Buckle up, it's a crazy ride.
Buckle up, it's a crazy ride.
I am only on episode 5, but since I've already been spoiled, the twist is obvious.
I like the personal assistant...Janet? She's hilarious.
I'll throw another vote in for Parks and Rec. The last season is a bit too tidy, but overall the show is consistently funny.
Has no one offered up Arrested Development yet? That's pretty lighthearted and extremely funny.
Has no one offered up Arrested Development yet? That's pretty lighthearted and extremely funny.
The season 1 twist is great, but every episode in season 2 you have no idea where this show is going. It's awesome.
Janet is my favorite. Followed by the stupid guy because I find him sexy.
I think part of the reason people associate dark with adult especially between ages of 18 and 35 is because of overprotection culture. All the lies our parents tell us as kids are that everything is happy and fun and upbeat, then as we grow up we notice all the crappy things in the world.
So psychologically, everything happy and upbeat gets associated with those parental lies we spent our teenage and college years rebelling against. Things magically working out perfectly for the heroes feels like a made up fantasy world used to baby us, people struggling and failing feels more like reality.
That’s also a reason happy and upbeat comes more into fashion as we get into our 30s and 40s. By then we’re over the rebellion.
So psychologically, everything happy and upbeat gets associated with those parental lies we spent our teenage and college years rebelling against. Things magically working out perfectly for the heroes feels like a made up fantasy world used to baby us, people struggling and failing feels more like reality.
That’s also a reason happy and upbeat comes more into fashion as we get into our 30s and 40s. By then we’re over the rebellion.
It's the mentality of people who think The Joker is the hero in The Dark Knight. I remember being 20. lol
And we realize we are slaves to corporations and are really fucked, so you might smoke and drink the years away.
That said The Middle has no deaths, it's fun and stupid and grounded in the reality of we are all very screwed.
It's way outside your 2010 cut-off but when I need a dose of positivity from my entertainment drama, characters that believe in the best of humanity, even if they're not living in the best of circumstances... I watch Due South.
Yeah, that's a good one. I don't think there's much of any violence or deaths, at least on screen. Plus Diefenbaker
A few more ideas:
Drunk History
Broad City
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! -- This is my favorite comedy tv show of all time. There are some deaths occasionally, sort of, but they're always cartoonish and absurd.
Drunk History
Broad City
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! -- This is my favorite comedy tv show of all time. There are some deaths occasionally, sort of, but they're always cartoonish and absurd.
I thought of another one, Once Upon a Time. It gets more and more ridiculous as time goes on, but at its core it's always about doing the right thing, standing up for your friends and family, and redemption. I wouldn't bother with this last season that's airing right now though, it was a reboot and not a very interesting one.
And we realize we are slaves to corporations and are really fucked, so you might smoke and drink the years away.
That said The Middle has no deaths, it's fun and stupid and grounded in the reality of we are all very screwed.
Now we're getting off on a tangent here, but my experience is, you realize you're slaves to corporations when you're 16, which is the reason you stop liking the happy in your entertainment, then later when you actually work for one and learn more about economics you see it's not a strict dichotomy of corporatism and self determination and you can take a lot of that control back just by setting your own goal and working hard to achieve it.
I like stories with good character development whether it's happy or unhappy, but if there are happies I like them to be earned. Like, if characters win in the end, make it so they had to work hard to earn it and things don't just magically work out for them because they're nice people. One reason Parks & Rec stands out.
A
Amaris
Guest
Thanks for all of the suggestions! I have a pretty sizable list of TV shows now. 
A
Amaris
Guest
I watched both seasons of The Good Place (yay Netflix and Hulu!), and I loved it. I can't wait for the third season. It has to be one of the most upbeat, positive shows I've watched in a long time, and I love that they touch on actual ethical principles. Real ethics discussions, and they do it in such a fun way! If this show hasn't won any awards, it needs to do so immediately. It has some of the smartest writing I've seen in ages.
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Captain pl1ngpl0ng
Guest
If you dont mind something silly from the 70's.... Fantasy Island!
A show that always left me with a smile on my face at the end was "White Collar", starting in 2009. I miss it dearly. Such a great show and great characters.
These words here immediately reminded me of the British show "Call the midwife". Some say it's too sugary, and not all stories have a happy end, but you will find plenty of love, kindness, mercy and compassion in it, so I want to recommend it. They started in 2012 and are in their 7th season (but British seasons are shorter)
Didn't someone get blown up on a plane on that show? I don't remember much of the first few seasons besides that.
If they did, the show never was all that serious. It's a show that often saw humour in its situations.
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