Time Bandits and 4 Other Best Comedy TV Shows of 2024
We know you need your dose of good laugh.
Although 2024 is not yet over and it is too early to make lists of the best TV series, there have already been enough TV comedies to lose count.
To avoid that, we've chosen five of the best – touching, absurd, and light-hearted.
1. The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, 2024-...
The series The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, as the title suggests, is a comedy pseudo-historical story about the famous English robber Dick Turpin.
Dick is an eccentric, good-natured man who does not eat meat and despises conflict in any form – he constantly gets into ridiculous situations, but always comes out unscathed. Turpin accidentally becomes the leader of a small gang of thugs, teaches them empathy, and they teach him the craft of romance on the high road.
2. Palm Royale, 2024-...
Housewife Maxine arrives in a Florida resort town, eager to join the elite women's club Palm Royale, which accepts only wealthy ladies and the wives of influential businessmen and bankers. Maxine devises a cunning and complex plan to infiltrate the high society of socialites.
Palm Royale is very loosely based on the bestseller Mr. & Mrs. American Pie by Juliet McDaniel, published in 2018. From the book the series received the main characters and biting satirical intonations with which it illuminates the life of the high society of the 1960s, detached from reality.
The plot of the project tries not to go to extremes and avoids clichéd themes, which is probably what won the popularity of both viewers and critics: the series received 11 Emmy nominations.
3. Ghosts, 2021-...
In February, the third season of the comedy series Ghosts was released. The action takes place in an abandoned estate, where Samantha and Jay arrive from New York with the intention of opening a hotel.
The adventure is only partially successful, as the building turns out to be far from empty – the house is filled to the brim with the ghosts of people who died within its walls in different eras. Sam, who once experienced clinical death, can see and hear ghosts, so she becomes a conductor of their will in the world of the living.
As a result, the presence of otherworldly entities does not bother the couple at all. And the spirits somehow have to get used to the idea of sharing a house with Sam and Jay, and even begin to help their new neighbors.
4. Time Bandits, 2024-...
When Taika Waititi took Hollywood by storm with the blockbuster Thor: Ragnarok and the Oscar-winning dramedy Jojo Rabbit, the director seemed to turn down no project: a new film in the Star Wars universe, a live-action adaptation of the Akira manga – Waititi said yes to everything.
Years later, some of the films and series are frozen, some are slated for release one day, and only crumbs have made it to the screen.
Time Bandits, based on Terry Gilliam's 1981 film of the same name, tells the story of a group of mischievous criminals who travel through time and space. The gang's lives change when an eleven-year-old history buff joins them.
5. Hacks, 2021-...
In May, the third season of Hacks was released, about the legend of stand-up comedy Deborah Vance, who is experiencing a new wave of popularity. However, after breaking up with her screenwriter Ava, the star begins to feel disillusioned with the profession.
A chance reunion forces both women to reconsider their attitude to work in order to help Deborah take the post of host of a popular evening show.
Hacks makes you believe in the abilities and humanity of the characters, feel your involvement in the story, establish a dialogue with the people you love and, of course, laugh.