Comedy By Rating, a list by Mark Gauci

8.7

/239794/

86

/11131/

82

/1720/

100

/140/

93

92

/40/

age 17+

A portrait into the mind of a dry-witted, sexual, angry, porn-watching, grief-riddled woman, trying to make sense of the world. As she hurls herself headlong at modern living, Fleabag is thrown roughly up against the walls of contemporary London, with all its frenetic energy, late nights, and bright lights.

89

8.8

/163235/

84

/5558/

81

/836/

100

/33/

96

88

/26/

age 14+

High school mathlete Lindsay Weir rebels and begins hanging out with a crowd of burnouts (the "freaks"), while her brother Sam Weir navigates a different part of the social universe with his nerdy friends (the "geeks").

88

8.6

/24634/

88

/1983/

87

/1743/

100

/13/

82

age 7+

An animated fantasy-comedy series that follows Luz, a self-assured teenage girl who accidentally stumbles upon a portal to a magical world where she befriends a rebellious witch, Eda, and an adorably tiny warrior, King. Despite not having magical abilities, Luz pursues her dream of becoming a witch by serving as Eda's apprentice at the Owl House and ultimately finds a new family in an unlikely setting.

88

8.6

/25172/

82

/884/

81

/164/

100

/39/

94

age 14+

The lives of two eccentric metal detectorists, who spend their days plodding along ploughed tracks and open fields, hoping to disturb the tedium by unearthing the fortune of a lifetime.

88

8.5

/73675/

84

/3813/

81

/359/

99

/86/

95

87

/5/

age 15+

Amidst the political conflict of Northern Ireland in the 1990s, five secondary school students square off with the universal challenges of being a teenager.

88

8.4

/23698/

83

/1297/

84

/444/

100

/13/

91

age 7+

Zim dreams of greatness. Unfortunately, though, he's hopelessly inept as a space invader. Desperate to be rid of the annoying Zim, his planet's leaders send him on a mission to infiltrate Earth, providing him with leftover, cobbled-together equipment. To their consternation, Zim succeeds in setting up a base on Earth and infiltrating human culture, posing as a human child as he plots the planet's downfall. Only Zim's archnemesis, Dib, recognizes that Zim is an alien, and of course, nobody believes Dib's claims.

88

8.7

/72777/

85

/2740/

80

/411/

96

/58/

93

age 17+

Peep Show follows the lives of two men from their twenties to thirties, Mark Corrigan, who has steady employment for most of the series, and Jeremy "Jez" Usbourne, an unemployed would-be musician.

88

8.8

/86630/

86

/1940/

82

/680/

100

/12/

86

age 14+

A British sketch comedy series with the shows being composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines.

88

8.6

/47353/

84

/1264/

82

/331/

93

/14/

95

age 14+

A crazy comedy about three rather strange parish priests exiled to Craggy Island, a remote island off the Irish west coast.

88

8.5

/60369/

82

/1931/

79

/476/

100

/20/

96

age 14+

Spaced: the anti-Friends, in that it examines the lives of common 20 somethings, but in a way that is more down to earth and realistic. Here we have Daisy and Tim; two 'young' adults with big dreams just trying to get by in this crazy world. They are thrown together in a common pursuit of tenancy, which they find by posing as a couple. The house has a landlady and an oddball artist living there. The series explores the ins and outs of London living.

87

8.6

/12055/

79

/627/

77

/58/

100

/21/

94

age 16+

Foul-mouthed, chirp-serving, mother-loving, fan favourite character, Shoresy, joins the Sudbury Bulldogs of the Northern Ontario Senior Hockey Organization (The NOSHO) on a quest to never lose again.

87

8.5

/23378/

82

/1221/

80

/258/

100

/50/

90

An anthology of darkly comic twisted tales, each one taking place behind a door marked 'number 9'.

87

IMDb 69

8.8

/343203/

86

/12001/

82

/1487/

95

/343/

88

86

/111/

age 16+

Follow the lives of the Roy family as they contemplate their future once their aging father begins to step back from the media and entertainment conglomerate they control.

87

8.6

/29981/

85

/1691/

78

/228/

92

/55/

95

age 16+

Hank and Dean Venture, with their father Doctor Venture and faithful bodyguard Brock Samson, go on wild adventures facing megalomaniacs, zombies, and suspicious ninjas, all for the glory of adventure. Or something like that.

87

8.6

/6270/

80

/540/

79

/69/

4.3

/18393/

100

/13/

96

86

/4/

Comedy duo Thomas Middleditch and Ben Schwartz turn small ideas into epically funny stories in this series of completely improvised comedy specials.

87

8.4

/19772/

86

/1780/

80

/142/

96

/18/

89

age 15+

Set in 1996 in Lincolnshire, the show tells the tragic and humorous story of a very troubled young girl Rae, who has just left a psychiatric hospital, where she has spent four months after attempting suicide, begins to reconnect with her best friend Chloe and her group, who are unaware of Rae's mental health and body image problems, believing she was in France for the past four months.

86

8.7

/10982/

84

/801/

87

/293/

4.4

/27141/

100

/10/

83

78

/5/

age 14+

Fionna and Cake – with the help of the former Ice King, Simon Petrikov - embark on a multiverse-hopping adventure and journey of self-discovery. All the while a powerful new antagonist determined to track them down and erase them from existence, lurks in the shadows.

86

8.3

/21984/

80

/1021/

76

/149/

4.4

/23160/

96

/45/

92

91

/20/

age 15+

The unvarnished truth of life as a doctor working in obstetrics and gynaecology.

86

8.3

/17906/

79

/648/

71

/72/

100

/76/

94

89

/26/

age 14+

Sam is a true Kansan on the surface but beneath it all struggles to fit the hometown mold. As she grapples with loss and acceptance, singing is Sam’s saving grace and leads her on a journey to discover herself and a community of outsiders that don’t fit in but don’t give up, showing that finding your people, and finding your voice, is possible. Anywhere. Somewhere.

86

8.9

/380412/

85

/14257/

82

/2232/

89

/131/

92

84

/16/

age 14+

A stand-up comedian and his three offbeat friends weather the pitfalls and payoffs of life in New York City in the '90s. It's a show about nothing.

86

8.5

/20428/

83

/1310/

76

/146/

100

/26/

95

82

/8/

age 15+

After breaking up with his girlfriend, Josh comes to the realization that he is homosexual. With the support of his now ex girlfriend Claire, and his best friend and house mate Tom, Josh must help his mother with her battle with depression and the rest of his family embrace his new found lifestyle.

86

8.5

/84934/

82

/4636/

77

/552/

93

/120/

95

87

/93/

age 18+

Louis C.K. stars as a fictionalized version of himself; a comedian and newly divorced father raising his two daughters in New York City.

86

79

/730/

76

/147/

94

/52/

92

92

/19/

age 14+

The life of a 15 year-old high school student, whose angst-ridden journey through adolescence, friendship, parents, and life teaches her what it means to grow up.

86

IMDb 61

9.0

/681783/

86

/36352/

86

/10592/

90

/247/

82

age 14+

Follows a sociopathic genius scientist who drags his inherently timid grandson on adventures across the universe.

86

9.0

/65381/

88

/976/

80

/290/

Only Fools and Horses.... Is a British sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally transmitted on BBC One from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until 2003. In working-class Peckham in south-east London, ambitious market trader Derek 'Del Boy' Trotter and his younger half-brother Rodney, explore their highs and lows in life, in particular their attempts to get rich. Initially not an immediate hit and receiving little promotion early on, it later achieved consistently high ratings, and the 1996 episode "Time on Our Hands" (originally billed as the series finale) holds the record for the biggest UK audience for a sitcom episode, attracting 24.3 million viewers. The series bears a significant influence on British culture, contributing several words and phrases to the English language.

86

8.4

/61817/

82

/3911/

78

/443/

96

/46/

95

85

/44/

age 14+

A pie-maker, with the power to bring dead people back to life, solves murder mysteries with his alive-again childhood sweetheart, a cynical private investigator, and a lovesick waitress.

86

8.4

/64040/

84

/3042/

80

/570/

93

/13/

91

age 15+

Black Books centres around the foul tempered and wildly eccentric bookshop owner Bernard Black. Bernard’s devotion to the twin pleasures of drunkenness and wilful antagonism deepens and enriches both his life and that of Manny, his assistant. Bearded, sweet and good, Manny is everything that Bernard isn’t and is punished by Bernard relentlessly just for the crime of existing. They depend on each other for meaning as Fran, their oldest friend, depends on them for distraction. Black Books is a haven of books, wine and conversation, the only threat to the group’s peace and prosperity is their own limitless stupidity.

86

8.8

/164443/

85

/5827/

81

/876/

92

/258/

90

84

/130/

age 15+

The off-kilter, unscripted comic vision of Larry David, who plays himself in a parallel universe in which he can't seem to do anything right, and, by his standards, neither can anyone else.

86

IMDb 75

8.7

/583048/

85

/33532/

85

/7258/

89

/81/

96

75

/50/

age 14+

Dr. Gregory House, a drug-addicted, unconventional, misanthropic medical genius, leads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton–Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey.

85

7.6

/45324/

79

/2470/

80

/1072/

96

/31/

96

88

/32/

age 12+

Chris is a teenager growing up as the eldest of three children in Brooklyn, New York during the early 1980s. Uprooted to a new neighborhood and bused to a predominantly white middle school two-hours away by his strict, hard-working parents, Chris struggles to find his place while keeping his siblings in line at home and surmounting the challenges of junior high.

85

8.8

/277965/

86

/12397/

82

/1261/

94

/273/

90

72

/77/

age 17+

Four egocentric friends run a neighborhood Irish pub in Philadelphia and try to find their way through the adult world of work and relationships. Unfortunately, their warped views and precarious judgments often lead them to trouble, creating a myriad of uncomfortable situations that usually only get worse before they get better.

85

8.2

/25570/

78

/1265/

75

/158/

98

/161/

92

87

/47/

age 17+

Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan write and star in a comedy that follows an American man and an Irish woman who make a bloody mess as they struggle to fall in love in London.

85

8.2

/152140/

82

/10877/

82

/1494/

96

/74/

93

76

/34/

age 13+

In exchange for his freedom, charming con artist Neal Caffrey provides his expertise to help straight-man FBI agent Peter Burke catch elusive white-collar criminals.

85

8.6

/18619/

86

/534/

83

/160/

Satirical sitcom set in the office of a UK Cabinet minister, Jim Hacker MP, who struggles with Civil Service bureaucracy and political machinations as he tries to get on with government business.

85

8.6

/27474/

82

/644/

76

/215/

87

/69/

98

81

/6/

age 13+

A stranded spaceship pilot captured by mad scientists survives a blitz of cheesy B movies by riffing on them with his funny robot pals.

85

8.2

/215955/

82

/18165/

79

/1869/

97

/233/

90

82

/48/

age 14+

Eleanor Shellstrop, an ordinary woman who, through an extraordinary string of events, enters the afterlife where she comes to realize that she hasn't been a very good person. With the help of her wise afterlife mentor, she's determined to shed her old way of living and discover the awesome (or at least the pretty good) person within.

85

8.0

/5703/

76

/538/

81

/386/

3.6

/2296/

100

/10/

92

age 7+

Merlin’s apprentice joins Arcadia’s heroes on a time-bending adventure in Camelot, where conflict is brewing between the human, troll and magical worlds.

85

8.3

/24234/

81

/902/

78

/409/

91

/32/

96

In this cult parody of cop dramas, replete with farce and sight gags, Lieutenant Frank Drebin and his fellow officers from Police Squad bungle their way though crime investigations.

86

85

8.4

/13090/

81

/412/

77

/116/

93

/22/

97

The League of Gentlemen is a British comedy television series that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The show is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in Northern England based on Bacup, Lancashire. It follows the lives of dozens of bizarre townspeople, most of whom are played by three of the show's four writers—Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith—who, along with Jeremy Dyson, formed the League of Gentlemen comedy troupe in 1995. The series originally aired for three series from 1999 until 2002 followed by a film in 2005. A three-part revival mini-series was broadcast in December 2017 to celebrate the group's 20th anniversary.

85

8.1

/15899/

75

/890/

83

/298/

97

/101/

88

87

/36/

age 15+

Middle school as it really happened. Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle star in this adult comedy, playing versions of themselves as thirteen-year-old outcasts in the year 2000, surrounded by actual thirteen-year-olds, where the best day of your life can turn into your worst with the stroke of a gel pen.

85

8.5

/21456/

82

/875/

80

/172/

4.4

/16654/

87

/23/

94

age 15+

When the Hellmouth opens beneath Darkplace Hospital in downtown Romford, kiddy doctor, Vietnam veteran and ex-warlock Dr. Rick Dagless M.D. is the only man who can close it. Joined by best buddy Dr. Lucien Sanchez, fiery hospital boss Thornton Reed, and woman Liz Asher, Dagless must fight the forces of Darkness while dealing with the burden of day-to-day admin. From the chilling pen of best-selling horror writer Garth Marenghi comes this lost masterpiece of televisual terror. Dare you enter Garth's Darkplace?

84

8.0

/158497/

79

/6408/

77

/828/

4.2

/346845/

98

/125/

87

86

/35/

RogerEbert

3.5

age 15+

A road rage incident between two strangers — a failing contractor and an unfulfilled entrepreneur — sparks a feud that brings out their darkest impulses.

84

8.5

/27021/

83

/1640/

85

/354/

4.4

/77909/

age 15+

Smiling Friends Inc. is a small company whose main purpose is to bring happiness and make people smile. The series follows the day-to-day lives and misadventures of its representatives, the lazy, cynical Charlie, and the cheerful, optimistic Pim, as they try to cheer up and comfort the troubled people who call their company's hotline. They receive seemingly simple requests but the jobs turn out to be more complicated than they seem, making it difficult to bring happiness to the world.

84

8.2

/49953/

79

/2859/

74

/251/

99

/90/

89

83

/39/

age 5+

In this workplace comedy, a group of dedicated, passionate teachers — and a slightly tone-deaf principal — are brought together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life. Though these incredible public servants may be outnumbered and underfunded, they love what they do — even if they don’t love the school district’s less-than-stellar attitude toward educating children.

84

8.2

/60111/

80

/2535/

74

/305/

99

/220/

84

87

/91/

age 16+

Explore a dark mentorship that forms between Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas comedian, and an entitled, outcast 25-year-old.

84

8.4

/7040/

81

/684/

75

/57/

95

/50/

93

78

/20/

age 14+

A review of a movie, or a restaurant, or a car—or whatever else that typically falls under a critic's domain—is all well and good, and can even be helpful at times. But how can one find out about myriad other experiences that are never tackled in reviews? Enter Forrest MacNeil, a critic who goes beyond overviews of life's more-common subjects—way beyond—to satisfy the curiosity of others: The adrenaline rush of stealing; the danger of drug addiction; the delight of sleeping with a celebrity. MacNeil tries anything suggested by viewers of his TV show, then presents a 1-to-5-star review. But his unwavering commitment to experiencing intense adventures means he must deal with the unintended consequences of such a goal.

84

8.2

/27783/

78

/817/

75

/121/

98

/27/

90

age 16+

Essex and Wales collide when Gavin and Stacey fall in love - bringing their friends, family and baggage with them.

84

8.5

/18194/

81

/732/

77

/147/

4.3

/7450/

96

/26/

91