These are the shows that made us laugh throughout the year, from a returning and third season of a popular Netflix comedy to the premiere of a new show from one of the comedy greats and the second season of a show we awarded our most prestigious TV award to last year.

Here are our picks for the Best Comedy Series’ in 2021.

5.) Ted Lasso: Season 2 (Apple TV+)

While this season may have been more willing to tackle darker or deeper themes than the first season, that doesn’t mean there weren’t a ton of laughs. Whether it was Roy struggling to stay PG while on a live TV broadcast, Dani struggling with accidentally killing the team’s mascot and dress shoes or Edwin Akufo’s poor reaction to Sam staying at Richmond, there was always something that had me laughing each episode this season. Add on top of that the great character growth with greater opportunities for the supporting cast to shine and you have a great second season.

– Ashley Hobley

4.) Mythic Quest: Season 2 (Apple TV+)

While it may have been overshadowed by its more critically acclaimed Apple TV+ brethren, Mythic Quest continues to be a fantastic workplace comedy with a fantastic, diverse ensemble cast. The struggle between Ian and Poppy as they try to find balance in their new power dynamic was fun to watch, even with the occasional heartbreaking moment, as was the relationship between Dana and Rachel, which grew in unexpected ways. The pairing of Jo and Brad did wonders for growing each character while the exploration into C.W.’s backstory with, well, “Backstory!” was pretty great with some fantastic guest appearances. One of the most underrated shows running at the moment.

– Ashley Hobley

3.) Sex Education: Season 3 (Netflix)

With its third season seeing a massive increase in viewers, we can rest assured that his gem of a show won’t be seeing a premature end, which is a relief for fans who love the fun antics from the residents of Moordale. This season saw some of the funniest and zaniest stuff we’ve seen so far, and we’ve already seen a sex-charged alien-themed musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. The students of the ‘Sex School’ lived up to their name with a major set-piece being a student wide performance of “Fuck The Pain Away” in defiance of the headmistress.

The show always finds a way to mix jokes with emotional moments and character growth. The school trip is a great example with the moment we’ve been waiting for between Otis and Maeve intercut between a hallucination segment, feces being flung out a bus window and the teachers realising they had left a student behind and had two random tourists on board. What a show!

– Ashley Hobley

2.) Bump (Stan)

We’re running with what we feel is right here because Bump is listed as a Drama series on Stan, but I found its wry sense of humour to be very successful and an essential part of the show. The main element of the show is a young girl dealing with a surprise pregnancy, taken very seriously; the response from a lot of the characters is not always as serious. Much of the show’s levity come from both Angus Sampson and Claudia Karvan, who share a fun and amusing chemistry as parents on-screen.

– Dylan Blight

1.) Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

This show was always guaranteed a place on this list, given that murder is hilarious. It should not come as a surprise to anyone that a show starring Steve Martin and Martin Short is very funny, but Selena Gomez definitely holds her own with them. The way the show mixes its comedic elements with the ongoing mystery is very impressive, as is its satire of podcasters and podcasting, something we might know a little bit about here at Explosion Network. The show also features a number of brilliant guest stars including Jane Lynch as Charles-Haden Savage’s former stand-in and Sting as himself. Hoping the laughs keep coming with more mystery-solving next season.

– Ashley Hobley

Dylan Blight and Ashley Hobley compiled this Top 5 list. The TV shows nominated must have finished airing their selected season within November 15th 2020 – November 15th 2021 and have been released in Australia via network TV, VOD or a streaming platform.