British sitcom
Encyclopedia
A British
sitcom tends, as it does in most other countries, to be based on a family
, workplace
or other institution
, where the same group of contrasting characters is brought together in each episode
. Unlike American sitcoms, where twenty or more episodes in a season is the norm, British sitcoms are typically produced in one or more series of six episodes. Most such series are written by one or two people (who also originally conceived the show).
. However, several notable sitcoms in recent years have experimented with different production methods (e.g. The Office
or Peep Show
).
A subset of British comedy consciously avoids traditional situation comedy themes and story lines to branch out into more unusual topics or narrative methods. Such freedom and experimentation has produced such series as The League of Gentlemen
, Marion and Geoff
, 15 Storeys High
, Spaced
, Black Books
and Green Wing
.
Novel approaches to the situation can be seen in Blackadder
and Yes Minister
, moving what is often a domestic or workplace genre into the corridors of power. Another popular development in recent years has been spoof
television series, as in KYTV, People Like Us
, The Day Today
and The Office
.
, broadcast by the BBC from 1946 to 1947, but the form didn't really take off until the transfer of Hancock's Half Hour
from BBC
radio in 1956. "Hancock's persona of the pompous loser out of his depth in an uncomprehending society still informs many programmes today", according to Phil Wickham. Some of the scripts written for Hancock by Ray Galton
and Alan Simpson
almost repudiated a narrative structure altogether and attempted to reproduce an everyday environment with the intention of also reproducing its comedy. ITV's most successful sitcom of this period was probably The Army Game
(1957–61), featuring some of the comedians who would soon appear in the Carry On film series.
In the 1960s the BBC produced the earliest of Richard Waring
's domestic comedies, Marriage Lines
(1961–66), with Richard Briers
and Prunella Scales
, and a then-rare workplace comedy with The Rag Trade
(1961–63, 1977–78). Two long-running series began around this time, Steptoe and Son
(1962–65, 1970–74) and Till Death Us Do Part (1965–68, 1972–75), the latter criticised by Clean-Up TV campaigner Mary Whitehouse
for its bad language. With Steptoe (and The Likely Lads
, 1964–66) producers began to cast straight actors, rather than comedians, around whom earlier series like Whack-O! (1956–60, 1971–72), with Jimmy Edwards
, or those featuring Hancock, had been built.
A gentle mockery of Britain's 'finest hour' occurred with the home guard comedy Dad's Army
(1968–77) and the church with All Gas and Gaiters
(1966–71). Women generally had very secondary roles at this time, though various series with Wendy Craig
in the leading role and those developed by scriptwriter Carla Lane
, the first successful female writer in the form, were challenges to this situation. Lane's career initially began in collaboration with other writers on The Liver Birds
(1969–79, 1996).
became a familiar form used in series like Up Pompeii!
(1970), Are You Being Served?
(1973–85) and later 'Allo 'Allo!
(1984–92).
The 1970s is often regarded as the golden era of British sitcom. Well-remembered series include John Cleese
and Connie Booth
's farcical Fawlty Towers
, John Esmonde
and Bob Larbey
's self-sufficiency comedy The Good Life. Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
, a sequel to the earlier show, surpassed the original, while the same writers (Dick Clement
and Ian La Frenais
) provided Ronnie Barker
with his most successful sitcom vehicle, Porridge
(1974–77). Roy Clarke
's long-running Last of the Summer Wine
began in 1973.
The commercial station ITV
had popular successes with Rising Damp
(1974–78, sometimes called the best of all ITV sitcoms), Man About the House
(1973–76) and George and Mildred
(1976–79). The decline in cinema attendance in this period meant that many of these series were turned into cinema films; the first film
version of On the Buses
(1969–75) was the biggest hit at the British box office in 1971. According to Jeff Evans
, On the Buses is a "cheerfully vulgar comedy" in which "leering and innuendo dominate." Some of the network's other ratings successes from this era are 'politically incorrect' too. Series such as Love Thy Neighbour
and Mind Your Language
, which attempted to find humour in racial or ethnic conflict and misunderstandings, were heavily criticised at the time.
Only Fools and Horses
, one of the most successful sitcoms, began in 1981 and was the most durable of several series written and created by John Sullivan
. Other hits included the political satire
Yes Minister
(1980–84) and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister (1986–88), Esmonde and Larbey's suburban sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles
(1984–89) and the sci-fi-comedy Red Dwarf
(1988–99). The emerging alternative comedians began to encroach on British sitcoms, partly as a response to such series as Terry and June
(1979–87) being perceived as containing "complacent gentility, outmoded social attitudes and bourgeois sensibilities". The alternatives incursion began with The Young Ones
(1982–84), written by Rik Mayall
, Ben Elton
and others, and continued with Blackadder
(1983–89). Mayall was the star of The New Statesman
(1987–92), a series created by Maurice Gran
and Laurence Marks, whose biggest success, Birds of a Feather
(1989–98), also deviated from British practice in being scripted by a team of writers.
began to have successful long-running situation comedies. Desmond's
(1989–94) was the first British sitcom with a black cast set in the workplace, and Drop the Dead Donkey
(1990–98) brought topicality to the form as it was recorded close to transmission. Father Ted
was a return to the ecclesiastical theme.
Some of the of the biggest hits of the 1990s were Men Behaving Badly
, Father Ted
, Absolutely Fabulous
, The Vicar of Dibley
and One Foot in the Grave
. Later examples of the hyperreal
approach pioneered by Galton and Simpson in some of their Hancock scripts include The Royle Family
, Early Doors
, Gavin & Stacey
and The Office
, as well as many British dramedies.
The BBC has also begun using their digital channels BBC Three
and BBC Four
to build a following for off-beat series like The Thick of It
. Channel 4 has had recent successes with Spaced
, Phoenix Nights
, Black Books
, Green Wing
, Peep Show
and The Inbetweeners
.
The conventional sitcom has declined in importance in the schedules over time, although the form is not extinct. Some of the current popular sitcoms in the UK include Outnumbered
; Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
, which ended its eighth series in 2009; and The IT Crowd
(2006- ), the fourth series of which was transmitted in 2010. At the BBC, the late 2000s and early 2010s have seen a major resurgence in traditional-style sitcoms filmed in front of a studio audience and featuring a laughter track, such as Not Going Out
, Miranda
, Life of Riley, Reggie Perrin, Big Top
, Mrs Brown's Boys, In with the Flynns
and My Family, which began its final series in 2011.
and increasingly on cable television, including BBC America
and Comedy Central
. Are You Being Served?
became a hit when it aired on the Public Broadcasting Service, while Absolutely Fabulous
enjoyed a significant following when it aired on Comedy Central, and The Office
won a Golden Globe award in 2004 for "Best Television Series—Musical or Comedy", beating popular American favourites such as HBO's Sex and the City
and NBC
's Will & Grace
.
A few British sitcoms were successfully remade for the American market. Notable examples include Steptoe and Son
which became Sanford and Son
and Till Death Us Do Part, which became All in the Family
on CBS
.
, which is the Australian equivalent of the BBC. British shows are also sometimes shown on the three commercial television network
s in Australia; in particular Network Seven screened many popular UK sitcoms during the 1970s.
Australian commercial television channels made their own versions of popular British comedies during the 1970s often using members of the original casts. These included: Are You Being Served?
, Father, Dear Father
, Doctor Down Under
, Love Thy Neighbour
.
showed Fawlty Towers
, Yes, Minister and Mind Your Language
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
sitcom tends, as it does in most other countries, to be based on a family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
, workplace
Workplace
The workplace is a place where someone works.*Toxic workplace*Workplace aggression: A specific type of aggression that occurs in the workplace....
or other institution
Institution
An institution is any structure or mechanism of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a given human community...
, where the same group of contrasting characters is brought together in each episode
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
. Unlike American sitcoms, where twenty or more episodes in a season is the norm, British sitcoms are typically produced in one or more series of six episodes. Most such series are written by one or two people (who also originally conceived the show).
Introduction
The majority of British sitcoms are 30 minutes long and are recorded on studio sets in a multiple-camera setupMultiple-camera setup
The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, or multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneously record or broadcast a scene...
. However, several notable sitcoms in recent years have experimented with different production methods (e.g. The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
or Peep Show
Peep Show (TV series)
Peep Show is a British sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The television programme is written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, with additional material by Mitchell and Webb themselves, amongst others. It has been broadcast on Channel 4 since 2003. The show's seventh series makes it...
).
A subset of British comedy consciously avoids traditional situation comedy themes and story lines to branch out into more unusual topics or narrative methods. Such freedom and experimentation has produced such series as The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen are a group of British comedians formed in 1995, best known for their radio and television series.The League of Gentlemen may also refer to:* The League of Gentlemen ,...
, Marion and Geoff
Marion and Geoff
Marion and Geoff is a BBC television mockumentary, produced by Baby Cow Productions and screened on BBC Two in 2000, with a second series following in 2003. The series starred Rob Brydon as Keith Barret, a naïve taxicab driver going through a messy divorce from his wife, Marion, who, though he...
, 15 Storeys High
15 Storeys High
15 Storeys High is a critically acclaimed British sitcom, set in a tower block. The main characters are Vince Clark, a misanthropic, cynical recluse played by Sean Lock, and Errol Spears, Vince's exact opposite and whipping boy, played by Benedict Wong....
, Spaced
Spaced
Spaced is a British television sitcom written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright. It is noted for its rapid-fire editing, frequent pop culture references and jokes, eclectic music, and occasional displays of surrealism and non-sequitur humour...
, Black Books
Black Books
Black Books is a British sitcom television series created by Dylan Moran and Graham Linehan and produced by Nira Park, first broadcast on Channel 4 from 2000 to 2004...
and Green Wing
Green Wing
Green Wing is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the sketch show Smack the Pony, led by Victoria Pile, and stars Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt....
.
Novel approaches to the situation can be seen in Blackadder
Blackadder
Blackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
and Yes Minister
Yes Minister
Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted by BBC Television between 1980–1982 and 1984, split over three seven-episode series. The sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, ran from 1986 to 1988. In total there were 38 episodes—of which all but...
, moving what is often a domestic or workplace genre into the corridors of power. Another popular development in recent years has been spoof
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
television series, as in KYTV, People Like Us
People Like Us
People Like Us is a British comedy programme, a spoof on-location documentary written by John Morton, and starring Chris Langham as Roy Mallard, an inept interviewer...
, The Day Today
The Day Today
The Day Today is a surreal British parody of television current affairs programmes, broadcast in 1994, and created by the comedians Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris. It is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992...
and The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
.
Early years
The first British sitcom was Pinwright's ProgressPinwright's Progress
Pinwright's Progress was a British sitcom that aired on the BBC Television Service from 1946 to 1947 and was the world's first regular half-hour sitcom. The ten episodes, which aired fortnightly in alternation with Kaleidoscope, were broadcast live from the BBC studios at Alexandra Palace...
, broadcast by the BBC from 1946 to 1947, but the form didn't really take off until the transfer of Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy, series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr...
from BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio in 1956. "Hancock's persona of the pompous loser out of his depth in an uncomprehending society still informs many programmes today", according to Phil Wickham. Some of the scripts written for Hancock by Ray Galton
Galton and Simpson
Ray Galton OBE , and Alan Simpson OBE , are British scriptwriters who met in 1948 at a tuberculosis sanatorium, the Surrey county sanatorium near Godalming, on which the sitcom Get Well Soon was based...
and Alan Simpson
Galton and Simpson
Ray Galton OBE , and Alan Simpson OBE , are British scriptwriters who met in 1948 at a tuberculosis sanatorium, the Surrey county sanatorium near Godalming, on which the sitcom Get Well Soon was based...
almost repudiated a narrative structure altogether and attempted to reproduce an everyday environment with the intention of also reproducing its comedy. ITV's most successful sitcom of this period was probably The Army Game
The Army Game
The Army Game is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1957 to 1961. Made in black-and-white, it is about National Service conscription to the post-war British Army. It was created by Sid Colin...
(1957–61), featuring some of the comedians who would soon appear in the Carry On film series.
In the 1960s the BBC produced the earliest of Richard Waring
Richard Waring (writer)
Richard Waring was a British television scriptwriter.The author of numerous sitcoms from the early 1960s, he is particularly associated with writing domestic sitcoms. His first success was Marriage Lines with Richard Briers and Prunella Scales...
's domestic comedies, Marriage Lines
Marriage Lines
Marriage Lines was a popular black-and-white British sitcom that aired from 1961 to 1966 which launched the careers of its lead stars, Richard Briers and Prunella Scales. It was originally entitled The Marriage Lines...
(1961–66), with Richard Briers
Richard Briers
Richard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
and Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
, and a then-rare workplace comedy with The Rag Trade
The Rag Trade
The Rag Trade was a British television sitcom broadcast by the BBC between 1961 and 1963 and by LWT between 1977 and 1978.The scripts were by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, who later wrote Wild, Wild Women, a period variation of The Rag Trade....
(1961–63, 1977–78). Two long-running series began around this time, Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old...
(1962–65, 1970–74) and Till Death Us Do Part (1965–68, 1972–75), the latter criticised by Clean-Up TV campaigner Mary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse, CBE was a British campaigner against the permissive society particularly as the media portrayed and reflected it...
for its bad language. With Steptoe (and The Likely Lads
The Likely Lads
The Likely Lads was a black-and-white British sitcom created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and produced by Dick Clement. Twenty episodes were broadcast by the BBC, in three series, between 16 December 1964 and 23 July 1966...
, 1964–66) producers began to cast straight actors, rather than comedians, around whom earlier series like Whack-O! (1956–60, 1971–72), with Jimmy Edwards
Jimmy Edwards
Jimmy Edwards DFC was an English comedic script writer and comedy actor on both radio and television, best known as Pa Glum in Take It From Here and as the headmaster 'Professor' James Edwards in Whack-O!-Biography:...
, or those featuring Hancock, had been built.
A gentle mockery of Britain's 'finest hour' occurred with the home guard comedy Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
(1968–77) and the church with All Gas and Gaiters
All Gas and Gaiters
All Gas and Gaiters was a British television ecclesiastical sitcom which aired on BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. It was written by Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps, a husband-and-wife team who used the pseudonym of "John Wraith" when writing the pilot...
(1966–71). Women generally had very secondary roles at this time, though various series with Wendy Craig
Wendy Craig
Wendy Craig is a BAFTA Award winning English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms Butterflies, ...And Mother Makes Three and ...And Mother Makes Five...
in the leading role and those developed by scriptwriter Carla Lane
Carla Lane
Carla Lane, OBE is an English television writer responsible for many successful sitcoms, including The Liver Birds , Butterflies , and Bread ....
, the first successful female writer in the form, were challenges to this situation. Lane's career initially began in collaboration with other writers on The Liver Birds
The Liver Birds
The Liver Birds is a British situation comedy, set in Liverpool, Merseyside, North-West of England, which aired on BBC1 from 1969 to 1978, and again in 1996. It was created by Carla Lane and Myra Taylor. The two Liverpool housewives had met at a local writers club and decided to pool their talents...
(1969–79, 1996).
The 1970s and 1980s
Increasing relaxation in regard to the discussion of sex meant farceFarce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
became a familiar form used in series like Up Pompeii!
Up Pompeii!
Up Pompeii! is a British television comedy series broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the Carry On films, and the second series by Rothwell and Sid Colin. Two later specials were transmitted in 1975 and...
(1970), Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a large, fictional London department store. It was written mainly by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John...
(1973–85) and later 'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from 1982 to 1992 comprising eighty-five episodes. It is a parody of another BBC programme, the wartime drama Secret Army, and was created by David Croft, who also wrote the theme music, and Jeremy Lloyd. Lloyd and Croft wrote the first 6...
(1984–92).
The 1970s is often regarded as the golden era of British sitcom. Well-remembered series include John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
and Connie Booth
Connie Booth
Constance "Connie" Booth is an American-born writer and actress, known for appearances on British television and particularly for her portrayal of Polly Sherman in the popular 1970s television show Fawlty Towers, which she co-wrote with her then-husband John Cleese.-Biography:Booth's father was a...
's farcical Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
, John Esmonde
Esmonde and Larbey
John Gilbert Esmonde and Bob Larbey were a British television comedy scriptwriting duo from the 1960s to the 1990s, creating popular situation comedies such as Please Sir! and The Good Life.-Larbey's life:Larbey was born in Clapham, South London in 1934 and made his writing debut for...
and Bob Larbey
Esmonde and Larbey
John Gilbert Esmonde and Bob Larbey were a British television comedy scriptwriting duo from the 1960s to the 1990s, creating popular situation comedies such as Please Sir! and The Good Life.-Larbey's life:Larbey was born in Clapham, South London in 1934 and made his writing debut for...
's self-sufficiency comedy The Good Life. Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? is a 1970s British sitcom broadcast between 9 January 1973 and 9 April 1974 on BBC1. It is the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit The Likely Lads. It was created and written, as was its predecessor, by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais...
, a sequel to the earlier show, surpassed the original, while the same writers (Dick Clement
Dick Clement
Dick Clement, OBE is an English writer.Born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England, Clement was educated at Bishop's Stortford College and is best known for his writing partnership with Ian La Frenais. Generally, Clement and La Frenais write comedies, or dramas with a comic tone...
and Ian La Frenais
Ian La Frenais
Ian La Frenais, OBE, , is an English writer best known for his creative partnership with Dick Clement. They are most famous for television series including, The Likely Lads, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, Porridge, Lovejoy and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.They have also written various other work...
) provided Ronnie Barker
Ronnie Barker
Ronald William George "Ronnie" Barker, OBE was a British actor, comedian, writer, critic, broadcaster and businessman...
with his most successful sitcom vehicle, Porridge
Porridge (TV series)
Porridge is a British situation comedy broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977, running for three series, two Christmas specials and a feature film. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, it stars Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale as two inmates at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland...
(1974–77). Roy Clarke
Roy Clarke
Roy Clarke OBE is an English comedy writer.-Career:Clarke is best known for creating BBC Sitcoms; Last of the Summer Wine, Open All Hours and Keeping Up Appearances...
's long-running Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and...
began in 1973.
The commercial station ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
had popular successes with Rising Damp
Rising Damp
Rising Damp is a television sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV, first broadcast from 1974 to 1978. It was adapted for television by Eric Chappell from his well-received 1971 stage play, The Banana Box The series was the highest-ranking ITV sitcom on the 100 Best Sitcoms poll run in...
(1974–78, sometimes called the best of all ITV sitcoms), Man About the House
Man About the House
Man About the House is a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett that was broadcast for six seasons on ITV from 1973 to 1976. It was created and written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke. The series was considered daring at the time due to its subject matter of...
(1973–76) and George and Mildred
George and Mildred
George and Mildred is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television that aired from 1976 to 1979. It was a spin-off from Man About the House and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as an ill-matched married couple, George and Mildred Roper...
(1976–79). The decline in cinema attendance in this period meant that many of these series were turned into cinema films; the first film
On the Buses (film)
On the Buses is a 1971 British comedy film directed by Harry Booth and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare. The film is the first spin-off film from the TV sitcom On the Buses and was followed by two further films Mutiny on the Buses and Holiday on the Buses...
version of On the Buses
On The Buses
On the Buses was a British situation comedy created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney which was broadcast in the UK from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the Corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential...
(1969–75) was the biggest hit at the British box office in 1971. According to Jeff Evans
Jeff Evans
Jeff Evans is a British writer and journalist. He is the author the Good Bottled Beer Guide, and was the editor of the Good Beer Guide from 1991 to 1998. He has also written about television.-Biography:...
, On the Buses is a "cheerfully vulgar comedy" in which "leering and innuendo dominate." Some of the network's other ratings successes from this era are 'politically incorrect' too. Series such as Love Thy Neighbour
Love Thy Neighbour
Love Thy Neighbour was a popular British sitcom, which was aired from 13 April 1972, until 22 January 1976, spanning seven series. The sitcom was produced by Thames Television and broadcast by ITV. The main cast included Jack Smethurst, Rudolph Walker, Nina Baden-Semper and Kate Williams...
and Mind Your Language
Mind Your Language
Mind Your Language is a British comedy television series, that premiered on ITV in late 1977. Produced by LWT and directed by Stuart Allen, it is set in an adult education college in London and focuses on the English as a Foreign Language class taught by Mr. Jeremy Brown, portrayed by Barry Evans,...
, which attempted to find humour in racial or ethnic conflict and misunderstandings, were heavily criticised at the time.
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
, one of the most successful sitcoms, began in 1981 and was the most durable of several series written and created by John Sullivan
John Sullivan (writer)
John Richard Thomas Sullivan OBE was an English television scriptwriter responsible for several popular British sitcoms, including Only Fools and Horses, Citizen Smith and Just Good Friends....
. Other hits included the political satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
Yes Minister
Yes Minister
Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted by BBC Television between 1980–1982 and 1984, split over three seven-episode series. The sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, ran from 1986 to 1988. In total there were 38 episodes—of which all but...
(1980–84) and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister (1986–88), Esmonde and Larbey's suburban sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles
Ever Decreasing Circles
Ever Decreasing Circles is a British situation comedy which ran on BBC1 for four series from 1984 to 1989.It was written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, and reunited them with Richard Briers, the star of their previous hit show, The Good Life. It was much less brash than most situation comedies,...
(1984–89) and the sci-fi-comedy Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
(1988–99). The emerging alternative comedians began to encroach on British sitcoms, partly as a response to such series as Terry and June
Terry and June
Terry and June is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The programme is largely a continuation of Happy Ever After, and stars Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-class suburban couple, Terry and June Medford...
(1979–87) being perceived as containing "complacent gentility, outmoded social attitudes and bourgeois sensibilities". The alternatives incursion began with The Young Ones
The Young Ones (TV series)
The Young Ones is a British sitcom, first broadcast in 1982, which ran for two series on BBC2. Its anarchic, offbeat humour helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers...
(1982–84), written by Rik Mayall
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
, Ben Elton
Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles "Ben" Elton is an English comedian, author, playwright and director. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, as a writer on such cult series as The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as also a successful stand-up comedian on stage and TV....
and others, and continued with Blackadder
Blackadder
Blackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
(1983–89). Mayall was the star of The New Statesman
The New Statesman
The New Statesman is an award-winning British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time...
(1987–92), a series created by Maurice Gran
Maurice Gran
Maurice Bernard Gran is one half of writing duo Marks & Gran. He co-wrote popular sitcoms The New Statesman, Birds of a Feather and Goodnight Sweetheart with Laurence Marks. He is also the co-author of Prudence at Number 10, a fictional diary supposedly written by Gordon Brown's P.A.-External links:...
and Laurence Marks, whose biggest success, Birds of a Feather
Birds of a Feather
Birds of a Feather was a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1989 until 1998. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers.The first episode sees sisters...
(1989–98), also deviated from British practice in being scripted by a team of writers.
Since 1990
The new Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
began to have successful long-running situation comedies. Desmond's
Desmond's
Desmond's is a British television situation comedy broadcast by Channel 4 from 1989 to 1994. The first series was shot in 1988, with the first episode broadcast in January 1989...
(1989–94) was the first British sitcom with a black cast set in the workplace, and Drop the Dead Donkey
Drop the Dead Donkey
- Major characters :* Gus Hedges — The unctuous Chief Executive of the company, and yes-man to Sir Roysten Merchant. A management stereotype, complete with clichés and clumsy metaphors, he swiftly transforms GlobeLink from a serious news network to a ratings-chasing tabloid channel...
(1990–98) brought topicality to the form as it was recorded close to transmission. Father Ted
Father Ted
Father Ted is a comedy series set in Ireland that was produced by Hat Trick Productions for British broadcaster Channel 4. Written jointly by Irish writers Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan and starring a predominantly Irish cast, it originally aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May...
was a return to the ecclesiastical theme.
Some of the of the biggest hits of the 1990s were Men Behaving Badly
Men Behaving Badly
Men Behaving Badly is a British comedy that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates, Dermot Povey and Tony Smart It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992...
, Father Ted
Father Ted
Father Ted is a comedy series set in Ireland that was produced by Hat Trick Productions for British broadcaster Channel 4. Written jointly by Irish writers Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan and starring a predominantly Irish cast, it originally aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May...
, Absolutely Fabulous
Absolutely Fabulous
Absolutely Fabulous, also known as Ab Fab, is a British sitcom created by Jennifer Saunders, based on an original idea by her and Dawn French, and written by Saunders, who plays the leading character. It also stars Joanna Lumley and Julia Sawalha, along with June Whitfield and Jane Horrocks...
, The Vicar of Dibley
The Vicar of Dibley
The Vicar of Dibley is a British sitcom created by Richard Curtis and written for its lead actress, Dawn French, by Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, with contributions from Kit Hesketh-Harvey. It aired from 1994 to 2007...
and One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series written by David Renwick. The show ran for six series, including seven Christmas specials, two Comic Relief specials, over an eleven year period, from early 1990 to late 2000...
. Later examples of the hyperreal
Hyperreality
Hyperreality is used in semiotics and postmodern philosophy to describe a hypothetical inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from fantasy, especially in technologically advanced postmodern societies...
approach pioneered by Galton and Simpson in some of their Hancock scripts include The Royle Family
The Royle Family
The Royle Family is a popular, BAFTA award-winning television comedy drama produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series between 1998 and 2000, and specials from 2006 onwards...
, Early Doors
Early Doors
Early Doors is a BBC sitcom written by Craig Cash and Phil Mealey who also appear in the series playing best friends Joe and Duffy. The setting is The Grapes, a small public house in Greater Manchester, where daily life revolves around the issues of love, loneliness and blocked urinals...
, Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also...
and The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
, as well as many British dramedies.
The BBC has also begun using their digital channels BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
and BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
to build a following for off-beat series like The Thick of It
The Thick of It
The Thick of It is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of modern British government. It was first broadcast on BBC Four in 2005, and has so far completed fourteen half-hour episodes and two special hour-long episodes to coincide with Christmas and Gordon Brown's...
. Channel 4 has had recent successes with Spaced
Spaced
Spaced is a British television sitcom written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright. It is noted for its rapid-fire editing, frequent pop culture references and jokes, eclectic music, and occasional displays of surrealism and non-sequitur humour...
, Phoenix Nights
Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights
Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights was a BAFTA-nominated English sitcom about The Phoenix Club, a working men's club in the northern English town of Farnworth, Greater Manchester. The show was written by Neil Fitzmaurice, Peter Kay and Dave Spikey, produced by Goodnight Vienna Productions and Ovation...
, Black Books
Black Books
Black Books is a British sitcom television series created by Dylan Moran and Graham Linehan and produced by Nira Park, first broadcast on Channel 4 from 2000 to 2004...
, Green Wing
Green Wing
Green Wing is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the sketch show Smack the Pony, led by Victoria Pile, and stars Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt....
, Peep Show
Peep Show (TV series)
Peep Show is a British sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The television programme is written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, with additional material by Mitchell and Webb themselves, amongst others. It has been broadcast on Channel 4 since 2003. The show's seventh series makes it...
and The Inbetweeners
The Inbetweeners
The Inbetweeners is a British sitcom which aired for three series from 2008 to 2010 on E4. Created and written by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, the show follows the life of suburban teenager Will , and three of his friends at the fictional Rudge Park Comprehensive. The Inbetweeners Movie was...
.
The conventional sitcom has declined in importance in the schedules over time, although the form is not extinct. Some of the current popular sitcoms in the UK include Outnumbered
Outnumbered
Outnumbered is a British sitcom. Airing on BBC One since 2007, it stars Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner as a father and mother outnumbered by their three children...
; Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps was a BBC sitcom created and written by Susan Nickson. It is set in the town of Runcorn in Cheshire, England, and initially revolves around the lives of five twenty-somethings, played by Ralf Little , Sheridan Smith , Will Mellor , Natalie Casey and...
, which ended its eighth series in 2009; and The IT Crowd
The IT Crowd
The IT Crowd is a British sitcom by Channel 4, written by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson and Matt Berry...
(2006- ), the fourth series of which was transmitted in 2010. At the BBC, the late 2000s and early 2010s have seen a major resurgence in traditional-style sitcoms filmed in front of a studio audience and featuring a laughter track, such as Not Going Out
Not Going Out
Not Going Out is a British television sitcom that has aired on BBC One since 2006. Starring Lee Mack, Tim Vine, Sally Bretton, Miranda Hart and Katy Wix, it was initially written by Mack, Andrew Collins, Paul Kerensa, Simon Evans and Peter Tilbury, but now features contributions from other...
, Miranda
Miranda
-Places:Australia* Miranda, New South Wales, a community in Sutherland Shire, New South Wales* Miranda railway station, a railway station in Sutherland Shire, New South WalesBrazil* Miranda, Mato Grosso do Sul, a município in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul...
, Life of Riley, Reggie Perrin, Big Top
Big Top (2009 TV series)
Big Top was a BBC television situation comedy series which first aired on 25 November 2009. The series was set in and around a travelling circus, aired on BBC One and BBC HD simultaneously. The series revolved around the performers and backstage staff of Circus Maestro. The first series consisted...
, Mrs Brown's Boys, In with the Flynns
In with the Flynns
In with the Flynns is a British sitcom created by Caryn Mandabach, produced by Caryn Mandabach Productions, and broadcast by the BBC. The first series began broadcast on 8 June 2011 for six episodes on BBC One and in high definition on BBC One HD in the United Kingdom...
and My Family, which began its final series in 2011.
United States
British sitcoms are often seen on the Public Broadcasting ServicePublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
and increasingly on cable television, including BBC America
BBC America
BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
and Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
. Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a large, fictional London department store. It was written mainly by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John...
became a hit when it aired on the Public Broadcasting Service, while Absolutely Fabulous
Absolutely Fabulous
Absolutely Fabulous, also known as Ab Fab, is a British sitcom created by Jennifer Saunders, based on an original idea by her and Dawn French, and written by Saunders, who plays the leading character. It also stars Joanna Lumley and Julia Sawalha, along with June Whitfield and Jane Horrocks...
enjoyed a significant following when it aired on Comedy Central, and The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
won a Golden Globe award in 2004 for "Best Television Series—Musical or Comedy", beating popular American favourites such as HBO's Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
.
A few British sitcoms were successfully remade for the American market. Notable examples include Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old...
which became Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son
Sanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....
and Till Death Us Do Part, which became All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
.
Australia
Many British comedy series are aired on the ABCAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
, which is the Australian equivalent of the BBC. British shows are also sometimes shown on the three commercial television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
s in Australia; in particular Network Seven screened many popular UK sitcoms during the 1970s.
Australian commercial television channels made their own versions of popular British comedies during the 1970s often using members of the original casts. These included: Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served? (Australian TV series)
The Australian version of British sitcom Are You Being Served? was produced by Network Ten in 1980-1981. It ran for 16 episodes until 1981. The draw-card was the presence of actor John Inman reprising his role of Mr. Humphries from the original series...
, Father, Dear Father
Father, Dear Father
Father, Dear Father is a British television sitcom produced by Thames Television for ITV from 1968 to 1973 starring Patrick Cargill. It was subsequently made into a spin-off film of the same title released in 1973....
, Doctor Down Under
Doctor Down Under
Doctor Down Under is a Australian television comedy series based on a set of books by Richard Gordon about the misadventures of a group of Doctors. The series follows directly from its predecessor Doctor on the Go, and was produced by the Seven Network in association with the Paul Dainty...
, Love Thy Neighbour
Love Thy Neighbour
Love Thy Neighbour was a popular British sitcom, which was aired from 13 April 1972, until 22 January 1976, spanning seven series. The sitcom was produced by Thames Television and broadcast by ITV. The main cast included Jack Smethurst, Rudolph Walker, Nina Baden-Semper and Kate Williams...
.
India
In the 1980s, India's national stations DoordarshanDoorDarshan
Doordarshan is an Indian public service broadcaster, a division of Prasar Bharati. It is one of the largest broadcasting organizations in India in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters. Recently, it has also started Digital Terrestrial Transmitters. On September 15, 2009,...
showed Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
, Yes, Minister and Mind Your Language
Mind Your Language
Mind Your Language is a British comedy television series, that premiered on ITV in late 1977. Produced by LWT and directed by Stuart Allen, it is set in an adult education college in London and focuses on the English as a Foreign Language class taught by Mr. Jeremy Brown, portrayed by Barry Evans,...
.
See also
- British comedyBritish comedyBritish comedy, in film, radio and television, is known for its consistently quirky characters, plots and settings, and has produced some of the most famous and memorable comic actors and characters in the last fifty years.-Film comedy:...
- British humourBritish humourBritish humour is a somewhat general term applied to certain comedic motifs that are often prevalent in comedic acts originating in the United Kingdom and its current or former colonies...
- List of BBC sitcoms
- List of British television series remade for the US market
- List of comedies
- SitcomSituation comedyA situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
- List of films based on British sitcoms
Further reading
- Lewisohn, Mark (2003) Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy. 2nd Ed. Revised — BBC Consumer Publishing. ISBN 0-563-48755-0
External links
- The Classic British Sitcoms Forum
- BBC Britain's Best Sitcom
- British Comedy Guide
- Martin Wainwright, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, 7 June 2005, "Del Boy is top of the class, say sitcom scientists" – scientist develops formula for measuring (British) sitcom success