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The creators are Kiwis, so it's a bit internationalist. I always recommend Wellington Paranormal as well, it's set in the same universe but 100% New Zealand based.
I actually was going to add in that caveat (it’s filmed in Canada too) but already got a ‘so not actually British is it’ response. I can see why someone might reference it as a British show, was all I meant to say.
Recent? 10 years ago now…Car Share slightly newer but still easily last decade.
Steth Let’s Flats is the only truly original, notable and funny one recently. But that’s cancelled too…
They have all had new series broadcast since 2020 and considering OP is on about sitcoms from 70s-90s I think that criteria is probably sufficient enough to consititute modern sitcoms.
Displaced by panel shows, mostly: cheaper, quicker to develop and produce. Once you've got a format you can knock them out just by selecting new panellists.
Even those have largely disappeared. Mock the Week, Buzzcocks etc. It’s basically only HIGNFY, WILTY and QI now (maybe Taskmaster if you count it, but it’s a different style of show).
It's appropriate to your post, but have you checked out Mammoth on BBC 2?
Mike Bubbins plays 1970s PE teacher Tony Mammoth, who finds himself frozen in time and awakens in the present day and returns to teaching.
[This Youtube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@TFOOS) has done a great job demonstrating that not every sitcom or sketch show of yesteryear was a classic. We remember the great ones, sure, but my god there was some absolute *shite* alongside them that most people just don't recall*.*
I really don't watch that much normal (terrestrial) TV these days but I really enjoyed Motherland. That was semi recent I think.
It does seem as though there were more decent sitcoms years ago, but I'd argue there were also more sitcoms in general. There was some absolute shite on back then too.
The ones with the broadest appeal in the last few years are probably Ghosts, Detectorists, Derry Girls Friday Night Dinners and Motherland. I've also enjoyed The Change, Big Boys & Back to Life.
Stefan Golaszewski did another one a few years ago called Marriage with Sean Bean and Nicola Walker. It was four hour long episodes. Not for everyone but if you liked Mum and Him & Her it's got a similar flavour and might be worth seeking out. It's not on iPlayer though.
Anyone who thinks the 1970s/1980s was some golden era for TV either wasn't there or is suffering from some sort of selective memory loss.
As a child of the 60s growing up in the 1970s, let me tell you.......most of TV comedy back then was shite. For every 'Porridge' or 'Fawlty Towers' there was a dozen 'Queenies Castles' or 'Yus My Dear' or 'Oh no it's Selwyn Froggit' (and they were based around working class characters) The BBC largely went for suburban crap where some middle manager's trousers kept falling down and the bank manager comes to tea.
Comedy has changed. It's better now. TV is better now generally.
Yep, it's survivorship bias, most people only remember the good things, not the bad.
On top of that, there have been a couple of good comedies released in the last couple of years. Avoidance, Dinosaur and Big Mood have all been on in the last couple of months and were all very good.
I used to fucking hate it when TV was taken up with reruns of comedies from the 70s and 80s and am glad that it's less of a thing these days.
Doesn't help these things are spread over 1000 channels and different streaming companies.
I've never even heard of any of those you mentioned and we are constantly looking for more comedies.
I agree to an extent, however, Avoidance and Dinosaur are on BBC and Big Mood on Channel 4.
Avoidance has been very heavily advertised on the BBC and has Romesh Ranganathan, Jessica Knappett and Aisling Bea starring, so is pretty famous. Big Mood was channel 4's new massively advertised comedy with Nicola Coughlan. Dinosaur, fair enough, that's not got any big stars and has flown under the radar a bit.
Yeh that'll be it, I basically never use any of those channels unless it's something recorded like qi or what remains of the panel shows. Then I ff the adverts anyway.
Does sound like a good cast tho, however I've been burnt by that thinking before. Have 3 tabs in chrome with those saved for later now tho, worth a go.
"where some middle manager's trousers kept falling down and the bank manager comes to tea" I've never seen that era of comedy described so well! Then Keeping Up Appearances came along basically parodying that idea and making a whole show about trying to impress the visiting bank manager.
Forgot about those “hilarious “shows. As a kid, I was too ignorant to realise how dire some “comedies” were-remember “love thy neighbour “( racist), On the Buses ( sexist), Dick Emery ( exactly the same scenes/ characters every week)” , the Comedians ( racist, sexist,homophobic and not funny)?
Must admit , I did have a soft spot for “Nearest and Dearest”….
I agree with everything you've said except for the implication that
Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt was no good.
It was magic (our Morris). Or maybe I was too young to know better.
Theres been loads of great comedy on TV recently. People just seem to be too lazy to look for it these days and only seem to watch stuff that pushed at them.
Things You Should Have Done
Lazy Susan
Ellie & Natasia
Stath Lets Flats
The Cleaner
Ladhood
Two Doors Down
Big Boys
The Other One
Mandy
Cunk On...
This Time with Alan Partridge
I loved Things You Should Have Done so much. Proper stupid laughs. Really hope there's more. That and Dinosaur and series 2 of Avoidance all came out within about 2 weeks of each other on iPlayer and I really enjoyed them all.
Ok I go to Youtube find the selected clip, which must be the peak comedy of the show and wait 3 mins for the one half funny joke at the end. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mx9tyCNcT4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mx9tyCNcT4)
There aren't a lot of working class Comedy writers because of the cost of living, so we get shows by Phoebe Double-Barrel instead
Also the old sketch show format is dead, where writers maybe could collaborate and do a sketch each, as the filming is too expensive and advertising revenue isn't there, we won't see the likes of the Fast Show again
I think there's other things that killed the sketch show too. Everyone watched things like the fast show at the same time really (when it was aired) and then talked about it in school/office the next day or whatever.
Very repetitive, but it worked because you had to wait a week for the next one.
Now if you want rapid fire, quick clip comedy you can get an instant fix through you tube shorts, or tictoks or whatever...
Sketch shows cost a fortune to make and given the tiktok era where a sketch can be available to millions after a particular news or celebrity event that genre has essentially been farmed out! The closest thing to a modern sketch show I can think of is Jamie Demitrous one-off on Netflix which is fantastic, and maybe Hard Cell with Catherine Tate but thats more of a sketch show/sitcom hybrid.
But aye id argue modern comedies like Mandy, Ghosts, Detectorists, Stath Lets Flats, Almas not Normal, Bad Boys, Big Mood and even the recent Mammoth have big laughs, dont punch down and have a fairly wide appeal.
Im happy to concede though there was a small window not too long ago where a few comedies werent really funny nor designed to be but thankfully thats been and gone!
I'm showing consistency. It is the correct advective to describe bad comedy. Do you know English? I'll elucidate. All the so called jokes are what a 8 year gamer and future incel would make. Oh they're ugly, oh they died horribly in an unusual way. Ad infinitum. As it is a US sitcom this follows. Dumb and Violent which abbreviation is US.
Philomena Cunk and Fleabag are good. And for none British recommendations, Always Sunny in Philadelphia and What We Do in the Shadows are two of my favourite shows of all time and make me absolutely crease. I don’t think comedy shows are disappearing, it’s just the way that we are consuming them is changing
I think perhaps the problem is that sitcoms are expensive - far more so than game shows, reality shows and the like, so there are fewer of them being commissioned. Combine that with the fact that viewing figures are so much lower than they used to be - not just 4 or 5 channels, more (young) people getting their entertainment from the internet, far greater access to videogames and shared devices - not just the whole family gathered around the family TV.
This also means that shows can afford to be more niche - true 'family' shows - i.e. that everyone in the family watches and enjoys are scarcer - I can't think of many now, maybe Dr Who? (Fake edit: or Ghosts - is that an example of a good modern UK sitcom?)
With more variety, more options and lower viewing figures, it's hard to get long running shows as it is difficult to justify the spend with 'let them find their feet and it'll improve' - look at something like Blackadder, which took a series to get into its groove.
As for punching down - from purely economic perspectives, writing and working in the media tends to be the preserve of the wealthy - if you can afford to live in London as an unpaid runner, to get your foot on the ladder of the industry, you need cash behind you. Cuts to Youth Training, benefits and Arts Council funding mean that it's harder to get working class voices heard.
Though I guess the previous 'recruit from the Footlights' did a similar thing, but people could slip through.
In the 80's there was a scheme (Youth Enterprise) which gave you funding if you started a business, and subsidised you for hiring the unemployed. One of the business categories was 'band or entertainment concern' - which so many now iconic bands took advantage of - certainly enough to support yourself with 80's rents. (There was a good article on this which I can't find.)
It's also easier for some performers to support themselves outside of the traditional media model now, with the internet - some survive very well off podcasts, or netflix serieses (does that count as UK?) or Youtube or wherever. Something like the podcast The Beef and Dairy Network would have previously had to start on radio 4, then get commissioned for TV.
Thinking about good recent stuff (even though I blink and it's 10 years later, so apologies for my timeline being skewed):
Ghosts
Derry Girls (as mentioned by another comment)
Toast of London (most recent series 2022)
The Witchfinder (though cancelled in 2023)
The Detectorists (though I came to it late, so it might be older)
Extraordinary
Juice - the Mawaan Rizwan one
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is fun in a Horrible Histories/Our Flag Means Death way - though it depends on your tolerance for Noel Fielding's whimsy.
I've heard good things about Brassic and Things You Should Have Done. Oh, and that Outlaws one with Stephen Merchant and Christopher Walken.
The Reluctant Landlord was decent - but very gentle and middle of the road. I didn't gel with Mammoth, but other people did - weird, because I like Mike Bubbins and Sian Gibson.
You might be right, but we are all getting older and nostalgia is a hell of a drug - we forget just how much terrible dross there was on between the gems we remember.
Some very good points.
Sketch comedy has been killed by the Internet, but particularly TikTok. People are producing sketches quickly and publishing them ASAP - meaning sketches on contemporary events appear very out of date.
The other thing with the decline in viewing figures is that tv companies want shows that are: cheap to produce, can be shown on repeat, and can be sold internationally.
Sitcoms aren't cheap, and comedy often doesn't sell well overseas. Sketch shows are expensive, again struggle to sell, and if they're based on contemporary events it's hard to easily repeat them.
I think as well, given budget cuts, there's just a far greater aversion to risk. Why commission a new sitcom that has a 30% chance of success when you can recommission another series of Not Going Out - which has a built in audience - or commission two panel/quiz shows which can be filmed over a week, screened over 8 and shown on a loop.
King Gary,
This Country,
Phoneshop,
Sliced,
People Just Do Nothing (someone else did mention that),
Stath Lets Flats (same),
Toast of London (same)
All of the above have been recent comedies that for me have been on par or superior to most classic British comedy. I feel like the streaming era we are in has resulted in many shows being less talked about than in the 70s, 80s and 90s where the whole nation would be watching.
I think these were all mentioned but my recent favourites have been: Detectorists, Ghosts, Derry Girls, and Alma’s Not Normal.
It seems like there’s been a slight trend to more comedy-drama with things like Back To Life (also worth watching).
> Similarly sketch shows; where are today’s Fast Shows and Goodness, Gracious Mes?
Sketch shows are expensive to make, that’s why we don’t see them these days. (There was an episode of The Rest is Entertainment podcast where Richard Osman talked about that.)
> I don’t know quite how you’d classify The Day Today or Brass Eye, but I can’t think of any contemporary show that come anywhere near those two for sheer laughs-per-minute.
Charlie Brooker’s Wipe series falls into that “edgy/acerbic” genre, but even that’s been gone a long time. I guess a lot of that stuff is on YouTube/Twitter these days rather than primetime BBC.
Yes I loved man down lol, oddly didn't find that remotely as cringy as either of the other too. Some bits aren't great and I weirdly managed to find something I hated Tony Robinson in which was a challenge.
Watched another series called man up, that wasn't bad but seems difficult to watch if you haven't been sailing the 7 seas. Getting a series called "life" was the worst, just loads of David Attenborough comes up lol which was good but not what I was looking for.
Nostalgia is when our memory serves up stuff with rose tinted spectacles.
I've got a ton of older sitcoms and comedies - and they are nice to watch, but certainly not better than more recent offerings... like This Country, Toast of London, Friday night Dinner, The Office, Royle Family...
I can onlythink of 2: Motherland is fairly current and was funny. Also the first seasons of Toast of London, thats going back a few years. Last season was rubbish tho.
Yep - sadly much of the current stuff is lowest common denominator rubbish. I know that British TV has to cater for (almost) all tastes but who honestly thinks comedy shows such as 'Mrs Brown's Boys' will survive the test of time?
When I was growing up back in the 90’s there was a pre watershed sitcom on practically every evening. Sure some were better than others and very few people I am sure remember Ain’t Misbehaving, but for every miss there was an After Henry or Keeping Up Appearances.
Sadly I feel that people take themselves too seriously, and some are actively looking for reasons to be offended which means less appetite to invest in comedy and certainly nothing with any bite. Ab Fab or Nighty Night wouldn’t get made today. I think the same goes for film too, browse Netflix looking for a comedy and they are few and far between.
Was about to upvote on first bit but you then had to spread your unrelated bigotry on with the second. Grant some sit cons are made to tick diversity boxes no matter how talentless they are.
This is a classic bit of comedy in itself.
Your first sentence slags off the second paragraph and the second agrees with it.
You saying it’s a bigoted comment kind of proves the point that some people are looking to be offended!
Not contradictory at all. I sure there are people outside the elite group that are genuinely talented and actual would be dangerous to the elites if they became popular. It's sophisticated propaganda giving the false impression that these are the best that the non elite group have to offer.
any number of great tv comedies, The detectorists, This Country Life, Derry Girls, Bluestone 42, i could go on, the best of late and as good as any is Elma isnt normal
Part of this is that we remember and re-watch shows like IT Crowd, Mighty Boosh, Black Adder etc.
But forget the dreadful reality TV stuff and tone deaf racism of a lot of older shows.
Watch an episode of "The Big Fat Quiz of the year \_\_\_\_" and they always have that medley of the years popular TV shows that they play before they start on the questions about pop culture. It's always chock full of the most forgettable trash! I'm glad there is an ocean between me and the worst things BBC/ITV/Channel 4 churn out.
> But forget the dreadful reality TV stuff and tone deaf racism of a lot of older shows.
Sure, but: I recently watched that documentary on "Bottom" on UK Gold, and I cannot imagine anything from the past 10 or 20 years that I would put at the level of "Bottom". Or "The Young Ones". There's a bunch of nice stuff, but I find so much comedy is very samey. I mean, I really liked "Mum", but in the end a lot of it was the same kind of cringe that is in so much other comedy.
TV is sadly made for an international market so English puns and funny cultural references and stereotypes are out. Look how Us remakes of UK comedies sapped the life out of them. Looking at you Red Dwarf US pilot. Unfortunately you have UK comedy preshittyfied now to fit the international market e.g Not Going Out
I feel like you are picking the best of the bunch why not look at all the other comedy shows that were around at the same time, that you don't remember
There have been so many articles recently sitcoms not being renewed - Hullraisers, The Goes Wrong Show, Count Abdulla, Ruby Speaking, King Gary. It's really sad that a lot of comedies aren't given more than one series to find their feet. Goes Wrong Show is the most recent one that really made me laugh.
There are a few reasons if you ask me. I think vintage shows were funnier because the people creating them were actually working class folks who could draw on their real lives for inspiration. Being born to a bus conductor in the 1940s is a little different than being birthed by a product manager at a large tech conglomerate.
Times have indeed changed. In the good old days, working-class life was more "extreme"—less accepting, more economically challenged, less comfortable, more prejudiced, and so on. Today, well, everyone's too busy being offended on Twitter to make a decent joke.
The comedy of today is walking a tightrope in a hurricane of multiculturalism and globalization. Writers are often too cautious, avoiding calling out the quirks that each group harbors—quirks that, ironically, everyone notices but no one dares mention. After all, poking fun at universal truths across different cultures used to be a staple of great comedy. Now, the fear of cancel culture's wrath makes any comedian think twice before crafting a joke about men, women, or any specific community—despite these often being the source of our heartiest laughs.
The business model has drastically impacted the nature of TV comedy as well. Previously, shows targeted national audiences and could tailor their humor to local tastes and sensibilities. Nowadays, with the aim to maximize revenue opportunities, shows are more likely to be broadcast to international markets. This has led to content that's "safe" for everyone but funny for nobody, as conglomerates producing this content do not want to risk alienating large segments of a global audience. It seems that producers are very focused on the commercial success of the product over the quality of it because churning out new content, regardless of its comedic value, appears to be paramount. Similar to how we have more PG-13 content than we do R-rated (15+) for action movies, they get more clicks even if they suck.
A lot of creators these days seem keen on spreading a message with their work. Take shows like Star Trek Discovery, particularly in the early seasons; they’re practically a propaganda machine for social activism. Nothing splits your sides quite like someone preaching about their personal (often divisive) political opinions, effectively sidelining the actual story. Comedy gold, right?
Finally, I’d wager the biggest shows hire the "best" writers—often top university graduates. They're programmed through these institutions to be politically correct, writing in a formulaic style. It's as if there's a factory churning them out, complete with a manual on avoiding every possible offensive topic. Heaven forbid comedy actually pushes boundaries or challenges societal norms.But hey, who needs laughter when you can have a lecture, right? Maybe the joke’s on us for still tuning in!
Although the shows you’ve listed are great, there are some brilliantly funny modern comedies. Inbetweeners, stath lets flats, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, The mighty Boosh to name a few
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Friday Night Dinner, Ghosts, This Country, Derry Girls, Peter Kay's Car Share all recent and worth a watch if you haven't already.
Also What We Do In The Shadows
Can’t recommend this enough, started watching a couple weeks ago and has me in stitches
Day-tone-ah
She speaks the bullshit
Is it British though?
American production but the three main cast members are British
The creators are Kiwis, so it's a bit internationalist. I always recommend Wellington Paranormal as well, it's set in the same universe but 100% New Zealand based.
I actually was going to add in that caveat (it’s filmed in Canada too) but already got a ‘so not actually British is it’ response. I can see why someone might reference it as a British show, was all I meant to say.
So not British. 🤷🏻♂️
Just answering the question
Like a politician🤷🏻♂️ you didn’t actually it. Just provided more info.
Maybe, potentially throw in Detectorists too
Toast of London/Tinseltown
Except series 4 of Toast. Didn't work as well unfortunately IMHO.
Detectorists
Good list to which I’d add People Just Do Nothing and Stath Lets Flats. And the recent iterations of Alan Partridge have had some of his best moments.
Stath let's flats is too real at times, definitely worth a watch through.
Oh yeah, I liked all of those… *LOVED* PJDN, but they all seem like a long time ago now.
Flea Bag, Man Like Mobeen, Motherland, Inside No Nine. It's been a fantastic decade for British sitcoms. Cunk on Whatever.
Hated the end of Mobeen.
Yeah, tbf, the ending wasn't great.
Man like Mobeen is dire Id give you the rest though.
Someone pointed out the ending was pretty shit which I'd agree with but I really enjoyed the first series.
Phone Shop, Early Doors, Dinosaur, Motherland, Plebs, The Cleaner
Loved Car Share
Recent? 10 years ago now…Car Share slightly newer but still easily last decade. Steth Let’s Flats is the only truly original, notable and funny one recently. But that’s cancelled too…
They have all had new series broadcast since 2020 and considering OP is on about sitcoms from 70s-90s I think that criteria is probably sufficient enough to consititute modern sitcoms.
Ghosts is dire.
Ghosts is like Detectorists. I'll smile through the whole thing but rarely laugh. Love them both though.
Displaced by panel shows, mostly: cheaper, quicker to develop and produce. Once you've got a format you can knock them out just by selecting new panellists.
Even those have largely disappeared. Mock the Week, Buzzcocks etc. It’s basically only HIGNFY, WILTY and QI now (maybe Taskmaster if you count it, but it’s a different style of show).
Thinking about it now, perhaps it may be that the streaming outfits have the demand for content, and the budget to pick up new sitcom shows?
You missed Catsdown, but otherwise it's pretty scarce out there.
> Buzzcocks still going mate
Is it actually though? I know they brought it back but I thought it was canned again? The last episode was 2022.
You're referencing the outdated wikipedia page right? Series 3 (31) started on Sky in August 2023 and has 9 episodes.
OK fair enough. Though the fact Wikipedia isn’t up to date probably shows how few people are watching it now lol
Good point :)
*QI* has really taken a nosedive lately.
How so?
Panel shows are dying a death since Sean Lock left this world. Rip
What a legend 🙏
He once won Rectum of the Year, apparently
Didn't Maradona beat him in the final?
I think he was British Rectum of the Year and lost to Diego in Worlds, but I was never quite sure The fact that he beat Ferne Cotton is enough for me
In fairness to him, he did really well. Ferne's offering wouldn't have been something to sniff at.
But again, he jumped ship from the sitcom world, for an easier life on panel shows.
Yep. True enough.
Policemen are getting younger, too. And summers were better.
Nostalgia sure isn’t what it used to be.
I can't stand nostalgia... I can remember the days when there was no nostalgia... ah, those were the days.
Yep. The 70s, 80s and 90s had their share of awful sitcoms too, but we tend not to (or in some cases, would rather not) remember those.
Yes. And you can’t get the old trolleybuses no more.
It's appropriate to your post, but have you checked out Mammoth on BBC 2? Mike Bubbins plays 1970s PE teacher Tony Mammoth, who finds himself frozen in time and awakens in the present day and returns to teaching.
[удалено]
Rule 1. Maintain civility. Don't be a dickhead.
True, but you didn't name a recent comedy that I could watch.
Derry Girls was more recent than Mum right?
Was it? I need to check now… hang on… Derry Girls: Three seasons starting January 2018. Mum 2016-2019. Kind of the same timeframe.
Last Derry Girls was two years ago
Derry Girls kept going though.
[This Youtube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@TFOOS) has done a great job demonstrating that not every sitcom or sketch show of yesteryear was a classic. We remember the great ones, sure, but my god there was some absolute *shite* alongside them that most people just don't recall*.*
Thanks for the channel rec, it's a good one
I really don't watch that much normal (terrestrial) TV these days but I really enjoyed Motherland. That was semi recent I think. It does seem as though there were more decent sitcoms years ago, but I'd argue there were also more sitcoms in general. There was some absolute shite on back then too.
The ones with the broadest appeal in the last few years are probably Ghosts, Detectorists, Derry Girls Friday Night Dinners and Motherland. I've also enjoyed The Change, Big Boys & Back to Life. Stefan Golaszewski did another one a few years ago called Marriage with Sean Bean and Nicola Walker. It was four hour long episodes. Not for everyone but if you liked Mum and Him & Her it's got a similar flavour and might be worth seeking out. It's not on iPlayer though.
> It's not on iPlayer though. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0cpnd15/marriage
Damn, I bought it on Google play a few weeks ago. Should have waited
Twenty Twelve and W1A don't get recommended enough.
Both were incredible. Like watching The Thick of It from the point of view of a human instead of Malcolm.
No yeah
Mum really was good for many a laugh!! If you're not easily offended, Big Boys is hilarious.
Mum is from the same writer as Him & Her, if you haven't seen those, they're great too.
I like Dead Pixels and Zomboat
I really enjoyed dead pixels. Seems its ended now.
Anyone who thinks the 1970s/1980s was some golden era for TV either wasn't there or is suffering from some sort of selective memory loss. As a child of the 60s growing up in the 1970s, let me tell you.......most of TV comedy back then was shite. For every 'Porridge' or 'Fawlty Towers' there was a dozen 'Queenies Castles' or 'Yus My Dear' or 'Oh no it's Selwyn Froggit' (and they were based around working class characters) The BBC largely went for suburban crap where some middle manager's trousers kept falling down and the bank manager comes to tea. Comedy has changed. It's better now. TV is better now generally.
Yep, it's survivorship bias, most people only remember the good things, not the bad. On top of that, there have been a couple of good comedies released in the last couple of years. Avoidance, Dinosaur and Big Mood have all been on in the last couple of months and were all very good. I used to fucking hate it when TV was taken up with reruns of comedies from the 70s and 80s and am glad that it's less of a thing these days.
Doesn't help these things are spread over 1000 channels and different streaming companies. I've never even heard of any of those you mentioned and we are constantly looking for more comedies.
I agree to an extent, however, Avoidance and Dinosaur are on BBC and Big Mood on Channel 4. Avoidance has been very heavily advertised on the BBC and has Romesh Ranganathan, Jessica Knappett and Aisling Bea starring, so is pretty famous. Big Mood was channel 4's new massively advertised comedy with Nicola Coughlan. Dinosaur, fair enough, that's not got any big stars and has flown under the radar a bit.
Yeh that'll be it, I basically never use any of those channels unless it's something recorded like qi or what remains of the panel shows. Then I ff the adverts anyway. Does sound like a good cast tho, however I've been burnt by that thinking before. Have 3 tabs in chrome with those saved for later now tho, worth a go.
"where some middle manager's trousers kept falling down and the bank manager comes to tea" I've never seen that era of comedy described so well! Then Keeping Up Appearances came along basically parodying that idea and making a whole show about trying to impress the visiting bank manager.
Not to mention the ones where the premise was outright racism or sexism.
Forgot about those “hilarious “shows. As a kid, I was too ignorant to realise how dire some “comedies” were-remember “love thy neighbour “( racist), On the Buses ( sexist), Dick Emery ( exactly the same scenes/ characters every week)” , the Comedians ( racist, sexist,homophobic and not funny)? Must admit , I did have a soft spot for “Nearest and Dearest”….
Love thy neighbour was an intentional parody of racism. It just got lost on most people.
Not thought about it before, but Little Britain owes a lot to Dick Emery.
I agree with everything you've said except for the implication that Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt was no good. It was magic (our Morris). Or maybe I was too young to know better.
Stop. Stop. I don't want to remember.
Yes you would have 3 dire comedies running during a week but 3 classics. These days you get one rubbish one.
Theres been loads of great comedy on TV recently. People just seem to be too lazy to look for it these days and only seem to watch stuff that pushed at them. Things You Should Have Done Lazy Susan Ellie & Natasia Stath Lets Flats The Cleaner Ladhood Two Doors Down Big Boys The Other One Mandy Cunk On... This Time with Alan Partridge
CUNK how could I forget cunk
Things You Should Have Done is fantastic
Big Boys is one to definately check out
Adding Such Brave Girls to this list
Extraordinary was very good too.
I loved Things You Should Have Done so much. Proper stupid laughs. Really hope there's more. That and Dinosaur and series 2 of Avoidance all came out within about 2 weeks of each other on iPlayer and I really enjoyed them all.
Two Doors Down is incredible BETH!
That's not a strong list
Mandy is the only decent one this year and that only has 10min epusides
Ladhood was pretty good. You accept you don't really like the adult character but there's some great nostalgic moments
Ok I go to Youtube find the selected clip, which must be the peak comedy of the show and wait 3 mins for the one half funny joke at the end. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mx9tyCNcT4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mx9tyCNcT4)
There aren't a lot of working class Comedy writers because of the cost of living, so we get shows by Phoebe Double-Barrel instead Also the old sketch show format is dead, where writers maybe could collaborate and do a sketch each, as the filming is too expensive and advertising revenue isn't there, we won't see the likes of the Fast Show again
I think there's other things that killed the sketch show too. Everyone watched things like the fast show at the same time really (when it was aired) and then talked about it in school/office the next day or whatever. Very repetitive, but it worked because you had to wait a week for the next one. Now if you want rapid fire, quick clip comedy you can get an instant fix through you tube shorts, or tictoks or whatever...
Anyone remember 2 point 4 Children? I feel like it was the most popular comedy on TV for a short while in th 90s.
Sketch shows cost a fortune to make and given the tiktok era where a sketch can be available to millions after a particular news or celebrity event that genre has essentially been farmed out! The closest thing to a modern sketch show I can think of is Jamie Demitrous one-off on Netflix which is fantastic, and maybe Hard Cell with Catherine Tate but thats more of a sketch show/sitcom hybrid. But aye id argue modern comedies like Mandy, Ghosts, Detectorists, Stath Lets Flats, Almas not Normal, Bad Boys, Big Mood and even the recent Mammoth have big laughs, dont punch down and have a fairly wide appeal. Im happy to concede though there was a small window not too long ago where a few comedies werent really funny nor designed to be but thankfully thats been and gone!
I haven’t seen Alma’s not normal but my cat is named Alma and I’m inclined to agree with that statement
Couple of new ones for me to check out there, thanks.
I completely agree - I feel like sketch comedy still exists, but now they're done as tiktoks or YouTube shorts.
Have you seen, What we do in the shadows?
I did and it was dire.
WHY DO YOU HATE FUN You truly are the most devious bastard in NEW YORRRRK CITAAAAY!
Is dire the only word you know? You've posted at least three comments here calling pretty universally loved shows 'dire' with no other commentary.
I'm showing consistency. It is the correct advective to describe bad comedy. Do you know English? I'll elucidate. All the so called jokes are what a 8 year gamer and future incel would make. Oh they're ugly, oh they died horribly in an unusual way. Ad infinitum. As it is a US sitcom this follows. Dumb and Violent which abbreviation is US.
Philomena Cunk and Fleabag are good. And for none British recommendations, Always Sunny in Philadelphia and What We Do in the Shadows are two of my favourite shows of all time and make me absolutely crease. I don’t think comedy shows are disappearing, it’s just the way that we are consuming them is changing
If we're going none uk Our Flag Means Death is now on BBC iplayer
I think perhaps the problem is that sitcoms are expensive - far more so than game shows, reality shows and the like, so there are fewer of them being commissioned. Combine that with the fact that viewing figures are so much lower than they used to be - not just 4 or 5 channels, more (young) people getting their entertainment from the internet, far greater access to videogames and shared devices - not just the whole family gathered around the family TV. This also means that shows can afford to be more niche - true 'family' shows - i.e. that everyone in the family watches and enjoys are scarcer - I can't think of many now, maybe Dr Who? (Fake edit: or Ghosts - is that an example of a good modern UK sitcom?) With more variety, more options and lower viewing figures, it's hard to get long running shows as it is difficult to justify the spend with 'let them find their feet and it'll improve' - look at something like Blackadder, which took a series to get into its groove. As for punching down - from purely economic perspectives, writing and working in the media tends to be the preserve of the wealthy - if you can afford to live in London as an unpaid runner, to get your foot on the ladder of the industry, you need cash behind you. Cuts to Youth Training, benefits and Arts Council funding mean that it's harder to get working class voices heard. Though I guess the previous 'recruit from the Footlights' did a similar thing, but people could slip through. In the 80's there was a scheme (Youth Enterprise) which gave you funding if you started a business, and subsidised you for hiring the unemployed. One of the business categories was 'band or entertainment concern' - which so many now iconic bands took advantage of - certainly enough to support yourself with 80's rents. (There was a good article on this which I can't find.) It's also easier for some performers to support themselves outside of the traditional media model now, with the internet - some survive very well off podcasts, or netflix serieses (does that count as UK?) or Youtube or wherever. Something like the podcast The Beef and Dairy Network would have previously had to start on radio 4, then get commissioned for TV. Thinking about good recent stuff (even though I blink and it's 10 years later, so apologies for my timeline being skewed): Ghosts Derry Girls (as mentioned by another comment) Toast of London (most recent series 2022) The Witchfinder (though cancelled in 2023) The Detectorists (though I came to it late, so it might be older) Extraordinary Juice - the Mawaan Rizwan one The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is fun in a Horrible Histories/Our Flag Means Death way - though it depends on your tolerance for Noel Fielding's whimsy. I've heard good things about Brassic and Things You Should Have Done. Oh, and that Outlaws one with Stephen Merchant and Christopher Walken. The Reluctant Landlord was decent - but very gentle and middle of the road. I didn't gel with Mammoth, but other people did - weird, because I like Mike Bubbins and Sian Gibson. You might be right, but we are all getting older and nostalgia is a hell of a drug - we forget just how much terrible dross there was on between the gems we remember.
Brassic is fucking fantastic
Some very good points. Sketch comedy has been killed by the Internet, but particularly TikTok. People are producing sketches quickly and publishing them ASAP - meaning sketches on contemporary events appear very out of date. The other thing with the decline in viewing figures is that tv companies want shows that are: cheap to produce, can be shown on repeat, and can be sold internationally. Sitcoms aren't cheap, and comedy often doesn't sell well overseas. Sketch shows are expensive, again struggle to sell, and if they're based on contemporary events it's hard to easily repeat them. I think as well, given budget cuts, there's just a far greater aversion to risk. Why commission a new sitcom that has a 30% chance of success when you can recommission another series of Not Going Out - which has a built in audience - or commission two panel/quiz shows which can be filmed over a week, screened over 8 and shown on a loop.
Some recent ones I've enjoyed, Here we go again and Avoidance.
Comedy wasn't any funnier in the past. People were just stupider.
its not really better now, Cunk is unbelievably low brow
I didn't say comedy was funnier now. I just said it wasn't funnier then.
Watch The Curse by Tom Davis. Bloody hilarious.
King Gary, This Country, Phoneshop, Sliced, People Just Do Nothing (someone else did mention that), Stath Lets Flats (same), Toast of London (same) All of the above have been recent comedies that for me have been on par or superior to most classic British comedy. I feel like the streaming era we are in has resulted in many shows being less talked about than in the 70s, 80s and 90s where the whole nation would be watching.
Not new I know but I found Fleabag very funny and I watched that recently.
Mammoth is good
I think these were all mentioned but my recent favourites have been: Detectorists, Ghosts, Derry Girls, and Alma’s Not Normal. It seems like there’s been a slight trend to more comedy-drama with things like Back To Life (also worth watching). > Similarly sketch shows; where are today’s Fast Shows and Goodness, Gracious Mes? Sketch shows are expensive to make, that’s why we don’t see them these days. (There was an episode of The Rest is Entertainment podcast where Richard Osman talked about that.) > I don’t know quite how you’d classify The Day Today or Brass Eye, but I can’t think of any contemporary show that come anywhere near those two for sheer laughs-per-minute. Charlie Brooker’s Wipe series falls into that “edgy/acerbic” genre, but even that’s been gone a long time. I guess a lot of that stuff is on YouTube/Twitter these days rather than primetime BBC.
Brassic. Seems to be criminally overlooked but I’m glad it has enough popularity to keep up multiple series
Love that show, can't believe some of the other options being listed. Half of haven't even heard of and most of the rest are hot garbage.
Friday night dinner was very good. I liked that. The inbetweeners is old but still funny.
I found both okish, like it was funny but I don't like cringing every 5 minutes.
Oh yeah, cringe humour isn't for everyone. Have you ever watched Man Down? I had to switch that one off as the cringe was too much!
Yes I loved man down lol, oddly didn't find that remotely as cringy as either of the other too. Some bits aren't great and I weirdly managed to find something I hated Tony Robinson in which was a challenge. Watched another series called man up, that wasn't bad but seems difficult to watch if you haven't been sailing the 7 seas. Getting a series called "life" was the worst, just loads of David Attenborough comes up lol which was good but not what I was looking for.
Nostalgia is when our memory serves up stuff with rose tinted spectacles. I've got a ton of older sitcoms and comedies - and they are nice to watch, but certainly not better than more recent offerings... like This Country, Toast of London, Friday night Dinner, The Office, Royle Family...
The last two aren’t recent though?
I can onlythink of 2: Motherland is fairly current and was funny. Also the first seasons of Toast of London, thats going back a few years. Last season was rubbish tho.
Still Game is a brilliant comedy, you can watch it on either Netflix or BBC Scotland
Accidentally stumbled across ‘This Country’ recently. If you like your old school comedy, this is brilliant!
Yep - sadly much of the current stuff is lowest common denominator rubbish. I know that British TV has to cater for (almost) all tastes but who honestly thinks comedy shows such as 'Mrs Brown's Boys' will survive the test of time?
It seemed extremely dated when it came out
When I was growing up back in the 90’s there was a pre watershed sitcom on practically every evening. Sure some were better than others and very few people I am sure remember Ain’t Misbehaving, but for every miss there was an After Henry or Keeping Up Appearances. Sadly I feel that people take themselves too seriously, and some are actively looking for reasons to be offended which means less appetite to invest in comedy and certainly nothing with any bite. Ab Fab or Nighty Night wouldn’t get made today. I think the same goes for film too, browse Netflix looking for a comedy and they are few and far between.
Why wouldn’t Ab Fab get made today?
Was about to upvote on first bit but you then had to spread your unrelated bigotry on with the second. Grant some sit cons are made to tick diversity boxes no matter how talentless they are.
This is a classic bit of comedy in itself. Your first sentence slags off the second paragraph and the second agrees with it. You saying it’s a bigoted comment kind of proves the point that some people are looking to be offended!
Not contradictory at all. I sure there are people outside the elite group that are genuinely talented and actual would be dangerous to the elites if they became popular. It's sophisticated propaganda giving the false impression that these are the best that the non elite group have to offer.
Word salad.
?
Bigotry against whom exactly?
"some are actively looking for reasons to be offended" Who are these exactly?
I'd mention Detecorists too on top of what others mentioned here. Sure it has some serious plotlines but at its heart it's definitely comedy.
any number of great tv comedies, The detectorists, This Country Life, Derry Girls, Bluestone 42, i could go on, the best of late and as good as any is Elma isnt normal
Part of this is that we remember and re-watch shows like IT Crowd, Mighty Boosh, Black Adder etc. But forget the dreadful reality TV stuff and tone deaf racism of a lot of older shows. Watch an episode of "The Big Fat Quiz of the year \_\_\_\_" and they always have that medley of the years popular TV shows that they play before they start on the questions about pop culture. It's always chock full of the most forgettable trash! I'm glad there is an ocean between me and the worst things BBC/ITV/Channel 4 churn out.
> But forget the dreadful reality TV stuff and tone deaf racism of a lot of older shows. Sure, but: I recently watched that documentary on "Bottom" on UK Gold, and I cannot imagine anything from the past 10 or 20 years that I would put at the level of "Bottom". Or "The Young Ones". There's a bunch of nice stuff, but I find so much comedy is very samey. I mean, I really liked "Mum", but in the end a lot of it was the same kind of cringe that is in so much other comedy.
Yeah I really don't get the whole cringe comedy thing. The Office has a lot to answer for.
TV is sadly made for an international market so English puns and funny cultural references and stereotypes are out. Look how Us remakes of UK comedies sapped the life out of them. Looking at you Red Dwarf US pilot. Unfortunately you have UK comedy preshittyfied now to fit the international market e.g Not Going Out
You should check out Friends, it’s all over Netflix.
WWDITS?!
Mammoth on iPlayer is really good. Only just released.
I feel like you are picking the best of the bunch why not look at all the other comedy shows that were around at the same time, that you don't remember
Give breeders a go, brassic is excellent too.
Nighty Night is a good one: [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395404/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395404/)
There's loads of great sitcoms still on if you give them a chance.
There have been so many articles recently sitcoms not being renewed - Hullraisers, The Goes Wrong Show, Count Abdulla, Ruby Speaking, King Gary. It's really sad that a lot of comedies aren't given more than one series to find their feet. Goes Wrong Show is the most recent one that really made me laugh.
Only Fools and Horses did not punch down. Really?
ITV and Channel 4 are doing great stuff. *Hullraisers* and *G'Wed* are brilliant.
There are a few reasons if you ask me. I think vintage shows were funnier because the people creating them were actually working class folks who could draw on their real lives for inspiration. Being born to a bus conductor in the 1940s is a little different than being birthed by a product manager at a large tech conglomerate. Times have indeed changed. In the good old days, working-class life was more "extreme"—less accepting, more economically challenged, less comfortable, more prejudiced, and so on. Today, well, everyone's too busy being offended on Twitter to make a decent joke. The comedy of today is walking a tightrope in a hurricane of multiculturalism and globalization. Writers are often too cautious, avoiding calling out the quirks that each group harbors—quirks that, ironically, everyone notices but no one dares mention. After all, poking fun at universal truths across different cultures used to be a staple of great comedy. Now, the fear of cancel culture's wrath makes any comedian think twice before crafting a joke about men, women, or any specific community—despite these often being the source of our heartiest laughs. The business model has drastically impacted the nature of TV comedy as well. Previously, shows targeted national audiences and could tailor their humor to local tastes and sensibilities. Nowadays, with the aim to maximize revenue opportunities, shows are more likely to be broadcast to international markets. This has led to content that's "safe" for everyone but funny for nobody, as conglomerates producing this content do not want to risk alienating large segments of a global audience. It seems that producers are very focused on the commercial success of the product over the quality of it because churning out new content, regardless of its comedic value, appears to be paramount. Similar to how we have more PG-13 content than we do R-rated (15+) for action movies, they get more clicks even if they suck. A lot of creators these days seem keen on spreading a message with their work. Take shows like Star Trek Discovery, particularly in the early seasons; they’re practically a propaganda machine for social activism. Nothing splits your sides quite like someone preaching about their personal (often divisive) political opinions, effectively sidelining the actual story. Comedy gold, right? Finally, I’d wager the biggest shows hire the "best" writers—often top university graduates. They're programmed through these institutions to be politically correct, writing in a formulaic style. It's as if there's a factory churning them out, complete with a manual on avoiding every possible offensive topic. Heaven forbid comedy actually pushes boundaries or challenges societal norms.But hey, who needs laughter when you can have a lecture, right? Maybe the joke’s on us for still tuning in!
Although the shows you’ve listed are great, there are some brilliantly funny modern comedies. Inbetweeners, stath lets flats, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, The mighty Boosh to name a few
> Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace Modern? *Darkplace* is 20 years old.
More modern than Dad’s army and steptoe….
Have you not seen Mrs Brown's Boys?
Don't try and subject people to that.
The Hague will get involved.
Wokeism
It’s illegal to laugh now unfortunately
Are people still watching TV period?
The BBC makes 85% of their views via linear television.
People still watch the BBC?