Happy Election Day (I hope). Don’t forget to vote! And to celebrate and/or recover from the results in the month ahead, here are some fun, humanity positive shows worth checking out:

JURY DUTY (series, Prime, 2023): Ordinarily, I have no interest in so-called reality shows, but JURY DUTY is a delightful exception in that it’s a hybrid in which only one member of the cast comprises the reality aspect, truly believing he’s sitting on an actual jury, while the remaining cast are in on the joke that he is not. The antics start small and amusingly quirky and escalate to outrageously hysterical, and it plays in a similar vein to a Christopher Guest movie. The best part of the show, however, it that for once a reality program seems to have chosen the kindest, most tolerant real person instead of the a-hole most likely to incite conflict. As a result, you come to love everybody involved, and humanity is the true winner. Definitely worthy of all the hype.

SHMIGADOON!: (series, Apple+, 2022-present) A couple on a couple’s retreat gets lost in the woods and winds up in a real life musical, and it’s pure bliss for anyone who loves intelligent satire and parody set to familiar sounding musical tunes. The whole thing’s a blast, but Season 1 is worth it for the Va Gi Na song alone. A delightfully fun takedown of the patriarchy.

NEVER HAVE I EVER (series, Netflix): I’ve touted this one before, but it deserves further mention as the series has ended on a high note. If you haven’t caught it yet, by all means do. The flawed by level protagonist, aptly known as “Crazy Devi” offers a fabulous arc of a contemporary young female negotiating identity and sexuality with a strong focus on female friendship.

PARKS & REC  (series, Prime): For some reason I never got around to watching this when it was still on air, but this warm-hearted, fabulously funny show about fighting the good fights with a quirky group of government workers is a hoot. If you’re missing TED LASSO and never caught this the first time around, check it out. Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope is one of my new favorite feminist heroes.

Tune in next week for Amy’s November viewing roundup.

Cheers,

Devi