A late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. The show's comedy sketches, which parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers an opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, and features performances by a musical guest.
Chewin' the Fat is a Scottish comedy sketch show, starring Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill and Karen Dunbar. Comedians Paul Riley and Mark Cox also appeared regularly on the show. Chewin' the Fat first started as a radio series on BBC Radio Scotland. The later television show, which ran for four series, was first broadcast on BBC One Scotland, but series three and four, as well as highlights from the first two series, were later broadcast to the rest of the United Kingdom. Although the last series ended in February 2002, 6 Hogmanay specials were broadcast and offered on DVD when purchasing the Scottish Sun between 2000 to 2005, one every year. Chewin' the Fat gave rise to the spin-off show Still Game, a sitcom focusing on the two old male characters Jack and Victor. The series was mostly filmed in and around Glasgow and occasionally West Dunbartonshire. The English idiom to chew the fat means to chat casually, but thoroughly, about subjects of mutual interest.
Goodness Gracious Me is a BBC English language sketch comedy show originally aired on BBC Radio 4 from 1996 to 1998 and later televised on BBC Two from 1998 to 2001. The ensemble cast were four British Indian actors, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia. The show explored the conflict and integration between traditional Indian culture and modern British life. Some sketches reversed the roles to view the British from an Indian perspective, and others poked fun at Indian stereotypes. In the television series most of the white characters were played by Dave Lamb and Fiona Allen; in the radio series those parts were played by the cast themselves. The show's title and theme tune is a bhangra rearrangement of a hit comedy song of the same name. The original was performed by Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren reprising their characters from the 1960 film The Millionairess. The show's original working title was "Peter Sellers is Dead", but was changed because the cast generally liked Peter Sellers. In her 1996 novel Anita and Me, Syal had referred to British parodies of Asian speech as "a goodness-gracious-me accent". One of the more famous sketches featured the cast "going out for an English" after a few lassis. They mispronounce the waiter's name, order the blandest thing on the menu and ask for twenty-four plates of chips. The sketch parodies often-drunk English people "going out for an Indian", ordering chicken phall and too many papadums. This sketch was voted the 6th Greatest Comedy Sketch on a Channel 4 list show.
A topical comedy show, mixing stand-up with sketches and impressions, starring David Baddiel, Robert Newman, Hugh Dennis and Steve Punt.
Innovative and influential, and originally envisaged as children’s show, Do Not Adjust Your Set was a madcap early-evening comedy sketch show that quickly acquired a cult following with Swinging Sixties adults, who rushed home from work to see it. Written by and starring Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, with great performances and additional material by David Jason and Denise Coffey, it also provided an early showcase for the hilarious animations of Terry Gilliam, and the brilliantly bizarre musical antics of the legendary Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.
Doggy Fizzle Televizzle is a sketch comedy show that was produced by, and starred, the rap musician Snoop Dogg. It was aired on MTV in 2002 until 2003. Snoop Dogg stated that according to the contract, the show was to air six times, but it turned out to be a series of eight parts. The second season was canceled due to payment negotiation issues, since Snoop Dogg asked for $1 million for his role, which MTV refused to pay him. In the beginning of every show Snoop is seen sitting bored in a leather armchair in an empty room while switching channels from Jerry Springer to a cart race then to black and white burlesque figure skating after that to a strip show and finally to a Richard Marx music video when he decides to change the situation and the idea of Doggy Fizzle Televizzle comes to his mind. This ends the intro and the main theme follows with Snoop rapping.
Spitting Image is an award winning British satirical puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. The series was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Independent Television over 18 series which aired on the ITV from 1984 to 1996. The series was nominated and won numerous awards during its run including 10 BAFTA Awards, including one for editing in 1989, and even won two Emmy Awards in 1985 and 1986 in the Popular Arts Category. The series featured puppet caricatures of celebrities famous during the 1980s and 1990s, including British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and fellow Tory politicians, American president Ronald Reagan, and the British Royal Family. The Series was the first to caricature the Queen mother.
Nick Cannon and an A-list celebrity lead a team of improv comedians as they compete against each other.
A series of six outrageous one-hour specials showcasing the groundbreaking comedians.
UK-produced partially improvised comedy based on the original Australian show with the same name. In the show, four guests are placed into a scene they have no knowledge about and have to improvise. The series is hosted by Paul Merton, who also acts as judge and performs his own improvised scene.
Improvisational sketch comedy show featuring celebrities forced to perform a scene in which they have no idea what will happen. Based on the Australian series, Thank God You're Here (2006).
Viva Variety is an American sketch comedy series that aired on Comedy Central from April 1997 to December 1999. The series satirizes European variety shows.
The Kevin Bishop Show was a sketch comedy written by and starring English comedian Kevin Bishop, part of the Star Stories team. The show was commissioned by Channel 4 for a six-part series starting on the 25th of July 2008 at 10pm. A pilot was broadcast on the 23rd of November 2007 as part of Channel 4's Comedy Showcase and the programme soon earned interest for its incredibly fast pace; 42 sketches were shown in 23 minutes. The show was nominated for Best New Comedy at the 2008 British Comedy Awards. The show started its second series on Friday the 31st of July 2009 at 10pm on Channel 4.
Katy Brand's Big Ass Show is a British comedy programme on ITV2. The show features comedian Katy Brand in skits of real life situations and stereotypes, as well and celebrities such as Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Lady Gaga, Angelina Jolie, Adele and Kate Winslet. The second series began on 2 September 2008. The series is carried in Canada on CBC's bold channel as of October 2008, and in Portugal on RTP2, each Sunday latenights at 11:50 pm, on the "Britcom" strand. Her comic clips in the second series include Princess Beatrice of York, Kate Moss, Leona Lewis, Jesus, The Queen and Billie Piper's Secret Diary of a Call Girl. A Christmas special called Katy Brand's Big Ass Songs of 2008 aired on 13 December 2008. The third and final series began on 10 September 2009 and ended on 15 October 2009. When Katy appeared on Justin Lee Collins: Good Times she stated that there would be no more series of Katy Brand's Big Ass Show and that she would end the show with a live tour throughout April 2010.
Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy is an American cartoon web series created by Seth MacFarlane. The series is based on the cutaway jokes on Family Guy.
The Andy Dick Show is an American sketch comedy series that aired on MTV from February 2001 to May 2002. The series was created by and starred comedian Andy Dick.
Bremner, Bird and Fortune is an award-winning satirical British television programme produced by Vera Productions for Channel Four, uniting the longstanding satirical team of John Bird and John Fortune with the satirical impressionist Rory Bremner, and to date has 16 series.
Bruiser is a TV comedy sketch show produced for BBC Two.
The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer was a BBC TV sketch show written by and starring double act Vic Reeves & Bob Mortimer. Its first series appeared in 1993 following the duo's move to the BBC after parting company with Channel 4. The show marked a continuation of Reeves & Mortimer's bizarre, anarchic and frequently silly comedy that they had first explored on Channel 4's Vic Reeves Big Night Out, with a number of important differences.
Bang Bang - It's Reeves and Mortimer continues the anarchic and surreal blend of offbeat comedy that has made the duo so popular. The series is arguably a continuation of The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer, although a number of new characters were added. There's also a spoof fly-on-the-wall documentary about Baron's Night Club – a clear precursor to Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights . The high-voiced Stott brothers--who appeared in Vic Reeves Big Night Out --return to terrorise celebrities. The show capitalised on the duo's success with the spoof game show Shooting Stars and brought in a darker edge to their humour.