Summary

• Don't overlook lesser-known British sitcoms - there are plenty of hilarious shows waiting to be discovered.
• British comedies may not have as many episodes as American ones, but they still offer unique and rewarding humor.
• From surreal adventures to heartwarming stories, British sitcoms like "The Mighty Boosh" and "Detectorists" offer a refreshing take on comedy.

Only a few British sitcoms make an impression in the United States, but there are plenty of hilarious shows which deserve bigger international audiences. While shows like Fawlty Towers, Blackadder and The Office have had plenty of success in America, this is merely the tip of the iceberg. British comedy doesn't always translate well overseas, so people don't often give lesser-known British sitcoms a chance.

Another reason that American audiences sometimes struggle to connect with British shows is that there are so few episodes. If someone is accustomed to sitcoms with upwards of 20 episodes per season, it can be tough to adjust to British shows which only produce six episodes every couple of years. Despite the cultural differences between the US and the UK, giving lesser-known British comedies a chance can be hugely rewarding.

10 Back

David Mitchell And Robert Webb Reunite For Another Sitcom

David Mitchell and Robert Webb have been one of Britain's best comedy duos for decades. After working on stage and radio, they successfully transitioned to TV with their sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Look. Soon after, they created the Peep Show, which is one of the few British comedies that has developed an international fan base. Their follow-up sitcom, Back, is still flying slightly under the radar.

While Peep Show is about young men wasting time and misbehaving in their 20s and 30s, Back is a comedy about the peculiarities of middle age.

While Peep Show is about young men wasting time and misbehaving in their 20s and 30s, Back is a comedy about the peculiarities of middle age. Mitchell and Webb play two long-lost brothers who jostle for control of a rural pub and their own family . Baby Reindeer star Jessica Gunning is among the ing cast, but the focus stays on the increasingly absurd power plays of the two main characters.

9 Toast Of London

Matt Berry Plays To His Strength

Matt Berry's role in What We Do In the Shadows has shone a light on the British actor, but he had been starring in plenty of hilarious British sitcoms for years before he became Laszlo Cravensworth. Many of these sitcoms feature Berry playing a ridiculous side character, but Toast of London puts him at center stage, and the entire world of the show becomes much weirder as a result.

Toast of London puts Matt Berry at center stage, and the entire world of the show becomes much weirder as a result.

Steven Toast is a pompous but uninformed actor who tries to battle his way through the industry despite a string of terrible performances and his total lack of charm. The character suits Berry's bombastic flair perfectly. It also gives him the rare opportunity to play the straight man, as Toast's highly strung agent, his sneering professional rival and his Bohemian roommate are all just as absurd as he is.

8 Motherland

A Parenting Sitcom That Ignores The Children

Motherland is far from the first sitcom about the perils of parenting, but it rewrites every tired industry cliché. Outnumbered, another outstanding British sitcom, shows the daily annoyances of middle-class family life, but there's always a comforting silver lining about how much the parents really do love the children and each other. By contrast, the children in Motherland aren't much more than props. Their main role in the show is to act as irritants and extensions of the ludicrous egos of their parents.

Motherland isn't about the day-to-day minutiae of child-rearing as much as it is about the absurd playground politics that consumes the characters.

Motherland isn't about the day-to-day minutiae of child-rearing as much as it is about the absurd playground politics that consumes the characters. The bickering, absent-minded parents in Motherland are brought to life by a superb cast. One standout performer is Diane Morgan, who has also mastered the art of slack-jawed, dim-witted TV presenting as her character Philomena Cunk, who appears in a series of her own specials.

7 The Mighty Boosh

A Slice Of The Surreal From Noel Fielding And Julian Barratt

Fans of Monty Python's brand of surreal humor will find a lot to love in The Mighty Boosh, a sitcom about two mismatched friends who live with a talking gorilla and a mystical alien shaman. The Mighty Boosh has earned a cult following overseas, but it deserves much more recognition for the way that it has influenced other sitcoms to push beyond the restrictive boundaries of the form.

The Mighty Boosh subverts the usual sitcom formula in favor of madcap adventures featuring the human embodiment of jazz, and strange beasts made of bubblegum.

Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt are the perfect odd couple in The Mighty Boosh, with Fielding playing a trendy slacker and Barratt playing an anxious stick-in-the-mud. This framework sets up plenty of relatable human comedy, but the duo go against the grain as often as they can. The Mighty Boosh subverts the usual sitcom formula in favor of madcap adventures featuring the human embodiment of jazz, and strange beasts made of bubblegum.

6 Detectorists

Detectorists Is A Rare Sitcom About Middle-Aged Friendship

Detectorists stars Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones as two middle-aged friends who ignore their troubles by spending too much time in the fields of East Anglia with their metal detectors. Just as they dream about finding a boatload of buried Saxon gold while secretly knowing that their chances are minuscule, they also think they can get by in life without ever taking control of their destinies.

Detectorists is a heartwarming story of solace and male friendship, but it also delivers plenty of laughs.

Detectorists is a heartwarming story of solace and male friendship, but it also delivers plenty of laughs. Often, the best humor comes from the moments when Detectorists refuses to acknowledge the niche appeal of its premise. The show presents turf wars between rival metal detecting groups as if they are tense political dramas, complete with accusations of sabotage and skullduggery.

5 Cuckoo

A British Sitcom With A Few American Stars

Fans of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Lonely Island may know about Andy Samberg's British sitcom, but Cuckoo is still a hidden gem. Samberg plays an American hippie who upsets the balance of a stuffy English household when he marries into the family. Cuckoo is a brilliant culture-clash comedy that aims jokes at both the traditionalist English set and the self-absorbed, imprecise American.

Fans of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Lonely Island may know about Andy Samberg's British sitcom, but Cuckoo is still a hidden gem.

Andy Samberg only sticks around for the first season of Cuckoo, but the show continues with a slightly different style. First, Taylor Lautner steps in as another guest in the household, a refugee from a spiritualist cult who doesn't understand the ways of the outside world. Cuckoo's final season switches things up once more with Andie MacDowell ing the cast. Throughout it all, Greg Davies proves to be the true star of the show.

4 The Thick Of It

Razor-Sharp Political Satire From The Creator Of Veep

Before crossing the Atlantic Ocean and creating the Veep, Armando Iannucci established a reputation as a keen observer of the frailties and foibles of British politics with The Thick Of It. The BBC sitcom is just as vulgar and chaotic as Veep, and it has the same flair for creative insults. What makes The Thick Of It different is that everything feels smaller and pettier.

The BBC sitcom is just as vulgar and chaotic as Veep, and it has the same flair for creative insults.

Party leaders and heads of state are rarely seen or even mentioned in The Thick Of It. The show mainly follows the everyday behavior of politicians slightly lower down the ladder, and the long-suffering civil servants who have to execute their wishes. The star of the show is undoubtedly Doctor Who's Peter Capaldi, who delivers a masterclass in comedic rage and abuse. His character captures the dark heart of politics which is never meant for public display.

3 W1A

A BBC Sitcom About The BBC

The BBC's self-satirical sitcom W1A shows the inner workings of the broadcaster, and the endless cavalcade of hilariously inefficient meetings that clog up the average workday. While there is a lot of comedy that's specific to the TV industry, W1A is also broad enough to be relatable for anyone who has spent too much of their life in meetings or making small talk with work colleagues.

The BBC's self-satirical sitcom W1A shows the inner workings of the broadcaster, and the endless cavalcade of hilariously inefficient meetings that clog up the average workday.

Paddington and Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville plays the one reasonable character at the company, and he is surrounded by a clueless team of busybodies who each have their own nonsensical catchphrases and unique ways of derailing any project. W1A is a spinoff from Twenty Twelve, a similar workplace sitcom about the team tasked with delivering London's 2012 Olympic Games, which is always worth rewatching in an Olympic year.

2 Ghosts

A Historical Sitcom For Fans Of Blackadder

Ghosts is one of the best British sitcoms of recent years, and it recently ended with a perfectly measured Christmas special. The show follows a young couple who find no luck in the housing market until one of them surprisingly inherits an enormous country estate. When the couple arrive, one of them develops the ability to see the cast of strange ghosts who have accumulated within the four walls of the house over the centuries.

Each of the ghosts in Button House represent a different era of British history and a different stereotype of what it means to be British.

Ghosts comes from the same team that made the popular children's show Horrible Histories, and it applies that show's zany historical humor to a more adult-oriented story. Each of the ghosts in Button House represent a different era of British history and a different stereotype of what it means to be British, from the somber Edwardian dandy to the perennially repressed World War II captain. CBS' Ghosts has caused more viewers to find the original since it started in 2021.

1 Green Wing

Green Wing's Unique Sense Of Style Makes It Stand Out From The Crowd

As a hospital-based sitcom, the closest US equivalent to Green Wing would have to be Scrubs. However, while Scrubs uses the high stakes baked into its setting for some emotionally devastating episodes from time to time, Green Wing never takes itself so seriously. The doctors and hospital are too concerned with perpetuating their own self-image to really worry about seeing patients too much.

British sitcoms don't rely on big ensemble casts as often as American ones, but Green Wing gives each of its strange characters plenty to do.

Green Wing is a highly stylized sitcom with slow-motion segments that feature characters practically waltzing through the hospital corridors. These moments add to the show's dreamy feeling, which sets the scene for its zany humor. British sitcoms don't rely on big ensemble casts as often as American ones, but Green Wing gives each of its strange characters plenty to do.