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THE 18 MOST EXCITING COMEDIES COMING TO TV THIS SPRING

LOL



It’s our spring TV comedy preview! Everyone from Ted Lasso to Catherine the
Great and Carol Burnett herself is coming to help us laugh our way through the
next few months.

THE DAILY BEAST

Updated Mar. 06, 2023 10:35AM ET / Published Mar. 06, 2023 3:56AM ET 


PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY THOMAS LEVINSON/THE DAILY
BEAST/NETFLIX/APPLE/HULU/SEARCHLIGHT



There’s a plethora of dark-and-twisty content to look forward to this spring
because, well, this is 2023—darkness and twistiness is the current state of
being. That’s why we’re so grateful for these 18 series, specials, and movies
coming to TV and streaming in the next three months.

From a “history of the world” that’s been four decades in the making to more Ted
Lasso, more Bob Odenkirk, and more musical theater, there’s no shortage of
laughs and joy coming down the pike. Presented in order of their premiere dates,
here are some of the most exciting new TV projects coming this spring.


HISTORY OF THE WORLD: PART II


MAR. 6 ON HULU




A continuation of Mel Brooks’ 1981 screwball comedy film, History of the World:
Part II takes a deeper dive into, well, the history of the world. The Hulu show,
which will air over four nights with a total of eight episodes, stars a handful
of big celebs: Seth Rogen, Johnny Knoxville, Taika Waititi, Emily Ratajkowski,
and Tyler James Williams, to name a few. This sequel is 40 years in the making;
hopefully, the series lives up to its predecessor. —Fletcher Peters


TED LASSO (SEASON 3)


MAR. 15 ON APPLE TV+



There are rumors that Ted Lasso will end after the upcoming third season—say it
ain’t so! The Apple TV+ series about peppy American soccer coach has skyrocketed
in popularity since its premiere in 2020, taking home so, so many awards at the
Emmys and Golden Globes for its previous two seasons. Now, nearly two years
after Season 2 and some online discourse, the series will return for one
(final?) chapter of sweet biscuits and Roy Kent’s handsome sailor mouth. —F.P.


SWARM


MAR. 17 ON PRIME VIDEO



The logline for Swarm doesn’t exactly suggest a comedy: Dre (Dominique Fishback)
is “a young woman whose obsession with a pop star takes a dark turn.” But trust
that with co-creator Donald Glover (Atlanta) on board, this show will be as
funny as it is harrowing. Playwright Janine Nabors brings an especially biting
edge to this satirical, surreal, shocking take on what happens when fandom goes
too far. —Allegra Frank


LUCKY HANK


MAR. 19 ON AMC



Bob Odenkirk is back on TV, one year after loosening Saul Goodman’s tie for the
last time. For AMC’s Lucky Hank, he’ll trade in a life of skirting legal gray
areas for another hellhole: a liberal arts college. This black comedy, based on
Richard Russo’s novel Straight Man, stars Odenkirk as the English department
chair at a small, rural college. Resources are low, and tensions are high. Hank
is a self-described “difficult man,” and Odenkirk seems like the perfect fit for
this irascible fiftysomething. —A.F.


UP HERE


MAR. 24 ON HULU



It’s been a long time since we’ve had a good musical rom com. Up Here looks like
a promising way to fill that gap, offering a La La Land-esque take on New York
in 1999. The series follows Lindsay (Mae Whitman) and Miguel (Carlos Valdes), as
they fall in love. If they want to pursue a relationship, they’re going to need
to settle the voices in their head (which are acted out by real people in this
show) to make things work. —F.P.


THE BIG DOOR PRIZE


MAR. 29 ON APPLE TV+



In this new Apple TV+ series, a mysterious machine appears in a small town’s
local grocery store. That device will purportedly reveal the true potential and
destiny of all who approach it. It’s sort of like when you dump what you think
is a ton of quarters into a Coinstar, only to find out you were holding onto
$17’s worth of change. Anyone who has read M.O. Walsh’s original novel knows
that The Big Door Prize promises to reveal much more wild, hilariously
existential possibilities than the contents of an old piggy bank. —Coleman
Spilde


MURDERY MYSTERY 2


MAR. 31 ON NETFLIX



Well, you just solved one puzzle: This is, indeed, the sequel to Murder Mystery.
You’re off to a great start! The follow-up to 2019’s hit Netflix original
reunites stars Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, who have spring-boarded from
their first international homicide snafu into becoming full blown private eyes.
When a mutual friend of the couple goes missing, they will have to secure their
detective hats once again to solve the crime in this comedy of errors, or risk
going belly-up in the cutthroat world of espionage. —C.S.


RYE LANE


MAR. 31 ON HULU



Rye Lane premiered at Sundance earlier this year, winning over critics with its
two lead stars’ (Vivian Oparah and Industry’s David Jonsson) performances.
Coming in at under 90 minutes-long, the romantic comedy flies by, as an
unexpected duo meets in a gallery, gossips about the struggles of their personal
lives, and tears their exes’ lives apart. The real question: Will there be a
second date? —F.P.


MO’NIQUE: MY NAME IS MO’NIQUE


APR. 4 ON NETFLIX



This has been a long time coming. Oscar-winning actress and comedian Mo’Nique is
finally coming to Netflix for her first standup special for the streamer. When
the special was announced last summer, it came as a pleasant surprise. Mo’Nique
had filed a lawsuit against Netflix in 2019, accusing the company of racial and
gender discrimination over their opening offer for her standup contract. That
suit was settled shortly before news of the special’s production broke, and
finally, the legendary comedian will be coming to our living rooms in April with
material she “thought she would take to her grave.” Sounds like a pretty juicy
set you won’t want to miss! —C.S.


SCHMIGADOON! (SEASON 2)


APR. 5 ON APPLE TV+

For an exact cross section of pop-culture fans, Schmigadoon!’s first season was
a dream too perfect to even dare to dream: Some of the industry’s most talented
comedy stars (Cecily Strong, Keegan-Michael Key, Martin Short), several Broadway
icons (Aaron Tveit, Ann Harada), and titans of both worlds (Kristin Chenoweth,
Alan Cumming) starred in a series about hikers who stumble upon a magical town
where everyone acts like they’re in a Golden Age Broadway musical, complete with
original tunes and spectacular production numbers. Season 2 applies the
treatment to Schmicago, set in the world of ’60s and ’70s musicals, like the
Kander & Ebb hit. The potential of the inevitable “All That Jazz” homage alone
has us excited. —Kevin Fallon


BEEF


APR. 6 ON NETFLIX

When a road-rage incident incites a feud between Danny (Steven Yeun), a
contractor whose business is in flux, and Amy (Ali Wong), a rich entrepreneur,
the two opposites become consumed by their interaction. Before long, their
dynamic threatens to undo both of their lives in dark but devilishly funny ways.
A24 is producing the series, so fans who gravitate toward the distinct style of
the company’s projects will certainly be gripped when the series premieres this
April. —C.S.


GREASE: RISE OF THE PINK LADIES


APR. 6 ON PARAMOUNT+



Grease has been the word for seven decades, and it shows no signs of stopping.
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies takes place at Rydell High School, four years
before Rizzo, Frenchie, and Marty ruled the school. It’s an origin story for the
pink jacket-wearing divas, charting how a group of outcasts dared to have fun on
their own terms, shaking up the straight-laced community and inciting a moral
panic. And, yes, it will be a musical series. You can’t have Grease without it.
—K.F.


SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE (SEASON 2)


APR. 23 ON HBO



We apologize for every angry, cynical thought we’ve had about the state of the
entertainment industry, because the return of Somebody Somewhere this spring
absolves every maddening, boneheaded programming decision networks and streamers
have made. Bridget Everett’s gem of a TV series is a big-hearted portrait of a
woman trying to figure out what in life makes her happy, while also wondering if
it’s too late for that. A sensational supporting performance from Jeff Hiller as
her best friend only adds to the excitement for the show’s return. —K.F.


CAROL BURNETT: 90 YEARS OF LAUGHTER AND LOVE


APR. 26 ON NBC

One of TV’s greatest comedy icons and biggest trailblazers is getting the
celebration she deserves. In honor of Carol Burnett’s 90th birthday, NBC is
throwing a TV special that includes musical tributes from Kristin Chenoweth,
Bernadette Peters, and Katy Perry, and special appearances from a star-studded
list of celebrities that includes Lily Tomlin, Kristin Wiig, Cher, Julie
Andrews, and more. Without a doubt, we’ll be so glad we had this time together.
—K.F.


THE LAST LATE LATE SHOW


APR. 27 ON CBS

James Corden’s nine-season, 1,000+-episode run as host of The Late Late Show has
been a wild ride. Embracing the late-night variety show format, regular sketches
like Carpool Karaoke and Crosswalk Musical became cultural phenomena—even if
Corden’s omnipresence in the zeitgeist eventually grated on some critics.
Nonetheless, we’ll all remember how delighted we were the first time we saw
Adele sitting in the passenger seat rapping Nicki Minaj’s verse from “Monster.”
—K.F.


THE AFTERPARTY (SEASON 2)


APR. 28 ON APPLE TV+

Season 2 of the Apple TV+ murder mystery series reunites us with these high
school reunion attendees, whose chaotic post-reunion soirée kicked off this
Rashoman-style story. But don’t expect them to re-open the same case: Season 1
ended by naming their classmate’s killer. Instead, stars Zoë Chao and Sam
Richardson are among the cast members returning to solve a new mystery. Tiffany
Haddish will again play a detective, who’s determined to find out which wedding
guest killed the groom. Among this season’s suspects are Zach Woods (Silicon
Valley), Anna Konkle (PEN15), and Ken Jeong (Community). —A.F.


THE GREAT (SEASON 3)


MAY 12 ON HULU

Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult’s Hulu series The Great is just as sexy as it is
sardonic. After an extended gap between seasons, the show will return in May for
Season 3, promising plenty of hilarious royal infighting between Catherine the
Great and Emperor Peter III. No, that sound of metal rustling isn’t the swords
of Catherine’s consorts getting ready to swing; it’s the noise of teenagers
unsheathing their phones for another 10 episodes’ worth of fancams. —C.S.


FUBAR


MAY 25 ON NETFLIX



The Terminator himself is starring in a TV series for the first time in his long
career. As CIA operative Luke, Arnold Schwarzenegger will toe the line of action
hero and doting dad in this spy-comedy about keeping secrets. Not only is Luke
working for the most secretive government organization in the country, but his
daughter Emma (Monica Barbaro) is too. Awkward! Expect laughs, love, and at
least one “I’ll be back” joke. —A.F.

Keep obsessing! Sign up for the Daily Beast’s Obsessed newsletter and follow us
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READ THIS LIST


‘THE LAST OF US’ TELLS A BLOOD-SOAKED COMING-OF-AGE STORY

SHANNON O’CONNOR


JONATHAN MAJORS IS ON A HOT STREAK (LITERALLY)

BARRY LEVITT


‘THE LAST OF US’ EPISODE 8 RECAP: DEATH BECOMES HER

SHANNON O’CONNOR


THE BIG ‘PERRY MASON’ MYSTERY: HOW’D THIS SHOW GO SO WRONG?

NICK SCHAGER


HOW THE ‘PERFECT MATCH’ POOL SCENE INCITED A FAN FRENZY

LAURA BRADLEY, FLETCHER PETERS




Hot Takes


‘THE LAST OF US’ SOAKED THE AVERAGE COMING-OF-AGE STORY IN BLOOD

ADULTING



Sweet, snarky Ellie has changed forever as of this week’s disturbing episode—a
shocking but necessary development in a show that’s secretly about growing up.

SHANNON O’CONNOR

Social Media Editor

Published Mar. 06, 2023 3:55AM ET 


PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY THOMAS LEVINSON/THE DAILY BEAST/HBO



Something irrevocably changes in Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in the final minutes of
The Last of Us’ eighth episode. It’s a loss of innocence moment that,
unfortunately, comes in every coming-of-age tale—which is exactly what the HBO
adaptation of the hit video game has turned out to be.

(Warning: Spoilers ahead!)

As she stabs David (Scott Shepherd) repeatedly with his own butcher knife, the
Ellie we’ve all come to know since the beginning of this long journey slips from
existence. Whatever shred of innocence she had left is gone.


 * HOW ‘THE LAST OF US’ CREATED TV’S BEST AND WORST FIRST DATE
   
   BEHIND THE EPISODE
   
   SHANNON O’CONNOR
   
   

It might seem strange to look at a story like The Last of Us—one so full of
pain, death and destruction—as a coming-of-age tale, but it is one for Ellie.
This is no John Hughes movie, that’s for sure, but the teen years in the
post-apocalyptic world are just as formative as they are for teens in our own
real-life dystopia. Sadly, here, they’re marked by much more gruesome darkness
than the coming-of-age stories we usually see in media. Ellie’s
short-but-harrowing 14 years of life have been littered with death and despair,
culminating in this childhood-shattering murder.



Even before she hit her teens, life was rough for Ellie. She never knew her
parents, instead raised as an orphan in a FEDRA school that eventually trained
her to be a cog in its fascist machine. Then, at the notoriously awful age of
14, she experienced her first love—and first loss. Falling for and then mourning
her best friend Riley (Storm Reid) was compounded with learning of her newfound
immunity to the pandemic-causing cordyceps fungus. However, this revelation gave
her a purpose: She couldn’t save Riley, but Ellie could save the world.

The carnage has unfortunately not subsided since Marlene (Merle Dandridge)
tasked Joel and Tess (Anna Torv) with smuggling Ellie out of Boston and
delivering her to the Fireflies, who will study her immunity to try to make a
vaccine. Ellie and Joel lost Tess early on in the journey, after she sacrificed
herself following a bite from an Infected. Later, she lost her new friend Sam
(Keivonn Woodard) after he was bitten by an Infected too, and his brother Henry
(Lamar Johnson) could not live without Sam; he took his own life right in front
of Ellie.


 * ‘THE LAST OF US’ TOLD A DEVASTATING STORY ABOUT PARENTING
   
   FOUND FAMILY
   
   SHANNON O’CONNOR
   
   

Sam and Henry’s deaths came as a big blow to Ellie—not only because she tried to
save Sam with some of her blood, but because Sam and Henry’s relationship echoed
so much of her and Joel’s bond. Could one really survive without the other? In
Henry and Sam’s case, Henry did not think so. In this moment, Ellie had to look
at how dependent both she and Joel had become upon each other, and face the hard
truth that someday, she could be the Sam to Joel’s Henry—or vice versa.

A traumatic event like the death of Sam and Henry seems likely to rob a young
person of their childlike optimism, but despite how painful their deaths were
Ellie still maintained her youthful spirit. While it continues to weigh heavily
on Ellie’s mind, it’s not until episode 8 that she truly sees the evil of the
world she lives in. That’s where David comes in.

Scott Shepherd and Bella Ramsey.

LIANE HENTSCHER/HBO

When Ellie meets David, she is immediately skeptical of him. They both stumble
upon the downed deer she was hunting. David, wanting to feed his community,
barters a deal to give Ellie medicine for Joel, in exchange for some of the
meat. She agrees but keeps her rifle trained on him, refusing to follow him or
his lackey James (Troy Baker) to town to get the medicine.

However, Ellie eventually agrees to go with David to a nearby abandoned home
(with the deer) to take shelter from the snow, as they wait for James to return.
It’s here that Ellie lets her guard down for a second. She learns more about
David: He is a teacher-turned-preacher (he found God after the apocalypse), and
he now leads the group that occupies the town nearby. He is more than happy to
welcome Ellie into their ranks.


 * ‘THE LAST OF US’ EASTER EGGS: EVERY REFERENCE YOU MISSED
   
   WINKS AND NODS
   
   SHANNON O’CONNOR
   
   

Thanks to David’s unassuming presence and willingness to open up, Ellie starts
to trust him a bit. That is, of course, until she learns that the man Joel
killed at the university (back in episode 6) was one of his group members, who
was scavenging for supplies and food on David’s command. Considering we all know
that this group member viciously attacked and stabbed Joel first, it’s safe to
assume this group is not a peaceful one.

Ellie is taken aback by how easily someone would try to manipulate her, while
holding back their true intentions. Even after the big reveal that Joel and
Ellie are the group’s public enemy #1 and David rules over them with an iron
fist, David continues to try to get in Ellie’s good graces. He doesn’t allow
James to kill her, letting her escape with the medicine and her life. Ellie,
however, is never going to let her guard down around him ever again. You can
only fool her once.

Throughout her entire journey across the country thus far, Ellie has avoided
encountering true evil. The Infected are not evil; they are human beings
unfortunately controlled by a fungus, with a mission to spread their malignant
contagion to every last person. The human vessels cannot help the actions of
their puppet masters. Even someone as full of rage as Kathleen (Melanie Lynksey)
was not evil. Instead, she was grieving the loss of her brother and blinded by
revenge, leading her to murder a whole lot of people and torture a bunch more.


 * ‘THE LAST OF US’ WILL MAKE YOU AFRAID OF MELANIE LYNSKEY
   
   ARE WE THERE YET?
   
   SHANNON O’CONNOR
   
   

In spending time with David, however, Ellie learns that he lacks any empathy for
the rest of humanity. He rules his cultish group of followers under a constant
threat of violence. His temper can worsen on a dime. This is demonstrated when
he smacks one of the young women in his group viciously after she speaks out
against him, telling David that Joel and Ellie should both die. He also forces
his followers to partake in cannibalism—whether they are aware of it or not.
And, worst of all, he seems to be a pedophile—or at very least heavily hinted at
being one.

LIANE HENTSCHER/HBO

The entire time he is with Ellie, David is trying to manipulate her into staying
with him in the town. From telling her that he is the only one advocating for
keeping her alive to promising her a wonderful life within his cult, David is
doing his best to isolate her and make her dependent on him—not Joel. David even
tells Ellie, whom he has locked in a cage, that her life with Joel is over and
unless she finds a way to trust him she will be truly alone. He wants the two of
them to rule the group together, because he sees a lot of himself in her. It
takes a sharper turn toward the creepy, when David holds and caresses her hand
while he has her locked in a cage.

Ellie has never come face to face with this kind of cruelty yet. Most people
Ellie has met so far have done terrible things out of necessity to survive, not
because they just wanted to hurt someone. She is not naive about the true nature
of the world; she doesn’t think it’s great and that everyone in it is helpful.
But Ellie has never met someone like David before, who is consciously trying to
hurt those around him for his own gain or, as he says, appease his “violent
heart.”

“By the time Ellie picks up the knife David was going to kill her with and
brutally slashes him to death, the pun book-obsessed teen is gone.”

Facing this kind of person—and being held prisoner by him—unleashes something
within Ellie. With no Joel around to show her otherwise, Ellie is forced to
accept that there are people out there like David, who will try to hurt her just
to say they can. And those people are the ones that she will have to hurt back.
By the time Ellie picks up the knife David was going to kill her with and
brutally slashes him to death, the pun book-obsessed teen is gone. In her stead
is a jaded, untrusting adult.

Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal.

LIANE HENTSCHER/HBO

Ellie, with blood and tears streaming down her face, is grabbed by Joel (Pedro
Pascal) after leaving David’s mutilated body behind. She screams and tries to
get out of his grip, but when she realizes who it is that’s holding her, she
gives him a look that says everything. The impact of the emotional pain David
inflicted upon her is written all over her face. Joel is the only person she can
trust now—the one person who has never tried to manipulate her for his selfish
reasons, and the only one who has not abandoned her.

No one gets through childhood in the world of The Last of Us unscathed, but
Ellie held onto her childlike innocence for as long as she could. From her
never-ending curiosity about the world before the outbreak, to her obsession
with comic books, to her sassy, teenage comebacks, Ellie has maintained a
youthful spunk throughout all the horrors. Until now. Losing that innocence so
young will determine the type of adult Ellie becomes. But it is the betrayal
she’s finally experienced that will haunt her the most. David betrayed her trust
in people with his cruel manipulation tactics. Now, she only has trust in Joel.
If he betrays that trust, Ellie will truly be lost.

As we head to the final episode of the season, this pain will remain fresh on
Ellie’s mind, her heart hardening in response. It's a reminder of how
unforgiving this world is, and it’s telling of what kind of person this world
has turned Ellie into. For better or for worse.




READ THIS LIST


THE 18 MOST EXCITING COMEDIES COMING TO TV THIS SPRING

THE DAILY BEAST


JONATHAN MAJORS IS ON A HOT STREAK (LITERALLY)

BARRY LEVITT


‘THE LAST OF US’ EPISODE 8 RECAP: DEATH BECOMES HER

SHANNON O’CONNOR


THE BIG ‘PERRY MASON’ MYSTERY: HOW’D THIS SHOW GO SO WRONG?

NICK SCHAGER


HOW THE ‘PERFECT MATCH’ POOL SCENE INCITED A FAN FRENZY

LAURA BRADLEY, FLETCHER PETERS








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