10 Classic Comedy Central Shows Streaming on Paramount+

For the most part, Comedy Central‘s catalog is streaming all in one place: Paramount+. There’s the odd exclusion, e.g. Inside Amy Schumer, but more often than not Paramount is the one stop shop for Comedy Central aficionados. What was the cutoff for a show to be considered “classic” though? It came down to a few factors. Primarily, the show must have finished its run but it also must have been an important entry in Comedy Central’s catalog. Without further ado, these are the ten best classic Comedy Central shows available on Paramount+.

The big exception to all of this, as fans know, is Seasons 1 to 26 of South Park are available to stream on Max, while all of the recently produced specials, e.g. South Park: Joining the Panderverse and South Park (Not Suitable for Children) are Paramount+ exclusives. By the end of June, however, Paramount+ will become the home of South Park in full, as that’s when the deal with Max will expire. Furthermore, series where only several of the seasons are available on the streamer (e.g. how only seasons four through six of Drunk History are available) were excluded, as well.

1) Strangers with Candy (1999-2000)

Before he was hosting Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert was co-creating and co-starring alongside Amy Sedaris in Strangers with Candy. The exact type of show that could only come from late ’90s Comedy Central, Strangers with Candy follows Sedaris’ Jerri Blank, a former sex worker and drug addict who goes back to high school to actually finish it and give her life a reboot.

All three seasons of the cult classic show are available. The 2006 film, however, is not in the Paramount+ catalog. For anyone who has ever witnessed the cheesiness of an after school special, Strangers with Candy is a must-watch.

2) Chappelle’s Show (2003-2004)

Outside South Park, Chappelle’s Show is the most iconic show to come from Comedy Central. And it only lasted two full seasons (not because of a cancellation, but rather because the show put a lot on Dave Chappelle’s shoulders). Some of Chappelle’s recent stand-up specials have ruffled feathers, even for the inherently button-pushing nature of his comedy. But Chappelle’s Show was and remains far more incisive than it is offensive. It’s beloved to this day, too, hence his bringing back some of its most iconic characters to SNL during his hosting gigs.

Chappelle’s Show was a series with serious guts. The very first episode had the Clayton Bigsby sketch, in which a blind Black man is a major presence in the Ku Klux Klan. That sketch is both ingenious and a risky way to announce a sketch comedy show and like the rest of Season 1 and Season 2 it is available to stream. The Lost Episodes (2006), however, are not available to stream on Paramount+. But, quite frankly, they’re weaker anyway, and even back then the best sketch in that trio of episodes involved a Diddy reality show, making it less funny now.

3) Reno 911! (2003-2009)

Not many Comedy Central shows lasted more than four seasons, but the six-season Cops parody of Reno 911! was one of them. It’s a show with a devoted, if not massive, fanbase. So devoted, in fact, that a revival aired on the short lived-Quibi. The show even survived the death of Quibi, as Season 8 was then moved over to The Roku Channel. It makes sense because with hysterical and fearless performances from co-creators Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon, and Kerri Kenney-Silver (all veterans of The State) as well as Wendi McLendon-Covey, Niecy Nash, and Cedric Yarbrough, it’s a show where the jokes land more often than not.

Paramount+ not only has all six seasons of the show’s run on Comedy Central, they also have Season 8 and Season 9. They also have the Comedy Central special Reno 911!: It’s a Wonderful Heist. Oddly enough, they don’t currently have Reno 911!: The Hunt for QAnon, which debuted as a Paramount+ exclusive, nor do they have the theatrical film Reno 911!: Miami.

[RELATED: 10 One-Off South Park Characters Who Deserve to Make a Return]

4) Drawn Together (2004-2007)

Without a doubt, South Park is Comedy Central’s most iconic animated series. As the network’s flagship series, it’s their most important and iconic series in general, really. That has made it hard for shows like Brickleberry to really get off the ground. It’s a lot to live up to. But Drawn Together, an animated take on reality shows, did pretty well for itself.

Drawn Together could often be a little too gross-out for its own good as far as many Comedy Central fans were concerned, but it still found enough fans to last three seasons (36 episodes total) and a movie three years after cancellation. However, while Paramount+ has all three seasons, it does not have the film.

5) Tosh.0 (2009-2020)

With 12 seasons and 301 episodes, Tosh.0 was one of Comedy Central’s longest-running shows. Very similar to The Soup, it has comedian Daniel Tosh standing in front of a green screen commenting on various ridiculous internet videos, usually ones involving bodily fluids or garish injuries.

For those who can get on Tosh’s wavelength, this series is an excellent display of his quick wit. And, given how Paramount+ is the home of every episode, the subscriber can spend hours and hours taking in that display. There were actually supposed to be more seasons, but Comedy Central switched gears and unceremoniously cancelled the show in 2020. But, thanks to that, we have the podcast Tosh Show, which is arguably even better (and not nearly as off-putting for squeamish viewers…or listeners).

6) Workaholics (2011-2017)

Like Reno 911!, Workaholics, from Blake Anderson, The Righteous Gemstones‘ Adam DeVine, Anders Holm, and Kyle Newacheck, was one of Comedy Central’s longer-running shows. Like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the core appeal is seeing a group of characters essentially do nothing and get hammered (on their roof, in this case).

The real standout here isn’t any of the workaholics though, it’s Jillian Bell, who is consistently hysterical as Jillian Belk. Paramount+ is streaming Workaholics in its entirety. It’s a show practically tailor made for the college age subscribers, but those in their 20s and early 30s may get a kick out of it too.

7) Key & Peele (2012-2015)

Plenty of sketch comedy shows have come and gone from Comedy Central in the blink of an eye. Only a few have really done particularly well. For instance, Chappelle’s Show (the gold standard), Inside Amy Schumer, and Key & Peele. Showing off the immense charm of and chemistry between Keegan-Michael Key and future Get Out director Jordan Peele, it’s a hilarious and often thought-provoking modern comedy classic.

All five seasons of the show are available on Paramount+. So, if you want to binge it all, that’s possible. If you want to just check out individual classic sketches like “Insult Comic,” “East/West College Bowl,” “Substitute Teacher,” or “Gremlins 2 Brainstorm,” you can do that, too.

8) Kroll Show (2013-2015)

The same year Amy Schumer kicked off her sketch comedy show, Nick Kroll did the same with Kroll Show. With a heavy reality TV influence, the series tackled everything from mockumentary comedy shows to fan favorite reality TV series such as Duck Dynasty and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

The series lasted three seasons, 30 episodes in total, and all of them are available on Paramount+. Even for those who can’t get onboard with Kroll’s brand of comedy, the show is watching for the recurring roles for John Mulaney, Chelsea Peretti, Bill Burr, and Kathryn Hahn.

9) Nathan for You (2013-2017)

One of the most brilliant comedians working today, Nathan Fielder has commanded the respect and admiration of comedy world legends like Conan O’Brien and general audience members alike. His first real exposure outside his stand-up was Nathan for You, which gave its devoted fans a look inside his mind and, just as importantly, a look at his fearlessness.

Nathan for You follows Fielder as he plays a wacky version of himself. He finds struggling businesses and gives them outlandish ideas on how they can improve. For instance, an ice cream shop that begins selling a poo flavor. The often-ridiculous concepts are pulled off with a fully straight face from Fielder to great effect. The four-season show (minus one episode that has been pulled) is available to binge and is one of Paramount+’s must-watch series.

10) Broad City (2014-2019)

Broad City follows besties Abbi Abrams and Ilana Wexler as they live out their 20s in New York City. Their lives aren’t always the most thrilling thing in the world, and sometimes it gets rough, but their friendship is a bond strong enough to get them through the worst (and weirdest) of situations.

Broad City is one of the most critically revered shows in Comedy Central’s history. Upright Citizens Brigade veterans Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson have distinctive voices, and the series received positive marks from beginning to end. All five seasons are available to stream on Paramount+.