Some shows you may not have heard of:

British comedy:

• The Young Ones - Absurdist British comedy about a group of students who live together.
• Bottom - More silly comedy with Rick Mayall and Adrian Edmondson who were also in The Young Ones. They play two loser roommates who can’t get a date. “Bloody lesbians!”
• The Office - IMO opinion much better than the American adaptation. Ricky Gervais at his most painfully awkward.
• Little Britain - Quite possibly the greatest sketch show of all time. Very popular at the time, but some younger people haven’t heard of it.
• Peep Show - Mitchell & Webb of “Are we the baddies?” fame are roommates and frenemies who get into a lot of very awkward and painful situations.

** American comedy**

• Jack of all Trades - Bruce Campbell plays an American spy who is forced to work together with an attractive English spy on the fictional French occupied island of Pulau Pulau. The kind of cheesy fun you’d expect from Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell.
• The Comeback - Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe from Friends) tries to stage a comeback.
• The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret - David Cross plays the titular character who moves to Britain for business. Things only get worse from there.
• In the Know - Claymation by Mike Judge about an extremely progressive radio host.

New Zealand comedy

• New Zealand Today - Comedian and wannabe journalist Guy Williams covers some of the most important issues facing everyday New Zealanders.
• Wellington Paranormal - Two local police officers investigate paranormal cases in a semi-competent manner. A spin-off of the What we do in the Shadows movie.
• Flight of the Conchords - Two musicians from New Zealand try to make it in New York City.

Science fiction

• Lexx - Large parts of this show are a slog to get through. If you do, however, you’ll be rewarded with some unique and bizarre moments, like the Netherlands being eaten by a giant space ship.
• Travelers - Proves that great sci-fi does not need a massive budget or a lot of special effects. A team of time travellers tries to save the world.
• Murderbot - A security android gains sentience and free will. Decides to spend most of his time watching a cheesy sci-fi show.
• Alice in Borderland - A group of friends find that suddenly almost everybody in Tokyo has disappeared. They have to compete in a series of bizarre games to survive, a bit like in Squid Game. Season 3 was unnecessary.
• Counterpart - Solid spy thriller that revolves around a very interesting science fiction concept I’d rather not spoil.

Drama

• Waiting for the Out - A man deals with his daddy issues while teaching inmates about philosophy. Highly recommended if you’ve already seen Adolescence and Baby Reindeer and need more British Drama.
• Slow Horses - A team of MI5 (domestic British intelligence) misfits and outcasts save the day.
• SAS: Rogue Heroes - War drama that chronicles the creation of the (in)famous special forces unit.
• Cobra Kai - Could a Karate Kid spin-off be any good? The answer might surprise you!
• Landman - Extremely American/Southern/conservative gentleman manages the day-to-day business of running a company that drills for oil.