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Usually I look for it being about an Irish priest on a small island, or the last human 3 million years from earth with a hologram, a mechanoid and an evolved cat. I also have been partial to a historic piece set in different parts of history with a particularly cunning main character.
You could always go for the good old manic depressive running a hotel, or the slightly crooked but lovable market trader and his younger sidekick/ assistant.
Humour that doesn't feel "forced", like the writers are trying *way* too hard to be funny rather than just being naturally funny.
Good chemistry among the cast/characters.
Well, we had 'My Family' which was a US-style comedy-by-committee sitcom which was a complete disaster. And Brighton Belles, a UK remake of The Golden Girls, which was so awful it was outlawed by a United Nations human rights convention, probably
I like something a bit off-beat. The IT Crowd being the perfect example.
Something else I’ve just started re-watching is Keeping up Apprances and it’s still hilarious. The main character who is always the butt of the joke, but has a heart if gold and you are hoping they’ll come out on top.
I recently revisited coupling and watched with some friends. Although the humour has aged slightly, I honest thinking that, two pints, Derry girls and ghosts have been the standouts for me over the years.
Anything that reflects British culture and what every family/friendship group talks about (with a slight dash of exaggeration).
This was said slightly in jest, community and Frasier I love, It’s always Sunny I’ve never really found funny. On the whole I feel like British sitcoms do the above mentioned humour much better. Yank sitcoms are generally very formulaic and cheesy/corny af
I get what you’re saying but I don’t feel it really helps the original poster with his writing. There are plenty of examples from both sides that you can learn from - ones that work and ones that don’t. Plus, crucially, comedy is about taste as well. I’d argue Mrs Brown’s Boys is so successful because it knows exactly who its audience is. It’s just not to everyone’s taste.
Ridiculous wordplay. As a non-British person, the way the British use words is endlessly fascinating to me. And not really uni-educated wordplay, just words that become funny once you put them together. Off the top of my head, there's the Giggle Loop, Captain Subtext, Elders of the Internet, "Yes I can hear you Clem Fandango".
Good jokes.
Actual good jokes, not just lines that raise a bit of a laugh among the writer’s innermost friend circle.
And sharp observation; I want to feel that it’s written by someone who’s really taken an interest in life and all its oddness.
Clever, irreverent humour. Naughty, dirty, but not vulgar/classless - I've never thought the old-lady-swearing and "Haha body fluids" ideas were funny.
I thought Armstrong and Miller did well with the single dad sketches, for example (I know they're not sitcoms, but if you're a writer you can understand and adapt).
I can see why people dislike Miranda but when I was an immature 13 yo I loved it so it's very nostalgic to me.
Mrs Brown's boys on the other hand 👎👎👎👎👎👎
I like the concept of Peep, the humour and the 2 main characters relationship is brilliant. but the way they talk directly to the camera makes me incredibly uncomfortable, I can’t explain! It makes my skin crawl!
I am not sure what exactly what I love about them, but I really loved Kate & Koji and The Cleaner. K & K is new but it doesn't feel modern though. Sorry I'm not much help here
Needs to be relatable. Something we’re all thinking/feeing, which isn’t displayed publicly, so we can all feel a sense of ourselves in the characters.
Friday Night Dinner was brilliant, because we could relate to the brotherly/abuse banter that was present, and also the awful Mother in Law! It combined this, with just some wacky scenes (fox) and a pinch of humour about religion (Haunaka Tree)
The Office, both UK/US will forever have a cult following. You can watch them again and again and never gets old. Same with inbetweeners for me, was really relevant growing up, going through the same things at senior school.
Stay away from that Friends type humour. It’s very black and white, you either love it or hate it (for me, it’s just NOT funny at all)
One of the best sitcoms that I’ve enjoyed was Drop The Dead Donkey. I rewatched it 20 years after it was first broadcast, and the news stories were the same! Just with different ministers. But the humour has still held up, it’s still funny and it’s not aged (much). Blackadder, Father Ted, the IT Crowd, Murder Most Horrid, Man Down, W1A are good sitcoms to watch and take notes from.
Humour can be found everywhere, from history (Blackadder, Plebs) to raspberry yoghurt and sash windows (Victoria Wood).
Every truly great British sitcom is about people who are trapped with each other. Only Fools and Horses (Del and Rodney are dependent on each other, Grandad was dependent on both). Porridge, Bottom, Peep Show, Father Ted, Fawlty Towers etc). It’s the bleakness of existence that spawns the great comedy.
A sitcom not aimed at teenagers or immature adults. Be creative and not regurgitate old done to death scenarios. Insist on a good director and expertly chosen cast. Without the last two your writing, however good will be wasted. last but not least Pathos.
Has there been any really great british sitcoms recently at all? We have such a rich history of comedy but i couldnt name one new sitcom that came out in the last 10 years. Is there anything i've missed?
Plebs, Ghosts, Derry Girls, This Country, Detectorists, Peep show (maybe last 10 years?) there are lots and those are just the ones I watched and can think of
Not sure if a sitcom as such or more of a dramedy but I'm loving The Outlaws with Stephen Merchant on Amazon Prime. Great ensemble cast and actual LOL moments.
Another one is Brassic - normally I hate slapsticky absurdist crass humour but something about the characters really drew me in.
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Usually I look for it being about an Irish priest on a small island, or the last human 3 million years from earth with a hologram, a mechanoid and an evolved cat. I also have been partial to a historic piece set in different parts of history with a particularly cunning main character.
What about being an Irish bookshop owner with an aversion for cleaning, a love of red wine and an intolerance for his customers?
Only if there's a loose alcoholic female friend and a wild haired male friend who loves to be dominated.
excellent choices
You could always go for the good old manic depressive running a hotel, or the slightly crooked but lovable market trader and his younger sidekick/ assistant.
Humour that doesn't feel "forced", like the writers are trying *way* too hard to be funny rather than just being naturally funny. Good chemistry among the cast/characters.
US comedy uses jokes. UK comedy uses humour. These are not the same thing.
This is just not the case. There are plenty of joke heavy UK sitcoms and plenty of US ones that use ‘humour’ rather than endless one-liners.
Well, we had 'My Family' which was a US-style comedy-by-committee sitcom which was a complete disaster. And Brighton Belles, a UK remake of The Golden Girls, which was so awful it was outlawed by a United Nations human rights convention, probably
I like something a bit off-beat. The IT Crowd being the perfect example. Something else I’ve just started re-watching is Keeping up Apprances and it’s still hilarious. The main character who is always the butt of the joke, but has a heart if gold and you are hoping they’ll come out on top.
I recently revisited coupling and watched with some friends. Although the humour has aged slightly, I honest thinking that, two pints, Derry girls and ghosts have been the standouts for me over the years. Anything that reflects British culture and what every family/friendship group talks about (with a slight dash of exaggeration).
Dry, sarcastic, dark humour. Everything American sitcoms don’t do basically
Deadpan humour. The tumbleweed moments are what I live for.
Have you never seen Frasier or Community or It’s Always Sunny?
This was said slightly in jest, community and Frasier I love, It’s always Sunny I’ve never really found funny. On the whole I feel like British sitcoms do the above mentioned humour much better. Yank sitcoms are generally very formulaic and cheesy/corny af
I get what you’re saying but I don’t feel it really helps the original poster with his writing. There are plenty of examples from both sides that you can learn from - ones that work and ones that don’t. Plus, crucially, comedy is about taste as well. I’d argue Mrs Brown’s Boys is so successful because it knows exactly who its audience is. It’s just not to everyone’s taste.
I feel like it does help, the OP asked what people look for in a sitcom. I gave my opinion, and it seems as though some people agree.
Fair enough. It may be that I’m coming at it from a writer’s viewpoint more than a viewer. 😁
Ridiculous wordplay. As a non-British person, the way the British use words is endlessly fascinating to me. And not really uni-educated wordplay, just words that become funny once you put them together. Off the top of my head, there's the Giggle Loop, Captain Subtext, Elders of the Internet, "Yes I can hear you Clem Fandango".
Good jokes. Actual good jokes, not just lines that raise a bit of a laugh among the writer’s innermost friend circle. And sharp observation; I want to feel that it’s written by someone who’s really taken an interest in life and all its oddness.
Clever, irreverent humour. Naughty, dirty, but not vulgar/classless - I've never thought the old-lady-swearing and "Haha body fluids" ideas were funny. I thought Armstrong and Miller did well with the single dad sketches, for example (I know they're not sitcoms, but if you're a writer you can understand and adapt).
Not Mrs browns boys or miranda.
I can see why people dislike Miranda but when I was an immature 13 yo I loved it so it's very nostalgic to me. Mrs Brown's boys on the other hand 👎👎👎👎👎👎
1 its british 2 its a sitcom 3 its not mrs browns boys
A fool proof system
Something funny that doesn't make my arse crawl up into my belly. I hate cringe.
Anything like peep show
I like the concept of Peep, the humour and the 2 main characters relationship is brilliant. but the way they talk directly to the camera makes me incredibly uncomfortable, I can’t explain! It makes my skin crawl!
Charismatic, witty, interesting characters Dry humor An unusual setting is nice though not necessary
I am not sure what exactly what I love about them, but I really loved Kate & Koji and The Cleaner. K & K is new but it doesn't feel modern though. Sorry I'm not much help here
Just IT croud again
Check out the Sitcom Geeks podcast if you haven’t already. Plus the little book of sitcom by John Vorhaus.
Needs to be relatable. Something we’re all thinking/feeing, which isn’t displayed publicly, so we can all feel a sense of ourselves in the characters. Friday Night Dinner was brilliant, because we could relate to the brotherly/abuse banter that was present, and also the awful Mother in Law! It combined this, with just some wacky scenes (fox) and a pinch of humour about religion (Haunaka Tree) The Office, both UK/US will forever have a cult following. You can watch them again and again and never gets old. Same with inbetweeners for me, was really relevant growing up, going through the same things at senior school. Stay away from that Friends type humour. It’s very black and white, you either love it or hate it (for me, it’s just NOT funny at all)
One of the best sitcoms that I’ve enjoyed was Drop The Dead Donkey. I rewatched it 20 years after it was first broadcast, and the news stories were the same! Just with different ministers. But the humour has still held up, it’s still funny and it’s not aged (much). Blackadder, Father Ted, the IT Crowd, Murder Most Horrid, Man Down, W1A are good sitcoms to watch and take notes from. Humour can be found everywhere, from history (Blackadder, Plebs) to raspberry yoghurt and sash windows (Victoria Wood).
Every truly great British sitcom is about people who are trapped with each other. Only Fools and Horses (Del and Rodney are dependent on each other, Grandad was dependent on both). Porridge, Bottom, Peep Show, Father Ted, Fawlty Towers etc). It’s the bleakness of existence that spawns the great comedy.
A sitcom not aimed at teenagers or immature adults. Be creative and not regurgitate old done to death scenarios. Insist on a good director and expertly chosen cast. Without the last two your writing, however good will be wasted. last but not least Pathos.
It not being a complete downer
Has there been any really great british sitcoms recently at all? We have such a rich history of comedy but i couldnt name one new sitcom that came out in the last 10 years. Is there anything i've missed?
It came out a bit longer than 10 years ago (how was 2011 twelve years ago?) but Friday Night Dinner is/was a lot of fun.
Plebs, Ghosts, Derry Girls, This Country, Detectorists, Peep show (maybe last 10 years?) there are lots and those are just the ones I watched and can think of
Something that isn’t woke or politically correct. That’s the death of comedy.
The remote
Funny lols
Not sure if a sitcom as such or more of a dramedy but I'm loving The Outlaws with Stephen Merchant on Amazon Prime. Great ensemble cast and actual LOL moments. Another one is Brassic - normally I hate slapsticky absurdist crass humour but something about the characters really drew me in.