Stuck watching the same sitcom over and over again? Why not try watching British TV. British TV is launching better shows every year, and they are often underrated. Whether it be crime drama or comedy-dramas, British shows deliver. We can take the exampled of Downton Abbey, Sex Education, Sherlock, The Crown, Peaky Blinders, The Office, and the Great British Bake Off.
And we are just going to say it, British humor is superior. The best thing that stands out in British shows is the authenticity of the characters. The characters are raw and don’t hold back getting to the nitty-gritty of real life. This makes British comedies more relatable. They make it feel like it could happen to you as well.
The uncensored version of the TV comedies also helps them in making them delightful to watch. Since they don’t hold back on showing your how dark yet hilarious life can be. Yet, they are often overshadowed or underrated.
So if you are looking for something different to watch or love dark humor, here are 5 British Comedy TV shows that you should watch:
Derry Girls
Derry Girls (2018-present) is a TV show which focuses on the life of teens. The Derry Girls showcases the lives of Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), Orla (Louisa Harland), Clare (Nicola Coughlan), Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell), and James (Dylan Llewellyn), who live in Derry, during the ethnic-nationalist period of conflict in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s to the late 1990s.
The girls (and James) go to a Catholic girls’ school, and the story revolves around their teenage years dealing with crushes, relationships, detention, and other teenage cliche stuff with a hint of existential dread. The Northern Ireland conflict is set in the story’s background and provides hilarious moments for the characters.
Two seasons (12 episodes) of the Derry Girls are available to stream on Netflix.
The Inbetweeners
The Inbetweeners (2008- 2010) features a group of high school guys as they get up to all sorts of shenanigans. The show centers around Will (Simon Bird), who is the leader, Jay (James Buckley), who is the ladies man of the group, Neil (Blake Harrison), who is a bit of an idiot, and finally Simon (Joe Thomas), who is what could be considered the cynical of the group.
Will, who is the narrator of this sex comedy, gets sucked into hilarious and awkward situations despite being sensible. This coming-of-age story centered around school life, lad culture, adolescent sexuality, and uncaring school administration.
Three seasons (21 episodes) of The Inbetweeners are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix (in some countries).
After Life
After Life (2019-present) is a dark British comedy-drama. The show is created, written, directed, and produced by Ricky Gervais. The show revolves around the life of Tony (Ricky Gervais), who changes his stance on life after his beloved wife dies from breast cancer.
In the show, Tony decides to punish the world for as long as he lives for the death of his wife. He says and does whatever he likes (which he thinks is his superpower) without any filter or consideration for himself or anyone else. This makes for a hilarious show as his family tries to step in to help his “nice guy” image.
Two seasons (12 episodes) of After Life are available to stream on Netflix.
Flowers
Flowers (2016-2018) is a comedy-drama sitcom about the Flowers family. The series showcases the life of children’s author and depressed father Maurice (Julian Barratt), his wife and music teacher Deborah (Olivia Colman), Maurice’s senile mother Hattie (Leila Hoffman), Maurice and Deborah’s 25-year-old twins: inventor son Donald (Daniel Rigby), and musician daughter Amy (Sophia Di Martino).
The story follows the dysfunctional Flowers family and its members. In the show, Deborah suspects her husband of cheating. He is dealing with his inner demons and is seeing another man Shun (Maurice’s Japanese Illustrator). It is a sad yet funny story about depression and mental health issues that are both bold and grotesque.
Two seasons (12 episodes) of Flowers are available to stream on Netflix.
The End of the F***ing World
The End of the F***ing World (2017-2019) is a dark comedy-drama based on a comic written by Charles Forsman by the same name. The series follows the life of 17 years old James (Alex Lawther), who thinks he is a psychopath, and Alyssa (Jessica Barden), who is the initial target of James.
James finds his hobby of killing animals boring and wants an upgrade. He initially settles on the idea of killing Alyssa, who is a rebellious teen, and his classmate. On the proposal of Alyssa, the two characters run away together, and James looks for opportunities to take her life. But the pair soon face mishaps along their way, which causes the development of a relationship.
Two seasons (16 episodes) of The End of the F***ing World are available to stream on Netflix.
