TV fans are used to seeing tons of sitcoms about families. They include corny jokes, a sometimes sexist tone, and often, a laugh track used for dialogue that isn't particularly funny or interesting. In the past few years, two sitcoms aired on TV that were quickly forgotten and canceled after only two seasons.
But despite the short life of Single Parents and The Unicorn, these shows are worth checking out as they're so smart and funny and full of cool, realistic characters and interesting storylines. They don't feel like typical sitcoms that have been done a million times before.
Single Parents and The Unicorn were both canceled after only two seasons, with the former airing from 2018 to 2020. and the latter airing from 2019 to 2021. The shows both have incredibly talented casts and a similar message: parenting is difficult, complex, wonderful, and ultimately, having a picture perfect family doesn't matter. The series are also both some of the most intelligent and hilarious sitcoms in recent years. While they aren't unique shows breaking the traditional format, they stand out in other ways.
Single Parents and The Unicorn can be considered some of the best sitcoms and while they have a lot in common, they feel unique, too. Single Parents follows Angie (Leighton Meester), Poppy (Kimrie Lewis), Will (Taran Killam), Douglas (Brad Garrett) and Miggy (Jake Choi) as they become close friends and raise their little ones. It's also really fun watching Angie and her ex Derek (Adam Brody), who is Graham's father who hasn't been around until now.
While the adult characters are awesome, as they support each other a lot and fans will also become interested in the chemistry between Angie and Will, it's the kids who really make a splash. Ella and Mia Allen who play Douglas's twin girls Amy and Emma are especially great, especially when fans learn that they have a tool shed in the backyard. They take it very seriously and Douglas is terrified to go in there. The girls even say that anyone borrowing something has to sign the tools out. In another hilarious scene, Douglas wants the twins to watch The Parent Trap and they say that it's a hate crime. The girls love their dad but find him a bit clueless, and they do their best to help him along. It's special to see child characters who are funnier than anyone else on the show.
The Unicorn tells a sad story about Wade (Walton Goggins) mourning the death of his wife and raising his daughters Natalie (Makenzie Moss) and Grace (Ruby Jay). While season 1 is all about Wade trying to date, season 2 is when the show really digs in and gets good. As Wade falls for Shannon (Natalie Zea), fans are treated to some funny scenes of Wade hanging out with his best friends: married couples Ben (Omar Miller) and Michelle (Maya Lynne Robinson) and Delia (Michaela Wakins) and Forrest (Rob Corddry). The characters are great parents on a sitcom as they are caring but also funny, fresh, and they love hanging out together and having a social life as much as they do raising their children and doing what they can for them.
Comedy fans looking for character development on a sitcom will absolutely love Wade's friends on The Unicorn. Everyone does a particularly good job in the season 2 episode "So Far Away." When Delia keeps telling Forrest about the wild and scary things happening in the neighborhood before they go to bed, he has trouble sleeping, and Ben says that Forrest can call him anytime. Ben is a little too good at calming Forrest now and helping him fall asleep, and before too long, Ben has some trouble, too. Fans will like how close the friend group is and how much they support each other, but also how funny and quirky they are with each other. In real life, friends sometimes annoy each other and don't understand why the other person does the things that they do. The Unicorn gets that part of friendship right.
What ultimately makes both Single Parents and The Unicorn so special is that they don't feature cheesy parenting storylines that are over-the-top or silly. The shows don't make jokes about diaper changes or talk about parents wanting a break from loud children or any of the cliches that are sometimes present in TV shows and movies about families. Instead, the shows are smart and interesting, featuring characters who truly love their families and who are doing their best. And the shows are genuinely funny, too, which counts for a lot in a TV landscape with new sitcoms coming out all the time that feel like they're full of tired, recycled jokes.