There are countless scenarios in life that lead us to the point of needing to zone out in front of a belly-achingly funny TV show. Sinking our teeth into the humour or someone else's troubles can offer much-needed reprieve from our own realities. Which is why we're rounding up the best feel good TV shows for your next bout of the blues, below.

Fleabag

Phoebe Waller-Bridge's masterpiece Fleabag checks all of the boxes. A POV into the life of a discombobulated (albeit) hilarious woman, "Fleabag", who is navigating life after the death of her best friend. There's bravado, there's grief, there's hot priests, and there is cracking humour.

Broad City

The show we know and love, the show we all wish was a real-life recollection of life in NYC with our best friends. A tribute to what life was like when you could sit on the floor of the subway eating noodles and carrying street-side couches across the city without catching COVID, Broad City follows the messy, lo-fi lives of Abbi and Ilana as they wade through the reality of life, love, and friendship.

Chewing Gum

Michaela Coel's debut TV show is often missed in the spotlight of I May Destroy You, but if you're a fan of her work, you'll be a fan of Chewing Gum. Tracey, a repressed 20-something resident of a London housing project, is determined to lose her virginity, and will practically stop at nothing to get the job done. Laden with completely bonkers happenings and humour that will have you staring wide-eyed at your screen, Chewing Gum is truly transportive.

Schitts Creek

Endless laughs, endless praise. When the affluent Rose family suddenly and unexpectedly go bankrupt, they are forced to navigate a new life from adjoining rooms in a motel in Schitts Creek - a town that Johnny Rose bought as a joke many years ago. What ensues is priceless comedy.

Feel Good

Apt for the title of this story, Mae Martin's stunning television debut is a semi-autobiographical series that follows comedian, Mae, as they navigate a new relationship with the previously straight George, while wrestling with past addiction. Tender, hilarious, and glaringly relatable for many LGBTQI+ folks, Feel Good deals with themes of identity, love, reconciliation and healing.

Pen15

The most cringe comedy of all. Two 31-year-olds play themselves in middle school as it really happened. 31-year-olds acting in the bodies of 13-year-olds, surrounded by a cast of 13-year-old's was always going to make for interesting television, and Pen15 couldn't have executed it better.

Arrested Development

The original Schitts Creek. When the Bluth family empire is soiled by George Bluth's fraudulent handling of the family fortune, Michael Bluth has to step in to prop the family up, while the rest of them attempt to get on with a downsized life in a model home. Classic, comedic, and chaotic.

Sex Education

Otis, an insecure teenager whose mother (to his embarrassment) is a sex-therapist (and also Gillian Anderson), is just trying to make it through high school when he finds he has a unique gift passed down from his mother's profession. Funny, sweet and completely irreverent, Sex Education perfectly captures the absolute awkwardness that teenage life is while championing dialogue around high-school sex and the lack of education we face.

Crashing

Phoebe Waller-Bridges directorial debut, and the strangest of shows. Following the lives of six characters in their 20s, a group of young adults become housemates as they squat in a disused hospital based in the city, for not much more than £25 a week. A coming-of-age of sorts, alongside a tale of love and work in a big city as well as, obviously, dealing with the quirks of living in a derelict hospital with strangers.

Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls has made its way into cult classics – and stayed there – for good reason. Inseparable mother-daughter duo Lorelai and Rory love (and fight) like sisters. The duo's playground is Stars Hollow, Connecticut, the quaint and charming town of our pumpkin-spiced latte dreams. The American comedy-drama TV series is fitting for any mood, and we will stand by that declaration.

Nobody Wants This

This one follows the flame of an agnostic sex podcaster and a newly single rabbi. A match made in heaven. The two navigate newfound hurdles of fostering a relationship despite their vast differences.  Messy and complicated, this romcom is a fan favourite in the RUSSH office.

Sex and the City

Naturally, we couldn't do a round-up of favourites without including the dogma – also known as SATC. I rewatch this final boss of a feel-good show annually. We are certain you already know the synopsis and can recite bar for bar. Although if you're new here, allow us. With a backdrop of NYC, the six seasons span from 1998-2004 and follow Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda across every area of their life: dating, shopping, and gossiping. This show is the dream of every nostalgic-ridden writer.

The Office

A mockumentary masterpiece, this show is on a loop at home for me. It is one of those low-effort shows you can jump in and out of whenever you please, with a laugh guaranteed. No overthinking required. Set in the most desolate paper supply office in the stagnant town of Scranton, the office is orchestrated by the most delusional boss of all time, Michael Scott, with whom you develop a love-hate whiplash relationship.

I Love LA

Set in Hollywood with a stacked cast (think Quen Blackwell, Josh Hutcherson and Jordan Firstman), the show is led by and stars Rachel Senott, which aired at the backend of this year. The plot follows a group of aspirational individuals in their 20s who are struggling to navigate their careers, toxic dating scenes and the uncertainty of their twenties. Sound familiar? Join the club.

Grace and Frankie

Two arch enemies, Grace and Frankie, drop their walls when they find out that their husbands are having an affair. Grace is a retired cosmetics magnate, and Frankie is an eccentric art teacher; although the two couldn't be more different, it is their dissimilarities that bring them closer. What follows is the most hilarious series of events paired with a fresh, unlikely friendship, providing the utterly sweet realisation that there's no deadline on welcoming new friendships into our lives.

Overcompensating

This semi-autobiographical comedy-drama series follows Benny, who ticks all of the boxes of an American high school jock: former football player, valedictorian and homecoming king. Navigating his sexuality, Benny finds himself overcompensating to keep up the machismo act to try and justify himself to the bros. In the process, he befriends a sweethearted, shy girl who goes by the name of Carmen. Created by Benito Skinner (who doubles down by taking on the role of Benny), this one explores themes of selfhood, identity and coming of age, which is underscored by a prominent rebuttal of toxic masculinity.