Our staff, readers, and guest judges selected the heavyweight comedies of 2017.
2017 was a year in which we all needed to laugh.
Hell, 2018 probably will be too.
The social media-enabled entropy of day to day life seems to be on perpetual upward swing of misery.
But hey, comedy!
The amount of worthwhile comedies on television right now is staggering.
The number gets higher every year and the laughs more potent.
This year we had 38 (!!!!)
Finding and categorizing the best of anything on TV is becoming an increasingly fruitless venture.
But we have to because the shows simply deserve it.
Television comedy made the world a brighter place in 2017 than it had any right to be.
Least we could do is highlight some of our favorites.
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How We Voted
We turned to our staff once more to pick favorites.
We polled 12Den of Geekwriters selected their five favorite comedies of the year, ranked five through one.
Shows in first place received five points; second place received four points and so on.
After that we added couple of new wrinkles for 2017.
See the results below but suffice it to say you did a good job and were proud of you.
Our Guest Judges
We also brought in some luminary guest judges to offer their votes as well.
Difficult People (Hulu)
Hulu, if youre listening, hey keepDifficult Peopleon forever.
This Klausner-created comedy is basically about two 30-something folks trying to make it in showbiz by any means necessary.
And yeah, they are pretty terrible, which makes the show a real gem.
Nothing is off the table for Julie and Billy.
They hate everyone and everything equallyexcept each other.
If there can be a joke made about it you better believe that Billy and Julie are on it.
Few things are better than hilariously unredeemable characters, and Julie and Billy win that award hands down.
Daniella Bondar
16.
Surely there must have been some raised eyebrows.
But more importantly,it helped raise the bar in 2017 for sharp and brutally clever television comedyas well.
Plus, Marc Maron can act, and as a strangely lovable degenerate too.
David Crow
15.
Vice Principals
Comedies rarely get as dark asVice Principals.
Nick Harley
14.
Every episode operates with such a degree of efficiency with the Rube Goldberg-ian structure of its stories.
VEEPs sixth season arguably contains the most creative drive of any of the shows seasons.
Daniel Kurland
13.
But that only makes it all the more impressive how moving and heartfeltBasketsis.
The second season also wowed in how fearless it was in shaking up its structure.
Joe Matar
12.
If that doesnt sound particularly funny to you, youre probably not watchingCrazy Ex-Girlfriend.
Mining mental health issues for humor is a tough thing, andCrazy Exdoes it justice.
Lets Generalize About Men was hilariously cathartic as it simultaneously empathizes with and sends up girl-power Misandry.
Delia Harrington
11.
Perhaps youll even make something beautiful out of it?
What like a show about bunch of kids masturbating?
Isnt that just like child pornography?
Holy shit I hope not!, the Monster replies.
I mean, maybe if its animated we can get away with it.
Thank GodBig Mouthexists and thank God its animated because there is absolutely no way it could exist otherwise.
And for obvious, lets-not-exploit-children reasons.Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldbergs animated masterpieceBig Mouthhelps to rectify that.
Alec Bojalad
10.
The Sam character is so fresh while somehow being so relatable.
Sure its funnyalbeit in a very dark way usuallybut its so much more than that.
Better Thingsis a family comedy for the times.
Adlon illustrates a portrait of motherhood that is raw and pure.
Mothers are human too.
They scream and fall down and fuck up, andBetter Thingsshows just how normal and okay that is.
Andre Braughers work as Holt is a revelation and Andy Samberg has grown as an actor through the seasons.
It feels odd designatingMaster of Noneas a comedy when at the heart of the season is an Italian romance.
Its just another example of the modern, relevant, and thoughtful writing thatMaster of Nonepulls off with ease.
BoJack Horseman
Four seasons in,BoJack Horsemancould derisively be described as that horse with depression show.
Season four of Raphael Bob-Waksberg brilliant animated series reads the room and knows exactly when to divert its path.
BoJack Horseman isnt suddenly happy and fulfilled.
Its increasingly unlikely BoJack will ever be either of those things.
It does, however, present a BoJack whose interested in self improvement.
BoJack Horseman leans into the past to find answer and the show does the same.
The season is another excellent, emotionally astute year of television.
And the season still finds the time for the ultimate bottle episode: several leagues under Hollywood, California.
When you hit rock bottom, theres only one place to go: up.
Thats exactly where BoJack Horseman is heading and BoJack Horseman is following him there.
Broad City
With each passing season,Broad Citymanages to be in the highest echelon of fucking great comedy.
For its fourth season, Jacobson and Glazer decided to move their pot-hazed adventures from summer to winter.
While the series took on some more serious themes, it managed to keep all the fun and lightheartedness.
Broad Cityis one of those shows that is way more brilliant than it seems.
Throw out all your self-help books and letBroad Cityguide you through.
John Earlys freak out as Elliot must truly be seen to be believed.
Search Partyis insanely funny, but also devastatingly dramatic and suspenseful.
This year there were few showsdramas includedthat made me shout at the screen more thanSearch Party.
web connection comedies are supposed to be safe, like comfort foods.
The idea shouldnt be capable of sustaining itself, and yet somehow it does, and confidently at that.
Usually a show that burns through this much plot is a trainwreck, not a delightfultrolley wreck on loop.
Also,The Good Placesomehow makes philosophy both easy to understand and fun!
Fielder doesnt have the business acumen of Mark Cuban or Mr. Nathan For Youand its protagonist have evolved and grown more confident with each season.
Nathan For You: A Celebration is like a hybrid ofShark TanksBeyond the Tankand a reality show reunion special.
Chris Longo
1.
Rick and Morty
As DAngelo Barksdale once said The king stay the king.
Sure, the cracks in the cultural bedrock ofRick and Mortyfandom started to show a bit this year.
Rick and Mortyin its third season still knew how to make the best of its science fiction concept.
Its an animated show set in a world of infinite universes where anything can happen.
The showss imagination remains enormous and its humor, sharp and hilarious.
Its most important trait, however, is its careful understanding of the human condition.
Yes, it was funny when Rick turned himself into a pickle.
Dont lose sight of the fact that he did it to get out of going to family therapy.
And if you dont like it being #1, dont worry.
To be fair, you have tohave a very high IQ to understand Rick and Morty.
