5 Best Shows Like Mid-Century Modern

Hulu’s Mid-Century Modern is the latest fabulously funny creation of legendary sitcom developers Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. It centers on a trio of middle-aged gay man, played by Nathan Lane, Nathan Lee Graham and Matt Bomer, who move to the resort city of Palm Springs, California. However, there’s the added complication that they’re moving in with the mother of Lane’s character, who’s played by the late, great Linda Lavin. As the show is only one season in and currently consists of just 10 episodes, those who enjoy it may already be looking for their next sitcom fix.

It’s at this point that the likes of Mutchnick, Kohan, Lane, and the other TV shows that inspired Mid-Century Modern become especially important. The show has deservedly received rave reviews for its incisive wit and good-natured, farcical approach to comedy. Mid-Century Modern currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score that would be the envy of most contemporary sitcoms. But its comedy didn’t spring from nowhere, and cleverly builds on established trends in TV comedy, some of which the creators and cast of Mid-Century Modern have had a hand in.

1 The Golden Girls

Hulu & Disney+

Classic 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls is surely Mid-Century Modern’s primary inspiration. Just like Mutchnick and Kohan’s new series, its premise involves three middle-aged people moving in with one of their mothers. Of course, in the case of Mid-Century Modern, these three people are men, whereas in The Golden Girls all four protagonists are women.

Rose, Dorothy, Sophia, and Blanche in The Golden Girls

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Mid-Century Modern subverts the premise of its forerunner in many of its jokes, and watching The Golden Girls may feel a bit like seeing the mirror image of Bunny, Arthur, Jerry, and Sybil at times. Just as Mid-Century Modern has the likes of Lane, Bomer and Lavin, as well as some familiar faces in its supporting cast, The Golden Girls boasts star quality in the form of Betty White, Rue McClanahan, Estelle Getty, and Bea Arthur.

2 Will & Grace

Hulu

If The Golden Girls is the inspiration for Mid-Century Modern’s basic premise, then Will & Grace supplies the comic template. Max Mutchnick and David Kohan’s most successful show is about two roommates, a gay man and a straight woman, who are polar opposites in many respects.

In the revival seasons of Will & Grace, Will's love interest McCoy Whitman is played by Mid-Century Modern star Matt Bomer.

The rhythms of the humor in Mid-Century Modern will feel very familiar to fans of Will & Grace, and vice versa. On the other hand, the urban setting of Will & Grace, a sitcom that takes place in New York, is very different from Mutchnick and Kohan’s new show, and its main characters are significantly younger than those in Mid-Century Modern.

3 Gilmore Girls

Netflix

Gilmore Girls is a little further removed from the setup of Mid-Century Modern than either Will & Grace or The Golden Girls, but it has fundamental similarities nonetheless. The mother-daughter relationship between the two Lorelai Gilmores is at the heart of the show, just as Bunny’s relationship with his mother is arguably the focal point of Mid-Century Modern’s first season.

A cutout of Rory and Lorelai is in front of Lorelai and Richard in Gilmore Girls

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Meanwhile, the bawdy humor of the elder Lorelai’s best friend Sookie St. James, played by Melissa McCarthy, is reminiscent of the friendship that Bunny shares with Jerry and Arthur.Gilmore Girls is the perfect show for Mid-Century Modern fans who aren’t necessarily looking for the same story in another show, but for a series that carries the same spirit and warmth with it.

4 Modern Family

Hulu & Disney+

Although Modern Family is a very different sitcom from Mid-Century Modern, the dynamic between gay couple Cameron and Mitchell is arguably the most similar thing to Max Mutchnick and David Kohan’s new show of anything in this list. Cameron and Mitchell’s relationship is based on profound love and care but the two characters are hilariously sensitive around each other. The hijinks they both pull as a result mean that Cam and Mitch produce some of Modern Family’s best comedy.

Collage of Phil and Jay in cowboy hats, Cam as Fizbo, and Cam laughing from Modern Family

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Cameron, in particular, shares plenty in common with the three male protagonists of Mid-Century Modern. In fact, if you took Bunny, Arthur and Jerry’s respective diva sides and rolled them into one, Cameron Tucker is probably what you’d end up with. It’s no surprise, then, when Nathan Lane shows up in Modern Family as Cameron and Mitchell’s best friend, Pepper, who’s arguably the only character in the show more flamboyant than Sofia Vergara’s Gloria.

5 Uncoupled

Netflix

While it survived just one season, Netflix’s canceled 2022 sitcom Uncoupled, which stars Neil Patrick Harris, has a lot to like about it. The series is about a middle-aged, single gay man in New York. Harris’ character, Michael Lawson, is a little more life-savvy than the friends in Mid-Century Modern, but his loss of contact with the dating scene over 17 years means that he’s hilariously out of his depth when it comes to being single.

If fans of Mid-Century Modern are after more romance in their next sitcom, then Uncoupled is the way to go.

The sitcom’s single-camera format, offbeat style, and often cringeworthy humor is a little different from the tone of Mid-Century Modern, but its entire setup has major similarities with Bunny, Arthur and Jerry’s attempts at getting lucky. If fans of Hulu’s new show are after more romance in their next sitcom, then Uncoupled is the way to go.

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