When the mildly weird and funny come together, great things happen—especially in film. Whether you’re up for some alternative comedies or romantic dramedies, here are the best quirky movies and show to stream now.
Genre: Documentary
Actor: Alan Alda, Alan Zweibel, Ben Mankiewicz, Burton Gilliam, Carol Kane, Eric McCormack, Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, Harry Connick Jr., Mel Brooks, Michael Gruskoff, Mike Medavoy, Peter Ostrum, Rain Pryor, Richard Pryor, Zero Mostel
Director: Ron Frank
Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Actor: Kappei Yamaguchi, Megumi Hayashibara
Compared to all the meaty and daring shows coming out right now, Primo is relatively lighthearted fare. Its easygoing, PG humor hews closer to network rather than cable television, but the series isn’t without its merits.
Primo is candid and charming as it tackles the realities of school, family, and work. It takes a somewhat progressive approach as it centers on a Latino family, occasionally and importantly bringing up issues of class and race, but it also feels comfortingly familiar. It follows the classic sitcom formula of everyone getting along before the credits roll all while adding its own modern and multicultural twist to it.
If you ever longed for an old-school sitcom that keeps up with the times, then this just might be what you're looking for.
Genre: Comedy
Actor: Christina Vidal, Efrain Villa, Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Johnny Rey Diaz, Jonathan Medina
The curious case of Paul T. Goldman could’ve been a simple true-crime documentary or a fictionalized series—instead, the resulting project is a strange and hilarious blend of both. Behind-the-scenes footage intercut reenactments intercut interviews. The show is as much about Goldman’s reaction to the scam (which is admittedly way more interesting) as it is about the actual scam. You should watch for the spectacle, but stay for the larger-than-life character that is Goldman—he’s a goof, but an endearing and fascinating one nonetheless.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Dee Wallace, Dennis Haysbert, Frank Grillo, James Remar, Josh Pais, Melinda McGraw, Paul Ben-Victor, Rosanna Arquette, W. Earl Brown
Genre: Drama
Actor: Cole Doman, Devon Ross, Eamon Farren, Eléonore Hendricks, Jane Wickline, Joanna Fang, Odessa Young, Philip Ettinger, Sage Ftacek, Zia Anger
Director: Zia Anger
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Amy Warren, Andrea Chen, Charlie Gillette, Cindy Cheung, Clare Foley, Colin Stokes, Dean Wareham, Greta Gerwig, Heather Lind, Jasmine Cephas-Jones, Jessie Austrian, Juliet Brett, Kathryn Erbe, Lola Kirke, Mary Beth Minthorn, Matthew Shear, Michael Chernus, Mickey Sumner, Morgan Lynch, Nat Baldwin, Noah Baumbach, Rebecca Henderson, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Seth Barrish, Shana Dowdeswell, Sharon Washington, Shoba Narayan
Director: Noah Baumbach
A murder mystery with an absurdist comedic bent, Killer Coaster initially comes off as too much. It struggles to juggle different genres and poses many questions it doesn’t immediately answer. There are also too many elements—including warring families, star-crossed lovers, secret identities, and complicated pasts—that make the mystery of the Ghost Train Killer seem incidental, even though it is the show’s throughline, the main event that kickstarts the entire thing. But it’s easy to forgive all this whenever Alexandra Lamy does her magic onscreen. As the well-meaning but clumsy police officer Sandrine, Lamy is likable and hilarious, a clown with just enough heart to pull you into her antics. She soars even more when paired with real-life sister Audrey Lamy, who plays the carnival owner Yvanne—also good-hearted but even slower (and at times funnier) than Sandrine. Together, their amusing weirdness saves the show from loose ends and uneven tones.
Genre: Action & Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Actor: Alex Lutz, Alexandra Lamy, Audrey Lamy, Chloé Jouannet, Lola Le Lann, Oscar Berthe, Yvan Naubron
Director: Nikolay Lange-Nielsen
What if the Deep State was real and every conspiracy theory you laughed off was true? There is such a thing as Area 51, John F. Kennedy was killed by the CIA, and somewhere out there, Tupac Shakur is still alive. If you added even more ridiculous theories like reptile people existing underground and Avril Lavigne being a clone, then you'd have Inside Job, a bonkers adult animated sitcom that hails from some of the people behind Gravity Falls and Bojack Horseman.
Inside Job is crazy and creative, with each episode delving into a different "theory," but it also has room for character introspection and development. Lizzy Caplan lends her voice to the lead Reagan Ridley, a scientist and manager who is ambitious but difficult, genius but always tired. The show does well to show her and her team's growth in a show otherwise jam-packed with (admittedly hilarious) insanity.
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Science Fiction
Actor: Andrew Daly, Andy Daly, Bobby Lee, Brett Gelman, Chris Diamantopoulos, Christian Slater, Clark Duke, John DiMaggio, Lizzy Caplan, Suzy Nakamura, Timothy Simons, Tisha Campbell, Tisha Campbell-Martin
Director: Shion Takeuchi
Genre: Crime, Drama
Actor: Brady Coleman, Brady Hender, Brent A. McCoy, Brett Brock, Brian Shoop, Daniel Craig, Dennis Letts, Gabriel Folse, Gail Cronauer, Grant James, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hope Davis, Isabella Rossellini, Jeff Daniels, Joey Basham, John Benjamin Hickey, Juliet Stevenson, Lee Pace, Lee Ritchey, Leticia Trejo, Libby Villari, Marco Perella, Michael Panes, Mitch Baker, Norman Bennett, Peter Bogdanovich, Richard Andrew Jones, Richard Dillard, Sandra Bullock, Sheila Bailey, Sigourney Weaver, Toby Jones, Turk Pipkin
Director: Douglas McGrath
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Actor: Arielle Doneson, Carrie Keranen, Greg Sextro, Marc Diraison, Mike Juarez
Director: Bill Plympton
Most cop shows are set on land, but Han River Police is the rare police procedural set by the river. The K-drama takes a more action-comedy approach, with the comedy depending on the standard banter between cops. The unique setting presents new action sequences aside from regular brawls, with its ship accidents, evacuations, and underwater training scenes. However, while the action is fresh, and the team dynamics keep the show from being too serious, its stereotypical villains, as well as certain cops’ machismo, keeps the show from being totally unique. Han River Police still proves to be an entertaining watch, even if its stakes are familiar.
Genre: Action & Adventure, Comedy
Actor: Bae Da-bin, Choi Moo-sung, Han Ji-hye, Ju Jin-mo, Kim Hee-won, Kwon Sang-woo, Lee Sang-yi, Park Ho-san, Shin Hyeon-seung, Sung Dong-il
Director: Kim Sang-chul
Unabashedly embracing the ridiculous twists, rotating romantic pairings, and other tropes common to young-adult comedy-dramas, Good Trouble offers a massive number of storylines that are always delivered with an easygoing charm and real filmmaking flair. Set in a communal living space in Los Angeles, each character's personal drama often intersects with everyone else's—allowing the show to look at every issue through a wide range of perspectives, and letting the authentic mess of human emotion and miscommunication drive the stories forward. It's undeniably cheesy most of the time, but the energy in the show's filmmaking and the fun chemistry among its actors helps dignify even the smallest everyday occurrence as something meaningful.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Actor: Booboo Stewart, Bryan Craig, Cierra Ramirez, Emma Hunton, Josh Pence, Maia Mitchell, Tommy Martinez, Zuri Adele
Glamorous could easily fit in the 2000s-era boom of workplace romantic comedies. Like Ugly Betty and The Bold Type before it, it follows a group of fashionable twenty-somethings hoping to climb the corporate ladder with their ideals intact, all while trying to impress their diva of a boss, who guides them with a sparkling iron first. But Glamorous is also very much of its time. Instead of a white heterosexual woman, a queer person of color leads the show. Marco is a new hire in a legacy business, and his youthful presence and acumen inspire the company to take bigger risks in capturing the Gen Z market.
Interestingly, Glamorous skips a lot of tropes that used to be par for the course in queer narratives—in this post-Glee world, gay people are no longer anomalies, so you won’t find a lot of the usual coming out and fitting in stories here. This, in turn, leaves a lot of room for the show to tackle newer issues, like how the gay community is painfully divided between masculine and feminine types (Marco’s frequent nemesis is Chad who, while openly gay, is hypermasculine and disapproving of Marco’s “Yas Queen energy”), or how corporations capitalize on queer markets (one of the best episodes in the series hilariously explores the icky gray area corporations enter whenever they launch pride campaigns). It’s easy to dismiss Glamorous as fluff, but it’s actually much smarter and more relevant than it seems.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Ayesha Harris, Graham Parkhurst, Jade Payton, Kim Cattrall, Lisa Gilroy, Michael Rosen, Miss Benny, Zane Phillips
Galaxy Quest may be a parody of the sci-fi franchise, but it’s also a huge fan of it. It forgoes cynical takes for smart odes to the genre, all while retaining an endearing sense of humor about it. It’s silly and self-aware, and it has a lot of fun letting us know that they’re in on the joke. You can watch for the interesting premise, but you'll stay for the laughs and the promise of a genuine thrill ride. Everyone is a blast to watch, but Sigourney Weaver and Sam Rockwell deserve special praise for being outright hilarious, elevating Galaxy Quest from B-movie to camp classic status.
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Science Fiction
Actor: Alan Rickman, Corbin Bleu, Daryl Mitchell, Dian Bachar, Enrico Colantoni, Heidi Swedberg, Isaac C. Singleton Jr., J.P. Manoux, Jed Rees, Jennifer Manley, Jeremy Howard, Jerry Penacoli, Joel McKinnon Miller, Jonathan Feyer, Justin Long, Kaitlin Cullum, Kevin McDonald, Marcio Rosario, Matt Winston, Missi Pyle, Morgan Rusler, Patrick Breen, Rainn Wilson, Robin Sachs, Sam Lloyd, Sam Rockwell, Sigourney Weaver, Tim Allen, Todd Giebenhain, Tony Shalhoub
Director: Dean Parisot
Most people wouldn’t think that math is a transferable skill to the culinary arts, and in reality, it probably is. Fermat’s Cuisine disputes that, as Gaku Kitada makes the unique career shift from becoming a mathematician to becoming the head chef of the restaurant. While most people (ourselves included) won’t really understand what kind of calculations he makes in order to succeed, it’s easy to sympathize with Gaku’s troubles as he tries to make a new start. It’s also an intriguing mystery to try and figure out what happened between this start and his later success. Choosing a career path, finding a good mentor, and trying to learn something new are things everyone goes through. Fermat’s Cuisine confidently suggests math is the answer.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Fuka Koshiba, Fumiya Takahashi, Jun Shison, Mitsuhiro Oikawa, Mitsuomi Takahashi, Miyazawa Emma, Rihito Itagaki, Sei Shiraishi, Takashi Ukaji, Toru Nakamura, Yoshihiko Hosoda