HELP! Need recomendations of Modern classics

I am a British Comedy fan from the US. I lived over there for about a year during the 1990s and was exposed to some fantastic comedy while I was there. This coming weekend I'll be on a panel discussing great British TV shows that Americans shouldn't miss, and I want to be sure we capture some of the shows that would be considered "do not miss" from the last few years that will take us a while to hear about!

Spaced, The IT Crowd, Black Books, Mighty Boosh, The Office, Red Dwarf, Green Wing, League Of Gentlemen, Little Britain will all no doubt be named as they have some strong followers over here thanks to the internet and BBC America. What are some more great shows that fall in line with these classics from the last few years that capture the same style of humour? Keep in mind that accessibility is key, and that a show like "The Inbetweeners" and "Peep Show" may be very funny, but they may have more appeal to someone who has an understanding of Brit life (which most attending the convention won't).

Thanks ahead of time!
Pete

Hi Pete and welcome. Personally I'm not a fan of much modern stuff, but, if you look down the threads in the 'British Sitcoms' area it'll give a good idea of what's around.

I'm about to spend a month over there in Iowa so I will be trawling through the channels and will be reporting back on what I will find while over there.

Very difficult to say. If only because being British, we're not really aware of what we wouldn't 'get' if we didn't have our cultural knowledge... If that makes sense. Personally, I'm very surprised by some of those names if you're worried about accessibility on that level!

It's not a sitcom, but you've mentioned Little Britain, so a more recent sketch show is That Mitchell And Webb Look.

My brain's gone blank on other recent sitcoms of note.

Oh, and welcome to the site!

I think if you get Spaced, you would get The Inbetweeners and Peep Show..?

Yeah, indeed. That's one of the things that confused me.

Quote: zooo @ June 28 2009, 12:53 AM BST

I think if you get Spaced, you would get The Inbetweeners and Peep Show..?

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Yeah sorry if I'm vague... Spaced is accessible for Americans because of all of the pop culture and nerd references. The IT Crowd is popular among geeks here as well because the jokes are pretty universal. Situations that happen could happen anywhere really. I might need to see more Peep Show and more Inbetweeners, but the episodes I saw were heavy in football jokes and used a lot of slang and references that might be lost on the average fan here. Like The original Office needed to be "dumbed down" a bit for the US for example...

Hope you have a great time on vacation this summer! Most of the best US TV is on during the fall and spring. Summer is full of reality shows, reruns, and filler because most people watch TV in the colder months.

Thanks guys!

You might like to try The Vicar of Dibley. Especially the early episodes. Not that recent but then neither is Red Dwarf that you mentioned.

Not Going Out is a popular current sitcom, and presumably you are aware of Flight of the Concords- not particularly my cup of tea, but very culty. And there is the political satire, The Thick Of It. I Iiked the Paul Whitehouse vehicles Happiness and Help, but no-one else really did.

Things like Human Remains and Marion and Geoff were generally very well received and have some similarities to one or two of the shows that you mentioned. I also don't think they have that many British cultural references.

I'm Alan Partridge, The Day Today and Brass Eye as well but they are all obviously a bit older.

Quote: Pete Lane @ June 28 2009, 2:56 AM BST

I might need to see more Inbetweeners, but the episodes I saw were heavy in football jokes and used a lot of slang and references that might be lost on the average fan here.

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I can't think of many football jokes... I hate the sport and know nothing about it, but love the series, so can't imagine it'd make that much difference? As for the slang, much of it is made up. If you can watch something like Are You Being Served? and laugh at the double entendres, then you shouldn't have too much difficulty working out what they mean in The Inbetweeners.

Quote: Timbo @ June 28 2009, 12:46 PM BST

I liked Help, but no-one else really did.

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?!!!? *struggles to think of someone who didn't like it*

Quote: Timbo @ June 28 2009, 12:46 PM BST

Not Going Out is a popular current sitcom, and presumably you are aware of Flight of the Concords- not particularly my cup of tea, but very culty. And there is the political satire, The Thick Of It. I Iiked the Paul Whitehouse vehicles Happiness and Help, but no-one else really did.

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Yes to all the above(except Happiness which I've been told has a botched DVD release so I never checked it out).
Help is glorious, also check out Chris Langham from it in People Like Us, I've only heard the radio shows but they're among the funniest things the BBC ever made.
...just make sure to not check out Chris Langham's lifestory or whatever, can make people biased against him.

Try 15 Storeys High, I think it's solid gold but others have thought differently.

Quote: sardines @ June 28 2009, 11:32 PM BST

Try 15 Storeys High, I think it's solid gold but others have thought differently.

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I agree. The swan episode alone makes 15 Storeys High worth watching.

Thanks everyone! Glad to have all of these great suggestions! Now to find time to check them out!

Great site!

Nobody told me some of this modern stuff was classic!