2023 marked one of the slowest years for television comedy thanks to the WGA strike. Naturally, a lot of highly anticipated seasons were put on hold. But the parties struck a deal in November last year, and that has opened the floodgates for some primo television comedy in 2024. 

We got follow-up seasons to some of the front-runners in the comedy category (no, we don’t mean The Bear) and were delightfully surprised by some new releases, including a Tamil-language remake of a beloved Hindi web-series. Read on to find out which shows made the cut. Here are DeadAnt’s favourite comedy shows of 2024. 

10. Chacha Vidhayak Hain Humare

The third season of Zakir Khan’s Chacha Vidhayak Hain Humare masterfully balances humour with politics. For the uninitiated, the show was Khan’s first foray into acting, with him playing the protagonist Ronny Pathak—a fibber living in Indore and trying to make a career in local politics. He’s accompanied by his loyal sidekicks, played by comedian Kumar Varun and actor Vyom Sharma. 

While the first two seasons were all about the show trying to find its footing, with occasional mis-steps when it came to both the writing and the performances, everything finally came together this year. By far the most promising and coherent season, it showcases Khan’s evolution as a writer and performer over the years. This is essentially a feel-good show set in the so-called Hindi belt, and our Sakht Launda’s affable screen presence makes it even more enjoyable.  

Available on Amazon miniTV

9. Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam

TVF’s Panchayat is a story about a newly minted graduate in search of a white-collar job who ends up being posted in a village. Naturally, this fish-out-of-water situation is fertile ground for comedy. The show delivered on that promise with heart and authenticity, highlighting issues that come up in the hinterlands of North India. This year, the hit web series got a Tamil remake. 

Writer Balakumaran and director Naga remained faithful to the original show while adding dollops of local flavour. Standup comedian Abishek Kumar fills Jitendra’s shoes in the remake as the protagonist. He does a great job of capturing the essence of the character, adding his own quirks and mannerisms instead of mimicking the source material. All in all, it’s a fitting homage to the original. The perfect feel-good show for the end-of-year fuzzies.  

Available on Amazon Prime Video

8. English Teacher

Here’s another comedy set in a high-school. But unlike Abbott Elementary, this one is slightly edgier and drier. The series focuses on Evan Marquez (played by Brian Jordan Alvarez), a gay English teacher in a not-so-liberal suburb of Austin. The perfect setting for a show to initiate conversations about sexuality, racism, politics, et al. English Teacher definitely does that, but there’s no after-school special vibe here. The writing is aware that it’s 2024 and there is no need for long winding monologues to affirm one’s identity. “You’re scared to come out? It’s 2024! Just go in the hall and say ‘I’m gay!’” Marquez tells a student who confides in him.

Another plus for the show is, the students themselves are complete characters. They haven’t been written as the archetypes we’ve come to expect in every fictional school story. The actors back up the smart, incisive writing with incredible performances all around. All in all, this is a promising start for a show that has a lot of potential to level up even further.

Available on Disney+ Hotstar

7. Tires

Shane Gillis has become the poster-boy for edgy-but-inventive comedy over the last few years. Since the triumph of his eponymous self-released YouTube special in 2021, Gillis has been on a roll. He co-hosts the top-earning podcast on Patreon—Matt And Shane’s Secret Podcast—and is a regular guest on plenty of other comedy podcasts. He’s released a Netflix special titled Beautiful Dogs and has even returned to hostSaturday Night Live—the show that fired him after clips of him using racial slurs surfaced online. Gillis wanted to keep the momentum going, and decided that packaging his brand of humour in a workplace comedy a la Workaholics or It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia was the way to go. Seems like that was a smart bet. 

Tires is reminiscent of ye olde sitcoms, with crude humour and man-children making questionable decisions, a genre that has been abandoned by most studios. But this show, co-created by Gillis and his long-time collaborators Steve Gerben and John McKeever, proves that there’s still life in that old format. Tires isn’t a show that’s going to change your worldview, or leave you with profound insights about the human condition. But crack open a cold one with your closest friends, put it on, and we guarantee you an evening full of laughs.

Available on Netflix

6. Maamla Legal Hai

Woman Keeps Karwa Chauth Fast, Poisons Husband. Boy Calls In Bomb Threat, Wanted To Cancel Friends’ Goa Plans. Snake Bites Sleeping Man, Man Bites Back Three Times. These are just a few examples of how bizarre newspaper headlines can get in India. So, it’s natural that Netflix deemed it fit to greenlight Maamla Legal Hai, a show that takes some of these very real stories and re-configures them as outrageous legal satire.

Set in Delhi’s Patparganj district court, the show’s already sharp writing is elevated by the effortless performances of Ravi Kisan, Nidhi Bisht, Yashpal Sharma and their supporting cast. Issues such as caste discrimination and violence in marriages are dealt with in a tactful manner, with the joke always being at the expense of the system’s incompetence. It definitely has a few flaws but the creators’ heart is always in the right place, making Maamla Legal Hai a wholesome, life-affirming comfort watch. 

Available on Netflix

5. Abbott Elementary

Set in a Philadelphia public school, Quinta Brunson’s Abbott Elementary is the heartwarming mockumentary that we’ve been craving ever since our favourite Scranton branch went off the air. Teachers who are too afraid to admit they don’t like pizza, a principal who is too busy being an influencer, and kids saying the darndest things—you’ve got it all. But while the show has dished out the laughs since 2021, it has also managed to talk about more serious aspects of American society, including the challenges faced by professionals in the public education system and issues of race and privilege. 

Season 4’s major arc focuses on gentrification, offering fresh perspectives all while staying true to the show’s inherent charm. This season also featured an unusual but incredibly hilarious crossover with It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. The show is funnier than ever, even as it navigates through the new dynamics introduced between the characters, making it one of the most rewarding watches on TV this year.

Available on Disney+ Hotstar

4. Only Murders In The Building 

The previous season of Only Murders In The Building was enjoyed by theatre nerds (yes, I’m guilty too)—due to some niche jokes that made us feel part of a clique—but it was largely written off by fans for being too self-indulgent. But the show has managed to find its centre again on its latest season. Some might even say—including me—that it’s the best the show has ever been. 

This year the show-runners amped up the star power, bringing in Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria and Zach Galifianakis to shadow our three investigators (Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short) for a Hollywood-themed season. The high-calibre cast is backed by engaging writing that delivers on thrills, warmth and wit, and is deadly serious about making the viewers laugh. 

Available on Disney+ Hotstar

3. Colin From Accounts

The meet-cute is the most important ingredient for a potent romantic comedy. But the way this Australian comedy establishes the primary relationship of the series is… quite unorthodox. It all starts with a boob-flash. Nicholas Sparks could never. On her way to a seminar, 29-year-old Ashley thanks micro-brewer Gordon for letting her cross the road by showing some skin. Distracted by the daylight strip-tease, he ends up driving over an unaccompanied dog—the titular character of the show and the glue that binds this unlikely couple together. 

The first season did a great job of setting up the characters, explaining exactly why they’ve been single all this while—they’re both incredibly immature and selfish. But as with every comedy, the writers managed to introduce some redeeming moments, making us root for the duo. The second season doubles down on these pros, as the couple tries to settle into each others’ lives. There’s great situational comedy. There’s a cute doggo. What more could you ask for?

Available on JioCinema

2. Curb Your Enthusiasm

This isn’t the first time Larry David has tried to call quits on Curb Your Enthusiasm. His character has died twice, has been booted out of heaven, and even went on a six-year-long hiatus only to be called back to work by the studio. It’s probably because he has PTSD from the infamous Seinfeld series finale, which got a lot of flack for the subpar ending to its characters’ stories. But don’t you worry, David stuck the landing with this final season of Curb. 

Over the previous 110 episodes, we’ve come to love David’s knack for turning everything into a gripe, as well as his adorable gang of weirdos—whether it’s Jeff Greene, Leone, Cheryl or Richard Lewis (RIP). This latest season was more of the same, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. At its core, Curb is a show that believes anything can be funny and it’s a tribute to David’s genius that they always make good on that promise. The final season might be a little rough around the edges, but it’s still a fitting end to one of TV’s most legendary and beloved comedies. 

Available on JioCinema

1. Hacks

Hacks, in my opinion, is the best show about standup comedy. It’s not just a delivery vehicle for punchlines. Instead, it manages to capture the darker aspects of being a comedian on the road, a writer struggling to land a good gig, and the pitfalls of complacency. It does so with such grit and sincerity, backed by incredible performances from Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, that right from its premiere season, the show has been a smashing success. 2022’s season two seemed like the perfect end to the series, effortlessly capturing how the two lead characters had rubbed off on each other in the most meaningful ways, completing their arcs near perfectly. 

That’s why it felt unnecessary for the show to return for a third season. Until I saw it. The new season managed to introduce more complex personal and professional dilemmas for our protagonists. A lot of the relationships that were simmering through the previous seasons reach a boil to deliver some moving television. But even in these emotionally charged moments, the writers manage to introduce the laughs to break the tension—just like any true comedian would do. 

Available on Netflix and JioCinema