Looking for a Fountain of Mirth

In the aftermath of a twelve-year stretch of life that seamlessly moved from one form of confinement to another like the baton hand off of an Olympic relay team, I need to laugh. Bad. I search like Ponce de Leon for a fountain of, if not quite youth, mirth.

While de Leon reportedly discovered his fountain in St. Augustine, FL. I discovered mine on Peacock. And Hulu.

The first blast o' laughs were provided by Peacock and the raucously brilliant Girls5eva.

Produced (among others) by Tina Fey, it is a note-perfect symphony of four middle-aged women seeking to re-capture their oh-so-brief brush with fame they enjoyed as a girl group. Their earnest but forlorn plans evoke pathos, but never without a sturdy undercurrent of humor.

Flawlessly performed by Sara Bareilles, Busy Philipps, Paula Pell and Renee Elise Goldsberry, the laughs (both obvious and not-so-obvious) arrive like a full-force blizzard. Woe unto those who dare sleep on even a single sentence.

Next up is American Auto. Produced by Justin Spitzer (The Office, Superstore), it evokes the same cringe worthy moments we saw on The Office, where awkward t-bones dim and together, they careen into head-in-hands disbelief.

In other words, imagine an executive suite populated by not one, but four Michael Scotts. Be it a new model reveal, a recall or just shooting a commercial, watching the executives at Payne Motors is a highly entertaining master's class in WTF.

They collectively drive American Auto (sorry) just short of the cliff. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

As with Girls5eva, plans for a second season are unknown.

Finally, there's Dating #No Filter.

I'm normally not a fan of reality shows. They're fake and cruel and as a confirmed snowflake, that is not how I roll. 

So. Here's the format. Decide for yourselves. 

Three team of comedians watch video of couples on blind dates. Snappy commentary and hilarity ensue. It's a bit like Mystery Science Theater 3000 meets Awkward Dating Videos—if that were a show.

The oftentimes hapless participants are left to puzzle out these strange encounters for themselves. Yes, there is some snark. It gets a little catty. But more often than not, D#NF's narrators are pulling for a love connection, giving the show the heart so many others lack.

As with Girls5eva and American Auto, I'm even able to watch three or four episodes back-to-back, which is as binge-y as I get. (This because otherwise, formulas get revealed. Plots get predictable. Episodes grow stale like bread left out overnight.)

And the goal is, after all, to laugh. Remember?

Especially mirthful is the team of Kelsey Darragh and Zach Noe Towers. They animatedly riff on whatever date is in session, poking fun at themselves as often as the participants. Their mix of irony, self-deprecation and utter inhibition is a winning one.

Also worthy of mention is the team of Nina Parker and Cara Conners. Together, they offer a perspective that is equal parts common sense and undeniable truth. Parker in particular is only too happy to call out some of the outsized egos here, be they male or female.

So yeah. It's a good laugh. All of them are.

See you in the funny papers.