14 Netflix original comedies that are better than 'Orange Is the New Black,' according to critics

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14 Netflix original comedies that are better than 'Orange Is the New Black,' according to critics

orange is the new black

Netflix

"Orange Is the New Black"

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  • The final season of Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black" received rave reviews last month.
  • But the long-running series isn't Netflix's best comedy, according to Rotten Tomatoes critic scores.
  • We ranked 14 that had higher ratings than "Orange," including "Big Mouth" and "American Vandal."
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Netflix's long-running prison dramedy "Orange Is the New Black" came to an end last month with a critically acclaimed seventh season.

The final season received rave reviews and a 97% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, bumping the show's average score to 90%.

READ MORE: The top 7 TV shows to watch if you miss Netflix's 'Orange Is the New Black'

"No show of the current era has so sharply used juxtaposition to depict inequality in America," The Atlantic wrote of the final season.

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But "Orange" isn't the best-reviewed Netflix original comedy series. The show has teetered on the edge of comedy and dramedy throughout its run, but in this instance, we looked at all of Netflix's original shows and which comedies had higher Rotten Tomatoes scores.

The best-reviewed comedies on the streaming giant range from raunchy animated series like "Big Mouth" to short-lived satires like "American Vandal."

Below are 14 Netflix original comedies better than "Orange Is the New Black," ranked by Rotten Tomatoes critic score (ties were broken by audience scores):

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14. "Easy"

14. "Easy"

Critic score: 90%

Audience score: 82%

Netflix description: "Features eight vignettes that follow the complicated, loosely connected lives of young Chicagoans in their twenties and thirties as they tackle love, sex and self-improvement."

What critics said: "The final season fulfills the possibilities of the show's concept, informing it with humanist fury." — Slant Magazine (Season 3)

13. "Sex Education"

13. "Sex Education"

Critic score: 90%

Audience score: 95%

Netflix description: "Insecure Otis has all the answers when it comes to sex advice, thanks to his therapist mom. So rebel Maeve proposes a school sex-therapy clinic."

What critics said: "Between the simply stunning shots of English forests and hills and the charming cast, the world of Sex Education is one you genuinely want to live in." — Indiewire (Season 1)

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12. "Bojack Horseman"

12. "Bojack Horseman"

Critic score: 92%

Audience score: 95%

Netflix description: "He's a half-horse, half-man, has-been TV star who drinks a bit too much. He's really got a lot going on right now."

What critics said: "By now, we shouldn't be surprised that BoJack can do anything, or be anything. It can be the funniest show on TV and the saddest within the span of seconds." — Rolling Stone (Season 5)

11. "Glow"

11. "Glow"

Critic score: 93%

Audience score: 89%

Netflix description: "In 1980s LA, a crew of misfits reinvent themselves as the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. A comedy by the team behind 'Orange Is the New Black.'"

What critics said: "This season delves more into character stories and the challenges of living out of a hotel room for three months, than it does of the shenanigans in the ring, but there's still a lot of pizzazz." — Herald Sun (Season 3)

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10. "Love"

10. "Love"

Critic score: 94%

Audience score: 86%

Netflix description: "Rebellious Mickey and good-natured Gus navigate the thrills and agonies of modern relationships in this bold comedy co-created by Judd Apatow."

What critics said: "Love may not entirely stick the landing in its final, crucial episodes, but its winsome characters and endearing manner still leave enough to wholeheartedly recommend." — The Playlist (Season 3)

9. "Special"

9. "Special"

Critic score: 95%

Audience score: 87%

Netflix description: "A young gay man with cerebral palsy branches out from his insular existence in hopes of finally going after the life he wants."

What critics said: "Feels like a finely-tuned, precision-crafted Web series, with potent little zingers stitched into every exchange — along with the occasional sledgehammer." — Boston Globe (Season 1)

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8. "Russian Doll"

8. "Russian Doll"

Critic score: 96%

Audience score: 87%

Netflix description: "Nadia keeps dying and reliving her 36th birthday party. She's trapped in a surreal time loop — and staring down the barrel of her own mortality."

What critics said: "There are a whole lot of ideas here — a few thrown against the wall to see if they'll stick — but the real pleasure of this four-hour head trip are the performances. Lyonne is outstanding." — Newsday (Season 1)

7. "Lady Dynamite"

7. "Lady Dynamite"

Critic score: 97%

Audience score: 78%

Netflix description: "Comedian Maria Bamford stars in a series inspired by her own life. It's the sometimes surreal story of a woman who loses — and then finds — her s**t."

What critics said: "Lady Dynamite takes itself to newly unhinged narrative and stylistic places. It remains a refreshing and unmistakable sitcom" — Paste Magazine (Season 2)

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6. "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"

6. "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"

Critic score: 97%

Audience score: 83%

Netflix description: "What's a Midwest girl to do after she's spent the last 15 years trapped underground? Move to New York City, of course."

What critics said: "'Kimmy Schmidt' is itself a kind of anti-fantasy fantasy of New York, celebrating the city's dirt in an era in which even 'Sesame Street' has gotten an expensive face-lift, and Lillian is its indomitable Oscar the Grouch." — New York Times (Season 4)

5. "American Vandal"

5. "American Vandal"

Critic score: 98%

Audience score: 91%

Netflix description: "A high school is rocked by an act of vandalism, but the top suspect pleads innocence and finds an ally in a filmmaker. A satirical true crime mystery."

What critics said: "It's more interested in the truth of true crime than the crime itself, and in treating its characters like the flawed, frightened people they are, it finds it. All that, and poop jokes, too." — RogerEbert.com (Season 2)

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4. "One Day at a Time"

4. "One Day at a Time"

Critic score: 98%

Audience score: 95%

Netflix description: "In a reimagining of the TV classic, a newly single Latina mother raises her teen daughter and tween son with the 'help' of her old-school mom."

What critics said:"The heartbeat of One Day at a Time was its spirited insistence that beauty can thrive alongside pain. The series blended multicam-sitcom laughs with a fearless willingness to tackle heavy social issues." — The Atlantic (Season 3)

3. "Tuca and Bertie"

3. "Tuca and Bertie"

Critic score: 100%

Audience score: 73%

Netflix description: "Free-spirited toucan Tuca and self-doubting song thrush Bertie are best friends — and birds — who guide each other through life's ups and downs."

What critics said: "A vibrantly colorful, delightfully surreal animated comedy that mashes up the best bits of those two shows with a playful, psychedelic edge." — TV Line (Season 1)

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2. "Big Mouth"

2. "Big Mouth"

Critic score: 100%

Audience score: 81%

Netflix description: "Teenage friends find their lives upended by the wonders and horrors of puberty in this edgy comedy from real-life pals Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg."

What critics said: "Alongside its laugh-out-loud vulgarity, what makes Big Mouth's take on the physical and emotional crucible of puberty unique is its clever use of personification." — Slate (Season 2)

1. "Master of None"

1. "Master of None"

Critic score: 100%

Audience score: 91%

Netflix description: "Dating, career, finding a great taco — it's all hard. But becoming a mature adult is a whole other degree of difficulty."

What critics said: "Master of None isn't here to propagate myths. It's striving to find truth. And what's uncovered in Season 2 is a lot like the life Ansari and Yang expertly recreate: surprising, enriching, and oh so divine." — Indiewire (Season 2)

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