Baroness von Sketch Show

It's incredibly refreshing to see a sketch comedy series created and performed entirely by women -- and more to the point, women who are all over 40. The show has definitely tapped into the needs of an overlooked viewer whose interests are not necessarily being served by shows like Inside Amy Schumer or Saturday Night Live. The overall tone is highly reminiscent (without seeming derivative) of their also-Canadian predecessors, the Kids in the Hall, the all-male comedy troupe whose show of the same name has delighted comedy fans since the late '80s/early '90s. The Baroness von Sketch Show cast/creators share a similarly absurd, and at times surreal, sense of humor and have the good sense to end a sketch while they're ahead -- a tactic that can't always be said about the sketches on SNL, which often stretch out a joke until it just isn't funny anymore.

Here, brevity really is the soul of wit, with most sketches clocking in at five minutes or less. The show offers a fresh, funny perspective on topics as serious as body image and sexual harassment to silly bits on a woman's over-reliance on dry shampoo and the holier-than-thou attitudes prevalent in hipster coffee culture. The humor is smart and feminist without feeling agenda-driven -- above all else, it's about the laughs.