Shows Like Sink or Swim
For those captivated by Sink or Swim, should consider this hand-picked list which questions the purpose and weight of our choices while grounding the story in targets the intellect with complex, multi-layered ideas. Carefully balances character depth with narrative flow makes this a compelling continuation of these themes.
Standard feature-length experiences.
Best for fans of who appreciate concise storytelling.
★ Top Picks
Happy Endings
A fresh and funny take on modern friendship and what one urban family will do to stay friends after the perfect couple who brought them all together break up on their wedding day. The failed wedding forces them all to question their life choices. Then there are Alex and Dave themselves, who strike a truce and must learn to live with the changes their breakup has brought.
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show centers around the work and home life of television comedy writer Rob Petrie. The plots generally revolve around problems at work, where Rob got into various comedic jams with fellow writers Buddy Sorrell, Sally Rogers and producer Mel Cooley.
iCarly
Watch Carly, Sam, and Freddie, as they try to balance their everyday 8th grade lives with their newfound fame managing and starring in the most awesome show on the web.
Coach
Hayden Fox, the curmudgeonly coach of Minnesota State University's Screaming Eagles football team, tries to navigate his way through the sports world, fatherhood and family life without dropping the ball.
Parker Lewis Can't Lose
Parker Lewis is a teenager who apparently can't lose. He's cool, cute, popular, hip – and seems to get away with anything. That's not to say he's got no problems. His two primary nemeses are school principal Grace Musso, whose goal is getting Parker expelled; and his little sister Shelly, whose sole purpose seems to be tattling on Parker. However, with best friends Mikey and Jerry, Parker takes on the world and makes the best of high school.
Yes, Dear
A comedy about two young couples and their outrageously contrasting views on parenting. Greg and Kim Warner struggle on a daily basis to become perfect at the job. Kim is a neurotic, stay-at-home mother, and although her husband, Greg, is a success in his career, his more difficult job is keeping his wife calm as they raise their two young children. While Kim is determined to be the perfect mother and perfect wife and to raise the perfect children, her sister, Christine Hughes, a very down-to-earth mother of two, continually reminds her that life will never be perfect. Christine's husband, Jimmy, often feels compelled to share with his brother-in-law his philosophy about being a husband and a parent while still remaining a man.
Who's the Boss?
A former professional baseball player, along with his preteen daughter, moves into New York advertising executive Angela Bower's house to be both a housekeeper and a father figure to her young son. Tony 's laid-back personality contrasts with Angela's type-A behavior.
Nick Cannon Presents: Wild 'N Out
Nick Cannon and an A-list celebrity lead a team of improv comedians as they compete against each other.
More Shows Like Sink or Swim
Leave It to Beaver
An inquisitive and often naïve boy, Theodore 'The Beaver' Cleaver, has adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood. The show also starred Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont as Beaver's parents, June and Ward Cleaver, and Tony Dow as Beaver's brother Wally. The show has attained an iconic status in the US, with the Cleavers exemplifying the idealized suburban family of the mid-20th century.
Key & Peele
Key & Peele is an American sketch comedy television show. It stars Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, both former cast members of MADtv. Each episode of the show consists of several pre-taped sketches starring the two actors, introduced by Key and Peele in front of a live studio audience.
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.
Gavin & Stacey
Essex and Wales collide when Gavin and Stacey fall in love - bringing their friends, family and baggage with them.
Last Man Standing
A married father of three tries to maintain his manliness in a world increasingly dominated by women.
My Three Sons
A widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas raises three sons with the help of his father-in-law, and later the boys' great-uncle. An adopted son, a stepdaughter, wives, and another generation of sons join the loving family in later seasons.
Second City Television
Second City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.
Kenan & Kel
Set in Chicago, the show follows the kid-friendly misadventures of two high-school friends who are always scheming and dreaming. Kenan, who works at a grocery store, constantly devises crazy plans to strike it rich, while orange-soda-loving buddy Kel is always dragged along for the ride despite his track record for messing things up.
9JKL
A time in Mark Feuerstein's adult life when he lived in apartment 9K in the building he grew up in, sandwiched between his parents' apartment, 9J; and his brother, sister-in-law and their baby's apartment, 9L and his attempts to set boundaries with his intrusive but well-meaning family.
A Different World
A Different World is a spin-off series from The Cosby Show and originally centered on Denise Huxtable and the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional mixed but historically black college in the state of Virginia. After Bonet's departure in the first season, the remainder of the series primarily focused more on Southern belle Whitley Gilbert and mathematics whiz Dwayne Wayne. The series frequently depicted members of the major historically black fraternities and sororities.
American Housewife
A family comedy narrated by Katie, a strong-willed mother, raising her flawed family in a wealthy town filled with perfect wives and their perfect offspring.
Why These Shows Are Similar
These recommendations share core qualities with Sink or Swim (1980): Comedy themes, similar pacing, and comparable production quality. NoBadPicks uses TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface series most likely to resonate with fans of Sink or Swim.
See full details for Sink or Swim (1980)
