Binging a Dead Horse

The top 12 TV shows we revisit again, and again, and again.

We all have them. The shows that you put on for such long stretches that the TV asks if you’re still alive. You think they care, but then they give you the option to “never ask again.”

Thanks to Netflix and the like, these are the rainy day or holiday shows that you keep coming back to when you want something fun and familiar to watch that aren’t offended if you’re on the phone or demand a pause if someone leaves to make another toaster turkey sandwich.

After consulting with my wife and daughter, these are the shows we tend to watch when we’re all together.* We agree on almost all of them and these no rhyme or reason as to what gets put on as it’s in an unspoken and unscientific rotation. And unsystematic. If it’s just going to a one night run we could randomly jump into Season 3. But, if it’s a lazy Sunday, and it’s been a while, we might start fresh from the beginning. The first rule of Binge Horse is that there’s minimal talk about Binge Horse. Someone throws out a name. There’s usually grunts of agreement, and you’re off to the races.

This particular list is (unsurprisingly) all comedies, or primarily comedy. I mean, who wants to go “way down in the hole” or watch a famous guest star tragically die in the emergency room the day after Christmas?

Away we go…

12. Gilmore Girls*/The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Tie)

I start with one of the two exceptions to the rule. Gilmore is primarily an Amy and Madison pick, although I’ve watched enough chunks to probably constitute a season. It’s a go-to for them when I’m sleeping, reading, or working in the yard. Probably sleeping. It’s not that I hate it, because you can’t deny how sharp the dialogue is. But, that’s part of the problem with me. Played straight, it’s just to coy for its own good. People don’t talk like that in real life. That said, if it pops back up again, my resistance will likely be broken.

On the other hand, Gilmore creator Amy Sherman-Palladino could do no wrong with Mrs. Maisel. It not only makes this list, but would make my all-time favorite list. Talk about everything working. The dialogue is sharp, funny, and poignant. The cast is universally nuanced and spectacular. And the period art direction and costume design? Beyond Academy Award worthy since it was sustained over five fantastic season. Plus, they stuck the landing. Outstanding. It’s hasn’t been in heavy rotation, but it will.

11. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Like almost anything on network TV in the last 20 years, I’m late to this party, but happy to be at one with eight seasons to binge. Like Barney Miller for a new generation, it’s filled with characters who are really characters — two-thirds stereotype with one-third potential for growth. Andy Samberg more than holds his own — smart, dumb, and goofy all at the same time. And what can you say about the late, great Andre Braugher in a deft and deadpan comedic turn. He could do anything.

10. Fraser/Northern Exposure* (Tie)

These are our “husband and wife only” exceptions to the rule, shows that have been in rotation when Madison is at home in Chicago.

I was thrilled when Northern Exposure finally came to streaming. It was a huge show for us in college and I think should get more credit in TV history for raising the bar. Not only was the quality top-notch, but it kind of created a template for quirky and sophisticated comedies that can’t be categorized.

It doesn’t fit the Binge Horse mold in that we’ve only been rolling it out on occasion since they’re aren’t many seasons, and it took quite a dip when Joel left. In hindsight, probably not the greatest career decision for Rob Morrow.

Fraser is a little more me only, but we’ve both had some sessions. It really does hold up well. With a great core and supporting cast it really one of the smartest comedies ever. Yes, Fraser and Niles were intellectuals, but the show also loved to mock them. And it didn’t just rely on witty repartee. It had the guts (and the cast) that were willing to go all in on slapstick and farce on a dime.

9. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

The 30 Rock team of Tina Fey and Robert Carlock didn’t suffer a sophomore slump with Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. It’s a worthy successor to that classic with a host of familiar faces from the first. It’s packed with jokes the characters are even more over-the-top than its predecessor. It’s not afraid to go into left-field surreal territory all the while maintaining a good-natured charm at its core.

There are some actual LOL bits throughout with Titus Andromedon (Tituss Burgess) behind a ton of them. And Jon Hamm as Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne is always just fantastic. That said, I could never get behind Carol Kane on the show. Sorry, Carol.

8. Parks and Recreation

One of the reoccurring similarities in all these shows is a great ensemble cast. Parks was no exception. While Leslie Knope is the main character, it was the supporting cast that really took it to another level — particular shout-out to Nick Offerman and Aziz Ansari. That’s good, because if there’s one character who could get a bit annoying, it was her. Still, I have to think that that was part of the plan. Parks was sweeter and more earnest than any show on this list. And, as a whole, that was rare and refreshing.

As some shows burn through a couple years they start bringing in new characters to freshen things up. Most of the time it fails — always if that’s a precocious kid. With Parks the new hires made things better. Whether it was major supporting characters (Adam Scott, Rob Lowe) or more minor (think Jean-Ralphio and Mona-Lisa Saperstein) the show embraced a more bizarre edge as it went along. I wasn’t crazy about the time leap ending, but Parks and Rec will always be a sweet success.

7. What We Do in the Shadows

Look, it’s something almost current!

I read about how good this was, but didn’t jump in for a few seasons until after we watched the original movie. Just good, good stuff. The concept is awesome: Real vampires from different eras living in a house on Staten Island and being filmed for a documentary. The whole vampire and horror genre has never been parodied better. You know the cast is good when you (more than once) find your watching character compilation clips. I still think it had plenty of life left in it. Sad to see it go, but it lives on in our rotation. Like all the shows on this list, it gets better with multiple viewings, so it might move up the list.

6. Veep

Easily one of the best political parodies ever. The biting, filthy, witty dialogue on this show is par excellence. It is also very, very dark. Save Gary, there’s barely a character with a redeemable soul. In fact, the characters are so despicable that you have to be in a certain mood to watch it or it can get a bit depressing. But, man, does it fire on all cylinders when your mindset is right.

Beyond the writing, the character acting is universally great.

But, then there’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus. What can you even say about her skills? One of the best comedic actors of all time, gender be damned.

5. 30 Rock

Of all the great things that has flowed out of SNL, Lorne Michaels green-lighting this show has got to be near the top. As a former cast member, Tina Fey was perfectly suited to create a parody of a show like the show she was on.

Yes, the characters are all pretty one dimensional, but it doesn’t matter. This is a show that is going for laughs, first and foremost. While following the sitcom structure of A and B stories per episode, it wasn’t afraid to fuck with the format with rapid-fire social and cultural commentary and even get surreal. Think about the ongoing hints of Kenneth’s demonic backstory.

It’s bizarre to remember that when 30 Rock started, Alec Baldwin was meant to be more of a “special guest” than a main character. He ended up being a comedic titan and his relationship with hapless Liz Lemon was really the only “heart” the show had over its run.

But, again, 30 Rock wasn’t about warmth, it was about funny. And it’s worth the price of admission just for its collection of Liz Lemon childhood flashback.

4. The Office

We really liked The Office when it came out, but we didn’t think it was going to end up being a stone-cold classic. It truly is one of those shows that gets better on repeat viewing. Like many, we got back on the train when it became a hit with Gen Z, including our daughter.

Pretty amazing that a number of the secondary characters were also writers. If the show wouldn’t have taken off they would have likely never been developed as much as they were. Also, amazing to think just how much of The Office never leaves the office. Yes, it took a hit when Steve Carrell left, but it was a testament to the entire cast (and guests) that it maintained a high quality even after.

While The Office had its fair share of heart, “The Dinner Party” has to be the cringiest episode of TV ever. And I really mean that, babe.

Pretty sure it was the first TV show to employ the fake documentary style, which at the time I thought would only work once. But, here we are with three shows on this list alone that use it.

3. Community

If 30 Rock twisted the sitcom format, Dan Harmon’s Community turned it into a pretzel. With more jokes per episode than all but one show on this list, it put meta on the map. Sure, there was the basic premise of a group of flawed and archetypal characters in a study group at a community college. But, that was just the jumping off point to a bizarre world of high-concept story lines and full episode parodies of other shows and genres. And it did all that while also maintaining an often sweet underbelly.

True, the last season or so dipped a bit, but it is a unique and classic comedy and I reserve my direct prayers to the Lord that the movie lives up to the series.

2. Seinfeld/Curb (Kinda Tie)

Has there ever been a better foursome than Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer? I watched this when it was “Must See” TV, for years as TV repeats, and still go back to it on streaming. It’s simply one of the best comedies ever with characters that never show an iota of growth.

Here are some random words:

Puffy shirt, marble rye, scrambled eggs with lobster, crab bisque, close-talker, low-talker, sponge-worthy, Indian-giver, the sea was angry, they’re real, rusty, Jimmy…

I could write a page off the top of my head.

You want to watch it now, don’t you?

Never on the same level, but obviously cut from the same cloth, Curb was great in its own right with a level of near-constant discomfort that will never be matched.

It’s pretty amazing that is was so good when the premise of every single show was “Larry is an asshole and comedy ensues.” Curb on its own doesn’t deserve a #2, but it’s still pre-tty, pre-tty good.

1. Arrested Development

More jokes per square inch than any show in history.

If you think otherwise, you need to go home and SOB your eyes out, because you’re wrong.

And not just the jokes you see on the surface. A.D. has tons of those, plus layer on layer of others below. There are call back jokes, foreshadowing jokes you don’t get the first time, meta jokes before meta was a thing. Even after multiple viewings you’ll still find another joke you didn’t get (or see) before.

Together or apart, I can’t imagine how many times we’ve seen every episode. Ten? Twenty? Okay, admittedly it’s less for the last two Netflix seasons. It really, really sucks that accommodating the actors changed the whole structure of the show. What could have been. Then again, the “remix” is better and, in a bind, having them is better than not.

A comedic masterpiece.