Netflix has some of the best of British comedy series in stock, including classics like Little Britain, Fawlty Towers, Blackadder & Mr Bean, as well as the newer successes Derry Girls, Bad Education, Friday Night Dinner or White Gold. However, after weeks in lockdown, you might find yourself in a situation where you’ve exhausted everything the platform has to offer. So, if you’re after some fresh meat, here is a list of 11 other UK sitcoms to sink your teeth into.
P.S. By chance, their titles and themes are all very topical and relatable at the moment too.
1. Not Going Out
Perfect for long self-isolation, this show spans across 10 seasons and it’s still going strong with series 11, 12 & 13 already in the works. Would I Lie To You‘s own funny man Lee Mack plays a character by the same name, who’s in full couch potato mode and devoid of any ambition. Between him trying to do nothing at all costs and attempting to casually flirt with his various landladies, you get to marvel Lee’s quick wits and hopeless antics. The show also features the comedic talents of Tom Vine, Katy Wix and Sally Bretton.
2. Two Pints Of Larger And A Packet Of Crisps
The show that properly kicked off Sheridan Smith’s career is an oldie but a goldie. It ended in 2011, after going on for 9 series. If you do manage to wiz through the episodes like there’s no tomorrow though, fret not! There’s a one-off reunion special scheduled for 2020. The series focuses on a group of 5 friends and all-round misfits who struggle through their twenties, Jonny (Ralf Little), Janet (Sheridan Smith), Gaz (Will Mellor), Donna (Natalie Casey) and Louise (Kathryn Drysdale).
3. Coupling
A brainchild of the legendary Steven Moffat, Coupling gives you UK’s answer to Sex And The City, minus the glamour, but packed full of good old dry British humour, a bunch of clueless lads and some incredibly awkward situations. Steve (Jack Davenport), Susan (Sarah Alexander), Jeff (Richard Coyle), Sally (Kate Isitt), Patrick (Ben Miles) and Jane (Gina Bellman) get to navigate their constantly intertwining dating lives and relationships. It might be interesting for you to know that the two leads Steve and Susan are actually named after the writer and his now wife, producer Sue Vertue.
4. Plebs
This multi-award winning sitcom has continued to bring laughter to audiences for 5 seasons and is also expecting a return in the Autumn. Plebs follows the daily grapple of scriptorium workers Marcus (Tom Rosenthal) and Stylax (Joel Fry), and their slave Grumio (Ryan Sampson). With the story taking place against the Roman Empire background, but through our modern lens, inevitable hilarity ensues.
5. Drifters
One more comedy that would make you fall in love with charming, but lazy and underachieving characters that awkwardly stumble through life. The female-driven plot revolves around recent university graduates Meg (Jessica Knappett), her cousin Bunny (Lydia Rose Bewley) and their friend Laura (Lauren O’Rourke). Writer and comedian Knappett wrapped the series after season number 4, but even if we don’t get to see the fun actresses reprise their roles there might still be a glimmer of hope to watch them working together again. Ultimately, this was their second stint as a trio, after all starred in The Inbetweeners Movie.
6. Chewing gum
Similar to Fleabag, this show was also based on a one-woman stage play (Chewing Gum Dreams). Tracey Gordon (Michaela Coel) is not your average 24-year-old, being a repressed Christian virgin that’s desperately trying to have sex and all. The impossibly talented Coel is the mastermind behind the hit and although the actress and writer is surely working on something else just as exciting, she decided to end the series only after two season. So savour every precious episode of this pure comedic crack and pace yourself whilst watching.
7. Raised by wolves
A family extravaganza that’s inhabited by a myriad of colourful and well-written ladies. The matriarch Della Garry, portrayed by Rebekah Staton, for instance, is an absolute badass. I can only describe her as a better looking, single mother version of Ron Swanson from Parks & Rec, without the wood obsession. She manages to overcome every challenge thrown at her, despite her limited resources and numerous children. Unfortunately, this sitcom also only lasted two seasons and after the few unsuccessful revival attempts it seems unlikely that it would ever be continued.
8. Crashing
If you love Phoebe Waller-Bridge, which let’s be honest – who doesn’t – you’d probably what to find out what else she did before Fleabag. This limited (6-episodes-long) series will give you a brief glimpse. It’s about a bunch of young people who’ve undertaken property guardianship at an old hospital, which basically means that they get to live there for cheap until it reopens, but have to follow very precise regulations. The muse behind the premise of the show was the unused Middlesex Hospital in Fizrovia, though the production was filmed at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.
9. Fried
This one is for everyone who has worked in retail. It has it all – an overly-ambitious manager (played by the brilliant Katy Wix), an employee that’s always trying to avoid work or doing as little as possible, a brown-noser, mind-numbing repetitive duties, rude customers and the always illusive work romance. And what’s a better and more British setting than a chicken shop in Croydon. Just like Crashing, you only get to enjoy this series for 6 short episodes.
10. Siblings
Anyone with a sibling can probably relate to this sitcom, especially for those many silly things they did. However, it’s highly unlikely that your family members were ever quite as bad as this brother and sister duo. Their actions are questionable at best and possibly punishable by law in the worst case scenario. Fresh Meat‘s breakout star Charlotte Ritchie plays insurance officer Hannah French and together with her ex-con brother Dan (Tom Stourton), they cause utter carnage while constantly looking for shortcuts to success. Sadly, the sitcom was cancelled after two seasons due to changes in the channel.
11. Dead Pixels
And finally, from the writers of Fresh Meat and the creators of Peep Show, arrives one of the newest releases on the UK market – Dead Pixels. It starred some familiar faces, including David Mumeni (Drifters) as Russell, Alexa Davies (Raised By Wolves) as Meg and Charlotte Ritchie (Siblings & Fresh Meat) as Alison. The 3 main characters are flatmates Meg & Nicky, and their virtual friend Usman, who all try to escape from everyday life by fully submerging into their gaming ones and living vicariously through their avatars in the fictional Kingdom Scrolls. Funnily enough, Avatards was the original title. Since the series only premiered last year there’s just one season out. Nevertheless, after its glowing reviews and with some luck on the Corona front, there would hopefully be more to come.