Sitcom series that can help you escape from stress


College can be a stressful time, with the stress of everything from school to work to life in general. We often need time to relax and unwind, and sitcoms can provide the escape we all desire without taking too much time from our busy schedule.

With great sitcoms like Modern Family, Cougar Town, Community and Parks and Recreation bringing in high ratings, the current TV sitcom season has a lot to live up to. But whether you are looking for a comedy about culture clashes or a disparate family, the current season has a variety of offerings to help you get some productive relaxation.

Better With You
Better With You, formerly known as Better Together, follows three couples at different stages of their relationships: An older couple married for a long time and parents to two women; one newly engaged couple and one couple involved in a relationship of longer than eight years.
The old couple’s lackluster relationship based on tolerance is perfectly executed by sitcom veterans Kurt Fuller and Debra Jo Rupp.
Their elder daughter and her partner, the perfect young couple long into their relationship played by Jennifer Finnigan and Josh Cooke, were both once part of an earlier short-lived sitcom Committed.
Sitcom newcomers Joanna Garcia-Swisher and Jake Lacey play the newly engaged couple, still happy and not yet annoyed with each other’s quirks.  The character-driven show is a great sitcom with potential for a long run. Better With You airs Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. on ABC.
After years of shows about middle class America, from Friends to How I Met Your Mother, it was about time the American audience got a taste of the lower class.
This humorous show follows the life of Jimmy Chance (Lucas Neff) and his family as an unexpected child enters their lives.
The show is very stereotypical in its characterization, although the absurdity and stupidity of the characters and their actions are what make the show successful. Seemingly original, it is similar to NBC’s My Name is Earl: Its composed of the lovable, responsible and comparatively “smart” main character and his idiotic sidekick out to complete one task.
Definitely one of the front-runners of the sitcom freshman class, airing right after the incredibly popular Glee and raking in the most viewers, Raising Hope has a promising future and is worth tuning into. Raising Hope airs Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. on Fox.
Outsourced
It’s hard to have a show set in a different country without being overly stereotypical, and Outsourced does a good job balancing Indian stereotypes by poking fun at Americans, too.
Todd Dempsy (Ben Rappaport) is relocated to his company’s branch in Mumbai, India, after the branch he originally worked at is shut down. The show follows his attempts to adjust and learn about Indian culture while trying to manage his position in the company. The language mishaps and culture clashes have gotten a little old, so hopefully the show can become less dependent on these one-liners and somewhat racist jokes. Until then, the show is still lighthearted, fun and worth following. Outsourced airs Thursday nights at 10:30 p.m. on NBC.
Mr. Sunshine
Occupying Cougar Town’s place while it’s on a hiatus, Mr. Sunshine takes advantage of the airtime to prove itself worthy of a permanent time slot. Ben Donovan (Matthew Perry), manager of a sports arena in San Diego, realizes he needs to make changes in his life after his 40th birthday.
Sarcasm oozes from every aspect of the show, from Ben’s lines to the monotonous jingle “Mr. Sunshine, yeah,” matched with the sun logo. As Ben deals with the crazy antics of the arena’s owner (played by Allison Janney), Perry performs with a Chandler-like charm that brings to life what would otherwise be dull storylines.
Perry shines in a new light in this witty, feel-good sitcom. Mr. Sunshine airs Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. on ABC.