These community-vetted picks offer a curated roadmap for viewers ready to venture beyond the trending tab and into the world of exceptional, overlooked TV.

1. Better Off Ted

This sharp workplace comedy deconstructs the absurdity of life inside an ethically questionable mega-corporation. Redditors celebrate the show's relentless wit and relevance and mourned its short-lived broadcast run.

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Better off Ted.

Corporate comedy without laugh tracks that was way ahead of its time and as such only lasted two seasons. Sort of similar vibe to 30 rock or modern family in its presentation and humor. I rewatch it regularly and it still holds up so well.

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This was such an underrated series. Alongside everything else, those ads for the company they worked for, Veridian Dynamics, were gold.

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Yeah would have been perfect on fx or fxx but sadly it aired on ABC and didn't make the cut.

At least with two (half) seasons there are a full 26 episodes to enjoy on a rewatch.

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It's honestly crazy how unknown that show is considering how funny & relevant it is.

2. Future Man

This chaotic sci-fi comedy follows a janitor forced into a time-traveling mission to save the world. Redditors love how it reinvents itself every season, constantly pushing the limits of bizarre humor and action-movie parody.

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I can't believe Future Man didn't become a phenomenon. The room full of bodies will just make me laugh from time to time out of nowhere.

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I think this was on Hulu too early, when nobody knew Hulu, and they didn't properly market it as a takeoff on Terminator. Once I finally gave the show a chance it became one of my favorite shows of all time.

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So mad this isn't on Hulu in the US anymore. I want to do a rewatch! This show is absolutely nuts and shifts its tone like 2 or 3 times a season and its all great.

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I often cite this as one of the few time travel series that takes time travel seriously.

Every other series, or movie, it's always "Oh, no! We've changed the past! Now we just have to change things again and everything will go back to normal." Not in Future Man. Once it's been changed, you're stuck with whatever changes you've made, for better or worse.

3. Galavant

Part fairy-tale parody and part Broadway-caliber musical, this series skewers fantasy tropes with help from some of the creative minds behind Disney’s modern hits. Its absurdity and self-aware songs make it a one-of-a-kind binge for viewers who like their heroes a bit unconventional.

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Galavant. It's a musical, so not everyone's cup of tea, but for what is it is, it's absolutely a 10/10. Monty Python meets Disney with subversive storytelling and great characters.

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The opening number to season 2 and how meta it was is a highlight for me. The show knew what it was and even acknowledged how lucky they got even getting a season 2 order.

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When my husband introduced me to this show, he gave me a rundown of the plot “a hero goes to rescue his maiden from the king who abducted her to marry her and then she ends up deciding to stay and marry the king instead”

I was a little disappointed he spoiled the show for me, only to find out that it all happens in the first episode 😂

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I had heard the songwriters/composers for that show had worked on The Little Mermaid and Tangled, so it definitely a Disney type feel to it.

And a Weird Al cameo never hurts

4. How To With John Wilson

This unconventional docuseries captures the awkward beauty of New York City through the lens of a narrator obsessed with life’s smallest details. Fans find profound empathy in its bizarre visual essays, which turn mundane topics like scaffolding or vacuum cleaners into deeply moving human stories.

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Absolutely brilliant show that also managed to be pretty deeply moving in parts. There are so many episodes I still remember from that. Only thing that bummed me out is that it’s fairly short with only 18 total episodes. I could have easily watched double that.

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There is truly nothing else like it. It's hard to even describe to people what it is, and pretty much impossible to do so while conveying any of the appeal.

Beneath the humor of the show lies an aching humanity. Wilson often finds such rich empathy for his subjects and can find profundity in the strangest or most banal events. The vacuum cleaner episode made me cry when I first watched it - now that I have a son with autism, I find so much beauty and hope in that episode.

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That COVID episode is one of the greatest pieces of TV I've ever seen.

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For me it's the insanity of how it takes a turn from the original idea of the episode to something unexpected but still some how relevant to the story. It's like a real life playing out of if you give a mouse a cookie.

5. Mr Inbetween

This unflinching portrait of a hitman balances brutal underworld violence with surprisingly tender moments of fatherhood and friendship. Fans describe it as a gritty masterpiece that stays grounded in reality even during its most intense sequences.

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Mr in-between, an Australian series. Brilliant.

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It's got all these amazing moments that are great clips but also an arc across multiple seasons that have real depth imo. So highly recommend it.

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I've watched it all the way through three times. Its So. Freaking. Good. Every actor does phenomenal. The fact that the guy who plays Bruce does not actually have MND or any disorder, blew me away. He was great along with everyone else.

6. Halt and Catch Fire

This period piece charts the high-stakes birth of the personal computer era through the eyes of its pioneers. Fans admire its transformation from a tech drama into a deeply personal character study, backed by a synth-heavy score that perfectly captured the '80s.

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The acting in the show is off the charts. Lee Pace, Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Davis, Toby Huss, and Kerry Bishé among others. Absolutely stacked cast IMO.

There are very few shows that I think about all the time, but this is one of them (and haven’t watched it since it ended in 2017).

Also, the intro freaking slaps.

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HALT AND CATCH FIRE. I tell everyone I know about this show and no one seems to know what I’m talking about. I wish I could experience it for the first time again.

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Great answer. AMC wanted a new Mad Men type show, and created one on the computer industry in the 1980s.

The show always teetered between cancellation, so each season has closure you don't typically see. Then each new season kind of convincingly moves the plot forward.

They do a good job of a "squint and you can see the real companies they're describing" accuracy which is wonderful.

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HALT AND CATCH FIRE. I tell everyone I know about this show and no one seems to know what I’m talking about. I wish I could experience it for the first time again.

7. Turn: Washington's Spies

This historical drama explores the clandestine world of espionage during the birth of the United States. Fans praised the show's ability to make viewers deeply invested in the outcome, while providing one of TV's all-time underrated antagonists.

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TURN

Was on during AMCs golden era of The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy, so it was definitely overshadowed. Takes places during the American Revolutionary War and focuses on the real life Culper spy ring. The actor who voices the current version of Call of Dutys "Ghost" is one of the main bad guys and is one of my favourite characters ever.

Everybody who I've convinced to watch it absolutely loved it.

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I feel bad for the actors who play loathsome characters so well. Simcoe is right up there with Joffrey, Dr. Smith, Kai Winn Adami and Dolores Umbridge. 

Just absolutely contemptible characters played so well that I actually hate characters like they are a real, live person.  Thats impressive.

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I lov the serie and forced it on most of my friends. They all liked it a lot.

Oh god I never connected that Ghost is Samuel Roukin!! He was one of the best villain I've ever seen in Turn!

The consensus among redditors is that mainstream success doesn't always reflect a TV show’s true brilliance. While networks often cut these ambitious projects short, shows live on as community-vetted treasures for anyone willing to look past a top 10 list. Whether these series arrived ahead of their time or simply on the wrong platform, they demonstrate how some of the most memorable storytelling can be found off the beaten path. What under-watched masterpiece do you wish more people have watched?

Want more TV discussions like this? Read the full discussion in r/AskReddit, and find similar conversations in r/television, r/NetflixBestOf, and r/televisionsuggestions.