summer television

Summer television gets pretty cheesy.  I will admit it; I watch The Bachelorette and Pretty Little Liars.  And yes, I get a laugh out of the occasional Secret Life of the American Teenager (such realism!), but when I really want to laugh, I usually turn to Netflix or the Internet.  Here are my picks:

How I Met Your Mother
HIMYM is always a good idea.  End of story.

Portlandia
I love this show.  Each episode is a combination of bits about Portland and the characters that Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein create are hilarious and everything IS SO TRUE IT HURTS.  I need to rewatch these, like, now.

Arrested Development  (Watch on Hulu or Netflix Instant)
This show is genius.  If you haven't seen it, you are seriously lacking.

Stella
Kate told me about this short-lived show.  It. is. so. ridiculous.  It takes a couple of episodes to get used to the humor, but once it hits you how brilliantly stupid the jokes are, you will never look back.

Ctrl   (Watch online at NBC)
My friend Domenico told me and Erin about this web series last summer and we died laughing while watching all the episodes in one sitting.  Very clever!

Clark & Michael (Watch on YouTube)
I watched this web series a few years ago and really enjoyed it.  Micheal Cera humor is always a nice Summer thing.  True fact.

The IT Crowd  (Watch online at Channel 4 or Netflix Instant)
When I saw Bridesmaids, I fell in love with Chris O'Dowd and subsequently stalked him on IMDB.  Last night I searched "The IT Crowd" on Netflix and proceeded to watch two episodes.  It's British and a little off-beat, but I'll be watching the rest of the episodes over the next few months.  Chris O'Dowd is adorkable.

What are your favorite funny shows for lazy summer afternoons?