British sitcom

A British sitcom is a situation comedy (sitcom) produced in Great Britain. In the United States, they are often called Britcoms, but that term also applies broadly to any British comedy.

British sitcom forms a distinct subgenre of the sitcom, and can be distinguished from its American cousin in that British situation comedies generally have shorter runs and a distinct style of humour. Also, actors in British comedies tend to appear in more different sitcoms than Americans.

Many British sitcoms are distributed worldwide by Lionheart Productions and can been seen in the United States on stations that are part of the Public Broadcasting Service. Through these, a number of "Britcoms" have become achieved cult status in the United States - particularly Fawlty Towers, Mr. Bean, Blackadder and Red Dwarf. Britcoms that have become popular with mainstream US audiences include Yes, Minister, Keeping Up Appearances, As Time Goes By, Father Ted and Coupling.

Since the 1970s, the Cambridge Footlights club, the London based The Comic Strip club and the Edinburgh Festival have been spring boards or breeding grounds for many of the big names in Britcom.

Recurring writers/directors of that era include David Croft, Richard Curtis, Ben Elton and John Lloyd.

A more comprehensive list of British sitcoms follows, in order of first airing on British television:

• Hancock's Half Hour (1954 (radio broadcasts), transfered to TV 1956-1962)
• Steptoe and Son (1962-1974)
• The Brittas Empire (early 1990s)
• The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1970s)
• Till Death Us Do Part (1964-1974)
• Two's Company
• Dad's Army (-1976)
• Are You Being Served (1972-1985)
• Birds of a Feather (1989-2001)
• Bless This House
• Love Thy Neighbour
• Absolutely Fabulous
• Fawlty Towers (1975, 1979)
• ''A Fine Romance
• Porridge
• Billy Liar
• Butterflies
• Last of the Summer Wine (1973-present???)
• The Good Life (1975-1977)
• Citizen Smith (1977-1980)
• Terry and June
• To the Manor Born
• Only Fools and Horses
• Yes, Minister & Yes, Prime Minister (1980-1988)
• Ever Decreasing Circles
• Blackadder (1983-1989)
• Chance in a Million (1984)
• Red Dwarf (1988-)
• One Foot in the Grave (1990-2000)
• Keeping Up Appearances
• Kiss me Kate
• Mr. Bean
• As Time Goes By (1992-2002)
• Father Ted
• Coupling (2000-2002)
• My Hero
• Fresh Fields
• Chef

Related Topics

• List of British TV shows remade for the American market
• List of comedies

See Also

• UK topics

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(merge maybe to/from British comedy)