*Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for Season 1 of “The Sex Lives of College Girls.”
As 2022 comes to an end, here’s a list of the 10 best comedy television shows released this year — in no particular order — and where to watch them.
1. “Reboot”
Television studio worker Hannah Korman (Rachel Bloom) pitches a wild idea to her executives during a meeting: to revive a 2000s family sitcom that failed miserably called “Step Right Up.” When her team reluctantly agrees to begin the reboot, they must hunt down the old cast only to realize they have all gone very downhill. The cast is immaculate in “Reboot,” starring familiar names like Johnny Knoxville of “Jackass” as the sitcom’s witty ex-husband, Clay, who since evolved into a convicted drug addict, and Keegan-Michael Key of “Key & Peele” as Reed, the Yale-graduate failed actor and stepfather in the sitcom. “Reboot” is a disastrous comedy showing washed-up actors attempting to reclaim their stardom in a new, confusing world of technology and entertainment.
“Reboot” is available for streaming on Hulu. You can watch the trailer here.
2. “The Sex Lives of College Girls” Season 2
The year-long wait was worth it for season two of “The Sex Lives of College Girls.” The series is a realistically raunchy comedy that shows what life is like for four 18-year-old roommates as they adjust to the sex, parties and academics at Essex College in Vermont. Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet) continues to struggle with financial support, Leighton (Reneé Rapp) continues to figure out her sexuality, Bela (Amrit Kaur) is still very sex-positive and Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott) attempts to recover from her affair with the school’s soccer coach. These are only four problems among many that the girls face as they attempt to live their best lives in college. The risqué jokes and acting make this show not only extremely relatable for girls this age but enjoyable for everybody that needs a good laugh.
Seasons 1 and 2 of “The Sex Lives of College Girls” are available for streaming on HBO Max. You can watch the trailer for Season 2 here.
3. “Minx”
It’s painful to say this show was recently canceled while its second season was in production, but the first season is still worth watching. Based in the 1970s, Los Angeles journalist Joyce Prigger (Ophelia Lovibond) works with a small publisher to create the first erotic magazine for women. She forms an alliance with Doug (Jake Johnson), a man who makes porn magazines for a living. Johnson is best known for playing the fan-favorite character Nick in “New Girl,” and his role in “Minx” does not disappoint. The show follows Prigger’s feminist journey as she seeks success through new and bizarre relationships. There are only 10 episodes of “Minx,” yet it still manages to be in my top 10 for this year’s comedy shows.
Minx is available to stream on HBO Max. You can watch the trailer here.
4. “God’s Favorite Idiot”
Tech-support worker Clark Thompson (Ben Falcone) gets struck by lightning while going about his daily routine, and it ends up giving him a very bizarre trait: he randomly glows yellow. After going to dinner with Thompson, his coworker and newfound lover Amily Luck (Melissa McCarthy) witnesses him glowing and runs straight to the rest of their employees. While in the middle of figuring out exactly why Clark keeps glowing, an angel named Chamuel (Yanic Truesdale) visits him, saying he was chosen by God to save the world. Ordinary workers with dry-humor traits, much like those from “The Office,” now have to assist Thompson with saving the world from Satan (Leslie Bibb) and the apocalypse. “God’s Favorite Idiot” is such an interesting take on a workplace comedy, and I have personally never seen anything like it, making it a great watch.
“God’s Favorite Idiot” is available for streaming on Netflix. You can watch the trailer here.
5. “Loot”
Molly Novak (Maya Rudolph) recently divorced her husband John (Adam Scott) after catching him cheating. From the divorce, Novak receives a hefty settlement ($87 billion to be exact). She has absolutely no idea what to do with this money. “Loot” is a story of her reconnecting with her charitable foundation and finding herself as a new billionaire and newly single woman. This show easily could have been a drama series, but casting Maya Rudolph as the lead instantly made for a funny plot, as she has shown her humor through past movies like “Grown Ups.” It’s a comedy series full of girl power, cute outfits and heartwarming character development.
“Loot” is available for streaming on Apple TV+. You can watch the trailer here.
6. “Murderville”
For those who love crime, mystery and comedy, “Murderville” is right up your alley. Each episode provides Detective Terry Seattle (Will Arnett) with a new murder and follows his investigation. To solve each crime, Detective Seattle is given a rookie detective to assist him. The catch is, every new detective is acted out by a well-known celebrity, and they are given absolutely no script before filming the episode. Stars like talk show host Conan O’Brien, football star Marshawn Lynch and comedian Ken Jeong play themselves and have to improvise all of their lines. At the end of the season, each guest star attempts to guess who the suspect is based on the evidence. The show is already enticing with household names starring in each episode, but it’s even funnier considering none of them have preplanned lines and they sometimes even break character on screen.
“Murderville” is available for streaming on Netflix. You can watch the trailer here.
7. “The Afterparty”
“The Afterparty” is another murder-mystery comedy. A high school reunion ends with an afterparty where former classmate and now pop star Xavier (Dave Franco) is murdered in his own home. Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) is told to collect the evidence but not to conduct an investigation. However, she ignores this and interrogates every suspected classmate from the reunion. Each episode of the series unfolds one classmates’ point of view on the timeline from high school to Xavier’s murder. And although classified as a comedy, many subplots of drama and romance are revealed over the course of the investigation. If you like “Only Murders in the Building,” then this show is perfect for you.
“The Afterparty” is available for streaming on Apple TV+. You can watch the trailer here.
8. “Peacemaker”
This action-comedy is a live-action spinoff of “The Suicide Squad” (2021) set five years after the film’s events. It’s based around the life of Peacemaker (John Cena), a member of the Suicide Squad, who murders everyone in his path to create world peace. It’s an ironic series, considering murdering to achieve peace is the opposite course of action that should be taken. But it’s humorous nonetheless. This is a series for fans of action with a good amount of comedic relief.
“Peacemaker” is available for streaming on HBO Max. You can watch the trailer here.
9. “Bust Down”
“Bust Down” revolves around the lives of four casino workers, Jak (Jak Knight), Langston (Langston Kerman), Sam (Sam Jay) and Chris (Chris Redd). Their lives as Black men working in Middle America are tough, to say the least. The friendship between them is close-knit and just about the only positive thing they have going on in their lives, as opposed to workplace drama and terrible bosses. The trailer is super funny, listing off things such as Black excellence and Black beauty and abruptly cutting the positivity off by saying “this ain’t that.” Everything seems to be a dead-end for these four, but they stick through it together with their wit and determination.
“Bust Down” is available for streaming on Peacock. You can watch the trailer here.
10. “Shoresy”
The Sudbury Bulldogs hockey team has hit rock bottom after a season of 20 straight losses. However, a previous player of the Bulldogs named Shoresy (Jared Keeso) comes in to save the day. He works with the team manager Nat (Tasya Teles) to get the team up and running again in an attempt to save his legacy as well as the teams. Shoresy creates a new roster of aggressive yet undeniably good hockey players that will do anything they can to revive the team’s winning streak. This is full of fights and typical foul-mouthed hockey drama. Shoresy sure knows how to get under the skin of the players, but it’s all with good intentions.
“Shoresy” is available for streaming on Hulu. You can watch the trailer here.
By Amena Ahmed
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