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If you laughed, winced, and perhaps even cried viewing Big Mouth, trust us, you're not alone. The animated Netflix series took puberty, a subject usually glossed over or ignored, and made it into a crass, outrageous, and unexpectedly moving rollercoaster. With its unapologetic frankness, raunchy sensibility, and greater-than-life creatures such as Hormone Monsters and Shame Wizards, Big Mouth made a special place in adult animation that serves more than just belly laughs. It had the courage to say the quiet things about growing up out loud, and fans loved it for precisely that.
But now that you've binge-watched all seasons (and perhaps even Human Resources), you're likely asking yourself: what's next? Fortunately, the universe of television has much more to share if you're hungry for programs that combine over-the-top humor, deep emotional content, and an unafraid willingness to tackle taboo subjects. Whether in animation or live-action, in satire or sci-fi, there's a series out there waiting to take the place of that Big Mouth-sized gap in your viewing list.
From ridiculous multiverses to cringeingly familiar coming-of-age epics, these are 10 shows you absolutely have to watch if you enjoyed Big Mouth each one set to challenge, amuse, and perhaps even enlighten you.
Disclaimer: This entire article is based on the writer's opinion. Readers' discretion is advised.
Shows you must watch if you loved Big Mouth
1. Human Resources
While Big Mouth whet your appetite for chaos with heart, Human Resources serves the full-course meal. This spin-off immerses us in the daily drama of Hormone Monsters, Shame Wizards, and Depression Kitties as they wrangle the emotions of their human clients. The show masterfully constructs an office comedy about literal manifestations of emotions, expanding the Big Mouth universe. What a hoot is the way Human Resources isn't! They don't hesitate to explore adulthood parenting, mourning, and office identity in an irreverent comedic style. Featuring Maury and Connie still at the fore, it's both sides of your face funny and undercover perceptive. Season 2 arrived in 2023, don't miss out!
2. Rick and Morty
Rick and Morty is your multiverse upgrade. The show's brilliance is in mixing high-concept sci-fi and boorish, nihilistic humor. The emotional journeys, especially for Morty and his messed-up family, surprisingly reflect the same complexity in Big Mouth's coming-of-age story. Season 7 brought a huge change with Justin Roiland's departure, which introduced new voice talent and reinvigorated storytelling. The show continues to surprise with biting satire of contemporary life, identity, and ethics. Similar to Big Mouth, it is able to punch you in the funny bone with laughter while sneaking in deep truths amongst the jokes.
3. BoJack Horseman
On the surface, BoJack Horseman is a Hollywood satire with a has-been horse star. But disguised under its cynical gloss is an emotionally visceral exploration of addiction, mental illness, and self-sabotage. If you loved Big Mouth for its uncompromising authenticity about puberty, BoJack provides that same authenticity about adulthood. Creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg's tale is uncompromisingly real but insulated in wacky animal gags. The last season concluded in 2020, but its legacy remains, with academic publications now examining its exploration of morality and consequence.
4. F Is for Family
In the 1970s, F Is for Family takes the Murphy clan through economic struggle, intergenerational trauma, and suburban existence. This Netflix animated classic achieves the same emotional impact and off-color humor of Big Mouth but with a gritty period twist. Co-created by comedian Bill Burr, who lends his voice to hot-headed father Frank the show employs profanity and emotional meltdowns as conduits for exposing vulnerability. The show ended in 2021, but its truthful portrayal of imperfect parenting and changing masculinity hits home hard. It's less surreal, more realistic, and just as relentless in confronting difficult truths using dark humor.
5. PEN15
Middle school has never been more painfully awkward or more side-splittingly true than in PEN15. PEN15 stars adult actresses Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle as 13-year-old versions of themselves and actual children. The bizarre production decision reaps rewards in waves of cringeworthy humor and retro sentimentality. The show's period detail, at least from AIM sessions to embarrassing school dances, reaches particularly deep for millennials. Even though it concluded with a two-part Season 2 finale in 2021, its cultural currency persists. Where Big Mouth was puberty in technicolor, PEN15 is puberty in cringe-inducingly real slow-motion.
6. Tuca & Bertie
If you're addicted to the visual mayhem and intense emotional rollercoaster of Big Mouth, Tuca & Bertie is a must-ride. Written by BoJack veteran Lisa Hanawalt, it features Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong playing best bird-pals getting through the dirty landscape of adulthood. The animation is unhinged and dreamlike, jumping continuously in pace with the characters' mental processes. Trauma, anxiety, and sexuality are addressed with strange grace. Following cancellation by Netflix, it was revived by Adult Swim, which showed that fan power doesn't cease to exist. Although it concluded in 2022, the last season addressed gentrification and burnout through creativity with authenticity and wit. It's strange, honest, and empowering.
7. Daria
Before Big Mouth, Daria already expressed teen angst through acid sarcasm and deadpan humor. The show aired from 1997 to 2002, and it's about Daria Morgendorffer, a hyper-competent outcast trying to get through high school's blandness and social silliness. Although animated in the age of MTV, its conformity, identity, and mental health motifs are disturbingly applicable these days. There's also a spin-off movie, Jodie, featuring Tracee Ellis Ross, out soon, that brings Daria's world into the Gen Z age. If you enjoy Big Mouth for its unvarnished teen realities, Daria serves them up in deadpan shots, with a side of early-2000s existential angst.
8. South Park
No list of risqué adult animation would be complete without South Park. From 1997, it's been pushing envelopes with unapologetic satire on politics, religion, adolescence, and all but any subject that's taboo. What makes it similar to Big Mouth is its not wanting to shy away from body functions or uneasy realities. But South Park takes it a step further, tending to air episodes written in a week or less to remain uber-current. In 2024, its proprietary Paramount+ specials delved into AI, influencer culture, and post-COVID dynamics. South Park never recognized them to start with, and somehow, it's still adapting with the times.
9. The Midnight Gospel
From Adventure Time's Pendleton Ward and podcast host Duncan Trussell, The Midnight Gospel drops trippy animation into real podcast interviews in an experimental format that's unlike anything else, but which fans of brain-bending imagination will find deep. There are explorations of death, forgiveness, and consciousness, all while zombie clown armies invade or cats pilot tanks. Despite being axed by Netflix after a single season, its series finale regarding Trussell's mother's passing is regarded as a contemporary masterpiece of animated narrative. The series has since become a cult classic and has generated rich philosophical debates on the internet. It's woozy, dreamlike, and oddly reassuring, like meditation with a hangover.
10. Smiling Friends
Smiling Friends is a darkly humorous Adult Swim show that mashes weird internet sensibility with real emotional impact. It stars workers at a happiness company who attempt to assist strange clients in stranger situations. Emotional creatures of Big Mouth meet the absurdist cynicism of the internet age. Released in 2022, it gained a cult following, and Season 2 was released in May 2024 with episodes discussing cancel culture and burnout online. If you enjoyed Big Mouth's blend of surreal humor and emotional moments, this show is a must-see.
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Whether it's cartoon anarchy, unflinchingly honest reality, or that perfect blend of humor and warmth, each of these shows demonstrates that Big Mouth was not a one-shot wonder it was a door-opener. Each of these series on this list has the attitude of raw emotion, quirky humor, and unapologetic creativity in its own distinct flavor. So, whether you're jumping into the philosophical strangeness of The Midnight Gospel or the retro awkwardness of PEN15, you're sure to find something that clicks. Being a teenager may be complicated, but good TV about it? That's entertainment. Now hit play and let the binge-worthy awesomeness continue.
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