By Ryan Flaherty
In the era of Peak TV it can be hard to find new tv shows to watch, but please don’t keep rewatching old episodes of the Office. Here are some underrated shows that are worth the watch.
Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous
Before Bo Burnham made a name for himself with stand up Netflix specials and directing indie movies, he produced, wrote, and starred in “Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous”. Zach is a recent high school graduate who decides that rather than pursuing college, he’ll create a reality show based off of his life- with no notable talents. His self funded show has an extremely low production quality (like, for instance, putting duct tape over posters of celebrities because of clearance issues), but that only adds to the down to earth spirit. This is definitely worth the watch, and makes it all the more understandable of why Burnham is successful.
Available on iTunes, Amazon Prime, and MTV.com
Warren the Ape
Yet another MTV original, Warren the Ape is an outrageously chaotic comedy about an inappropriate monkey puppet. This low level dark comedy comes from the mind of Sean Baker, who went on to direct The Florida Project in 2017. The character of Warren is actually a side character on “Greg the Bunny” which aired on FOX in 2002. This much lesser known spinoff is only twelve episodes long, but each one is fantastic. If you don’t believe me, at least trust Jennifer Aniston who said (and this is true): “I had no idea that I would become that obsessed with Warren the Ape.” The full clip of Aniston is linked below.
http://www.mtv.com/video-clips/febohg/jennifer-aniston-says-she-loves-warren-the-ape
Available on iTunes and Amazon Prime
Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23
Following the trend of TV shows that don’t make sense, Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 is a great example. The cast includes pre-Jessica Jones Krysten Ritter, Dreama Walker, James Van Der Beek (who plays himself) and Eric Andre. Andre, a comedian known for ridiculous stunts and being overall unpredictable, plays a normal and in fact boring coffee barista. The show follows June, a small town girl, who moves to Manhattan for her dream job but is immeditaly laid off. As she attempts to reorganize her life, her roomate Chloe makes things difficult (including plenty of scams, clubbing, and shenanigans. It was cancelled after just two seasons on ABC, which was expected due to its ridiculous premise, but it certainly deserved more screen time.
Available on Hulu, iTunes, and Amazon Prime.
Downward Dog
This heartwarming comedy was also cancelled too soon. Downward Dog explores the relationship between Nan (Allison Tolman) and her dog, Martin. While she struggles with career problems and an idiot boss, Martin stays at home and runs the house- doing a whole lot more than she does. He just can’t figure out why she decides to leave every day, why she would choose that idiot boyfriend over him, and why that god damn cat is trying to kill him. This description truly doesn’t do the show justice, so please go and watch an episode.
Available on iTunes and Amazon Prime.
Santa Clarita Diet
The fact that this show is a zombie comedy can certainly be a turn-off, but believe me, this is a fantastic show. This dark comedy is fast paced and disturbing, and stars Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant really bring it to life. Married realtors Joel and Sheila Hammond suddenly have their lives changed when Sheila gets a mysterious virus- that causes her to eat people. While Sheila tries to figure out how to get her next meal, Joel works on discovering the source of the disease, and possibly the cure. In a time of cookie-cutter perfect shows, Santa Clarita Diet proves to be original.
Available on Netflix.
TV Wasteland 