Winter Comfort Shows

Redbrick's Writers recommend their favourite shows to watch this winter

Jess Parker

Film Editor

First airing on BBC Three in 2004 by the eponymous comedy troupe, The Mighty Boosh is a Brit-Com developed from the group’s radio and stage performances. The show follows Vince Noir (Noel Fielding) and Howard Moon (Julian Barratt), along with their shaman friend Naboo (Michael Fielding) and Bolo the gorilla (Dave Brown), as they go on a host of surreal adventures in the pursuit of fame and fortune.

Each series takes place in a different setting in the world of the Mighty Boosh. The first follows Howard and Vince as zookeepers, working for their eccentric boss Bob Fossil (Rich Fulcher) in his “Zooniverse”. The second sees the group living in a flatshare in Shoreditch, and the third follows the group running a second-hand shop called 'Nabootique'. Supported by an array of comedy and musical cameos in Saboo (Richard Ayoade), Dixon Bainbridge (Matt Berry), The Black Tubes (The Horrors), Gary Numan, Razorlight, and Roger Daltrey to name a few, The Mighty Boosh always keeps you wondering which famous face is next to show up living in a magical cupboard or hoovering the desert.

There are few shows comparable to The Mighty Boosh. From its New Wave soundtrack to Vince’s outlandish outfits, the show’s surreal humour and theatrical fantasy result in a unique viewing experience that only gets better with every rewatch.

I will be the first to admit that my pick is hardly the most original, or even that good if I’m being honest with myself. But that for me is the beauty of Friends. Everything, from the oversized apartments to the cushy lives of the friends themselves, is so silly and unrealistic that it makes for the perfect comfort TV.

Friends is the perfect show to put on, and turn your brain off to, in the best way. Packed to the brim with quotable moments, guest stars and some genuinely funny moments, Friends will provide a warm bubble to wrap yourself up in during the winter months. The jokes come at a steady, sitcom pace. Whilst not every joke will land, that to me is the point of the comfort show. One that I know is not the pinnacle of comedy but has enough charm up its sleeve to keep me coming back.

The cast’s undeniable chemistry and underappreciated comedic timing make the show work. It is an iconic piece of 90s nostalgia for a reason and has stayed in the cultural conversation because of how easy it is to watch. I have seen Friends so many times at this point, and when times are tough I know my friends are probably at Central Perk, all facing directly to the camera, spouting off one-liners, pausing in between for the laugh track. It is dumb, and I love it anyway. Oh and also, Ross is the best friend, and I will die on this hill.

Lula Izzard TV Writer

When I first watched Fleabag, I binge-watched the entire show in two days, and since then, it has quickly become a go-to comfort show for me. Despite rewatching it probably over a hundred times, the jokes never stop making me laugh, and as the episodes are only 20 minutes long, it is an easy show to become immersed in whenever you need a distraction.

Caitlin McGraw

TV Writer

Long days in the library were made more bearable this winter due to the knowledge that I could come home and watch an episode (or three) of Superstore afterwards. This American sitcom follows the lives of minimum-wage employees at the fictional superstore, ‘Cloud 9’, where most of the show’s six seasons are set. It stars America Ferrera as ‘Amy’, a long-time employee stuck in her dead-end job, and explores her relationships with fellow Cloud 9 colleagues, who are portrayed by a talented ensemble cast.

The characters in Superstore share unique chemistry which guarantees perfectly timed gags and one-liners, as well as the development of meaningful friendships. Furthermore, the show’s use of the slow-burn romance trope is entertaining and often draws comparisons with Jim and Pam from The Office U.S., which is unsurprising as Superstore was created by a writer from the fan-favourite workplace sitcom.

Episodes are short and easy to watch, perfect for destressing during dark evenings when energy and focus levels are low. The laugh-out-loud, quirky comedy style paired with real-world sociopolitical themes of worker’s rights, identity inequalities, capitalism and immigration perfectly blend to produce a tongue-incheek commentary on the lives of retail workers, and a refreshing take on comedy.

Superstore’s location in Midwest America is so far removed from my everyday life that it provides dopamine and an opportunity for escapism, without feeling mindless or unrealistic which is arguably the show’s major appeal. Characters feel familiar and relatable, as they don’t look like they belong on a catwalk; instead, the diverse cast and socially relevant content paint Cloud 9 as a microcosm for American working-class experiences. Overall, Superstore provides addictive, entertaining and laugh-out-loud viewing with loveable characters and hilarious plotlines cementing this severely underrated show as a comforting favourite.

I think Fleabag is a great comfort show as it perfectly balances humour with moments of sadness, regret and loneliness, and Fleabag has an impeccable ability to laugh at herself in times of crisis. The use of the fourth wall, with Fleabag addressing her self-deprecating jokes directly to the audience and treating them as a friend, also make the show very comforting. I can relate to a few characters in the show in different ways, and the show’s antagonists feel hilariously accurate, serving as universal representations of people we have all encountered, and difficult situations we have all experienced.

I also enjoy watching the development and growth Fleabag experiences throughout the two seasons, both personally, and in her relationships with others. We see her move away from selfdestructive behaviour and begin to express and confront her fears and emotions, as well as engaging in honest and meaningful conversations with important people in her life.

swept up in the quirks of 'Stars Hollow'. Side characters in the town become deeply loveable, and the eclectic cast of characters that the show invites is only one facet of its undeniable charm. From the music to its countless classic movie references, and quick-witted humour, it is almost impossible not to fall in love with.

There is something in the warmth of Gilmore Girls that will get you hooked. Simply put, Gilmore Girls feels like a warm hug in a TV show, and is, in my opinion, the ultimate comfortshow.

I think that I have lost count of the number of times I have watched Gilmore Girls. If a show could be a warm cup of tea, a cosy jumper, and a scented candle all in one, that show would be Gilmore Girls for me. When it ends, I simply want to put it back on again.

Following the mother/daughter relationship of Rory (Alexis Bledel) and Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham), the show takes you into the cosy corners of Stars Hollow and gently takes you through the characters’ lives. We see them grow up, fall in love and navigate the major life changes that come their way as Rory moves from high school to college.

You can embark on the will they, won’t they of Lorelai and Luke (Scott Patterson), whilst choosing if you are team Dean (Jared Padalecki), Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) or Logan (Matt Czuchry). Or you can simply get

On a cold winter night there’s often nothing better than lazing in front of the television, and The Royle Family is a sitcom made up of characters that do very little else. The Royle Family is an excellent representation of working-class family life, with many of its characters being so realised that they feel almost scarily like people you know in your personal life. The most iconic is the sarcastic and lazy father Jim Royle (Ricky Tomlinson), but the entire family dynamic feels genuine with the whole cast bouncing off each other well.

The programme is a very intimate comedy - being filmed on a single camera with no laugh track, the viewer is left feeling like a fly on the wall in a real family living room. Its style of comedy is an influential forerunner of The Office, doing away with traditional gags and drawing humour from the mundane, often bickering conversations held by the characters. Despite this focus on the mundane, there is an overarching plot centering around the wedding of Denise Royle to Dave Best, along with Denise’s later pregnancy. The plot, however, often develops between episodes and manifests in the conversations held between the characters, allowing the series to maintain its comfortingly slow pace. There are occasional moments of real emotional warmth within the series, and that combined with its hilarious dialogue and incredibly realistic characters, make this one of the best comedies for a winter evening.