Above Average British Comedies, a list by Adam McGready

8.5

/11568/

80

/479/

79

/96/

89

/28/

98

63

/13/

age 14+

David Tennant and Michael Sheen (playing themselves) were due to star in a production of 'Six Characters in Search of an Author' in the West End. The pandemic has put an end to that, but their director (Simon Evans) is determined not to let the opportunity pass them by.

75

6.6

/12267/

69

/643/

69

/206/

3.1

/14033/

89

/9/

83

/60/

3.5

age 14+

A former boy band star unexpectedly gets a second shot at success when he forms a bond with a gifted young drummer.

74

6.6

/33126/

69

/2525/

68

/604/

3.4

/269035/

93

/194/

90

/516/

65

/46/

3.0

age 6+

Paddington travels to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now resides at the Home for Retired Bears. With the Brown Family in tow, a thrilling adventure ensues when a mystery plunges them into an unexpected journey through the Amazon rainforest and up to the mountain peaks of Peru.

79

8.4

/99895/

81

/3662/

76

/481/

83

/33/

93

62

/9/

age 14+

Those who remember the awkward years of adolescence can relive those painful days in this British comedy series, where the cringe-inducing humor arises from the ill-fated antics of its four protagonists. Suburban teenage friends Will, Simon, Jay and Neil, students at Rudge Park Comprehensive, attempt to navigate the social scene, attract members of the gentler sex, and saunter among the cool crowd. However, despite their best efforts, the four hapless lads usually end up on the side of the nerds.

74

7.8

/449805/

77

/20230/

76

/6343/

3.8

/582893/

76

/278/

84

/2664/

51

/44/

3.0

age 17+

American expat Mickey Pearson has built a highly profitable marijuana empire in London. When word gets out that he’s looking to cash out of the business forever it triggers plots, schemes, bribery and blackmail in an attempt to steal his domain out from under him.

78

7.8

/27620/

77

/1572/

71

/225/

100

/43/

86

58

/17/

Deciding to turn over a new leaf, a group of friends who also happen to be vampires and werewolves move into a house together, only to find that it is haunted by ghosts of people who have been killed under mysterious circumstances. As they deal with the challenges of being supernatural creatures, their desire to be human bonds them.

74

7.5

/6423/

72

/100/

69

/62/

3.8

/4217/

71

/24/

92

/479/

65

/18/

3.0

Two twelve-year-old boys, Romeo and Gavin, undergo an extraordinary test of character and friendship when Morell, a naive but eccentric and dangerous stranger, comes between them. Morell befriends with the two boys and later asks them to help him pursue Romeo's beautiful elder sister. He gradually becomes more violent after she rejects him.

76

8.4

/166211/

79

/6166/

79

/993/

72

/94/

86

57

/28/

age 15+

Tony had a perfect life. But after his wife Lisa suddenly dies, Tony changes. After contemplating taking his own life, he decides instead to live long enough to punish the world by saying and doing whatever he likes from now on.

74

7.4

/181671/

76

/6391/

74

/3042/

4.0

/770073/

81

/52/

85

/20683/

65

/12/

2.5

age 15+

After getting a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, newly engaged couple Brad and Janet encounter the eerie mansion of the flamboyant, seductive Dr. Frank-N-Furter and a variety of eccentric characters. Through elaborate dance and rock music, the mad scientist unveils his latest creation: a perfect, muscular man.

73

8.1

/37414/

74

/1527/

75

/225/

60

/41/

89

63

/19/

age 13+

Derek is a loyal nursing home caretaker who sees only the good in his quirky co-workers as they struggle against prejudice and shrinking budgets to care for their elderly residents.

74

8.2

/966961/

82

/21948/

78

/9667/

4.0

/708954/

74

/141/

93

/25439/

55

/31/

2.0

age 17+

Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookies, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers, and supposedly Jewish jewellers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.

70

7.0

/16172/

67

/912/

71

/268/

77

/39/

80

60

/10/

age 13+

A ghost-hunting duo team up to uncover and film paranormal sightings across the U.K. and share their adventures on an online channel. Their supernatural experiences grow more frequent, terrifying, and even deadly as the pair begin to uncover a conspiracy that could threaten the entire human race.

73

69

7.3

/6688/

71

/255/

68

/36/

87

/32/

86

58

/13/

age 17+

Robyn, the sharp and witty publicity maven, is an expert at her craft but a complete self-saboteur when it comes to her personal life. Robyn’s work as a crisis PR strategist is fast-paced and unpredictable, as she counsels high-profile personalities in entertainment, fashion and sports.

73

7.0

/42338/

72

/2517/

69

/592/

3.5

/142278/

80

/177/

92

/82/

58

/38/

3.0

age 15+

When the denizens of Littlehampton – including conservative Edith – begin receiving letters full of hilarious profanities, rowdy Irish migrant Rose is charged with the crime. Suspecting something amiss, the town's women band together to investigate.

68

7.5

/17122/

71

/723/

71

/142/

53

/32/

79

64

/18/

age 16+

Life's Too Short is a British sitcom mockumentary created and written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant from an idea by Warwick Davis, and is as described by Gervais, about "the life of a showbiz dwarf".

73

7.1

/22267/

73

/429/

68

/340/

3.7

/39478/

86

/28/

86

/1532/

58

/8/

age 8+

An obscure Eastern cult that practices human sacrifice pursues Ringo after he unknowingly puts on a ceremonial ring (that, of course, won't come off). On top of that, a pair of mad scientists, members of Scotland Yard, and a beautiful but dead-eyed assassin all have their own plans for the Fab Four.

73

7.8

/426497/

80

/17371/

79

/9017/

4.1

/1319376/

71

/168/

82

/2895/

55

/34/

2.5

age 14+

The night after another unsatisfactory New Year's party, Tim's father tells his son that the men in his family have always had the ability to travel through time. They can't change history, but they can change what happens and has happened in their own lives. Thus begins the start of a lesson in learning to appreciate life itself as it is, as it comes, and most importantly, the people living alongside us.

70

67

7.2

/4441/

68

/261/

73

/51/

3.7

/2034/

78

/27/

70

61

/13/

The career of respected news presenter Douglas is threatened after he makes an ill-advised joke. With her 2 million social media followers, tech-savvy co-anchor Madeline could throw Douglas a lifeline by posting in his defense… but will she?

72

7.1

/16674/

73

/857/

69

/116/

3.1

/20625/

86

/36/

88

/72/

60

/5/

age 13+

The true story of how Dave Fishwick, a working class man and self-made millionaire, fought to set up a community bank so that he could help the local businesses of Burnley not only survive, but thrive. In his bid to help his beloved community, he has to take on the elitist financial institutions of London and fight to receive the first, new banking license to be issued in over 100 years.

69

64

6.7

/2186/

66

/233/

67

/39/

76

/21/

79

61

/8/

age 14+

Bonded by insomnia, best friends Lisa and Danny stay connected to each other late into the night and find their way through a world of wonderfully weird surprises as their relationship deepens.

72

7.2

/22103/

72

/370/

70

/291/

3.6

/11131/

79

/48/

79

/427/

60

/19/

3.0

age 15+

A Yorkshire coal mine is threatened with closure and the only hope is for the men to enter their Grimley Colliery Brass Band into a national competition. They believe they have no hope until Gloria appears carrying her Flugelhorn. At first mocked for being a woman, she soon becomes the only chance for the band to win.

72

64

7.5

/3928/

65

/151/

69

/41/

75

/16/

84

65

/12/

age 16+

A young woman from Blackpool finds her voice in the male dominated world of the 1960s comedy, and in doing so takes London by storm.

72

7.1

/16531/

71

/408/

67

/318/

3.4

/8213/

80

/129/

75

/705/

65

/31/

3.5

age 16+

A dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination.

67

64

6.9

/4386/

66

/290/

58

/57/

3.4

/439/

79

/24/

77

56

/9/

age 15+

Family man Joe Petrus is living the American dream with his fiancé and step-kids. However, unbeknownst to them, Joe was involved in a mysterious crime three years ago and now his dangerous past is about to catch up with him. When a killer starts targeting the crew behind the crime, Joe realizes it's only a matter of time before his family is targeted. He returns to London to track down his old gang and find out who is coming after them.

72

7.7

/769100/

78

/45836/

76

/17498/

3.8

/1318206/

75

/264/

84

/7421/

60

/50/

2.0

age 16+

The story of a super-secret spy organization that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency's ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.

64

7.0

/8589/

66

/433/

65

/67/

52

/42/

88

46

/16/

age 14+

A down-and-out DJ plots to rebuild his music career while working as a nanny for his famous best friend's wild 11-year-old daughter.

71

7.0

/8912/

71

/460/

68

/126/

3.6

/14128/

86

/139/

87

/83/

65

/32/

2.0

age 13+

Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist, managed to gain entry to The British Open Golf Championship qualifying in 1976 and subsequently shot the worst round in Open history, becoming a folk hero in the process.

72

58

7.4

/2808/

67

/117/

63

/21/

82

/11/

90

59

/6/

Janet is a foul-mouthed, hilarious, Belfast supermarket worker who doesn’t care about anything, including her life. Seamus is a handsome, self-centered, political broadcaster with what looks to be a perfect London life and a celebrity girlfriend. When they unexpectedly meet, they instantly clash – and yet also find themselves inextricably drawn to each other.

75

71

7.7

/5072/

76

/221/

74

/78/

3.7

/2571/

84

/61/

86

/319/

55

/12/

American: The Bill Hicks Story is a biographical documentary film on the life of comedian Bill Hicks.

67

58

6.6

/5112/

61

/131/

57

/26/

69

/13/

93

57

/6/

age 15+

Aboard the mega cruise ship Sacramentum, 20-year-old new recruit, Jamie, infiltrates the 3000-strong crew in a desperate race to find his missing sister. She was working aboard the same vessel on a previous tour and vanished mid-charter.

71

IMDb 91

7.5

/576761/

75

/15892/

71

/7213/

3.5

/964042/

64

/229/

72

/927665/

55

/41/

3.5

age 15+

Eight very different couples deal with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London.

65

51

6.6

/1376/

62

/63/

64

/24/

62

/29/

74

63

/25/

age 15+

Doll & Em is a British comedy series starring real-life friends Emily Mortimer (Em) and Dolly Wells (Doll), filmed in the style of a reality TV show. After a breakup, Doll heads to Hollywood to be with her childhood best friend Em, who's now a successful actress.

70

46

7.4

/1101/

73

/36/

62

/17/

76

/17/

77

59

/8/

Three generations of a family with separate but intersecting obsessions - trying to figure out how to die with dignity, live with none and make it count.

70

7.0

/257035/

70

/9413/

69

/2758/

3.4

/2847296/

72

/302/

79

/112/

61

/53/

3.0

age 16+

Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton, who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family's sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.

53

41

6.4

/2294/

59

/166/

52

/21/

18

/11/

88

38

/4/

age 15+

Events planner-turned-women's prison governor Laura Willis documents the thrills and spills of life behind bars in this delightfully dry comedy series.

69

6.7

/10394/

67

/382/

65

/188/

3.2

/16223/

77

/127/

92

/52/

64

/32/

2.5

age 12+

An amateur historian defies the academic establishment in her efforts to find King Richard III's remains, which were lost for over 500 years.

69

7.0

/6359/

65

/77/

62

/131/

3.5

/4250/

67

/63/

78

/117/

57

/19/

3.5

Maya is a quick-witted young woman who comes over the Mexican border without papers and makes her way to the LA home of her older sister Rosa. Rosa gets Maya a job as a janitor: a non-union janitorial service has the contract, the foul-mouthed supervisor can fire workers on a whim, and the service-workers' union has assigned organizer Sam Shapiro to bring its "justice for janitors" campaign to the building. Sam finds Maya a willing listener, she's also attracted to him. Rosa resists, she has an ailing husband to consider. The workers try for public support; management intimidates workers to divide and conquer. Rosa and Maya as well as workers and management may be set to collide.

69

7.2

/59390/

72

/1248/

69

/598/

3.7

/45417/

66

/91/

82

/3961/

62

/24/

2.5

Zia, distraught over breaking up with his girlfriend, decides to end it all. Unfortunately, he discovers that there is no real ending, only a run-down afterlife that is strikingly similar to his old one, just a bit worse. Discovering that his ex-girlfriend has also "offed" herself, he sets out on a road trip to find her.

69

7.3

/119860/

75

/3097/

72

/2225/

3.6

/66512/

59

/163/

71

/5115/

58

/31/

3.0

age 16+

When a group of rebellious deejays decides to defy the ban on government-censored music, they take to the seas to broadcast music and mayhem to millions of adoring fans.

69

7.2

/89972/

74

/5860/

73

/2852/

3.5

/211993/

73

/274/

83

/1454/

60

/43/

2.0

age 8+

Christopher Robin, the boy who had countless adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood, has grown up and lost his way. Now it’s up to his spirited and loveable stuffed animals, Winnie The Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and the rest of the gang, to rekindle their friendship and remind him of endless days of childlike wonder and make-believe, when doing nothing was the very best something.

68

6.8

/20241/

72

/2099/

71

/410/

3.4

/73552/

67

/43/

73

/197/

60

/13/

age 7+

It's an unforgettable Christmas for the townsfolk of Wellington-on-Sea when the worst snowstorm in history alters everyone's plans — including Santa's.

68

6.9

/29246/

70

/489/

65

/394/

3.4

/12649/

73

/124/

67

/1461/

60

/30/

3.0

age 14+

Members of a Yorkshire branch of the Women's Institute cause controversy when they pose nude for a charity calendar.

68

6.6

/8132/

70

/438/

62

/145/

3.2

/15809/

81

/107/

68

/51/

62

/22/

3.0

age 14+

Jamie New is 16 and doesn’t quite fit in—instead of pursuing a "real" career he dreams of becoming a drag queen. Uncertain about his future, Jamie knows one thing for sure: he is going to be a sensation. Supported by his loving mom and his amazing friends, Jamie overcomes prejudice, beats the bullies and steps out of the darkness, into the spotlight.

68

7.2

/15688/

72

/259/

68

/199/

3.6

/9267/

81

/16/

81

/415/

54

/10/

2.0

age 14+

Rita, a witty 26-year-old hairdresser, wants to 'discover' herself, so she joins the Open University where she meets the disillusioned professor of literature, Dr. Frank Bryant. His marriage has failed, his new girlfriend is having an affair with his best friend and he can't get through the day without downing a bottle or two of whisky. What Frank needs is a challenge... and along comes Rita.

68

6.9

/25906/

70

/1085/

67

/551/

3.5

/19390/

73

/60/

71

/254/

54

/14/

3.0

age 12+

Doug and Abi and their three children travel to the Scottish Highlands for Doug's father Gordie's birthday party. It's soon clear that when it comes to keeping a secret under wraps from the rest of the family, their children are their biggest liability...

68

67

5.9

/6685/

64

/877/

66

/227/

3.1

/5037/

81

/16/

76

/40/

age 17+

The Accident Man is back, and this time he must best the top assassins in the world to protect the ungrateful son of a mafia boss, save the life of his only friend and rekindle his relationship with his maniacal father figure.

67

6.3

/12154/

64

/607/

60

/231/

2.7

/28238/

71

/117/

83

/59/

59

/22/

3.5

age 12+

Two childhood friends now in their thirties must decide whether to follow their heads or their hearts once the man decides to follow his parents' advice and enter into an arranged marriage in Pakistan.

67

6.8

/23300/

69

/1064/

69

/496/

3.6

/40636/

68

/157/

70

/84/

63

/36/