"Bored To Death" Is the HBO Forgotten Gem You Need To Binge Next

Bored to Death is the forgotten HBO comedy you need to binge next. The three-season series blended buddy comedy with neo-noir mystery, with a dash of autobiography for extra flavor. At the time of its cancellation, fans felt it still hadn't peaked yet. 15 years later, Bored to Death stands out as a highly bingeworthy 24-episode run.

Bored to Death aired from 2009 to 2011. It stars Jason Schwartzman as an author who becomes a private detective for inspiration.

Along with his editor, played by Ted Danson, and best friend, a comic book artist played by Zack Galifianakis, the fledgling author-turned-investigator quickly, and hilariously, gets in over his head.

"Bored To Death" Is The Underrated HBO Comedy You Need To Binge ASAP

An All-Star Cast + Memorable Premise = A Super Bingeable Series

Bored to Death is a half-hour comedy. Which makes its short, three-season run easy to rip through. If you really commit, you can polish off an 8-episode season in a night. Or, if you find that you don't want the show to end, you can space episodes out, a few a night over the course of a couple of weeks.

Chances are, if you watch all of Bored to Death, you'll come back to it for a rewatch. It's a feel-good show. Jason Schwartzman, Zack Galifianakis, and Ted Danson have a great dynamic as the series' core trio. Their hijinx, and we use that term technically here, function as thoroughly low comedy, yet the show operates from a highbrow sensibility.

Danson's character is the editor of a fictional magazine, Edition, and Schwartzman's character writes for the magazine. Bored to Death is a detective comedy, but it is also a story about creative and professional frustration. It's a smart, literary show that demonstrates a keen balance of its literary, procedural, sitcom, and nascent prestige TV elements.

"Bored To Death" Came And Went During A Transitional Period For HBO

The Detective Comedy Series Deserves To Be Remembered Fondly

Bored to Death premiered at a pivotal time for HBO. The Sopranos had ended two years before in 2007, The Wire a year earlier in '08. Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball's follow-up series, the sexy vampire dramedy True Blood, launched in 2008, but HBO didn't premiere any other prestige drama until Treme and Boardwalk Empire in 2010.

In 2009, HBO instead unleashed a wave of new comedies, including Eastbound & Down, Hung, and Bored to Death. HBO was no stranger to comedy; its early original programming was mostly comedic, rather than dramatic. But now the network had a reputation to maintain. It had to elevate the comedy like it had changed TV drama forever.

Bored to Death was one of the shows that helped usher in the new era of HBO comedies. It was a little bit metafictional, a little satirical, a bit of a stoner comedy, and ultimately, a classic tale of dysfunctional but ride-or-die friendship. All of which holds up today and makes it an easy show to get hooked on.

"Bored To Death" Wrapped Up As The "Game Of Thrones" Era At HBO Began

The 3-Season Comedy Is Often Forgotten In The Fantasy Epic's Shadow

So, why did Bored to Death only get three seasons at HBO? That was in line with its contemporaries; Hung had the same 3-season run from 2009 to 2011, while Eastbound & Down wrapped up after four seasons. Fans of the show believed it had more in the tank, but maybe HBO just decided Bored to Death had run its course.

Of course, something big changed at HBO in 2011. Game of Thrones premiered. It was a massive hit, but it came with a huge production price tag. It has been speculated ever since that HBO's existing comedies at the time were cut short to clear room on the network's budget.

The truth is probably somewhere in between. Bored to Death had a devoted audience, but it wasn't a runaway hit. It aired pre-HBO Max, when HBO was still a premium cable channel, meaning access to it was more limited than today. Bored to Death did good numbers, not great, and as such, it gracefully bowed out after its third season.

"Bored To Death" Should Find A New Generation Of Viewers In The Streaming TV Era

An Early Prestige Comedy That Fires On All Cylinders

There was talk of a potential Bored to Death movie at HBO circa 2013, but that never materialized. Creator Jonathan Ames later teased the possibility of returning to the series in novel form, but a literary sequel hasn't happened either. Instead, Bored to Death stands as a snapshot of a point in time for HBO, and a nostalgic favorite for many viewers.

For new fans, it's a low-key must-watch show. And by modern-day binge-watching standards, its 3-season span is actually a plus. There's the classic show business saying, "always leave them laughing when you go," and Bored to Death does exactly that. If you want more, it means the show was a success from start to finish.

Especially as classic HBO programming starts to migrate to other streamers, like Netflix and Amazon, Bored to Death is due to have a second life as a bingeable favorite. It might be a forgotten gem now, but Bored to Death still has time to be recognized as an underappreciated classic that holds up alongside HBO's other iconic comedies.

Have you watched Bored to Death? If not, are you willing to give it a shot? Let us know!