Six superb, uplifting shows to make you feel good this long weekend

The weather’s getting colder, comfort season is upon us.

It’s time for “safe hands” television. Shows that guarantee a happy ending, or, at least, leave you feeling better than when you sat down.

Here are six shows to help scratch the itch to feel good, especially during this long weekend.

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This Way Up (Neon)

A show about depression top of the list? Hear me out.

You know the “sad clown” adage about how people who bring us the most joy also tend to be people who feel the most pain? That dichotomy is nestled in the wounded heart of This Way Up and writer-actor Aisling Bea pulls the plaster off reluctantly and brilliantly.

I don’t want to say much, slow reveals are part of the charm in this show along with awkward anecdotes, almost offensive observational humour and Bea’s total believability as someone who suffers seriously and is simultaneously the funny, witty, life of the party.

She has a joke for every situation, but just underneath, occasionally visible, bit-by-bit, you see her real struggle. While that might sound like the opposite of feel good TV, may I gently mention “misery loves company” and wholeheartedly recommend this empathetic, darkly funny show.

Starstruck (TVNZ OnDemand)

Similar to This Way Up, Starstruck also has two, six-episode seasons ready to binge and is also a vehicle for a talented young comedian flexing new muscles. Plus, both shows are based on messy, imperfect lives, but deliver perfectly satisfying results. Very different humour though.

You’ve likely heard the premise, I’m hardly the first to recommend it. A Kiwi living in London has a romantic encounter with a fella and discovers the next day he’s a famous movie star.

Rose Matafeo’s global hit cleverly gender-reverses Notting Hill, but that’s not the only rom-com trope she upends, her character Jessie bucks all sorts of outdated character cliches.

Joyful for its refreshing take on modern romance and devilishly clever execution, it feels like a milestone comedy, one that shifts the cultural dial – much like the next show.

Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

It is surely impossible to not like Ted Lasso. That seems to be his whole gimmick.

Kindness is his kink and it’s definitely impossible to not include Ted Lasso on a list of feel-good TV. It feels like a beacon of light in an era of darkness.

A fish-out-of-water sitcom about an American coaching in the English Premier League, it’s littered with cultural idiosyncrasies that cleverly endear it to both sides of the Atlantic. But it’s not about football, nor a clash of cultures. I’ve watched two seasons twice – and I’m still not sure what makes it tick. Dignity? Hope? Belief?

I’m one of those people who get caught up in characters and sometimes they seep into my life by osmosis. I drank too much during Mad Men and ate too much pasta after Sopranos. Let’s not even talk about the Breaking Bad years, but I’ve noticed becoming just slightly more wholesome since watching Ted Lasso and every episode left me feeling good to be alive. What more can you ask for?

Sex Education (Netflix)

I’m embarrassed to say I’ve watched Sex Education more than once, but I know if I admitted as much to the Jean (a sex therapist played in the show by Gillian Anderson) she would reassure me that my shame serves no purpose.

Why did I go back? Comfort. Low-investment dramatic distraction with high return on serotonin and satisfaction. Emotional victories for newly empowered characters. Every scene with Ncuti Gatwa. Especially when he throws down his bike in disgust after hearing Otis’ reply to Ruby when she said I love you. I’ve seen that clip dozens of times. Very Bad!

Take it with a soapy grain of salt. It’s a show about the sex lives of teenagers where the teenagers are more emotionally mature than most adults you probably know. Heading towards season four and some of the relationship entanglements are getting very Shortland Street, but I’m on the hook now – all I have to do is shake the guilt.

The Simpsons (Disney+)

I’d never seen The Simpsons until recently. My friends are always amazed when it comes up. It’s like confessing to never having tried Coca-Cola or eaten French fries.

All my life, when people referenced Simpsons jokes and exchanged knowing glances, I would adopt a mid-distance stare and gently (sadly) nod my head until the laughter died down.

After reading an interview with John Swartzwelder (who wrote 59 episodes), I decided I might give it a nudge and watch it through. There are 33 seasons, so I’m not expecting to be up-to-date soon (or perhaps ever).

I just watch one (sometimes two) while making dinner – and you know what? This Simpsons malarky is pretty good! There’s always at least one gag that leaves me reeling from left-field genius and it’s becoming a nice occasional habit.

It’s nice to have an almost endless show you can slip on without any mental gymnastics. If not Simpsons, perhaps Schitt’s Creek (Netflix), 30 Rock (TVNZ), or New Girl (also Disney+) if they are more your cup of tea.

Derry Girls (Netflix)

I know season three (the last) is coming soon and I have no qualms about rewatching this brilliant show in anticipation. I know it’s coming because I’ve been avoiding spoilers like crazy on social media (it’s already aired in Ireland), although I already know about the HUGE action star who makes a guest appearance.

Can’t wait.

Derry Girls takes place in a different time. A very specific time in the 1990s. A time when jokes about Macaulay Culkin divorcing his parents hit different. But it was also a different place. A place showrunner Lisa McGee has obvious and enormous love for.

Wearing its heart on its stone wash jacket sleeve, it is an authentic Irish treasure drawn from terrible trauma (by which I mean both the history of Derry, Northern Ireland and the experience of being a teenager anywhere).