19 feel-good shows to start 2019 off right

Forever

The what: This quirky little show on Amazon almost defies description. It stars Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen as a married couple, whose marriage survives both their deaths. They resume their marital lives in the afterlife, but it takes death for them to really understand their life and personalities.

The feels: This show is about as existential as it gets. It contemplates human mortality, loneliness, our identities inside relationships, and the fear of mediocracy. And this is just in the first episode. The show takes a softer approach to the examination of human nature. It treats the idea of identity and self-consciousness like the fragile thing that it is, and that is rare on a highly jaded TV landscape.

With Rudolph and Armisen in almost every scene, of course it’s funny. But it’s funny in a quiet, reflective way — like the chuckle you get when you notice you have foam on your own upper lip. The show takes its time with its story, which is simple and without gimmick, giving us enough time to allow it to inform how we think about our own time here on Earth. It really is a thing of beauty.

The deets: The show is a limited series from Amazon Prime, so you can only watch it there. Rudolph plays June to Armisen’s Oscar, but we are also treated to the likes of Kathryn Keener and Julia Ormond. There are only six, half-hour episodes, so it’s a quick watch. However, I guarantee it will stay with you for a lot longer.