10 Of The Best Modern Period Comedy Series | Screen Rant
The period comedy is something viewers can look to either get a glimpse of what things were like in the past or reminisce on a time when people once lived. Setting a comedy in a different decade always brings the potential to highlight and satirize multiple aspects of a time period whether it be growing up, pop culture, politics, and more.
Shows of the last few decades like The Wonder Years and That 70s Show are among the golden standard of period comedies and a handful of recent shows seem to follow in their footsteps in unique ways. While regular comedies eventually serve as a time capsule as they age, period comedies allow viewers to reflect on different times through a modern lens.
It can be difficult to reboot a show with a similar concept and an entirely new cast but 2021's The Wonder Years ensures that it stands out on its own. Based on the 1988 original The Wonder Years, this version follows a middle-class Black family living in Montgomery, Alabama in the late '60s, told through the eyes of young Dean Williams.
As Don Cheadle narrates the series as an older version of Dean, the show touches on similar childhood growing pains as the original but also dives into the differences that a Black family would experience in 1968. Viewers rarely get an account of this period from the perspective of a young black child which makes the reboot a refreshing take on the period comedy.
After 6 seasons, Fresh Off the Boat could be considered underrated considering what it had to offer. A Taiwanese-American family adjusting to their new life in '90s Orlando after relocating from Chinatown in Washington DC gave viewers a rich amount of pop culture references along with plenty of hilarious moments throughout the show's run.
The show not only serves as a coming of age for season one narrator and inspiration behind the show, Eddie Huang, but it also highlights cultural changes and identity in a new environment as the family grows as a unit.
Derry Girls is a show set in the mid-'90s and sets itself apart from other period comedies in a few different ways. It's able to pull off a lot of ironic humor while set during a difficult time in Ireland's history.
The British sitcom follows a group of teenagers attending an all-girls Catholic school as they try to discover themselves while dealing with political and cultural disturbances during The Troubles. When added with typical teenage defiances, the show becomes an insanely unique period piece and manages to appeal to a wide range of audiences outside of its Irish background.
Family seems to be a common theme in period comedies and if done right, it's able to shed light on different familial units and the different places and cultures they belong to. In Idris Elba's In the Long Run, an immigrant family living a standard life in 1980s East London has their world changed when a relative comes to live with them.
The show is loosely based on Elba's childhood but he portrays the father of the family, Walter Easmon. The show deals with many topics, including the politics of African immigrants living in 80s Britain. Elba is able to incorporate and embrace lots of cultural humor and truth, all set to a fitting 1980s soundtrack.
There aren't too many animated shows outside of anime that take place decades before it was made but F is For Family is one of the handful of series that showcases that the medium can work as a period comedy as well. Taking place in the 1970s, the show follows Frank Murphy and his family as he tries to balance the struggles between work and family.
Any show dealing with family can be relatable to a lot of people but the show is great at satirizing social and familial issues while packing a lot of 70s nostalgia. The wide cast of characters and personalities bring the town of Rustvale, Pennsylvania to life and gives viewers someone to latch on to.
Netflix's Everything Sucks! didn't get a fair run. Because it only lasted for one 10 episode season, it could be considered its generation's Freaks and Geeks. Centering around high school freshman Luke O'Neil in 1996 Boring, Oregon, it focuses on the outcasts of Boring High School's Drama and A/V clubs.
Everything Sucks! delivers on everything a teen comedy should: awkward romances, the search for identity, and the coming of age. Though most of the character arcs went ultimately unresolved, the 90s-based show had a solid first and only season but remains one of Netflix's "what ifs."
The Goldbergs is one of ABC's longest-running shows in recent memory and for good reason. Set in "1980-something," the show is narrated by Patton Oswald as a modern-day Adam Goldberg as he grows up in Pennsylvania with his unconventional but lovable family.
The show is unique in the sense that many of the events depicted are inspired by actual events which were videotaped by the real-life Adam Goldberg during his teenage years. Seeing the parallels between episodes and the events that inspired them through a vintage 80s camcorder add to the show's heartfelt nature and makes the comedy extremely genuine.
The Blaxploitation era of the 1970s and the films that came after which paid homage to it aren't talked about enough in different film circles and 2009's Black Dynamite both parodied and paid homage to the genre. After its success, it produced an animated spinoff of the same name on Adult Swim.
With Michael Jai White and Tommy Davidson reprising their roles from the film, the 1970s backdrop enhances the style and flair as the show serves as a continuation of the movie. The series doesn't hold back with outrageous and hilarious adventures, with some involving different celebrities of the 70s aided by an amazing list of guest stars.
The year 2000 is far enough away to be considered vintage now and Pen15 is one of the first modern television series to take viewers back to the early 2000s. The show takes on the unique task of placing series creators Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle into middle school portraying younger versions of themselves, surrounded by actual middle school-aged kids.
Maya and Anna deliver on showcasing the embarrassing moments that middle schoolers deal with and feeling the second-hand embarrassment as an audience only adds to the authenticity. Whether it be throwing up in the middle of a band concert or misreading middle school relationships, the show contains some of the best cringe comedy moments in recent memory.
Everybody Hates Chris has been off the air since 2009 and though the late 2000s isn't necessarily considered modern by most anymore, the show still fits the mold of other period comedies that came after it. Set in mid to late 1980s Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, Chris Rock hilariously narrates a dramatized account of his teenage years.
The show only ran for four seasons but it's filled with classic moments and countless quotes that fans still reference to this day. With Chris being the only black student in his entire middle school (and eventually one of the few at his high school), the show satirizes what he deals with daily and his interactions with the wide range of people in his neighborhood. Every member of Chris's family had their moments to shine throughout the series and should be considered a classic.
Source: Screenrant
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