Can't wait for The Righteous Gemstones? You'll love these five comedy dramas on Netflix, Max and more

The Righteous Gemstones TV show promotional poster
(Image credit: Max)

It's a great month for fans of comedy dramas, with the third season of mega-church drama comedy The Righteous Gemstones premiering on June 18. The TV show will be available on Max and on Sky in the UK a day later on May 19. 

The teaser trailer (below) suggests that this season of the televangelist family starring Danny McBride is going to be a hoot. But with there still being some time before you can watch the latest season of the show, we've rounded up some similar series that you can stream on the world's best streaming services. 

1. Dynasty 

Based on the rather camp 1980s series of the same name, Netflix's Dynasty is a soap opera that follows two feuding families over five seasons of high drama and over-the-top ridiculousness. 

Reviewing the pilot, The Guardian called it: "an unashamed fun ride... it's not spoiling things to say you get a cat-fight, an explosion, a wedding and a funeral all in the first 90 minutes." It's as the paper says "trashy as hell" and deliberately, gloriously so.

Available to stream on Netflix worldwide. 

2. Schitt's Creek 

The show that made a million memes and became the subject of some pretty great books too is no longer on Netflix in the US after a streaming rival snapped it up, although it's still on Netflix in the UK. Instead, US viewers will find it on Hulu. 

The tale of the suddenly-broke, formerly filthy-rich Rose family is a real TV gem. Catherine O'Hara steals every scene she's in but there's some lovely work by Dan Levy and Annie Murphy as spoilt siblings who aren't as shallow as they might first seem, and Eugene Levy and Emily Hampshire often have us howling. 

In the wrong hands this could have been a pretty awful show full of stereotypes and ancient tropes, but Dan Levy's hands are the right ones and this is a wonderfully warm and very, very funny show that you'll want to rewatch a dozen times.

Available to stream on Hulu in the US, and Netflix in the UK and Australia. 

3. Succession 

You may have heard of this one. Succession is the tale of high-level shenanigans, controlling personalities, and some of the most horrible and profane anti-heroes imaginable. It is loosely based on a well-known billionaire media mogul and his family. 

It's essential TV and Succession season 4 has just aired, which continued the show's home run of glowing reviews. The last three seasons have all had 97% critic ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. If you're after more shows like it, here are 6 great family sagas that are similar.

Available to stream on Max in the US, Sky in the UK and Binge in Australia. 

4. Barry (Max, Sky Go, Now)

This tale of a depressed, disillusioned hitman sent to LA for one more job is the darkest kind of comedy on this list, and Bill Hader has an absolute ball straddling the line between big laughs and genuinely disturbing drama. 

With a whopping 98% Rotten Tomatoes rating it's a critical hit, and it's the kind of show that makes you laugh yourself silly and then wonder if that makes you a bad person.

Available to stream on Max in the US, Sky in the UK and Binge in Australia.

5. Arrested Development 

Arrested Development took the dysfunctional family trope and turned it up to eleven, and thanks to a talented cast and first-class writing the Emmy-winning show raised the bar for TV comedy. And thankfully, the show isn't leaving Netflix after all and is available to stream on the platform for those in the US and UK.

Season one has an unbeatable 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating, and while not all seasons reached the same heights – season four, which brought the show back after a seven-year break, scored just 25% – the first three seasons are very, very funny. 

Streaming on Netflix in the US and UK, and Disney Plus in Australia.

Carrie Marshall
Contributor

Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind.