Smart, sharp and dark comedy shows to stream right now

If we’ve ever needed a good laugh, now is the time. Thankfully, comedy is having a dream run on streaming platforms with a wealth of smart new shows on offer, writes David Meddows

Comedy is a challenging genre. What makes some of us howl with laughter can leave others scratching their heads in bemusement.

And have you ever tried not to laugh when someone is doing everything they can to make you crack a smile?

It’s this very challenge which has spawned one of the new breed of streaming shows in Amazon’s LOL: Last One Laughing.

If we’ve ever needed a good laugh, now is the time.

Here are five of the funniest new shows around and a couple of not-so-new favourites which have fans hanging out for the next season:

The team behind the biggest multiplayer video game of all-time in Mythic Quest.

MYTHIC QUEST: RAVEN’S BANQUET

Given how massive the world of gaming has become, it’s about time we see it as the backdrop of a decent new workplace comedy.

From the team behind It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet is set in the offices of a game creator and revolves around the staff, including boss Ian (Always Sunny’s Rob McElhenney), profit-focused Brad (Community’s hilarious Danny Pudi) and C.W. Longbottom (Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham), the sci-fi writer whose books the game is based on.

The series also stars Aussie Charlotte Nicado as engineer Poppy in what The Hollywood Reporter calls a “breakout performance”. You may remember Nicado from last year’s ABC made-for-mobile series Content where a scene of her character crashing a car while live streaming went viral when people thought it was real.

Watch it on: Apple TV

From left: Zoe’s PLaylist stars Skylar Astin, Jane Levy and John Clarence Stewart.

ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST

With her dad suffering from a debilitating and fatal neurological disease, San Francisco coder Zoey (Jane Levy) decides to get herself checked out and at the very moment she’s strapped into the MRI machine, headphones in to soften her fear, an earthquake strikes. Soon Zoey realises she can hear the innermost thoughts and feelings of people — in song (and very often dance). The ability to hear things nobody else should ever hear provides some genuine laughs — and some great tunes — but there’s also some deeper, more touching moments. This is an interesting show and one that will definitely not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Watch it on: Netflix

Steve Carrell and John Malkovich are tasked with setting up the sixth branch of the US armed forces in Space Force

SPACE FORCE

You have to stick to this one because at first glance, it doesn’t exactly take off. It’s not that it’s not funny from the beginning, it’s just with a cast that includes Steve Carell and John Malkovich, you kind of expect fireworks from the get-go. But the pair deliver soon enough and before you know it you’re at the end of the 10-episode run. Carell is General Mark Naird, a career military man who has been named as the first head of Space Force, a new branch of the US armed Forces tasked with “getting boots on the moon”. Malkovich is Dr Adrian Mallory, Naird’s chief scientist and the brains behind the operation. While critics have largely panned the show — which was created by Carell and his US The Office-mate Greg Daniels — audiences are loving it and have come out in droves to defend it.

Watch it on: Netflix

Rebel Wilson in a scene from Last One Laughing on Amazon Prime.

LOL: LAST ONE LAUGHING

Ten (mostly) well-known Australian comedians locked in a room for six hours with one simple rule: you can’t laugh. You get one chance then you’re out and the $100k prize is out of reach. Hosted and refereed by Rebel Wilson, LOL is an interesting concept and one that will have you both crying with laughter and scratching your head in wonder. The competitive nature of comedians means things can go to very strange places and it can be awkward at times. It also allows you to determine who actually isn’t really that funny. The only way to watch this is to try to play along and not laugh — it’s not that easy to do.

Watch it on: Amazon

Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard in Breeders.

BREEDERS

There’s probably never been a better time to watch a show that makes you realise you’re not the world’s worst parents. Created by Martin Freeman and based partially on his life as a parent, Breeders has something in it that every parent will be able to relate to. Having been locked up for the past couple of months, this will make you feel OK with how things have gone.

Watch it on: Binge

Originally published as Smart, sharp and dark comedy shows to stream right now