Did you know some of your favorite shows have Jewish creators? Here’s a list of 8 TV shows to watch in celebration of the last night of Hanukkah!
For this year’s Hanukkah, Afterbuzz gave to me… A list of the best Jewish TV! Happy Hanukkah to all those who celebrate, and even if you don’t there’s no better time than now to appreciate Jewish-created media. As a special treat on this last night of Hanukkah, we present a list to you of the 8 best TV shows created by Jewish Folk.
Schitt’s Creek
The Rose family acknowledges their recent poverty and are forced to inhabit one of their only leftover assets after being screwed over by their business manager, a town called Schitt’s Creek. Missing their rich and lavish lifestyle, they learn to live in a motel in their town and make new friends along the way.
This Canadian sitcom was created by the Jewish Canadian father-son duo, Eugene and Dan Levy. Both are renowned actors, comedians, and producers, but Eugene is especially well-known for his work on the American Pie franchise, Finding Dory, Over The Hedge, and Night At The Museum. The Levy’s also play father-son in the show and daughter/sister Sarah Levy also appears in the show. Eugene is even playing a Jewish man too! There’s a lot of nicely placed bits of North American Jewish culture in the series, which makes it a beloved show for Jewish people and everyone for that matter. If you want to watch it, you can find it on Netflix!
Broad City
In New York City, two Jewish American 20-year-old women navigate their life together as working folk. They go through many adventures together, meeting people, and living day-to-day with a flare of comedy and dramatics.
The American comedy started out as a web series, but was recognized by Amy Poehler and soon made into a Comedy Central show. Two Jewish women, Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobsen were the show creators and stars of the original YouTube sitcom. It received lots of positive feedback on its original platform and is to this day an extremely appreciated show of its time. The show has been popular even after its finale and to stream it you can find it on Hulu!
The Goldbergs
The Goldberg family lives in 1980s Pennsylvania in the outskirts of Philly, with two parents and three children. The youngest kid, Adam, uses a video camera to document his life with an over-involved mother, and hot-head father. Their family is a sweet mixture of heartwarming and chaotic, making for one of the more favored period sitcoms.
Adam F. Goldberg is the show creator and loosely based the story off of his own childhood. It stars Wendi McLendon-Covey and Jeff Garlin has Seth Gordon on its executive producer list and is even produced by Dan Levy of Schitt’s Creek. There are currently nine seasons and it has millions of viewers for every season thus far. Since it airs on ABC, you can watch the show on their own streaming service, but if that isn’t accessible it is also available to view on Hulu!
Russian Doll
A game developer, Nadia Vulvokov, dies and is forced to relive the same night at a New York City party on her birthday over and over again, and she is trying to figure out why. She finds another person along the way who is experiencing the same time-loop in a different event and together they change the course of their future selves.
Natasha Lyonne was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family growing up and is the star and one of the co-creators of the show alongside Amy Poehler and Leslye Headland. This Netflix original dramedy is mysterious and well-recognized. With only one released season, the show received many award nominations and got renewed for a second season with a minor production delay. It is a great watch available on Netflix and has been coined as incredibly inventive despite reliving the same day over and over again, so we highly recommend it!
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
1950s Manhattan is home to Midge Maisel, an upper-class Jewish housewife who has become a single mother after her husband leaves her for his secretary with who he has had a long-running affair. Distraught after discovering the news, Midge drunkenly takes to a comedy club in The Village and finds her love and knack for comedy, and decides to make herself a career out of it.
The show’s creator and established comedy writer, Amy Sherman-Palladino, executive produced the show with her husband, and is previously recognized for her creation of Gilmore Girls. She was raised by her Jewish father and has done a lot in the past shows that she’s worked on to sprinkle in Jewish comedy. Although the star of the show is not Jewish herself and the writing often presents lots of Jewish stereotypes, many of the supporting actors are Jewish themselves and do their part to make sure the show is presented in a culturally accurate and supportive manner. The series won Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe awards and is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video!
Mad Men
In another 1950s New York City reality, an advertising agency in Manhattan is up and running. Home to some of the most talented ad executives, the story follows one of the prestigious talents, Don Draper, who is also a family father and top dog struggling to stay at the height of his game.
Jewish creator, Matthew Weiner, worked on writing and producing for The Sopranos and Becker before creating Mad Men. The show is yet another period piece and has received a plethora of nominations and award-winnings for its historical authenticity and enticing storyline. It was long-lasted at seven seasons from 2007 to 2015 and is known as one of the greatest TV series of all time. If you are interested in finding it, it’s available to see on Amazon Prime Video!
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Rebecca Bunch is highly educated and works at one of New York City’s top law firms before encountering one of her high school flings, Josh, that announces his relocation back to his hometown of West Covina in California. She decides to abandon her job and discover joy by heading out to California herself and conveniently ends up in her ex-boyfriend town, telling herself that he was not her reason behind the move.
This super funky and original musical comedy was conceived by Jewish creators, Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh Mckenna. Despite the show’s consistent renewal, it tracked lots of low ratings while opposingly receiving many different awards. The criticism has been extremely polarizing, but even after its run, it continues to be recognized for its humor on platforms such as TikToks for its recognizable songs and sounds. It ran for four seasons and is available on Netflix to watch!
Big Mouth
Middle schoolers in the suburbs of New York start puberty with the help of their hormone monsters that dictate their actions in figuring out their own sexuality and maturity struggles. Their lives never fail to be highly relatable while grotesque and their imaginary lives often intersect with one another, breaking their characters and sometimes the fourth wall as well.
Three out of the four co-creators of the show are Jewish including Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, and Mark Levin. It is loosely based on the childhoods of Kroll and Goldberg and is meant to make fun of the pubescent lives of teenagers that start to discover themselves. Watching children become adults slowly on television is relatable to all ages and has made this cartoon extremely popular and continuously running. You can give it a watch on Netflix now!
