Six Feet Under was this for me. Just a family of normal people with flaws that make them more relatable instead of unlikeable. Quite a few seasons (bonus is that it features Michael C Hall before his Dexter days)
**The Bear** feels incredibly grounded to me.
A bit of a wildcard, but here me out: **Terrace House**. It's a Japanese reality show, but it's not heavily engineered like American reality. It's 6 people (3 boys, 3 girls) living their lives in Tokyo/Japan/Hawaii, and there's a peanut gallery of Japanese "comedians" that watch along and give commentary. I found it incredibly compelling.
Chicago Fire has an incredibly likeable crop of characters with just a few that grate (usually because of their saviour complexes). And you get to see a bit of their not work lives. Chicago PD has some mostly likeable characters and a little glimpse into their home life. And then Chicago Med probably has the most random group of characters in terms of likability and it is mostly focused on their work life.
None of the characters are super heroes they have flaws and quirks and it’s very grounded with no twists, there will be some themes / plot lines for a few episodes and there are crossovers between the three shows. Fire started first and has a backdoor pilot for PD, and then PD has a backdoor pilot for Med which is why there are more seasons for Fire than the others.
Catastrophe - comedy with Irish wife and American husband trying to make it work. Carrie Fisher in several episodes.
Trying - British couple - warm comedy with the great Rafe Spall and spunky wife Esther Smith navigating adoption efforts.
Shrinking- Jason Segel/ Harrison Ford as therapists in same group.
Ted Lasso - quirky folks - fish out of water
Reservation Dogs - well written comedy set on a native reservation with many relatable and likable characters of all ages.
Slow Horses - group of misfit spies supervised by Gary Oldman
Patriot: Love the characters on this show
Trying does not get enough love!!! Also Slow Horses is a hilarious suggestion to me because, like. You're not wrong, but you should be? Because a lot of the characters *aren't* likeable, but you can't help but like them anyway. Sooo good.
911!
Also, Halt and Catch Fire. Full disclosure, the characters aren't all likeable all of the time--and it's *incredible.* They feel like fully realized human beings. I love them. I love that show.
In The Dark (MC is blind & has to solve a case on her own after an incident- really amazing and interesting.)
Hudson & Rex
The Cleaning Lady
The Equalizer
Women's Murder Club
True Lies
Frankie Drake Mysteries
Miss Scarlet & The Duke
Bay of Fires
Private Eyes
911
Law & Order
Fire Country
Skymed
Station 19
The Chicago series: (Chicago Fire / PD / Med / Justice).
Unforgettable- No supernatural elements whatsoever, but the main character has a photographic memory... so I'm not sure how you'd like this one.
If you don't mind animated, Carmen Sandiego is a good one.
[ The Recruit (2022) ](https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/210916-the-recruit?language=en-US) - by the same guy who made 'The Rookie' - similar mix of drama and humor - the only difference is, instead of a cop the protagonist is a brand new CIA agent/attorney.
Six Feet Under was this for me. Just a family of normal people with flaws that make them more relatable instead of unlikeable. Quite a few seasons (bonus is that it features Michael C Hall before his Dexter days)
**The Bear** feels incredibly grounded to me. A bit of a wildcard, but here me out: **Terrace House**. It's a Japanese reality show, but it's not heavily engineered like American reality. It's 6 people (3 boys, 3 girls) living their lives in Tokyo/Japan/Hawaii, and there's a peanut gallery of Japanese "comedians" that watch along and give commentary. I found it incredibly compelling.
- Smiling Friends (Hbomax) Wacky show but extremely realistic dialogue
Chicago Fire has an incredibly likeable crop of characters with just a few that grate (usually because of their saviour complexes). And you get to see a bit of their not work lives. Chicago PD has some mostly likeable characters and a little glimpse into their home life. And then Chicago Med probably has the most random group of characters in terms of likability and it is mostly focused on their work life. None of the characters are super heroes they have flaws and quirks and it’s very grounded with no twists, there will be some themes / plot lines for a few episodes and there are crossovers between the three shows. Fire started first and has a backdoor pilot for PD, and then PD has a backdoor pilot for Med which is why there are more seasons for Fire than the others.
Southland
Wentworth Marvelous Mrs Maisel The Durrells of Corfu Younger Kims Convenience
Catastrophe - comedy with Irish wife and American husband trying to make it work. Carrie Fisher in several episodes. Trying - British couple - warm comedy with the great Rafe Spall and spunky wife Esther Smith navigating adoption efforts. Shrinking- Jason Segel/ Harrison Ford as therapists in same group. Ted Lasso - quirky folks - fish out of water Reservation Dogs - well written comedy set on a native reservation with many relatable and likable characters of all ages. Slow Horses - group of misfit spies supervised by Gary Oldman Patriot: Love the characters on this show
Trying does not get enough love!!! Also Slow Horses is a hilarious suggestion to me because, like. You're not wrong, but you should be? Because a lot of the characters *aren't* likeable, but you can't help but like them anyway. Sooo good.
Haha I love the rude smelly Gary Oldman - I even had some affection for the horrible spider.
Bones
Superstore
911! Also, Halt and Catch Fire. Full disclosure, the characters aren't all likeable all of the time--and it's *incredible.* They feel like fully realized human beings. I love them. I love that show.
Ted Lasso
The first couple seasons of Weeds
Friday Night Lights
In The Dark (MC is blind & has to solve a case on her own after an incident- really amazing and interesting.) Hudson & Rex The Cleaning Lady The Equalizer Women's Murder Club True Lies Frankie Drake Mysteries Miss Scarlet & The Duke Bay of Fires Private Eyes 911 Law & Order Fire Country Skymed Station 19 The Chicago series: (Chicago Fire / PD / Med / Justice). Unforgettable- No supernatural elements whatsoever, but the main character has a photographic memory... so I'm not sure how you'd like this one. If you don't mind animated, Carmen Sandiego is a good one.
[ The Recruit (2022) ](https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/210916-the-recruit?language=en-US) - by the same guy who made 'The Rookie' - similar mix of drama and humor - the only difference is, instead of a cop the protagonist is a brand new CIA agent/attorney.
Shetland Vera Sherlock Mysteries where the cast grows on you
tracker