Television today has become quite bleak, which is unfortunate because I was basically raised by my TV set. Even though I have more than 250 channels to chose from, I still struggle to find something entertaining and find myself either watching reruns of “Seinfeld” or one of the many movies constantly being broadcast.
But luckily, there are some great alternatives out there — shows you might have missed or web-exclusive series that have fallen under the radar. So, without further adieu, here are the best TV/web series you’ve never seen.
1. “Baby Mentalist”
“Baby Mentalist” is a web-exclusive series on channel101.com — the self-proclaimed “Unavoidable Future of Entertainment.” This off-beat cop comedy-drama features rising star Ruby Louise Park, who plays a psychic toddler with fists of fury who uses her mind-reading abilities to fight evils such as franchise restaurant executives and neo-Nazis. The series is currently three episodes long.
2. “Trailer Park Boys”
“Trailer Park Boys” is a mockumentary-style series that was popular in Canada around the same time 9/11 happened and ring-back tones were popular. It follows the lives of Ricky, Bubbles and Julian in their adventures in a Canadian trailer park growing dope, shooting stolen firearms and drinking and driving. The entire series was recently made available on Netflix and is simply one of the best comedy series ever produced.
3. “The Civil War on Drugs”
“The Civil War on Drugs” is a short film featured in the sketch-comedy series, “Whitest Kids U’ Know,” and was originally split into 10 parts and shown at the end of every episode on season five. It follows two stoners in the 19th century who are introduced to marijuana by the Johnson family’s slave right before the civil war begins and consequently think the entire war is to make the drug illegal. They set out through the battle-weary nation to the White House to send President Abraham Lincoln a simple message, “People out there wanna smoke that weed stuff that gets you high … Do the right thing and make the weed stuff legal again.” The full movie is currently available on YouTube.
4. “Jon Benjamin Has a Van”
Most people only know Jon Benjamin as the voice of Sterling Archer from the popular animated series “Archer.” However, he recently created, wrote and starred in the Comedy Central series “Jon Benjamin Has a Van,” a satirical sketch comedy reminiscent of other great series such as “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” The show follows Benjamin, an investigative TV reporter, as he travels the country in his van presenting segments such as “In Poor Taste,” about rich people who pretend to be poor for one week each year, and other off-beat sketches like “You Can’t Shoot Here” and “OCD After Dark.” Though the series was recently canceled, the first season is available to stream on Netflix.
So there you have it. Take a break from the books and emerge yourself in some of these unfamiliar comedy series. You can thank me later.