.

goober,

Pushing Daisies. If you like death mixed with comic book sweetness

KepBen,

Letterkenny

rodneylives,

Steven Universe (it's accessible to adults on a different level than kids)

Nobsi,
@Nobsi@feddit.de avatar

Bee and puppycat

kaktus,

Shrinking

Sir_Simon_Spamalot,

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

potterpockets,

Exaxtly what i came here to say. Such a good show.

weariedfae,

They alive damn it.

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