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Recommend me a sappy TV drama with preferably >100 episodes
I like crying to sappy bingeworthy tv dramas.
I've just finished Parenthood, and before that I binged a lot of hospital ones like The good doctor, New Amsterdam, etc.
The setting isn't really important, except I can't stand law enforcement settings.
Spoken language doesn't matter as long as I can find it with subtitles.
The important thing seems to be stories that are reasonably realistic where people live their lifes and care about each other.
What do you recommend?
Edit: below is a list of recommendations, mostly for me to have an easy spot to find them
- Bunheads
- Friday night lights
- March Comes In Like a Lion
- This is us
- Shitt's creek
- The crown
- Brothers and sisters
- Scrubs
- Midnight Diner
- The good place
- Virgin river
- Gilmore girls
- Dawson's creek
I've heard good things about This Is Us.
That's the first thing that came to mind.
Super sappy, but it works. The characters are generally likable, care for each other, and the stories remain reasonable and grounded. Dramatized slice of life stuff.
Turns a bit into tearjerker porn at the end, but that's not necessarily a bad thing if "sappy" is a requirement.
It can be slapstick at times, but it also has a lot of heart... have you ever watched Scrubs?
Scrubs is such a great show. "Where do you think we are?" That episode was phenomenal.
Yes! Thanks for reminding of Scrubs, on to the list it goes!
Psych is also a good show of the same type!
I started watching Psych but it is too comedic, not sappy enough.
I know you recommended it as being close to Scrubs and that was true, same vibe.
Fair enough! I remember it being
OK, might give it a second try later then, I'm a sucker for good male relationships (I mean all good relationships but male relationships just hit a certain way)
Yeah.. I don't want to oversell the sappiness. But I really enjoyed their dynamic because it felt a lot like my best friend and I around 20.
Downton Abbey / Gilmore Girls maybe?
I don't know if the characters in this one are happy enough for you but I loved midnight Diner Tokyo stories on Netflix.
An absolutely lovely and delightful series, but nowhere near the 100+ episode mark. I didn't watch all of it, but Parks and Recreation had some of the small ensemble cast feel and closeness among the characters, plus drop-dead funny dialogue and low-stakes drama.
For higher stakes drama and a brilliant cast, The West Wing.
You inspired me to check. 50 episodes is quite a few but definitely not a hundred.
I started (and finished) watching "Midnight Diner" - without the "Tokyo stories" part.
Really cozy show, but not sappy enough.
I did really enjoy it for all the slurpy eating, I love the Japanese (and also other cultures) way of eating. It feels so good to eat that way.
The small cooking tips at the end of every episode are adorable but in the end I don't feel like I ever get to know the recurring cast. Each episode is about a stranger.
And while most stories are fundamentally sappy, the lack of continuity from episode to episode makes it more cute than sappy for me.
Good show, would recommend, but for other reasons than sappyness.
Now I will start with the show you actually recommended and we'll see how that lands.
Realized from this post I haven't watch anything of the like, ever. A few sitcoms with that many episodes, but that is not sappy of course.. and plenty of dramas but none of that length at all - all of it 6-12 episode seasons and only a handful of seasons.
The Crown is the closest I can get but still nowhere near 100 episodes. But it does have plenty of moments to
relax/study tocry toWhen I read the title, I was going to suggest Parenthood, so I hope I'm on the right track.
I think one of the most similar is probably Gilmore Girls, though it's funnier and less sad. There are still crying moments though. It's one of my favourite shows.
My wife swears by This Is Us as a show in the same genre. I haven't personally watched it, but I believe in her enough to make it a recommendation.
The next two don't really match your request, but I'll plug for them anyways.
Schitt's Creek is not quite the same vibe, but is another of my favourite shows. It leans more towards humour, but it is also supremely heartwarming and features my favourite on-screen couple, and I cried multiple times while watching it.
The show that I cry the hardest for is actually The Good Place, but now we're getting pretty far removed from the requested type of show. It is definitely a sitcom, and the emotional payoff really only comes in the final series.
Dawson's Creek is a classic, but I haven't watched any episodes in the last 20 years and I don't know if it holds up. At the time it was must-see, and everyone seemed to love it.
Thank you! Many interesting shows here <3
I should probably rewatch The good place from the beginning, it is a good show, but not quite sappy enough for this purpose!
If you don't mind an animated story, March Comes in Like a Lion fits this bill incredibly well. It's about Rei, a young competitive Shogi player, trying to find his place in the world despite the fact that he lives an incredibly unique life that nobody can relate to. The story is the most accurate depiction of depression I have seen yet. Early on in the first episode, Rei's facial expression as he prepares for the day struck an absolute chord as I've had this expression on my face during my worst times. As the show continues, he learns to combat his depression and grows immensely as a person as well as the people around him. Everything in this show is grounded in reality and, at least for me, was incredibly relatable.
I haven't really watched any real anime (ATLA doesn't count imo) so will definitely add it to my list, thx <3
I have not watched Hill Street Blues but I believe that meets your criteria (minus the law enforcement stuff). Same with Lou Grant, which was a spin off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show but changed the shows drama from a live studio sitcom to a single camera journalist drama.
The OC and Ally McBeal also fall into this category I believe for stuff that’s slightly more modern.
It doesn't have a ton of episodes, but Bunheads was also produced by Amy Sherman-Palladino, who did The Gilmore Girls. It has a similar comfy vibe and the characters are lovely.
Parenthood was a guilty pleasure of mine back in the day. I once had a roommate who sucked me into a season of Brothers and Sisters and it is basically a sappier Parenthood with an older family. It seems right up your alley.
I think we have opposing taste in TV, but I think Friday Night Lights might be perfect for you.
Well, I do enjoy other stuff too!
I'm just needing to do a lot of crying at the moment and sappy family dramas is thr best tool for that that I've found.
have you watched Midnight Gospel? it’s only a handful of episodes, but the last one will absolutely destroy you :)
Virgin River sucked up all the out of work Canadian Scifi TV show actors and is absolutely terrible in its sappiness. So it might sorta fit the bill.
Well, Virgin River is actually too sappy!
And somehow, can't put my finger on exactly how, it is too gender-essentialist, coupling-is-everything and christian-family-values-in-your-face for me. (And I quite enjoyed 7th Heaven back in the day!)
Maybe it's something with the ratios, because Parenthood doesn't lack those aspects at all!
I am not into it, but I recognized actors from Stargate and Outer Limits in it, so I watched a few and was...kinda horrified it was even a show.
So bad.
If this is really a "I need something to put me to sleep so I stop thinking about Trump nuking my 401k" thing, I highly reccomend Camping with Steve on YouTube.
Sorry, I snapped a bit, having a bad day. My apologies @Plik
This is just a case of wanting to cry because I feel like crying :)
Original severely unfriendly comment
Nope, the Trump presidency doesn't affect me at all, too jaded, old, and anarchist (the socialist European kind) to GAF about your local "turbulence" over in the US.
This is a case of wanting to cry because I feel like crying :)
Oh it's ok, that comment would not have bothered me anyway. I am also not a fan of the current world
orderchaos.Hope you feel better.
Thank you, that's kind of you <3
From Scratch on Netflix was super heart wrenching. The show felt shockingly real to me. Showing how a healthy couple overcomes a lot together. And then a lot more.
First Love is also in Netflix, it is a Japanese drama. If you love to watch an agonizingly slow burn of two people deeply in love it is incredibly emotional.
The only thing I would say about these is that they are both miniseries that only have about ten episodes each.
It's nowhere near 100 episodes but The Detectorists is some of the best TV ever made. I'd call it cosy rather than sappy. It's funny but it's not a comedy, really. It will make you cry.
Also, and just go with me on this for a moment, but I think the vibe you might be looking for also includes Bluey. Technically it's a kid's show but good TV is good TV. Are they cartoon dogs? Yes. But the Heeler family and their friends are some of the most well drawn characters around. If it doesn't make you cry I'll give you your money back. :)