You will never, and I mean never, catch me shaming anyone over how many times they’ve binge-watched Friends. If anyone can recite Ross's meltdown from "The One Where No One's Ready" from heart, it's yours truly. If you handed me a pencil and sketch pad right now, I could probably draw a pretty decent rendering of Monica's apartment from memory. Friends, for so many of us, is like the TV equivalent of your softest sweatshirt; it's just something that makes you instantly feel better, something you want to slide into at the end of a long day. Alas, even the coziest rewatch eventually runs out of episodes, leaving you staring at the screen like Joey staring at a menu devoid of meatball subs.
The good news is that the things you actually love about Friends aren’t exclusive to our favorite funny New Yorkers (and that signature orange Central Perk couch). There are lots of truly incredible shows out there that’ve also nailed the buddy-comedy magic. So whether you're on the hunt for a replacement friend group or craving another workplace crew that feels like family, here’s what you can queue up next.
If You’re Looking for Another Friend Group to Adopt
Living Single
I don’t want to ruffle any feathers here, but Living Single actually came out a full year before Friends… and yet it doesn’t get nearly as much love as it deserves. Watch it and try to deny the overlap: a core group of twentysomethings, a New York brownstone, romantic chaos to spare. Queen Latifah has even publicly hinted that NBC borrowed the concept; I'm just saying. Either way, Khadijah, Synclaire, Régine, and Max are an all-time friend group, and Kyle and Max’s bickering is will-they-won’t-they at its finest.
Available to stream on Hulu
New Girl
Obviously, right? Just swap the coffee shop for a dive bar and you’ve got New Girl. Jess, Nick, Schmidt, Winston, and Cece are so funny you’ll literally be crying from laughing (the best kind of tears). Plus, we can probably all agree that Nick and Jess give Ross and Rachel a serious run for their money. Bonus: True American is the Friends’ Thanksgiving football game for a new generation.
Available to stream on Hulu and Peacock
Happy Endings
Happy Endings only got three seasons before ABC pulled the plug, so be aware of that going in. It’s expiration dating, if you will. And while that remains a crime, it just means you can binge the whole thing in one weekend... which you should, because Damon Wayans Jr.’s Brad and Eliza Coupe’s Jane are one of TV’s best married couples, full stop.
Available to stream on Hulu
How I Met Your Mother
For many fans, this is likely the most direct descendant of Friends on the list: five pals, one bar booth, and a nine-season mystery to see who one of the group ends up with. People have many opinions about that finale, but you can’t argue that the journey to get there is pure comfort food.
Available to stream on Hulu
Girlfriends
Joan, Toni, Maya, and Lynn may have been a dysfunctional group of friends, but they loved each other fiercely and honestly through all the ups and downs. To this day, they remain the L.A. girl gang I wish I could have been a part of in my 20s (fine, I still do — Tracee Ellis Ross, let’s be best friends please). The series recently left Netflix, but you can stream all eight seasons on Pluto TV for free. Maybe if we all stream enough, they’ll give us some sort of reunion!
Available to stream on Pluto TV
Derry Girls
Derry Girls is kind of like an Irish coming-of-age version of our Central Perk crew. Hear me out. Erin, Orla, Clare, Michelle, and James (the "wee English fella") are a group of teens navigating Catholic school and family histrionics in '90s Northern Ireland. It's hilarious, but also surprisingly heartfelt. Plus, episodes are short enough to make it an easy rewatch.
Available to stream on Netflix
Workin’ Moms
As a workin’ mom myself, I can think of few shows more relatable than this raunchy and delightfully real series. Meet Kate, Anne, Frankie, and Jenny: a group of moms who took a mommy-and-me class together and then became part of each other's mom circle. They experience all the stuff that moms need someone to talk to about, from pumping mishaps at work to postpartum spirals and terrible bosses. And, yes, relationship snags and some truly questionable decision-making along the way. All seven seasons are ready, so you can binge straight through a long weekend if you're feeling froggy.
Available to stream on Netflix and Tubi
Harlem
Camille, Tye, Quinn, and Angie are four college besties now navigating their 30s... in heels, uptown, with an extra spicy group chat. They show up for each other through the big friendship milestones, like meltdowns and messy exes, and whew, they do it all in style (prepare for serious wardrobe envy). Created by Girls Trip writer Tracy Oliver, it’s edgy and smart, not to mention wildly bingeable.
Available to stream on Prime Video
If You’re Here for the Ride-Or-Die Duos
Scrubs
If one of the things you love most about Friends is the dynamic between Joey and Chandler, you cannot go another minute without tuning into Scrubs for J.D. and Turk. The bromance is beyond real (Zach Braff and Donald Faison are BFFs outside of the show, too). The fantasy sequences are undeniably some of the best to ever exist. And somehow this deeply funny show can turn on a dime and have you ugly-crying at any minute. Even better: The revival is back on ABC for another season, so this one’ll keep you busy for a while.
Available to stream on Hulu
Broad City
Abbi and Ilana’s friendship is a little bit of everything: supportive, chaotic, always a little too high. They’re two twentysomething women trying to make it in New York City and all that entails, between dating disasters and struggling to make rent. It’s raunchy, it’s feminist, it’s unapologetically millennial, it’s 100% worth your time.
Available to stream on Hulu and Paramount+
Ride or Die
Yep, a show about a ride-or-die duo that is named Ride or Die. Prepare for a little disappointment right up front because, despite it being a No. 1 show for the streamer, Prime Video canceled this absolute gem after just one season. There’s still hope it’ll get picked up somewhere else, though, so go watch how brilliant Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer are as best friends on the lam… and then spam Prime Video with positive reviews.
Available to stream on Prime Video
Grace and Frankie
When their husbands leave them for each other, Grace and Frankie are not exactly simpatico. You couldn’t find two more different women if you tried. But grief and growth and time have a funny way of making people see what’s right in front of them, and in this case, that leads to Grace and Frankie becoming best friends. Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are perfection as this uptight/hippie odd couple.
Available to stream on Netflix
Insecure
Make no mistake: The central love story in Insecure is the friendship between Issa and Molly, and one of the best parts is how refreshingly honest and authentic the series portrays it. These are best friends who love each other, hurt each other, find their way back, rinse and repeat. It’s funny and it’s messy and it’s just so real.
Available to stream on HBO Max
Only Murders in the Building
Who would have thought that Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short would give us one of the best TV trios of our time? Yet here they are, three memorable characters who bond over true-crime podcasts and, well, actual murders in their building. Their cross-generational friendship feels totally natural thanks to their killer chemistry, which we’ll get even more of when Season 6 heads to London starting Dec. 8.
Available to stream on Hulu
Dead to Me
I would watch anything with Christina Applegate. I would watch anything with Linda Cardellini (speaking of, go watch her in Crystal Lake right now if you like horror). So, it just makes sense that I would be utterly obsessed with this series about two women who meet in a grief group and develop a ridiculously tight, beautiful, complicated friendship. It’s darker than anything you’ll see at Central Perk, but it’s got just as much heart.
Available to stream on Netflix
Psych
Fair warning: This show will make you feel sick over the fact that you can’t have Shawn and Gus as friends in real life. Still, it’s worth watching Shawn fake psychic powers to solve crimes while Gus reluctantly (always reluctantly) tags along. Their rapid-fire riffs are unrivaled, and you’ll get tinges of Joey and Chandler’s rapport when you hear their ridiculous nicknames for each other. Eight seasons plus three movies means plenty to binge. Just don’t forget to look for the pineapple hidden in every episode!
Available to stream on Peacock and Prime Video
If You Want Work Friends Who Feel Like Family
Parks and Recreation
Monica stans, rise up! Here, we get the local government version of our favorite Type A personality in Leslie Knope: organized, intense, and devoted to her people. Add in Ron Swanson, April and Andy, and the eternally optimistic Chris Traeger, and you’ve got a bang-up workplace comedy. Galentine’s Day alone earns it a spot on this list.
Available to stream on Peacock, Netflix, and Prime Video
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
If you want found family, you’ll find it at the 99th Precinct; they just all happen to be wearing badges. Much like Friends, the holiday episodes (specifically the Halloween heists) are must-watch TV, plus you get another epic bromance with Jake and Charles. It’ll break your heart a little to laugh at Captain Holt’s endless deadpanning knowing Andre Braugher is no longer with us, but binge-watching his brilliant performance is an homage.
Available to stream on Netflix, Prime Video, and Peacock
The Office
Let’s be so for real: If you’re the type who rewatches Friends annually, you most likely have logged at least a few laps through Dunder Mifflin. We couldn’t leave it out, though! Jim and Pam’s slow-burn romance is Ross and Rachel without the “we were on a break” baggage.
Available to stream on Peacock, Prime Video, and Hulu
Abbott Elementary
Sure, the teachers at this underfunded Philly public school are coworkers, but they’re more than that too. They’re a found family who shows up for each other (even if sometimes begrudgingly). Season 6 is airing now, and the show hits its 100th episode this season. If you loved Friends and The Office and haven’t watched this yet, it should move straight to the top of your queue.
Available to stream on Hulu
Ted Lasso
If you need an injection of pure dopamine, it’s gotta be Ted Lasso. Here, a relentlessly kind and upbeat American football coach takes over an English soccer club and makes fans of us all. It’s wall-to-wall buddy energy with a side of biscuits! Season 4 wrapped earlier this month, so all four seasons are ready for your binge-watching pleasure.
Available to stream on Apple TV
source https://www.scarymommy.com/entertainment/buddy-sitcoms-shows-like-friends
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