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The best comedy series on Netflix (November 2021)

Netflix comedy series
Schitt’s Creek and Kimmy Schmidt. Pic credit: Pop TV/Netflix

When it comes to scripted comedy series, Netflix has risen to the top of the streaming services.

While some of the more popular comedies have left the service, with Friends and The Big Bang Theory headed to HBO Max, there is still plenty to choose from on Netflix.

The streaming giant still has the license for some top NBC shows — for at least one more year — so make sure to catch those before they end up departing the service in 2021.

That shouldn’t slow down Netflix, though, since it has been making its own original comedy series for years now and has a nice library of its own content that fans can enjoy as much as they want.

Here is a look at the best comedy series on Netflix as of this month.

Updated in November 2021: Every month, Netflix changes its lineup, removing certain series and adding others. We will go in every month and update this article to let you know which shows are no longer streaming from our original lists and what replacements you could check out instead.

Derry Girls

Derry Girls
Derry Girls. Pic credit: Channel 4

Derry Girls has two seasons on Netflix right now.

This sitcom is set in Derry, Northern Ireland, during end of the Troubles of the 1990s. The show follows teenagers navigating their lives during this time in the country.

This is also a quick and easy binge, with 12 episodes at about 25 minutes in length. The show is very different, especially for Americans, but between the great characters and the juxtaposition of the Troubles and these kids getting in trouble, it offers something truly great.

There is also a third season on the way.

Seinfeld

The cast of Seinfeld
The cast of Seinfeld. Pic credit: NBC

One of the most successful sitcoms in history hit Netflix in October 2021.

Seinfeld was the most-watched sitcom on television for most of its run. That original run was from 1989 through 1998 and featured nine seasons and 180 episodes.

The show starred Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, and Jason Alexander in a show that prided itself about being about nothing.

During its original run, Seinfeld was in the top 2 most-watched shows on television from 1994-1998 and was the most-watched in its sixth and ninth seasons. The entire series is now on Netflix.

Saved By The Bell

Saved By The Bell
Saved By The Bell. Pic credit: NBC

Every season of the original Saved By the Bell hit Netflix on September 15, 2021.

Saved by the Bell began as a sitcom called Good Morning, Miss Bliss, starring Hayley Mills. However, the kids ended up surpassing the popularity of the lead and it turned into Saved By the Bell.

The show starred Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen, Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley, Lark Voorhies, and Dustin Diamond as high school friends just trying to get through their teenage years.

30 Rock

Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey in 30 Rock
Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey in 30 Rock. Pic credit: NBC

30 Rock has been airing on Hulu for a long time now, but Netflix just lured it away and it joined its streaming service starting in August 2021.

This allowed one of the funniest sitcoms of the last two decades to place all seven seasons on Netflix for the unforeseen future.

The NBC series stars Tina Fey as the lead writer for a sketch comedy show, and the troubles that start when Alec Baldwin’s network executive takes over and demands she hire a troubled actor, Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan).

There are 139 episodes, so this is a big binge-watch for anyone who wants to laugh a lot.

Kim’s Convenience

The cast of Kim's Convenience
The cast of Kim’s Convenience. Pic credit: CBC Television

Kim’s Convenience just dropped every episode from Season 5 onto Netflix, giving comedy fans a chance to see all five seasons of the hit Canadian series.

The show features members of a Korean-Canadian family running a convenience store, dealing with customers, and forging their own familial relationships along the way.

The show provided a breakout role for Simu Liu, who takes on the role of Shang-Chi in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.

The Kominsky Method

The Kominsky Method
Alan Arkin and Michael Douglas in The Kominsky Method . Pic credit: Netflix

Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin lead the cast in the Netflix original comedy series, The Kominsky Method.

The series, which released its third season in May 2021, sees Douglas star as Sandy Kominsky, an acting coach working in Hollywood.

Alan Arkin plays his best friend and agent, whose wife dies of cancer in the premiere, and the two men begin to question mortality and what their future might hold.

The series was very successful, with Michael Douglas winning for Best Actor and the series picking up the Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy from the Golden Globes.

The third season was the final for The Kominsky Method.

One Day at a Time

One Day at a Time Season 5 release date
The cast of One Day at a Time. Pic credit: Pop TV

Netflix is where the remake of One Day at a Time got its start. However, the streaming giant canceled it after three seasons.

With that said, Pop TV picked it up for Season 4, and while they canceled it, there is still a chance it could end up elsewhere.

As for Netflix, it has the first three seasons available to watch.

The new series took the original and transferred it to a Latino American family, which allowed it to open up entirely new storylines and social issues to tackle.

It worked, as it is one of the highest-ranked Netflix original series.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT
The cast of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Pic credit: Netflix

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was one of the first Netflix original comedy series.

The show starred Ellie Kemper as a girl who was held captive by a reverend (Jon Hamm) for 15 years. When she was finally freed, she had to figure out how to live life in a world she didn’t know.

She gets a roommate in struggling actor Titus Andromedon (Tituss Burgess), who is flamboyantly gay and opens up a brand-new world for Kimmy to figure out.

There are four seasons and 51 episodes, all of which received numerous Emmy nominations.

Arrested Development

Arrested Development
The cast of Arrested Development. Pic credit: Netflix

For one of the best television comedies around, don’t forget to check out Arrested Development on Netflix.

All five seasons of the series are available to stream, including the fourth and fifth, which were commissioned by Netflix after three years on Fox.

The series follows the Bluth family, a formerly wealthy, yet dysfunctional family, who found themselves in a bad situation with the patriarch (Jeffrey Tambor) went to prison after years of “creative accounting” practices with his income.

This left the rest of his family scrambling, including lead Jason Batemen as his son Michael, and Michael Cera as his son, George Michael.

Schitt’s Creek

Schitt's Creek
The cast of Schitt’s Creek. Pic credit: Pop TV

There are now six seasons of Schitt’s Creek on Netflix and for those who have never watched, now might be the time to catch up.

The first season was a bit uneven, but after that, the show really picked up its pace and now the entire world is hearing about it.

This is because the final season of Schitt’s Creek won all seven major comedy awards at the Primetime Emmys, the first time this refer happened.

The show followed the previously wealthy Rose family when they lost their money and ended up moving to a town they purchased once as a joke called Schitt’s Creek. They now live in a motel there and try to get used to living poor.

Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara headline the cast.

Bojack Horseman

Bojack Horseman
Bojack Horseman. Pic credit: Netflix

On Netflix, cartoons aren’t just for kids, and some of the best comedy series on the streaming service are animated.

At the very top of the list of Netflix animated comedy series is Bojack Horseman, a show about an anthropomorphic horse who used to be a successful actor on a sitcom and is now working on a book about his life as he contemplates his status in life.

This is not meant for kids in any way.

The series deals with depression, addiction, and touches on suicide and abuse. However, the series is bitingly funny at times and is a dark comedy that absurdly deals with real-world issues.

Big Mouth

Big Mouth
Big Mouth. Pic credit: Netflix

On the opposite end of the spectrum from Bojack Horseman is the Netflix animated series Big Mouth.

This is also not meant for younger kids, although the animation might tell a parent otherwise. The best age range here is teenagers who are starting to hit puberty.

That is because the entire premise of the show is showing how kids react to hitting puberty through brilliantly created hormone monsters.

Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg created this Netflix comedy series based on their childhood and got some big names for the voice cast, including Jordan Peele, Maya Rudolph, and Fred Armisen.

Big Mouth Season 4 came out this month.

Community

Community
The cast of Community. Pic credit: NBC

One of the most beloved cult comedy television series of the last two decades was Community, created by Dan Harmon.

This sitcom initially aired on NBC, but when the network canceled it after five seasons, fans revolted. The fervency of the fans convinced Yahoo! Screen to pick it up for a sixth season to end the story.

The series focused on adults attending a community college with Joel McHale, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Ken Jeong, and Chevy Chase bringing star power to the comedy series.

Community won an Emmy in 2011 for animation for the episode “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas.”

The IT Crowd

The IT Crowd
The cast of The IT Crowd. Pic credit: Fremantle

Netflix also has some top British comedy series on the streaming service. This includes the former Channel 4 series The IT Crowd.

Initially airing for four seasons, from 2006-2010, the series was so popular that it picked up a special in 2013, three years after it ended.

The show features three members of an IT team in a fictional London corporation, where they are stuffed into a dark, dingy basement in an otherwise immaculate building.

Chris O’Dowd and Richard Ayoade star as the brilliant IT team members who find themselves working for a girl who has no experience and bluffed her way into the job as their new boss.

Monty Python’s Flying Circus

Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Pic credit: BBC

Easily the most iconic comedy series on Netflix today is the classic British sketch comedy Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

The show features the Monty Python comedy group, which includes icons in the comedy industry – Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Eric Idol.

The show premiered in 1969 and featured 45 total episodes over four seasons. This series is available on Netflix, as are some of the group’s comedy movies, including Life of Brian and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

The Good Place

The Good Place
Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto, D’Arcy Carden, Kristen Bell, William Jackson Harper on The Good Place. Pic credit: NBC

The Good Place just wrapped up its critically acclaimed four-season run on NBC in 2020 and finished up with a total of 53 episodes.

While only the first three seasons of the comedy series are on Netflix, that is still 39 episodes to either catch up or fall in love with this comedy for the first time.

Kristen Bell leads the cast as Eleanor, a dead woman who goes to The Good Place by accident and then tries to become a better person in the afterlife. However, things are not as they seem, and this is proven, with Ted Danson, the architect of the Good Place neighborhood.

Season 4 hits on September 26.

New Girl

New Girl
Hannah Simone, Max Greenfield, Zooey Deschanel, Jake Johnson, and Lamorne Morris on New Girl. Pic credit: Fox

Initially premiering on Fox in 2011, New Girl stars Zooey Deschanel as a teacher who moves into a loft in Los Angeles with three men.

Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield, and Lamorne Morris star as her three roommates, and the series focuses on their misadventures.

A single-camera comedy series, all seven seasons of New Girl are available for streaming on Netflix, with a total of 146 episodes.

New Girl picked up five Primetime Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations, although it didn’t win at either award’s ceremony.

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