The 29 Best TV Comedies on Hulu

Editor's Note: This post is updated monthly. Bookmark this page and come back every month to see what unknown classics are being added to Hulu.

Updated for April 2017

Each streaming service has something to offer. Netflix is perhaps the easiest and most accessible. Amazon Prime comes along with a host of other Amazon services like free shipping and music. For Hulu, the real appeal is simple: TV comedies.

Hulu has a staggering amount of good TV comedies from a diverse array of sources. In addition to hosting its own originals, Hulu has half-hour comedies from what seems like virtually every network in existence. It also includes classics from way back when like I Love Lucy to recent classics like Seinfeldto "now" classics like Rick and Morty.

When you peruse this list (which you will be getting started on soon, I promise), you'll definitely be tempted to point out shows that we missed. We encourage you do so! But also understand: we know. Oh do we ever know. Cutting down this list to something reasonable and readable was no easy task. So take a look at what we've selected as the best TV comedies on Hulu and let us know what you would have done different.

Seinfeld

Fun fact: did you know that Julia Louis Dreyfuss' Elaine doesn't appear in the Seinfeld pilot? You probably knew that because every single fact about Seinfeldis known. It's one of the most re-run, studied, poked at, watched, investigated TV shows of all time. Still, I didn't know it until I watched the pilot recently. And that's the fun thing about Seinfeld. It's one of the most-watched and "studied" sitcoms of all time but at the end of the day it's also still a great, uproriously funny show about nothing. You've already seen approximatley 1,000 rerun episodes. Why not start it from the beginning on Hulu?

Archer

The first thing you notice about Archer is the animation. It's beautiful, classy and perfectly fitting for its hihg-minded spy comedy premise. Then you watch a little more and realize the animation almost doesn't even matter. Archer is highly verbal and completely hilarious. It's like a radio play that somehow made its way to television. Thank God it did because when Archer is on, there are few other comedies that can touch it in terms of sheer laughter. If I had to teach a class on comedy to burgeoning comedy writers, an exploration of season one's "Skytanic" would be the final test. 

Saturday Night Live

Live from New York it's Saturday night! And you're alone on your couch in need of something to binge (you're a total loser, btw). Why not begin an ambitious binge watch of one of TV's oldest and most important franchsies? Saturday Night Live began way back in 1975 featuring eventual comedy megastars like Bill Murray and Chevy Chase. Since then it's been the axis of the entire comedy world. Generations have relied on SNLfor their dose of political humor and Hollywood has relied on it to fill out the casts of its various high-budget comedies. Thanks to Hulu you can now revisit any era of the show whenever you want. 

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Brooklyn Nine-Nineis just a delight. It's the story of a Brooklyn police department and the goofballs who populate it. Goofballs like Andy Samberg's excitable Jake Peralta or Andre Braugher's hilariously stoic Captain Holt. It comes from Parks and Rec and The Good Placecreator Michael Schur and is yet another prime example of the kind of happy workplace comedies Schur can pretty much do in his sleep by this point. It's a perfectly bingeable, low-maintenance watch that's only availabel to stream on Hulu.

Black-ish

Half-hour comedies are currently fluorishing across televisoin. Unfortunately, the old head networks have had a hard time keeping up with teh arms race. Thank God for for Black-ish then, a whip-start, truly funny and worthwhile sitcom available for a wide audience on ABC. Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross star as the patriarch and matriach of a middle-class, suburban Black American family. The show deftly and hilariously covers all the anxieties and pratfalls of that situation - the concept of feeling only "black-ish." 

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

It all started with $200 and a camera*. FX and FXX's flagship comedy is now 12 seasons in and on pace to break multiple TV show longevitiy records after the most inauspicious of beginnings. It's Always Sunnyhas lasted for so long for a simple reason: it's very, very funny. Creators Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton understand both humor and character. And their mastery of each has created a hilarious show where a group of terrible people continue to make one antoher's lives a living hell with their hare-brained schemes and general ignorance. 

*Charlie Day has since claimed that even that $200 budget number for the pilot was inflated. It really cost closer to $0. 

Community

Community really is the perfect brainchild of its creator, the, let's say, mercurial Dan Harmon. It's brilliant, empathetic, inconsistent, strange and hilarious. Harmon produced one good season of the show then followed it with two amazing, near pitch-perfect seasons before his clashing with NBC got him fired and led to a terrible season 4. Then he came back for a good season 5 before finishing it all with a decent season 6 on Yahoo Screen. Hulu has all six seasons available to stream and when all watched in succession the episodes present an interesting case study on the vagaries on network TV politicking...not to mention a tremendously funny experience.

C

Angie Tribeca

Ever wish Airplanewas a TV series? Well it is. It just happens to be called Angie Tribecaand have nothing to do with airplanes or airports. Angie Tribecacomes from creators Steve and Nancy Carell and airs regualrly on TBS. It has perhaps the most unique sense of humor in all of television: childish, playful, punny and weird. This bizarre series starring Rashida Jones in the title role as a detective has never encountered a pun that it didn't immediately wrestle to the ground and make sweet love to. This makes the show it's own strange beast,  different from almost any other comedy on TV but a perfectly pleasant watch all the same. 

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

When Mary Tyler Moore passed away in early 2017, many tributes rightfully praised her show for opening up new avenues in both television and comedy for women. The Mary Tyler Moore Show deserves all the credit in the world for that but let's also not lose sight of how astonishingly funny and ahead of its time the show is. Watch The Mary Tyler Moore Show for yourself on Hulu and marvel at how well the humor translates to a modern era. 

Key & Peele

Sketch shows are excellent binge streaming material. Don't like the current sketch? Just wait 5-10 minutes and there will be another one you might enjoy. Not liking sketches shouldn't be a frequent issue you come across with Key & Peele, however. Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele's Comedy Central sketch show is remarkable in its consistency. Sure, there are plenty of viral-friendly comedy hits but each and every episode features surprisingly few duds. Watch them all and then let yourself become hopelessly attached to your favorite skit like I am with continental breakfast. 

Frasier

Who eats tossed salad and scrambled eggs anyway? Frasier is kind of like the platonic ideal of half-hour '90s sitcoms. It's smart, funny and just kind of moves along as a leisurely pace. Kelsey Grammar more than has a handle on his radio psychiatrist character Frasier Crane after depicting him for the better part of two decades. Frasier is the perfect show for people who enjoy Friends but wish the characters enunciated more clearly and had a more expanded vocabulary.

South Park

It's hard to remember life without South Park. Comedy Central's longest-running series began way back in 1997 when gas cost....actually gas prices are kind of reasonable again so the $1.29 1997 gas price isn't that astonishing. Still, South Park is among as old an important a TV institution as we have. Trey Parker and Matt Stone have moved on to other things and other mediums as they continue their EGOT destruction of the media landscape. Thankfully, the creative duo still have room in their heart for the highly political comedy about four kids in a quiet Colorado town. 

The Mindy Project

Of all the cast members of The Office, Mindy Kaling has continued the strong TV comedy tradition the best. Kaling both starred on and wrote for The Office and her deep understanding of TV comedy is apparent. The Mindy Project is admirable in its experimention. When something isn't working, Kaling and the writers change it. When something is working, they expand upon it. The Mindy Project lives up to its title in interesting, unexpected ways. It's like Mindy Kaling's comedy thesis and it's brought her more than a passing grade.

I Love Lucy

I Love Lucy is still flat out funny in ways that very few black and white comedies are able to be with modern audiences. Lucille Ball's debut show feels shockingly modern for something from the '50s. And that's because I Love Lucy in many ways created the format of the TV sitcom. Lucy lives a hectic, entertaining life with her husband Ricky Ricardo (Ball's real-life partner Desi Arnaz) and the half-hour episodes are perfect vehicles for Lucy's wild physical humor. 

The Last Man on Earth

Ok so Will Forte's character Phil in The Last Man on Earth really isn't the last man, or human being, on Earth. Still it's an apt title for a comedy that deals heavily with loneliness and isolation. For the amount of time that Phil alienates his fellow apocalypse survivors, he may as well be the last man on Earth. The Last Man on Earth is a smart, incredibly ambitious comedy from the minds of Forte and current comedy-writing superheroes Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Bless these brave souls who though "You know what could be funny? The near complete and utter annihilation of mankind." And they were right. 

Broad City

For awhile there it looked like every single Internet series was going to find it's way to traditional television. This, of course, was from the dark days of humanity in which we didn't realize that most things on the Internet were garbage and should be avoided at all costs. Thankfully, Broad Citymade the jump from the web to Comedy Central and it turned out to definitively be not garbage. Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer's series about two young women doing their thing in New York is wickedly funny and intelligent. It's one of the rare series that depicts Milennials doing their own Milennial thing without coming across as condescending or outright annoying. 

Parks and Recreation

Ahhh Parks and Rec, where to even begin? The story of Pawnee parks and recreation department deputy Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) is one of TV's best ever stories, let alone comedies. The Michael Schur-created Parks and Recreation is a love letter to TV. Pawnee is like a live-action Springfield and the show creates a full, believable world despite a limited network budget. And in that world is a host of likeable and hilarious characters doing their best to better their community and only occasionally succeeding. Calling Parks and Rec TV comfort food may seem like a slight to one of the smarter comedies of the decade but it's accurate all the same.

The Venture Bros.

Rick and Morty fans are currently going through a pain that fans of its Adult Swim cousin The Venture Bros. know all too well. It takes a long time to finish an animated TV show. The time spent is almost always worth it. The Venture Bros. is one of the shows that helped put Adult Swim on the map as a place for seriously good comedy, animated or otherwise. The show is kind of an updated take on Johnny Quest and follows the titular bros and their weird family and their many schemes that almost undoubtedly always fail.  

You’re the Worst

You're the Worst is barely a comedy. Ok, that's not fair. It's a half-hour comedy and a wonderfully funny one. But it's also an empathetic exploratoin of deeply flawed, damage people. And when you think about it - is there any other kind of person? That might not make You're the Worstseem like the friendliest binge-watching experience but don't let that hold you back. The story of Jimmy (Chris Geere) and Gretchen (Aya Cash) falling in and out of love and how it effects the rest of their lives it's certainly worth your time. 

Scrubs

It's weird to think of Scrubsas an old classic now but that's what it is. It's a brightly-colored, fun, thoroughly modern show that came out way back in 2001 when Netflix was still only sending DVDs to consumers in red envelopes. Scrubs is the story of Dr. John (J.D.) Dorian and his struggle to become a doctor. He meets plenty of helpful allies along the way with even a villain or two. Scrubs is a damn near perfect binge watching experience. It tackles serious issues of life and death within a hospital environment and J.D.'s wacky daydreams with equal skill. 

Party Down

Thank God Party Down found a streaming home somewhere because it deserves to be rattling around an Internet streaming service or two for eternity. It's a show about struggling actors and writers who moonlight for a catering business. Each episode takes place at a different party the Party Down crew is catering. Party Down was watched by virtually no one when it came out on Starz in 2009. Since then it's gained a second life on Hulu where its 20 episodes can be streamed. This one is about as close to a must-watch as they get. It features a shockingly great cast, whip-smart humor and maybe even a feel or two. 

Louie

Louie is another show that can barely be classified as a comedy. Sure, it's funny and is the brainchild of one of our finest working comedians, Louis C.K. Rather than just being a "comedy", however, Louie is really a vessel for any kind of half-hour story that Louis C.K. wants to tell, funny or not. Sometimes, the stories are not even a half-hour. There are plotlines that last for one third of one episode or extend out over as many as six episodes, creating a episodic movies for television. The experience of watching Louie, funny or not, is always thrilling because it means getting to witness a talented artist do precisley want they want to do. 

Arrested Development

Arrested Development's "real" streaming home is on Netflix. That's where all seasons of the show reside in addition to the Netflix exclusive season four and any future episodes the show will produce. Still, for those who wish to pretend that the much-maligned fourth season doesn't exist (and there are many of you), Hulu is a perfect spot for you. Hulu has the first three seasons of Arrested Development that aired on Fox and they remain superb. The story of a wealthy family who lost everything and the one son who has to keep them all together is as funny and fresh as you remember. 

Peep Show

Peep Show is technically a "high-concept" undertaking. The show exclusivley utilizes point of view shots, making the viewer feel as though they are a part of the scene. It's an interesting technological tactic for a comedy and it pays off huge. More importantly, the content of the show itself is flat out hilarious. Mark (David Mitchell) and Jez (Robert Webb) are co-dependent friends who share a flat in London. Their complete inability to do...well, anything normal gets them into situations that are completely over their head. Peep Show is another comedy gift from Great Britain in the vein of Spaced. 

Horace and Pete

Horace and Pete writer/creator/director/editor/star Louis C.K. thrives on doing things a little differently. So when he had an idea for his first post-Louieshow (no one knows if there will be future seasons of Louie yet. Not even the creator, himself), he decided to do the whole thing on his own and in virtual silence. On January 30, 2016, fans on C.K.'s mailing list were alerted that the first episode of the previously unannounced Horace and Petewas available for download on C.K.'s website. After a long run on LouisCk.net, Now Hulu has gobbled up the streaming rights for the tragi-comedy about a failing bar so subscibers can witness its charms.

The Office (U.K.)

If you've yet to see the original U.K. version of The Office, rectify that situation immediately. Ricky Gervais' bleak and hilarious look at office life remains caustic and vital many years after its debut. The U.K. version is far, let's say, darker than the American one. There are still general lessons that coworkers can be a second family, warts and all but that's often superceded by the vague sense that Wernham-Hogg (the show's paper company equivalent of the U.S.'s Dunder Mifflin) is really hell and boss David Brent is the inappropriate, attention-starved demon sent to torture us all.

Happy Endings

Happy Endings could have been a terribly-written show and no one would have noticed. It's not terribly-written thankfully but if it were, there would have been no way to tell as the main cast is so, so, so good. Happy Endings is like a modern update of Friends only the friends are way too close to one another. Ostensibly the show was supposed to be about how friend groups interact when one mutual friend leaves another mutual friend at the altar on their wedding day. That was pretty much scrapped from the get-go in favor of following these strange people's even stranger adventures across Chicago.

Rick and Morty

There are no such thing as limits on Rick and Morty. It's animated, so there's less of a concern about budgeting when it comes to things like sets or special effects. And its sci-fi concept about a mad scientist grandfather and his impressionable, long-suffering grandson means that creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon really get to spread out, narrative and comedy-wise. Thankfully they are up to the task. Rick and Morty is among the funniest shows on television and occasionally a wonderful sci-fi adventure.

Preacher

Preacher is a little bit of everything. It's an action, adventure, thriller, horror, sci-fi hour-long AMC show. Above all, however, it's just entertaining. Soooooo we're gonna put this one in the comedy column in our ongoing campaign to not make half-hours and comedies synonymous. Preacheris a comic book adaptation about a badass Texas preacher who becomes a little more badass when an ancienty spirit inhabits him. Also he has a vampire and Ruth Negga for friends.