Are there any other shows out there of this sort of lighthearted nature, yet made with quality writing, out there?
It feels like a lot of recent things we’ve watched has been a bit grim and/or relies on spectacle rather than telling a good story and working a few jokes in along the way … the world is on fire, I’d like to stop it and get off, if only for a few minutes at a time.
If you want to keep the space theme going, Star Trek Lower Decks is lighthearted an fun. It probably helps if you’ve seen lots of Star Trek, but I’d say give it a shot.
I’d also recommend Bob’s Burgers. It’s not going to give you much in terms of long term story arcs, but each episode is its own self contained story. The family in the show is just great and fits your lightheaded criteria.
Resident Alien has a similar mix of comedy and serious sci-fi as the Orville.
It’s fucking amazing too!
Have you tried Our Flag Means Death fanfiction? My wife is really into it lol.
Letterkenny is fantastic.
What We Do In the Shadows.
It’s another one from Taika Waititi, who did our Flag means Death. Probably his best work, yet. Plus it has Matt Berry!
It’s a fake reality TV documentary about a group of vampires that are roommates in an old house on Staten Island, and their human servant who helps them with the promise they will turn him some day.
Along the same lines, Wellington Paranormal. It’s short but hilarious and ties into What We Do in the Shadows.
I’ve watched this, good show
Love wellington paranormal. Not enough people know about it
If you like those shows, check out Norsemen on Netflix. It’s like vikings but very silly. Very tongue in cheek.
Also, if you like that, then check out wellington paranormal. It’s a hilariously dry show about some new Zealand cops dealing with crazy paranormal shit. The balance between the dry wit and the ridiculousness of the situations is unmatched. It’s like Reno 911 meets the x-files.
Really? Im going to check it out now with that description.
Awesome! I hope you like it, and with the shows you mentioned, I have a good feeling you will.
What we do in the shadows
Miracle Workers with Daniel Radcliffe, Steve Buscemi, and a great cast. Each season is a different setting, it’s so good.
Have you seen Star Trek TNG? If not, then check that out, since it’s the inspiration for The Orville. It’s not as comedic, but it’s hopeful and not dark, and there’s a decent amount of comedy in there. Skip season one if you’re not a Star Trek fan.
And if you want to err on the side of more comedic instead, go for Star Trek: Lower Decks.
You might want to have a look at Firefly. It’s a bit odd and a mix of serious and lighthearted and sometimes downright goofy (the hero of canton 🎵), which makes it one of my absolute favorites. Please just watch it in the dvd release order, they seriously messed it up on tv.
this and lord of the rings sit in a special place on my shelf on their own in a show off type of way.
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin has a similar vibe to Our Flag Means Death, maybe a little goofier. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19516036/?ref_=ext_shr
Strange New Worlds is the closest I can think of to a current show that is somewhat close to Orville.
Guessing you’re after found families.
Mythic quest: raven’s banquest. Stick with it. The first few eps are middling, but then they find their feet and voice
What we do in the shadows, same deal
Ghosts - cbs or bbc, both good in different ways. Bbc is gentler, cbs is unhinged in the best way
If you enjoy a little bit of history, you might enjoy Detectorists. It’s fairly short, but it’s a fun watch.
I don’t know if I would call a comedy about a group of vampires that are roommates living in Staten Island as ‘light hearted’ but I’d suggest What We do in the Shadows. Think the office/parks and rec style work place moucumentary sitcom with characters totally out of touch with reality and the time they’re living in turned up a bit on the absurd.
The office and parks and recs was too similar and run of the mill. Both shows were wildly overrated. Like they were doing the “hint hint, nudge nudge” thing, but they were screaming “hint hint” in your face, and “nudging” you with a hand on the fist to put extra force into their elbow going into your ribs. It wasn’t nearly as subtle as people acted, and was mostly just annoying.
I agree that they are extremely similar seeing how both were created by Greg Daniels. Both are funny upon first watch but I do not see the office as the greatest sitcom ever, it gets old and replayed way too much. I was more so comparing what we do in the shadows to the office and parks and rec in the shows format- Fake reality shows following around people in their day to day lives (undead lives in the case or WWDITS).
Ahh ok I get it. That makes sense.
Seconded
