Good British comedy
Looking for some good comedies. I looked at the top shows on Brit Box (streaming channel in the US), and most of them are police procedurals! I think the first comedy is Gavin & Stacy, which I haven’t seen but isn’t there something newer? My wife and I have enjoyed Coupling and Inbetweeners. Any suggestions?
Nobody has mentioned Taskmaster yet!
Is that not on Brit Box? I watch on Youtube.
Taskmaster is so good!
My wife and I watched it all, then some other panel shows and standup comedy, and then went back to Taskmaster for a rewatch as we know more about these weird contestants.
You have the classics like;
I'd throw in classics like:
I liked Detectorists! I'm not sure if it's entirely comedy though, it's partly slice-of-life as well.
"Back" is Mitchell and Webb's new show and pretty good, but anything with those two is great British comedy.
"Dick Turpin" on Apple has Noel Fielding, and he comes with a gang of Brits in everything. So not technically British, but a lot of Brits.
A lot of British comedy these days seems to be quiz/talk shows. Taskmaster has every season on YouTube, and the others like 8 out of 10 cats, or the Big Fat quizs get uploaded pretty quick to a couple different grey areas channels.
I really like British TV, but I never got Brit Box because, like you said it's almost all police procedures. They don't have everything even tho it's advertised like they do.
A few that haven't been mentioned so far:
This is my favourite list so far.
It's mainly just the stuff I like minus things that have already been mentioned:
I also missed:
They're the ones I already own on home video (a lot are still only out on DVD) or plan to own.
And the classics I list in another post.
There is a bunch on Amazon Prime - Spaced (Simon Pegg/Nick Frost) is a bit weird but I like it. There’s also Black Books and (I think) Green Wing.
But yeah, Brit Box is awful unless you like cop shows and people in fancy dresses
League of Gentlemen is quite a fun dark comedy. Not everyone's cup of tea though, which is fair. Same with inside no. 9, made by the same cast, but is a bit more modern and drama-like.
Ok so I know I'm replying to my own comment but fuck it, since I haven't seen it mentioned and it absolutely destroyed the brit comedy scene at its time, Only fools and horses. Really speaks to the working class struggle at the time (1980+) and even now.
Not a single mention of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace so far? Shame on you all
Definitely shame on me - what was I (not) thinking?
One that I haven't seen mentioned is Meet the Richardsons. At least the first two or three seasons were pretty funny, haven't seen the newer ones yet.
I would also strongly recommend Detectorists, although it's not usually laugh-out-loud funny it's just such a pleasant and enjoyable watch.
Although I absolutely love Inside No. 9, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a comedy aside from a handful of episodes, as it can be quite heavy and dark.
Also 15 Storeys High with a young Sean Lock and Benedict Wong is a good one that's not as well known. It's quite dry and sparse at times but also intermittently hilarious.
Also
Since I haven't seen it mentioned, Still Game. Scottish characters in a retirement community. brutally funny, actual laugh out loud.
Watched it a few years ago for the 1st time, gas. Ye get fairly attached to the lads.
I really enjoyed "Extraordinary". It has a lot of the same feel as coupling, maybe mixed with a bit of "Misfits".
Speaking of which, "Misfits" first couple seasons are pretty great as well.
People seem to be ignoring your request for newer TV shows lol. Not sure if they're on britbox but here are my recs:
Comedies I haven't watched but have heard good things about: Big Boys, Alma's Not Normal, Raised by Wolves, The Outlaws, This Is Going to Hurt, Motherland
We actually saw the UK Ghosts before the US one started, and it’s hilarious. Also really liked Catastrophe and Fleabag. Heard of Derry Girls, but never saw it.
Minus things already mentioned (and in no particular order):
I used to love the old stuff..."Manor Born" "Good Neighbors" " Fawlty Towers"...
For black humor about fundamentalist christians, check out Everyone Else Burns.
All the classics have been listed but here's a couple of the more recent excellent comedies which I didn't spot in other lists:
Alma's not Normal - This does need a big warning that it deals with mental health so some of the episodes are not "funny" however they all contain humour. My wife and I definitely cried at certain spots.
All the comments have reminded us of shows we also liked. We enjoyed After Life. In fact, I believe that led us to finding all the Cunk shows. Which we also enjoyed.
Only fools and horses, One foot in the grave, and The Good life
Had a quick scan but didn't see mentions of:
The last 2 are pretty dark, no lolz to be had.
If I remember I'll have a quick look at my TV folder later and see if there's anything else I forgot
Black books and Friday night dinner are older but great if you've never seen em
