Most fans fondly remember Seinfeld as “the show about nothing.” This, of course, came from the show itself, as Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) and George (Jason Alexander) pitched this very idea to fictional television executives on an episode of Seinfeld, mimicking the basic pointlessness and lack of lessons learned that their characters’ lives exalted in, and which made the actual show so darn funny. But that wasn’t the only characteristic that made Seinfeld such an immense success. There were several key ingredients that went into the Seinfeld pot, including highly irreverent humor bordering on sociopathic, complete selfishness of all the characters (even towards each other), relentless ridicule of anyone unlike themselves, and terrifically absurd supporting characters. Basically, it made no apologies for its complete absence of family or moral values, traits that had been used by almost all sitcoms until Seinfeld hit the airwaves. So, with the show having recently started streaming on Netflix, we at Collider thought we’d provide you, our dear readers, with some other viewing options that feature the same hilariously dark features of human behavior in which Seinfeld reveled.
1) Curb Your Enthusiasm
Where else would we start this list but with the show by and starring the co-creator of Seinfeld himself, Larry David. This is a man that’s been quoted as saying that George Costanza was based on himself. And if Curb Your Enthusiasm is anything like his real life, he’s not wrong. Larry (the scripted version) is just as selfish, offensive, and ignorantly self-destructive as any of the characters on Seinfeld. Plus, the show is an HBO original, and thus features content and situations that its predecessor, being a network sitcom, could never dare to explore. While Larry’s main group of pals aren’t quite as chemically perfect as the gang on Seinfeld, the laughs still come hard and fast in this fictional take on the man behind Seinfeld’s absurd daily life.
2) It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Depending on your taste for and tolerance of irreverence and dark humor, you might find this show even funnier than Seinfeld itself. I do. It features four dudes and a gal that run a pub in Philly. The characters themselves are all perfectly fleshed-out with antisocial and psychotic tendencies, and yet disparate enough from each other to make them fit perfectly together as the most dysfunctional group that may have ever been amassed on the small screen. This could also easily be defined as a show about nothing, as the gang’s episodic antics have run the gamut of pointlessness and absurdity, covering everything from filming laughably moronic versions of Lethal Weapon sequels to solving the mystery of who pooped the bed (Charlie [Charlie Day] and Frank [Danny DeVito] live in a tiny decrepit studio apartment, and so, both sleep on the same fold-out couch). If you’re easily offended, I’m not sure what you’re doing reading this article, but stay far, far away from this show.
3) The League
The League is another show with few boundaries when it comes to the appropriate or sacred. The main premise of the proceedings is a yearly fantasy football competition between a group of friends, which has allowed for guest appearances by quite a few NFL players, but more importantly, provokes the characters to do terrible and insidious things to each other to gain an advantage in the league. The cast is hilarious, featuring Mark Duplass, Nick Kroll, Katie Aselton, Jason Mantzoukas, and even the occasional drop-in by Seth Rogen. Like Jerry’s character in Seinfeld, Duplass’s Pete tends to date a different girl every week and find insignificant idiosyncrasies in them to take issue with.
4) Veep
One could hardly write a Seinfeld-like list of shows without including Veep. Here, Seinfeld’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus takes on a hilariously thankless job as Vice President of the United States, equipped with a staff that’s roughly half incompetent and half destructively self-serving. The veep herself is highly selfish, making political promises she couldn’t care less about keeping (can you imagine something like that?), making good-will appearances and then mocking the people and causes she claims to be behind, and putting her own aspirations above even the well-being of her own daughter. None of it gets too dark, and it’s all in good fun. Very good fun.
5) Workaholics
Workaholics is a bit like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, except that the three protagonists here live together and work as telemarketers, instead of running a bar. Their humor also stems more from a place of incredible ignorance, repeated romantic and sexual failure, and good old-fashioned alcoholism and drug use. Basically, they lampoon themselves more than anyone else around them, not that they don’t have a great supporting cast of comedians. Workaholics features younger talent, and as such, more juvenile humor than the others on this list, but it is still hilarious.
6) You’re the Worst
This show may feature the most uncaring, sociopathic characters of all on this list, and that’s saying something. In fact, the main premise of You’re the Worst is the relationship between Jimmy (Chris Geere) and Getchen (Aya Cash), who only really get together because they’re such hateful misanthropes that no one else could stand them. Still, they have their small group of friends who have their own comedic idiosyncrasies, and who, along with Jimmy and Getchen, all mistreat and bad-mouth each other to riotous effect.
7) Arrested Development
While Arrested Development does feature an actual family, with children and all, like most sitcoms do, it does not try to dole out life lessons and heartfelt moments. Not one bit. The family is deeply dysfunctional, a once-powerful dynasty that has fallen onto hard but hilarious times. The cast is killer, featuring the talents of Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Jessica Walter, David Cross, and Alia Katshaw. Most of the characters are so psychologically off, they could never survive in society without what little money and support the family has left. While they do come together on occasion (when it suits their interests), don’t look here for tender family fare. You won’t find it.