It’s election day here in America, and I hope you have already voted. If you have, you might be trying to do anything that keeps your eyes and ears away from any news about the election that isn’t just the final results because these past two presidential election cycles have been nerve-wracking, and the human nervous system can only handle so much.
Here are a few Jewish and Jew-ish movies and shows that are perfect if you need a laugh and a distraction. These shows range from unhinged to funny to comforting, and can help take you out of your head, provide comfort and keep you away from nervously watching the results coming in.
TV Shows:
“Somebody Feed Phil” (Netflix)
Sometimes we just need the healing power of food — and Phil Rosenthal — and tonight sure seems like one of those nights. I love Rosenthal’s menschiness, the social service aspect of the show, and more than anything, his pure love for delicious food that feels so infectious. Just make sure to have some delicious snacks to comfort eat as you watch Phil travel the world and eat the best noshes.
“Ghosts” (Paramount+)
Last week on our Jewish TV Club substack, I debated whether Trevor Lefkowitz, the Jewish ghost from “Ghosts,” an adaptation of a British show by the same name about a couple who inherits a haunted manor with a diverse group of ghosts, is good representation. The answer I came up with was a firm yes. Lefkowitz, played by the menschy Asher Grodman, may be a Wall Street bro, but he is also truly a sweetheart. And “Ghosts” itself is a perfect comfort show, with a cast of ridiculous and lovable characters that will take you away from your woes and make you want to wish your house was haunted by well-meaning ghosts, too.
“Red Oaks” (Prime Video)
Mar-a-Lago who? This underrated comedy about the movie-loving young David Myers (Craig Roberts) who works in a Jewish country club in 1980s New Jersey is surprisingly diverting, and it stars Richard Kind as David’s father, Paul Reiser as a wealthy club patron and the one and only Jennifer Grey as David’s maybe queer mother. This show absolutely deserves more hype.
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Prime Video)
I’ve recently started rewatching “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” the show about former housewife and aspiring standup comic Midge Maisel, after interviewing Michael Zegen (aka Joel Maisel), and find it just as great and rich a show as I remembered, a beautiful ode to Jewish New York and the Jewish comedy world on the 1960s.
“Nobody Wants This” (Netflix)
All I can tell you is that “Nobody Wants This,” the Netflix hot rabbi show and one of the streaming platform’s biggest hits of the year, in which Adam Brody plays a rabbi who falls in love with a non-Jew played by Kristen Bell, is different on the second watch. You’ll either find more things to complain about, which is its own delight, or reasons to fall in love with the show even more. Either way, you won’t be thinking about the polls.
“The Nanny” (Peacock)
In Fran Drescher we trust! Who doesn’t want to escape into the world of the flashy girl from Flushing? Between Fran Fine’s finest fashion to her fairytale romance with Mr. Sheffield is a world where the best thing you can be is a loud, proud, technicolor Jewish woman.
“Veep” (Max)
Created by a self-proclaimed fat Jew David Mandel, “Veep,” about politician Selena Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is full of Jewish jokes and even had a Jewish conversion storyline. Listen, I understand not wanting to watch a show about politicians and an election right now, but as someone who spent my night watching “Veep” instead of the news last night, I can say its joltingly subversive humor might be what you need at the moment. Just try not to think of it as reality TV in any way.
“The Circle” (Netflix)
This Netflix reality competition show in which contestants who all live in the same building but communicate with each other only through group chats decide whether or not to catfish each other in order to win is truly unhinged, and this season features a larger-than-life Jewish mom, Deb Levy, who is a source of such Jewish joy. This is great distracting TV when you don’t have the brain power for anything that needs too much focus.
“Couples Therapy” (Showtime)
Escape the country’s troubles by following couples’ troubles in this excellent therapy show with Jewish therapist Orna Guralnik. It’s not exactly uplifting but it is engrossing, and Guralnik, who is incredibly perceptive, frank and compassionate, gives some truly enlightening advice.
Bonus: “English Teacher” (Hulu)
OK, so there’s nothing Jewish about the plot of the genius comedy hug that is “English Teacher,” a sitcom about a gay high school English teacher starring viral sensation Brian Jordan Alvarez as protagonist Evan Marquez, but two of the most swoon-worthy characters in the show, both Evan’s love interests, happen to be Jewish. There’s comedian Langston Kerman who plays a new teacher in the school and Jordan Firstman who plays Evan’s ex, and who has some of the funniest lines in the whole series. He is also incredible hairy Jew representation. I shan’t be saying more.
Movies and specials:
“Death, Let Me Do My Show” (Netflix)
Distract yourself with a comedy special about… death and the pandemic?? I know, I know, this doesn’t seem like a good distraction as those things may or may not be as scary as the 2024 election, but comedian Rachel Bloom’s (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”) comedy special is funny, musical and an extremely Jewish exploration of mortality.
“The First Wives Club” (Max)
This movie, starring Jewish legends Goldie Hawn and Bette Middler as ex-wives who take ownership of their lives and which culminates with a rendition of Jewish lesbian icon Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me,” was my pandemic comfort watch and I think it’s a perfect comfort watch in any truly scary season.
“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” (Max)
We don’t know if Marcel is Jewish, but this movie about Marcel the shell, voiced by Jewish comic and actress Jenny Slate, is, in a way, an ode to Jewish journalist Lesley Stahl. There’s nothing more transporting than escaping into the world of a cute shell.
“Remembering Gene Wilder” (Netflix)
This ode to the late, great Gene Wilder is so heartwarming and heartfelt and features some of his most iconic collaborators. It’s truly all about finding great joy amidst darkness.
“Albert Brooks: Defending My Life” (Max)
I think Albert Brooks may be one of the greatest, most unique Jewish comics alive, and this documentary, made by his school friend Rob Reiner, reminds you of just what a genius he is, and also of the incredible power of Jewish comedy.
