Cringe comedy is one of a kind because you can watch someone get into a very awkward situation at a safe distance and there’s something very enjoyable in that scenario. One of the main reasons this genre is so brilliant is that almost everyone relates to the situations in one way or another because everybody has gotten in one awkward situation or another. So, with that in mind here are some of the best cringe comedy shows you could binge right now.
Also Read: Shows Like ‘The Office’ If You Miss the Series
The Office (Peacock)
Synopsis: Steve Carell (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, The Daily Show) stars in The Office, a fresh and funny mockumentary-style glimpse into the daily interactions of the eccentric workers at the Dunder Mifflin paper supply company. Based on the smash-hit British series of the same name and adapted for American Television by Greg Daniels (King of the Hill, The Simpsons), this fast-paced comedy parodies contemporary American water-cooler culture. Earnest but clueless regional manager Michael Scott (Carell) believes himself to be an exceptional boss and mentor, but actually receives more eye-rolls than respect from his oddball staff.
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Arrested Development (Netflix & Hulu)
Synopsis: Holding the Bluths together just barely is son Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), the only normal guy in a family that’s chock full of nuts. Hardworking and sensible, Michael’s certain he’s going to be given control of his family’s Enron-style corporation upon the retirement of his father (Jeffrey Tambor). The fact that he’s passed over instead for his mother (Jessica Walter) is only a blip when compared to his father’s immediate arrest for dubious accounting practices, and the resulting freeze on the family’s previously limitless wealth. Bereft of money, and even less family love, the Bluths have to band together in their moment of need–not easy when everyone’s looking out for number 1. In addition to his scabrous parents, Michael has to contend with his lothario older brother (Will Arnett), his basically useless younger brother (Tony Hale), his greedy twin sister (Portia DeRossi), and her sexually ambiguous husband (David Cross). Michael’s only comrade in sanity is his son George Michael (Michael Cera), but then again, the teenage boy harbors a secret crush on his cousin (Alia Shawkat).
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Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO Max)
Synopsis: Larry David has it all–so why does he seem intent on making a mess of his life? Larry David stars as…Larry David in this acclaimed verite-style comedy series that follows him at home, at work and around town, as he lands himself in various predicaments with both fictional and real-life personalities.
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Peep Show (Pluto TV & Tubi)
Synopsis: Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong’s (Fresh Meat, Four Lions) multi award-winning and critically acclaimed comedy that follows Mark (David Mitchell) and Jeremy (Robert Webb), two flatmates living in South London, on their increasingly complicated journeys through life.
Also Read: Cringe Comedy Shows Like ‘Nathan For You’ To Watch If You Miss the Series
Nathan For You (Hulu & HBO Max)
Synopsis: Self-proclaimed marketing expert Nathan Fielder gives real businesses the strangest bang for their buck, whether it’s putting a petting zoo on the map with his Internet-winning “Hero Pig” stunt or conspiring with an illegal mall Santa.
I Think You Should Leave (Netflix)
Synopsis: Detroiters star and Saturday Night Live alum Tim Robinson’s hilarious new six-part series, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, pokes fun at life’s most bizarre and mundane situations. Viewers will see Robinson and a few of his famous friends navigate awkward workplace drama, host an intervention in a Garfield themed house, talk their way out of a babysitter’s fake hit and run, and much more. The series is produced by The Lonely Island.
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The Inbetweeners (Tubi & Prime Video)
Synopsis: Will McKenzie is on a bad run. His parents have just divorced and, to make matters worse, his mum has moved him from a posh private school and into the sixth form at the local comprehensive. Despite the twin handicaps of being the new kid and carrying ‘an actual briefcase’, Will quickly makes new friends – Simon , Neil and Jay Unfortunately, they are far from the coolest kids at school.
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Spaced (Tubi & Prime Video)
Synopsis: Simon Pegg (“Hot Fuzz”) and Jessica Hynes (“Shaun of the Dead”) star in this Emmy-nominated British sitcom about two slackers who rent a North London flat under the pretense that they are a couple.
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Fleabag (Prime Video)
Synopsis: Fleabag is a hilarious and poignant window into the mind of a dry-witted, sexual, angry, grief-riddled woman, as she hurls herself at modern living in London. Award-winning playwright Phoebe Waller-Bridge writes and stars as Fleabag, an unfiltered woman trying to heal, while rejecting anyone who tries to help her and keeping up her bravado all along. Unfettered, unfiltered, and based on the play that won the Fringe First Award at Edinburgh, Fleabag is the thoroughly disarming confessional of a woman so totally detached, she’s utterly lost.
The Rehearsal (HBO Max)
Synopsis: Nathan Fielder (“Nathan For You,” “HBO’s How To with John Wilson”) returns to television for a new series that explores the lengths one man will go to reduce the uncertainties of everyday life. With a construction crew, a legion of actors, and seemingly unlimited resources, Fielder allows ordinary people to prepare for life’s biggest moments by “rehearsing” them in carefully crafted simulations of his own design. When a single misstep could shatter your entire world, why leave life to chance?
