6 Shows to Watch If You Liked ‘The Simpsons’
If you’re just starting The Simpsons now, you have 742 episodes to get through. Make that 743 as of tonight. Fortunately, they’re all available on Disney+, or airing randomly on weeknights in syndication. Let’s say you have seen all 700+ episodes and you’re looking for something else to watch. Here are six other animated shows that might scratch that itch if you liked The Simpsons.
‘Futurama’ is great if you like ‘The Simpsons’ and sci-fi
The Simpsons creator Matt Groening created this animated series with David X. Cohen, who’s also written for The Simpsons for decades. Set in the year 3000, It applies the irreverence of The Simpsons to science-fiction concepts like space travel, time travel, aliens, robots, mutants and more.
The characters are unmistakably Groening. They’re not yellow, but they have The Simpsons’ overbite. 10 seasons of Futurama are streaming on Hulu, where the show will return with a new season too.
If you like ‘The Simpsons,’ then ‘The Critic’ didn’t stink
Al Jean has been showrunner of The Simpsons for almost its entire run. The only two years he was not were when he created The Critic with fellow Simpsons writer Mike Reiss. The Critic would be great for The Simpsons fans who also love movies.
Jon Lovitz provided the voice of film critic Jay Sherman. Jay hosted a TV show in New York and navigated his love life and eccentric family. Some episodes were more film-centric than others, including one where Siskel and Ebert broke up, but all of them included short parodies of popular movies for Jay’s show. The two TV seasons are streaming on Crackle. A third web series is not but is available on DVD.
‘Bojack Horseman’ blends animated comedy with poignant drama
Bojack Horseman began Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s animation empire and rightfully so. Featuring anthropomorphized animals commingling with humans, Bojack Horseman also provides an irreverent perspective on the entertainment industry. Yet Bojack also emphasizes serious issues like addiction and Depression.
Bojack (Will Arnett) is a celebrity horse desperate for a comeback. His adventures in fictional Hollywoo have a lot to say about the human entertainment industry, but even more so about how success and fame won’t fill the void in Bojack’s life. His ensemble of supporting characters are equally poignant and endearing, with groundbreaking episodes like “Fish Out of Water” and “Time’s Arrow.” Streaming on Netflix.
If you liked ‘The Simpsons,’ remember how edgy ‘Beavis and Butt-Head’ were?
Remember when Bart Simpson’s bad behavior freaked parents, teachers, and politicians out? Bart said ‘hell’ and ‘eat my shorts!’ Beavis and Butthead got blamed for far worse only four years later. Mike Judge’s MTV creation was intended to be more offensive than The Simpsons. Beavis and Butt-Head criticized music videos, so that wasn’t going to win them any friends, although even a critical appearance on the show would help artists.
Beavis’s obsession with fire got blamed for a real fatal blaze, and the erroneous connection was swept under the rug. Judge had a poignant take on ‘90s slacker teens, who prove they are still relevant today with the Paramount+ revival, where the MTV episodes are streaming now too.
‘South Park’ took edgy to the next level
Definitely far less subtle than The Simpsons, but this edgy satire wouldn’t exist unless The Simpsons paved the way for them. Based on a vulgar Christmas card Trey Parker and Matt Stone were hired to create, South Park began on Comedy Central in 1997 full of swearing, racism and anti-Semitism courtesy of their own Archie Bunker, Eric Cartman.
The crude animation style of South Park allows them to comment on topical events of the past week. They’ve pushed the limits of broadcast language with an episode that said s*** 162 times. Now Comedy Central doesn’t even bleep the F word. The past episodes of South Park stream on Paramount+.
If you like ‘The Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening, he also created ‘Disenchantment’
Groening’s third show is the Netflix series Disenchantment. Except for the unmistakable Groening animation style, Disenchantment may be his series least like The Simpsons. It is very fairy tale centric, though still satirizes the conventions of fairy tales. Four seasons of Disenchantment, co-created by Josh Weinstein, are on Netflix.
