Rank: 20
Genre: Comedy
Cast:
Thomas
Middleditch, T.J.
Miller, Josh
Brener, Martin
Starr, Kumail
Nanjiani, Amanda
Crew, Zach
Woods, and Matt
Ross
Channel: HBO
Current Season: Second
Season Premiere Date: April
2015
Plot
Summary: Richard Hendriks has invented a better way to compress data,
forming the company Pied Piper. Billionaire Peter Gregory decides to invest in
Richard’s company, but now the pressure is on. Richard and is friends actually
have to produce something tangible.
Why
It’s Worth Watching: Silicon Valley is a very funny satire on the modern
tech capital and the people who inhabit it. It is in-part based on creator Mike Judge’s own
experiences, working in the tech world in the 1980s.The series succeeds on a
great blending of awkwardness and pointed parody. Richard and his friends may
be caricatures, but Judge and the cast also breathe life into them, making the
show more than just a one-note joke.
Rank: 19
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Channel: FX
Current Season: Fifth
Season Premiere Date: May
2015
Plot
Summary: The day-to-day like of comedian Louis C.K.
Why
It’s Worth Watching: There is so much to like about Louie – from the
great snippets from his stand-up routine to all the awkward situations he finds
himself in. Personally, I really enjoy his interactions with his two young
daughters. While the show is very funny, Louis C.K. also delves into deeper
sociological and philosophical questions, giving the series some actual
gravitas and intelligence (things generally missing from modern sitcoms).
Rank: 18
Genre: Comedy/Action
Channel: FX
Current Season: Sixth
Season Premiere Date: January
2015
Plot
Summary: Sterling Archer is an international spy working for ISIS. These
are his adventures (as he ineptly blunders his way forward; also he is kind of
a bully, misogynist and alcoholic).
Why
It’s Worth Watching: Sterling Archer is a fantastic satire of the
classic James Bond-like spy, wonderfully voiced by H. Jon Benjamin. This very
well could be the funniest show on television, as its wacky antics often just
go overboard to ridiculous degrees. It also features the most vapid and immoral
characters, but in the best and funniest way possible.
Rank: 17
Genre: Comedy
Cast:
Amy Poehler,
Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Jim O’Heir, Retta, and Adam Scott
Channel: NBC
Current Season: Seventh
and final
Season Premiere Date: 2015
Plot
Summary: Councilwoman Leslie Knope does her best to make her small town
of Pawnee, Indiana, a better place.
Why
It’s Worth Watching: Sadly, season seven will be Park and Recreation’s
last. The series started out as sort of a rehashing of The Office,
but it has become so much more (and probably a funnier comedy series overall).
The show’s greatest strength is its phenomenally funny cast lead by Amy
Poehler. Now that Community
has been cancelled by NBC, Parks and Recreation is network TV’s last great,
smart sitcom.
Rank: 16
Genre: Political Drama
Channel: Netflix
Current Season: Third
Season Premiere Date: February
2015
Plot
Summary: Frank Underwood does whatever it takes to seize power and take
revenge on those who betray him or get in his way.
Why
It’s Worth Watching: Season one of House of Cards was excellent, but I
found season two to be far too soap opera-esque. Yes, the series was always
that way, but a lot of the smart, tactful writing and great supporting
characters seemed to disappear as season two progressed. That said, the show is
event television and highly addictive and engrossing. The HBO comedy satire Veep probably more
closely resembles real politics than House of Cards, but it is nonetheless a
very thrilling political drama (and who is not excited for season three?).
