35 Shows Like Friends You Should Be Watching

Since 1994, David Crane and Marta Kauffman's "Friends" has been a juggernaut in television and culture at large as audiences worldwide have returned over and over again to the six friends that will "be there for you." The premise is deceptively simple: 20-something friends in New York City hang out, mostly in a coffee shop, over the course of ten years. Rachel, Ross, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, and Joey all became household names as everyone could identify with at least one, if not more, of the characters.

The inimitable chemistry of the cast elevated the series to a beloved sitcom that influenced many others thanks to its focus on friends (who are like family) rather than careers or love interests. This is the power of "Friends," as for many, these fictional friends really do feel like family.

"Friends" isn't the first show to focus on friendship, but it helped open the door for other series to explore these types of relationships in different settings. While at the heart of the series is the theme of chosen family, the show is also about figuring out who you are, which often requires the help of people you love. While some at Vox argue that "Friends" ruined comedy as executives sought to replicate its success, luckily, a number of shows have carved their own unique space in the wake of "Friends." So, read on to find out 35 shows that can also "be [your] lobster" and fill that "Friends"-shaped space in your heart.

Before hitting it big with "Fleabag," British writer and actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge took her own stab at a "Friends" type show with 2016's "Crashing." In the series, she plays free spirit Lulu, who moves into an abandoned hospital that's been turned into affordable housing, where Anthony (Damien Molony), her childhood friend and crush lives. Lulu befriends others in the hospital: Kate (Louise Ford), Anthony's control-loving fiancee; Sam (Jonathan Bailey), a sleazebag with a secret soft spot; Fred (Amit Shah), a sweet gay guy who gets close with Sam; Melody (Julie Dray), an existential French artist; and Colin (Adrian Scarborough), a lonely divorced man who becomes Melody's muse.

In typical Phoebe Waller-Bridge fashion, "Crashing" is off-kilter and demented as these characters engage from darker places of self-consciousness, insecurity, and grief more than their "Friends" counterparts would ever dare. The series is hilarious, with a mix of dry humor, physical gags, and melancholy that is ultimately about a group of people struggling to figure themselves out. "Crashing" explores the tension between the face we put on for others and the one that we show only to our most intimate people. Waller-Bridge told The Guardian that she loves writing "vulnerable rascals," so with Lulu as a guide, "Crashing" shows us a world of people straddling that line between maturity and immaturity, adulthood and youth. Sadly, the series is only six episodes, but it's one worth revisiting over and over again.

Vulture remembers that in the 1990s, the place to be every Thursday night was parked in front of NBC's "Must See TV" programming block, which included "Friends," "Seinfeld," and "ER." NBC struck gold again with Max Mutchnick and David Kohan's "Will and Grace" in 1998, which brought something new to TV: a gay protagonist. "Will and Grace" centers around Will (Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace (Debra Messing), a straight interior designer, who are roommates in New York City. Will's other best friend is the self-centered Jack (Sean Hayes), who "fell out of the gay tree, hitting every gay branch on the way down" while Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) is Grace's super-rich, vodka and pill-loving assistant who keeps things "real" for the gang.

While aspects of "Will and Grace" don't age well (i.e., its treatment of lesbians as a joke) and many called the show out for its stereotypical portrayal of gay men, ultimately, "Will and Grace" was a trailblazer for LGBTQ representation, as noted by the Belfast Telegraph. It was the first prime-time show to feature openly gay characters whose identities go beyond their sexuality. For many in the LGBTQ community, chosen family is highly significant, so it's not surprising that this is at the heart of "Will and Grace." Like "Friends," "Will and Grace" has some of the most memorable and hilarious sitcom characters around, and despite its issues, the show has a cast with undeniable chemistry and talent.

When Rachel shows up at Central Perk in the pilot of "Friends" after leaving her fiance so she can be a self-sufficient woman, many may not have batted an eye. After all, a single, independent woman on TV wasn't groundbreaking in 1994. But it was in 1970 when "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" premiered and characters ranging from Rachel to Liz Lemon all have Mary Tyler Moore to thank for opening the door, as observed by Entertainment Weekly. James L. Brooks and Allan Burns co-created the series, which is about Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore), a 30-year-old woman who breaks off her engagement to work as an associate producer at a Minneapolis news station. Mary befriends her brash neighbor, Rhoda (Valerie Harper), and often butts heads with her harsh (but secretly kind-hearted) boss, Lou (Edward Asner).

"The Mary Tyler Moore" show had a long-lasting impact on television. In fact, the creators of "Friends" cited the series finale "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" as the "gold standard" that influenced them (via the Los Angeles Times). Mary Richards was not only an unmarried, independent woman, but she was someone who looked outside of marriage and family, as Rhoda and her other friends are as important to her as any boyfriend. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was revolutionary in depicting young adults dealing with issues -– like aging, career insecurity, and a longing for self-realization -– that were situated in a real-life, complex space.

For some fans of "The Office," Mindy Kaling's Kelly Kapoor was a favorite character (and excellent meme source), so it was a treat to see Kaling star in her own show, "The Mindy Project." Kaling created this series, which follows Mindy Lahiri (Kaling), an OB/GYN in New York City. Mindy navigates her personal and professional life, which often bleed onto each other as her co-workers become an integral part of her life. Danny (Chris Messina) is another doctor as well as Mindy's enemy-turned-best-friend-turned-love-interest, Jeremy (Ed Weeks) is a pompous British man who runs the office, and Morgan (Ike Barinholtz) is a goofy but charismatic nurse with a dark past.

"The Mindy Project" combines the humor and ensemble dynamic of a show like "Friends" with the workplace comedy situation of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" to create something unique, peculiar, and totally Mindy Kaling. Mindy (the character and Kaling herself) is the heart of the show, which she demonstrates by embodying a multi-dimensional space of kindness, confidence, snark, and insecurity. She does all this as she struggles to balance both work and pleasure with her plan in a way that many professionals can relate to (all while trying not to be mistaken for Jaden Smith). Even though Mindy is an accomplished doctor who has worked hard to get where she is, she also is at times unsure of herself and challenged in ways that are understandable.

Anyone who loved Phoebe on "Friends" can get their Lisa Kudrow fix in the very un-Phoebe-esque satirical comedy, "The Comeback." Kudrow stars in the series, which she co-created with Michael Patrick King, and plays Valerie Cherish, a has-been sitcom actress who lands a new role after years of not finding work. The mockumentary-style show follows Valerie as she "got it:" a role in the sitcom "Room and Board." Valerie prepares to re-enter the spotlight and find a new place for herself in an ageist and sexist world that often has a short shelf-life for actresses.

"The Comeback" is a meta look at Hollywood. In the series, Cherish is taking part in a reality show called "The Comeback," which is supposed to be a companion piece to "Room and Board." Valerie can be simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking as she struggles with a return to a world she once knew but that no longer embraces her and instead, more often than not, humiliates her. Narcissistic, insecure, and lacking self-awareness, Valerie should be someone that audiences hate, but in Kudrow's hands, she's compelling and emotional. A particular standout is her relationship with Mickey (Robert Michael Morris), her hairdresser and best friend. In some ways, the show is more similar to "The Office" due to its super high cringe factor, but any fan of Lisa Kudrow would be remiss to miss out on "The Comeback."

Although the satirical workplace sitcom "30 Rock" might be most closely aligned with "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," it is also a show about friendship. Tina Fey created and stars in "30 Rock" as Liz Lemon, the head writer of an SNL-type sketch show. Liz is determined to "have it all" by building a strong career and pursuing a love life as well. It proves harder than she thinks as Liz is constantly torn between wrangling talent like the volatile Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) and her delusional best friend, Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski), dealing with her misogynistic boss with daddy issues, Jack (Alec Baldwin), and dating losers like Dennis (Dean Winters).

"30 Rock" uses absurdist humor to expose both Hollywood and society, which often see older professional women limited. The series feels like a Godard-esque workplace comedy with bizarre jump cuts and flashbacks, but it remains grounded thanks to Liz, whose insecurities and desires to figure it out in a world that doesn't give her many options to do so are very real. Ultimately, Liz can't do it alone. While she's surrounded by a group of weirdos, narcissists, and sociopaths (only Jenna would poison someone to get a date with a hot paramedic), they're HER weirdos, narcissists, and sociopaths. "30 Rock" works so brilliantly because everyone in its ensemble cast brings something different to the table. There's no typical "straight guy" in this world as everyone's a bit of a freak — in the best possible way.

While "Friends" is based on the premise that your friends can become your family, Mitchell Hurwitz's "Arrested Development" is about a family becoming family. The series centers around the self-centered and materialistic Bluth family, who lose all their money and have to rely on each other to get by. Michael (Jason Bateman) is the prodigal son who wants to break ties with his family but gets sucked back in when they hit financial troubles. He attempts to work with his mother, Lucille (Jessica Walter), who loves martinis and "all" of her children equally, and his siblings -– magician Gob (Will Arnett), "motherboy" Buster (Tony Hale), and selfish twin sister Lindsay (Portia De Rossi) -– to keep the family afloat but it's not so easy when everyone is just looking out for themselves.

"Arrested Development" is much more eccentric and absurdist than "Friends," but it shares qualities of running gags that don't get old, an excellent ensemble cast, and a through-line of people discovering themselves through their connections to others. On paper, the Bluths are atrocious –- selfish, manipulative, and cold –- but on screen, they're hilarious and complex. It's hard to imagine any other actors or writers being able to make this work, but in the hands of talents like Jessica Walter, Will Arnett, and Tony Hale, the show is taken to a level that's made it a cult classic and one of the most critically-acclaimed series of all time.

Ins Choi and Kevin White's "Kim's Convenience" (based on Choi's play of the same name) is about the Kims, a Korean-Canadian family in Toronto. Proud and blunt Appa (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) was a teacher in Korea and later moved to Canada with his kind but meddlesome wife, Umma (Jean Yoon). They now run a convenience store, where they deal with regulars and keep an eye on their youngest, Janet (Andrea Bang), an aspiring photographer who feels a bit stifled by her parents. The Kims' eldest, Jung (Simu Liu), is estranged from the family after having a rough patch as a teenager where he stole from his father but secretly starts reconnecting with his mother and sister.

"Kim's Convenience" is a sweet sitcom that presents a new perspective on the classic workplace comedy as it focuses on an immigrant family rather than the middle or upper-class white people that usually feature in this genre. The series finds rich material in the clashes between the first generation Kim children and their more traditional parents, as well as between the Kims and others in the world who may see them in narrow-minded or stereotypical ways. Family is at the heart of this show, which explores what it means to define your own place rather than letting others tell you who you are. It's a similar theme used in "Friends," which also gives the characters room to surprise themselves and others with their growth and self-development.

"Friends" was a leader of the "beautiful and glamorous young people living in a shiny New York" genre, but Darren Star's "Sex and the City" brought this to a more provocative place. "Sex and the City" centers around sex columnist Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) as she lives in New York along with her best friends: cynical lawyer Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), conservative romantic Charlotte (Kristin Davis), and the very sex-positive publicist Samantha (Kim Cattrall).

When "Sex and the City" premiered in 1998, there was no other show like it as it focused on a group of 30-something single women not only having a lot of sex but talking about it and enjoying it in hilarious and sometimes brutally honest ways. Thanks to "Sex and the City," people everywhere learned about the questionable ethics breaking up via Post-It, the power of fake nipples, and the thrill of eating cake out of the garbage.

Elements of "Sex and the City" are super problematic as it's about people who are white, skinny, and (mostly) straight with endless disposable wealth. However, what makes the show powerful is its centering on female friendship and the possibility of women being platonic life partners. Carrie and her friends decide to be each other's soulmates and the fact that they make this choice at all -– in addition to showing the ups and downs of intimate female friendships –- makes "Sex and the City" a must-watch for any fan of "Friends" (or friendship).

Yvette Lee Bowser's "Living Single" preceded "Friends" by a year and may have directly led to its creation as it explores the relationships of a group of six single people living in a Brooklyn brownstone. Khadijah (Queen Latifah) is an editor of a Black magazine who lives with her happy-go-lucky cousin, Synclaire (Kim Coles) and snooty but bougie Régine (Kim Fields). Their unofficial other roommate is Maxine (Erika Alexander), a sharp-tongued lawyer, along with their upstairs neighbors, the stockbroker bro Kyle (T.C. Carson) and Overton (John Henton), the sweet handyman of the building.

Bowser created "Living Single" when white people were primarily the ones given power both on and off-screen, and Entertainment Tonight has documented the influence of the show, which was immediate and long-lasting. In an oral history of the show, Bowser noted that she "was a very frustrated writer on a show about Black people where there were basically no Black people in power behind the scenes, so that set the tone ... I could create what I felt were more well-rounded depictions of us" (via The Atlantic). "Living Single" accomplishes that with its sharp writing and cast that has amazing chemistry (seen in unscripted moments like this), which brought a combination of humor, warmth, and emotions to the series. What makes "Living Single" really stand out is its centering of Black female characters and friendships that have been further explored by series like "Insecure" but remain too rarely seen on TV even today.

When Norman Lear produced "One Day at a Time" in 1975, the series was notable for focusing on a white divorcee raising her teenage daughters alone. Lear wanted to update this, so he brought in Gloria Calderón Kellett and Mike Royce to develop a new "One Day at a Time" for Netflix, which stars a Cuban-American family instead. Divorced mother Penelope (Justina Machado), an army veteran who has PTSD, is raising her two teenage kids –- cool kid Alex (Marcel Ruiz) and queer nerd Elena (Isabella Gomez) –- in Los Angeles. Penelope enlists the help of her lively mother, Lydia (the always exceptional EGOT-winner Rita Moreno). Their landlord Schneider (Todd Grinnell) is a privileged man-child who just wants to be part of the family, and together they encounter love, heartbreak, and fun.

"One Day at a Time" is both classic and modern as it adheres to the conventions of the genre -– an ensemble cast, live studio audience, archetypal characters -– but infuses all of this with a freshness and emotional intelligence not always seen in comedies. It's often laugh-out-loud funny but can also make you cry (okay, sob) as it explores issues like Penelope's PTSD, Elena's rejection by her father after she comes out as gay, and Schneider's relapse into alcoholism. Family is at the heart of "One Day at a Time," which looks at how we can support and challenge those we consider family (both chosen and not).

Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld's "show about nothing" premiered in 1989 and introduced millions to the "yada-yada" world of Jerry (Seinfeld), George (Jason Alexander), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Kramer (Michael Richards). "Seinfeld" is about these four sometimes obnoxious, often morally questionable, and always hilarious friends living, loving, and trying to get soup in New York City. Superficially, they could be seen as archetypes –- Jerry is the straight man, Kramer is the eccentric goofball, George is the neurotic one (okay, they all are), and Elaine is the progressive (ish) one –- but they're so much more than that.

The plotlines of "Seinfeld" can be ridiculous –- George pretending to be a marine biologist to impress a woman and then having to actually save a whale, for example –- but they're also rooted in very human spaces like longing, insecurity, and jealousy. Many of the stories of "Seinfeld" are mundane but taken to an extreme and absurd level (like an entire episode centered around waiting for a table at a Chinese restaurant). "Seinfeld' takes the sitcom format and transforms it so that even this unoriginal premise of a group of friends living in New York City becomes completely original in the hands of Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld, and the whole cast. Its postmodern and self-referential nature has become legendary and has never been replicated with the same success (even if you consider Seinfeld's claim that "Friends" ripped off his show), which makes "Seinfeld" a must-watch for any sitcom lover.

Steven Moffat's "Coupling" is the British "Friends" that follows six 30-something friends -– three men and three women –- who navigate love, life, and friendship. Neurotic Steven (Jack Davenport) starts dating the Type A Sue (Sarah Alexander). They navigate their new relationship with the help of their best friends, insecure Jeff (Richard Coyle) and beauty-obsessed Sally (Kate Isitt), and their exes, sex-obsessed Patrick (Ben Miles) and self-absorbed Jane (Gina Bellman).

"Coupling" displays the humor and wit that British comedies do so well, and it stands out for its juxtaposing of the male and female perspectives. Much of its humor lies in the very different ways all the characters see the same situation, but the different ways that the men and women talk about it. It's a wonder that these people connect at all, as they frequently seem to live in different realities. "Coupling" takes the same idea of "Friends" and brings it to a raunchier and sometimes more complex space as the characters are more multifaceted and less shiny than their American counterparts. This may be due more to cultural differences between American and British humor. As Ricky Gervais wrote in Time, the British "are more comfortable with life's losers," leading to characters who are self-deprecating and rarely saying what they mean or feel. This all is evident in "Coupling," which takes the archetypes seen in "Friends" -– Monica's perfectionism, Rachel's vanity, or Chandler's insecurity -– and dials it up to an 11 to hilarious effect.​

Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson's "Broad City" is based on their web series of the same name and essentially is a show about two best friends living, sometimes succeeding, and often getting high in New York City. Amy Poehler executive produced the series, which stars Glazer and Jacobson as themselves. Ilana is extroverted, sex-positive, and hardly-working, while Abbi is more introverted, secretly weird, and artistic. Over the course of five seasons, Abbi and Ilana deal with various ups and downs as they try to succeed in the Big Apple, including Ilana sleeping with her doppelgänger, Abbi tripping on mushrooms and accidentally killing her boss' cat, and Ilana almost dying from a shellfish allergy for the sake of friendship.

As with any great comedy, "Broad City" works because of the chemistry of its stars, who are best friends in real life. It subverts the odd couple trope as Abbi, the seemingly "straight man" of the duo, is a total freak herself (in the best way). The show portrays intimate, strong female friendship that's woefully unexplored on television, and in both this and its representation of both Ilana and Abbi's sexual identities, it's as empowering as it is laugh-out-loud funny. Only "Broad City" can go there with a storyline about Abbi exploring sexuality in exciting new ways and then elevate it to the next level by framing this as the "greatest moment" of Ilana's (not Abbi's) life. If that's not female power and friendship, then what is?

Michael Schur and Dan Goor's "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" takes the police procedural and brings it to a comedy space where it's far more in line with "Friends" than it is with "NYPD Blue." Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) is a goofy but brilliant detective in Brooklyn's 99th Precinct, where he see-saws between butting heads with his boss, the no-nonsense and highly moral Captain Holt (Andre Braugher), and having fun with his coworkers. There's Charles (Joe Lo Truglio), his food-and-Jake-obsessed best friend; secretive and apathetic Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz); and Jake's love interest, the perfectionist and uptight Amy (Melissa Fumero).

Michael Schur also co-created "Parks and Recreation," and like that series, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" is a workplace comedy with as much heart as laughs. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" benefits from an all-star cast of comedic talents (other cast members include Chelsea Peretti and Terry Crews) that bring gags like the annual Halloween Heist episodes to an epic level. However, the series stands out in its ability to situate the show in reality as it explores Captain Holt's rise to the top as a gay Black man and Terry's experience of being racially profiled by other police officers while out on a run. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" is a show about chosen family -– after all, these are cops who spend all waking hours together — and like "Friends," it shows just how important it can be to have people in your life that will always be there for you.

Dan Harmon's "Community" explores what happens when you make a family out of a group of people who have nothing in common. Jeff (Joel McHale) is a lawyer who lied about getting his undergraduate degree, so he enrolls in a community college to get a degree and practice law again. Jeff is manipulative, so he starts a fake Spanish study group to spend more time with his crush, the "progressive" slash pretentious activist Britta (Gillian Jacobs). Others quickly join the group, including perfectionist Annie (Alison Brie), movie-and-TV-obsessed Abed (Danny Pudi), and bigot Pierce (Chevy Chase), among others. The gang often finds themselves partaking in various schemes, either with each other or the dean of the school (Jim Rash).

"Community" is a more extreme version of "Friends" as it begins with a group of people who have no ties to each other. It makes hilarious use of these differences as the characters are often juxtaposed against each other, and each one believes him or herself to be "better" than the rest even though they're all terrible in their own particular ways. From the get-go, Jeff is a narcissistic schemer, which sets the stage for some of the wacky, off-kilter things that happen — but he does learn to look out for others over time. They all do, as "Community" follows an interesting arc of anti-heroes turning into "heroes," which is fun to watch, especially in the hands of people like Joel McHale, Alison Brie, and Donald Glover.

"The Jeffersons" was a spin-off of "All in the Family," which, like its predecessor, changed the shape of sitcoms in ways that are still seen today. The show centers around outspoken businessman George and Louise or "Weezy" Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford), whose recent financial success allows them to move from Queens to Manhattan. Life changes when they change boroughs as the Jeffersons (along with their son, Lionel, played by Mike Evans, and later, Damon Evans) meet and eventually befriend their neighbors, the interracial couple of Tom and Helen Willis (Franklin Cover and Roxie Roker).

Audiences first met the Jeffersons as Archie Bunker's neighbors and nemeses in "All in the Family," and it's exciting to see them as the leads in "The Jeffersons." George has his own Archie-like qualities of stubbornness, narrowmindedness, and rudeness, but he's also a family man who's doing his best. Louise is his foil as she presents a calming, logical presence in their home, and as the Jeffersons start to embrace the Willises into their lives, their understanding of family changes. "The Jeffersons" was revolutionary for its depiction of both an upper-middle-class Black family, which would later influence shows like "Black-ish" and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," its representation of an interracial couple, and its exploration of issues like class differences and racism (via The Huffington Post).