7 Great Sitcoms That I Think More People Should Watch

Streaming on: HBO

Watch if you like: Ted Lasso, Fleabag, Freaks And Geeks

Run:  2 Seasons (Season 2 airing now)

There are a lot of wonderful fictional worlds out there (Hogwarts, the Shire, Wakanda...), which is why it's so weird that if I could pick a place to go right now, I think I'd choose to be with Sam and Joel, shooting the shit in a fast food drive-through line in Kansas. While Somebody, Somewhere has a lot of great things going for it, the best part is absolutely the friendship between the two main characters, Sam and Joel (played magnificently by Bridget Everett and Jeff Hiller). The show starts with Sam feeling lost and aimless a year after her sister, whom she moved back to her hometown to care for, dies of cancer. Joel recognizes her from high school (although Sam can't say the same for him), and the two strike up a beautiful friendship, bonding over singing, step-counting, and small-town gossip.

The show oscillates between heart-wrenchingly sad and hilariously funny, sometimes even within the same scene. It's not unusual for me to cry from both sadness and from laughing too hard in just one episode. (And I don't say cry figuratively. If you don't believe me, watch the episode where both Joel and Sam call each other while getting explosive diarrhea after eating something called "St. Louis Sushi.") Some of the jokes come from well-written scenarios, but others seem so organic that they make me feel like I'm just hanging out with (ridiculously funny) friends. Isn't that kind of what we all want from good tv?

But Somebody, Somewhere handles its themes of grief and complicated family dynamics just as well as it does the comedy, which is what makes the show so special. And even though there are some heavy moments throughout, it also makes me feel so good, like my heart is being filled. The second season is still airing as of now, so I don't know if it will get renewed, but if it doesn't I may have to mail HBO a special box of homemade St. Louis sushi.