Music? Great. TV shows? Great. Musical TV shows? Buddy, now we're cooking with gas!

If you've been needing some new binge-worthy shows in your life, and want those binge sessions to come stacked with catchy-ass tunes to get stuck in your head, look no further. While the history of the musical television show is still not as long and experimental as, say, the history of the musical film, there are still plenty of options to choose from, and plenty of honorable mentions left off this list (shout-outs to The Singing Detective, Tenacious D, and Nashville in particular).

\Producing a television show under standard circumstances is hard enough as is -- adding the necessity of full-on musical numbers every episode, especially if the numbers are original? The hugest of props must be given to all cast and crew members on these shows for putting in the work. And now: You get to reap the rewards. Here are the 10 best musical TV shows you can watch right now. A five, six, seven, eight...

Animaniacs

I don't know what to say, the monkeys won't do.

Created by: Tom Ruegger

Cast: Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, Tress MacNeille, John Mariano, Chick Vennera, Maurice LaMarche, Frank Welker, Bernadette Peters, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Brown, Laura Mooney, Sherri Stoner, Nathan Ruegger, Paul Rugg, Luke Ruegger, Cody Ruegger, Jim Cummings, Tom Bodett, Jeff Bennett

Those zany-to-the-max Warner Brothers — and the Warner Sister — of Animaniacs were foundational characters for millennials of a certain age. Serving as one of Warner Bros' many sterling television cartoons in the 1990s, Animaniacs follows Yakko (Rob Paulsen), Wakko (Jess Harnell), and Dot (Tress MacNeille), three lunatics who live in the WB water tower and get into all kinds of misadventures. Often, these misadventures involve surreal shorts, genre spoofs that children would absolutely not understand, and mini-episodes involving other characters (including that iconic duo Pinky and the Brain). But with regularity, these misadventures involved music — so much music that the original cast and composer Randy Rogel often put on live concert performances of tunes from the show (I've been to one, and it is a must).  The tunes cover the repertoire of musical genres and styles, giving children (and, often, adults) watching not just an education vis-a-vis what the characters are singing about (i.e. the "Nations of the World" song), but a subtle musical education, too (i.e. giving the kids a taste of friggin' Bernstein!). The fact that Animaniacs spins all of these plates with consistent professionalism, care in quality, and surreal irreverence will always put it a cut or twelve above the children's' musical programming being produced during its time.

Central Park

Weirdos make great superheroes.

Created by: Loren Bouchard, Josh Gad, Nora Smith

Cast: Kristen Bell, Tituss Burgess, Daveed Diggs, Josh Gad, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Stanley Tucci

The new Apple TV+ show Central Park centers in on the Tillerman family, who live on a property in the heart of Central Park (you know, that big park in New York). Owen Tillerman (Leslie Odom Jr.) is the park manager, a hard-working worry-wart who wants desperately for his park to maintain its quality. His wife Paige (Kathryn Hahn) is a local journalist who wants desperately to find the next big scoop. They have two kids: Molly (Kristen Bell), who draws superhero comics of herself and wants desperately to fit in to the real world; and Cole (Tituss Burgess), an emotion-driven, heart-forward child who wants desperately to make a connection with a dog. But not just any dog. The dog belonging to Bitsy Brandenham (Stanley Tucci), an irascible hotel heiress who desperately wants to replace Central Park with condos. But what does her bitter assistant Helen (Daveed Diggs) have to say about that? All of this and more is narrated by a musical troubador played, naturally, by Josh Gad.

Beyond the show's rat-a-tat joke pace and emotional vulnerability (all great), the tunes in this sucker slap. While each episode seems to have a certain few house songwriters turning in consistent work (special shout out to Brent Knopf for his inspirational disco bop “Do It While You Can”), they also seem to hire specific writers to tackle just one song or episode at a time. This gives us sterling talent like Sara Bareilles, Rafael Casal, Utkarsh Ambudkar, the songwriters behind Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, and friggin’ Cyndi Lauper. And they came to play. From the very first number, a grand opening tune in the tradition of “Belle,” blowing the roof off the sucker with its “they could afford this on streaming?” orchestral arrangements, the work here is phenomenal. If you dug Bob’s Burgers‘ musical numbers and wanted more, Central Park will scratch that itch and then some (and read my full review here!).

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Doc, prescribe me my tribe, give me my throng, tell me that this whole time I've belonged with those other people who share: My diagnosis.

Created by: Rachel Bloom, Aline Brosh McKenna

Cast: Rachel Bloom, Vincent Rodriguez III, Santino Fontana, Donna Lynne Champlin, Pete Gardner, Vella Lovell, Gabrielle Ruiz, David Hull, Scott Michael Foster, Skylar Astin

No, it's not a predictable rom-com about a "crazy ex-girlfriend." Instead, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend rewrote just about every expectation you'd have for every genre footstep in its path, crafting stunning, hilarious, provocative, and open-minded tunes along the way. Co-creator Rachel Bloom stars as Rebecca Bunch, and yes, the inciting incident is her moving from New York to West Covina, California to pursue her ex-boyfriend (Vincent Rodriguez III, sterling). But the series has bigger things on its mind, and gets to those things quickly and catchily. Rebecca's journey of self-actualization, told over four seasons, is vulnerable, endearing, prickly, and real, even when it bursts into full-on musical numbers. I'm especially struck by the show's exploration and destigmatization of mental illness, with numbers like "Anti-Depressants Are So Not a Big Deal" making big, scary issues feel tackleable. Assured storytelling, deeper-than-first-glance character motivations, a wide swath of issues to explore, and phenomenal songs to boot? Get yourself on a plane to West Covina, stat.

Flight of the Conchords

I'm not crying, it's just been raining on my face. And if you think you see some tear tracks down my cheeks, please, please don't tell my mates.

Created by: James Bobin, Jemaine Clement, Bret McKenzie

Cast: Jemaine Clement, Bret McKenzie, Rhys Darby, Kristen Schaal, Arj Barker

For two seasons on HBO, we watched as the Flight of the Conchords, New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo, did their best to get by in New York City. Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, also the co-creators (and also the real life band this is based on), try to score gigs, find satisfying relationships, deal with their one fan (Kristen Schaal, wide-eyed and looney), and try to get through to their daft manager Murray (Rhys Darby, "present"). The show's comedy style is quiet, awkward, naturalistic, and heartfelt, making its bursts into imaginatively surreal musical numbers all the more magical. Tunes like "Inner City Pressure" and "Too Many Mutha Uckas" work as comedy musical numbers on many different levels: They're briefly cathartic bursts of what the characters actually want to express, their lyrics are full of self-contained silliness, and their musical stylings both demonstrate expert knowledge of the genres they're parodying and, frankly, bump as the genres unto themselves. Flight of the Conchords is a curious, low-key alchemy of low-key wonder, a weirdo musical comedy for the weirdos who want more in all of us.

Galavant

And then, from out of nowhere, I'll look at you and think: Maybe you're not the worst thing ever.

Created by: Dan Fogelman

Cast: Joshua Sasse, Timothy Omundson, Vinnie Jones, Mallory Jansen, Karen David, Luke Youngblood

Here's a tip: If you're looking to make a high-concept, high-fantasy musical comedy television series, hiring Alan Menken is a pretty good start. The legendary composer (Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin) lent his talents to Galavant, a two-season ABC series sadly cut down in its prime, and Menken's expertise (and willingness to play with his expertise) yields wonderful results. The title role (a dashing, doofy Joshua Sasse) is a heroically adventuring knight, eager to destroy the evil king (Timothy Omundson) and reunite with his beloved (Mallory Jansen). Standard fantasy stuff, yeah? Good. Galavant is eager that you know all the genre tropes that come with the territory, and is eager to muck around with them in silly-but-sweet, critical-but-loving fashion. The tunes in this sucker are fun, broad, brash, stingingly hilarious, feel like they could belong in a straight musical easily, and will absolutely stick themselves to your craw. (I, to this day, will randomly hum to myself the seven-note melody of the main theme before yell-singing "Gaaaaalavaaaaant" out of nowhere.) Plus: Its second season reaches "Arrested Development third season" meta-awareness peaks, crafting songs and stories deliberately commenting on the show's near-cancellation and status as a critically beloved, low-rated weirdo. Get yourself a big ol' smile on your face, and get some Galavant in your life.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series

Let my hair down and let it go, no more running, I run this show. Way up here, yeah, the view is gold. Born to be brave.

Created by: Tim Federle

Cast: Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, Matt Cornett, Sofia Wylie, Larry Saperstein, Julia Lester, Dara Reneé, Frankie Rodriguez, Mark St. Cyr, Kate Reinders

From your first glance at the title of this thing, you know High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is deeper than it seems. It is not a Disney+ reboot of the original 2000s franchise. Nor is it a new story with similar beats to any iteration of High School Musical past. Rather, it is somehow a mockumentary of a high school putting on a stage production of High School Musical that also manages to explode with original musical numbers itself. How the show manages to engage in this much meta-trickery with sharper-than-your-average-Disney-original-series-humor while still giving us earnest explorations of heartfelt adolescents while also giving us exemplary LGBTQ+ characters (see, Disney, it can be done!) is no small testament to creator Tim Federle and his team. The show is laugh-out-loud funny and cry-out-loud deep in equal measure, with lovely, character-driven renditions of the original franchise's well-known tunes playing with new, more contemporary pop feeling tunes splendidly. With apologies to that uneven sweetheart Glee, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is the high school musical show you need to be watching.

Katy Keene

I wanna cut through the clouds, break the ceiling. I wanna dance on the roof, you and me alone. I wanna cut to the feeling.

Created by: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Michael Grassi

Cast: Lucy Hale, Ashleigh Murray, Katherine LaNasa, Julia Chan, Jonny Beauchamp, Lucien Laviscount, Zane Holtz, Camille Hyde

The rare spinoff that just might best its source material, Katy Keene steps away from the "Twin Peaks for teens" genre trappings of Riverdale to carve its own delightful identity. Lucy Hale stars as the title character, an aspiring fashion designer who moves to New York City to try and make it, alongside other young friends with similar dreams (including Ashleigh Murray as Josie, without her Pussycats). Much of the characters' dreams take us to Broadway, and thank goodness for that, because it gives the show's wonderful propensity to break into song a clear, reality-ish-driven context and even a touch of grit. The tunes range from lovely originals to needle drop pop bangers (including the above-quoted Carly Rae Jepsen jam "Cut to the Feeling"), but the show's musical masterpiece thus far might be its Kiss of the Spider Woman episode. In it, that original musical's queer exploration of the power of performance and genre in the face of trauma is given a startling, perfectly edited new contextualization, resulting in a stunning hour of television. With apologies to Smash, another uneven sweetheart, Katy Keene is the aspiring Broadway musical show you need to be watching.

The Muppet Show

It's time to get things started on the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, Muppetational, this is what we call the Muppet Show!

Created by: Jim Henson

Cast: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold, Kathryn Mullen, Eren Ozker, John Lovelady

I mean, come on. How are we gonna talk musical TV shows without giving props to this beautiful cast of felt weirdos, the wonderful guest hosts who played with them, and the old-school-entertainer-mixed-with-postmodern-comic-trickery vibes of all its perfect musical numbers? The Muppet Show, originally airing from 1974-1981, was the breakthrough series for Jim Henson's indelible creations The Muppets, including iconic characters like Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and many, many more (Sesame Street debuted before The Muppet Show, and features a litany of incredible songs itself, but has since fostered its own cultural identity outside of "The Muppets"). While many may understandably remember the musical legacy of The Muppets via the original songs from their films (i.e. "Rainbow Connection"), it's important to note just how influential the musical numbers from the show, pre-existing songs they may have been, came to be on our contemporary TV comedies and musicals. We don't have Carpool Karaoke, Classroom Instrument Covers, or friggin' David Byrne appearing in a John Mulaney musical comedy special without "serious folks" like Alice Cooper and Paul Simon stopping by to give their image a well-needed a-skewering. The Muppet Show wrote the playbook by messing with the playbook, and continues to be a sweetly transgressive gem.

Phineas and Ferb

So you're saying that you don't have rhythm: But listen what you're doing right there. With that stamp and a book, ya got a real nice hook, sounds to me like you've got rhythm to spare!

Created by: Dan Povenmire, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh

Cast: Vincent Martella, Thomas Sangster, Ashley Tisdale, Dee Bradley Baker, Dan Povenmire, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, Caroline Rhea, Richard O'Brien, Alyson Stoner, Mitchel Musso, Maulik Pancholy, Bobby Gaylor, Olivia Olson, Kelly Hu, Ariel Winter

From episode two of Phineas and Ferb on, creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh (hell yeah) have made sure that every episode of the charming, delightful, zany, and sweet series has had at least one song embedded into its DNA. The show's typical narrative engine involves step brothers Phineas (Vincent Martella) and Ferb (Thomas Sangster) undergoing a zany scheme to keep themselves busy, annoy the heck out of the rest of their family, and stop the evil Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Povenmire) from pulling off his dastardly plans. As such, Povenmire and Marsh have plenty of room to take their schemes to the limits of absurdity and back, providing plenty of opportunities for all kinds of songs with all kinds of lessons and genres to take place. Some of the songs are pure blasts of silliness (a mode this show is very good at), many of the songs are heartwarming lesson-teachers, and some of the songs are even about the joys of songs themselves (especially the previously quoted "Ain't Got Rhythm"). Phineas and Ferb is a delightful blast of energy for the whole dang family, a delightful synthesis of comic muckraking and narrative sentiment.

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

When something gets in my way, I go 'round it. Don't let life get me down, gonna take it the way that I found it: I got the music in me.

Created by: Austin Winsberg

Cast: Jane Levy, Skylar Astin, Alex Newell, John Clarence Stewart, Peter Gallagher, Mary Steenburgen, Lauren Graham

Remember the classic Scrubs musical episode where a patient has some kind of neurological disorder that renders in her hearing everything as though it's a musical? Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, in some ways, takes this narrative hook, crosses it with some Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and yields a wonderful show keen on crafting its own complicated point of view along the way. Jane Levy stars as Zoey, a computer programmer who gets a literal playlist of songs downloaded into her brain during a freak accident. As a result, she walks through her life with sudden bursts of song-and-dance numbers, generally revealing and deepening what we (and she) know about the people around her, including her coworker/crush Skylar Astin, father Peter Gallagher, and mother, real-life songwriter Mary Steenburgen. The tunes will all be familiar, but Zoey's usage of the jukebox musical tropes is nothing but. Razzle dazzle is on full display, to be sure. But Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist stays stuck in my head because of its willingness to go dark, real, and critical of what its characters want. Give this criminally underwatched show a watch, and you just might find your new favorite addition to your own TV playlist.