10 Best British Comedy Series

Before creating Veep, Armando Iannucci co-created this other series about a self-important leader suffering one indignity after another. This time, it’s Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge, a former BBC anchor facing a midlife crisis as he finds himself without a job and without a wife… but with his ego, unfortunately, intact.

Anyone who’s ever been mortified by their parents can relate to this sitcom, which stars Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley as two women who should have long outgrown their bad decisions, while Julia Sawalha plays the daughter trying to keep them in line. In two words, the laughs are Ab Fab.

Michaela Coel became a breakout star — and a TV creator to watch — with this sitcom, in which she plays a devoutly religious woman who’s curious about but completely unprepared for losing her virginity. It’s raunchy, it’s crude, and it’s a lot of fun… and you’ll spot some Wicked stars along the way.

First comes baby, and then comes marriage and maybe even love in this disarming comedy about a British woman and an American man who realize they’ll be in each other’s lives long after their one-off fling. Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney are the stars and creators, and they own every scene.

And now for something completely different! The in-development Saturday Night Live UK has a hard act to follow with this sketch-comedy series, which shows the same zany, farcical, outrageous humor the titular comedy troupe displayed in their beloved movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Set in 1990s-era Northern Island against the violence of The Troubles, Derry Girls shows how growing up can seem more fraught than even geopolitical conflicts. Do yourself a favor and check out Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Nicola Coughlan, and Jamie-Lee O’Donnell’s winning performances.

There’d be no American Office if it weren’t for this British predecessor. Ricky Gervais’ David Brent has all of Michael Scott’s ineptitude but none of his charm, but it’s Martin Freeman, Lucy Davis, and Mackenzie Crook who steal the show as the U.K. counterparts to Jim, Pam, and Dwight.

In this classic sitcom, John Cleese stars as a misanthropic hotel owner whose hospitality is all for show as he strives for a higher social echelon. Though some of its humor is faulty by today’s standards, Fawlty Towers is one fictional hotel TV viewers loved to check into week after week.

Whether he’s navigating the Middle Ages, Elizabethan England, the Regency, or the First World War, Rowan Atkinson’s Edmund Blackadder is always looking out for himself… and being undone by the dunderheaded around him, namely sidekick Baldrick (Tony Robinson). Mr. Bean, he’s not!

Phoebe Waller-Bridge instantly won over audiences with this fourth-wall-breaking comedy about a young Londoner trying to get her family life, her professional life, and her love life in sync. Come for Fleabag, stay for Sian Clifford, Olivia Colman, and Andrew Scott’s characters — and for a very meta second season.