The 11 most uplifting TV shows of all time

You’d be forgiven for thinking television was all murder and misery these days. It often feels as though every show is a traumatic true crime drama or a bleak comment on society. Just once in a while, it would be nice to turn on the TV and see something cheering.

While they are few and far between, uplifting TV shows do exist – series that aim to lift your spirits and leave you in a better mood than when you pressed “play”. Here are the 11 best heartwarming, life-affirming TV shows to watch when you need a pick-me-up:

Last Tango in Halifax 

Disclaimer: this Yorkshire-based series is written by Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright, so it isn’t all laughter and rainbows. The overarching storyline, however, is undisputedly lovely. Derek Jacobi and Anne Reid play Alan and Celia, two widowers who fall in love in their later years. While their families are not too keen on the arrangement at first, Alan and Celia’s love transcends all, making for a delightful – and all too rare – series proving that life doesn’t end as soon as you get your pension.

Streaming on BBC iPlayer

Schitt’s Creek 

This Canadian sitcom arrived on Netflix in 2017 but didn’t find a huge audience until the Covid-19 lockdown. No wonder it was a hit during those worrying times – it offers just the right balance of silly wit and genuine heart. It starts with the arrival of the previously wealthy Rose family in the backwater town of Schitt’s Creek after they lose their fortune, taking up residence in a motel and trying (but mostly failing) to ingratiate themselves with the locals. Worth a watch if only to witness matriarch Moira’s (the late, great Catherine O’Hara) wig collection.

Streaming on Disney+

Ralph and Katie 

Young couple Ralph (Leon Harrop) and Katie were first introduced in The A Word, a BBC comedy about a family learning to live with an autism diagnosis. This spin-off follows the newlyweds, who both have Down syndrome, as they navigate all the obstacles love and living independently can throw at you: overbearing parents, annoying friends and health niggles. As well as being uplifting, Ralph and Katie is quietly groundbreaking: the writers’ room was made up largely of people with disabilities.

Streaming on BBC iPlayer

Whitehouse and Mortimer: Gone Fishing 

It would be easy to dismiss Gone Fishing as “old man TV” – two blokes chatting away while fishing hardly passes the Bechdel Test. But to do so would be to dismiss just how special Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer’s decades-long friendship is. Their riverside chats are deep and meaningful, covering everything from their declining health to losing their own parents. The message, however, is certainly a heartening one: life goes on. If that’s not enough to boost your mood, the beautiful countryside is sure to.

Streaming on BBC iPlayer

Ghosts 

Again, a series about a bunch of dead people might not sound uplifting, but the family-friendly sitcom – written by the team behind Horrible Histories – is one of the funniest, most heartwarming comedies in recent memory. When Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) inherits Button House, she and her husband (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) move in only to find it already inhabited by the ghosts of the people who had died there over centuries, including a scout leader, a caveman and a Second World War army officer. Chaos ensues.

Streaming on BBC iPlayer

Heartstopper 

Heartstopper is so joyful that it verges on saccharine, but the coming-of-age element of this love story between teenagers Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke) stops it from becoming too twee. Based on Alice Oseman’s series of graphic novels, it’s a sensitive, charming portrayal of young love combined with the trials and tribulations of being a queer teenager, from coming out to body image issues. But even as it explores these issues, Heartstopper is one of the most spirit-lifting series of the past decade.

Streaming on Netflix

Love on the Spectrum 

Dating shows usually depend on drama, fighting and misery. Not Love on the Spectrum, which takes a much more gentle and pastoral approach to the genre. Each contributor is on the autism spectrum, each with their own unique way of looking at love, and over each series (of which there are four), we watch as they grow in confidence and learn vital social skills needed for dating. I dare you to watch without shedding a tear.

Streaming on Netflix

Derry Girls 

The backdrop of the Troubles in Northern Ireland may not sound like it would make for a feel-good comedy, but Lisa McGee’s Derry Girls is an utter joy. It’s inspired by McGee’s own teenage years growing up amid bomb scares and checkpoints in the 90s, and the four central characters – Erin, Orla, Clare and Michelle – are delightfully unencumbered by the world around them and are much more interested in boys, prom, and seeing Take That in concert. Give it two episodes and you’ll be desperate to join their gang.

Streaming on Channel 4

Queer Eye 

Makeovers can sometimes be uncomfortable, especially when the show tries to turn someone into something they’re not. Queer Eye is completely different, taking its “heroes” who have been nominated by their loved ones and changing their lives for the better. Yes, there are the usual haircuts and wardrobe overhauls, but there are also cooking lessons, a house makeover, and even therapy. It’s another tearjerker, but they will be happy tears.

Streaming on Netflix

The Assembly 

The Assembly has a simple premise: a celebrity sits in front of a group of neurodivergent and learning-disabled interviewers and answers their questions as honestly as they’re prepared to. It can get emotional – Rylan Clark on his divorce, Anna Maxwell Martin on the death of her children’s father – but it’s also very funny, particularly when questions like “what part of your body do you wash first?” are thrown at the unsuspecting celebs. To top it all off, there are stunning musical performances from the interviewers that will blow you away.

Streaming on ITVX

Rivals 

Plot is almost secondary to the rowdy, sex-fuelled fun of this Jilly Cooper adaptation, but if you must know it’s about a ruthless rivalry between TV boss Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) and dashing ex-Olympian Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell). It’s posh, silly, and very, very sexy – in other words, it’s impossible to come away from the series in a bad mood. And with series two currently being released on a weekly basis, there’s plenty more to look forward to (including a daring full-frontal scene from the one and only Danny Dyer).

Streaming on Disney+