Good One: A Show About Jokes

Comedian Rik Mayall died suddenly on 9 June 2014. Mayall's blend of rocket-fuelled physical comedy, surrealism, subversive satire and pompous punk wit left a body of work that spanned four decades. Mayall's characters include the Black Country's investigative nerd Kevin Turvey, Felicity Kendal-adoring student and 'People's Poet' Rik in The Young Ones, ruthless MP Alan B'Stard in The New Statesman, seedy loser Richie in Bottom and larger-than-life characters Robin Hood and flying ace Lord Flashheart from Blackadder. Narrated by Simon Callow, this programme salutes Rik Mayall and celebrates his part in the UK's comedy history using rare and unseen archive footage. It also features contributions from people who knew or admired him, including Michael Palin, Simon Pegg, Lenny Henry, Ben Elton, Alexei Sayle, Christopher Ryan, Tim McInnerny, Jools Holland, Ruby Wax and Greg Davies.

Intimate documentary exploring how Paul O'Grady's creation, Lily Savage, took mainstream TV by storm. Unravel the real story of Lily with insights from Paul's daughter and famous pals.

Follows childhood friends turned professional comedians, Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett, the founders of the Found Footage Festival. When Nick and Joe book their gag strongman routine on unsuspecting morning news shows, their pranks go viral and land them in federal court with a vengeful media conglomerate. The stress of the lawsuit and pressure to continue their pranks threatens their livelihood and tests their lifelong friendship.

The final word in the story of what really happened to Robin Williams at the end of his life, focusing on his fight against a deadly neurodegenerative disorder known as Lewy body dementia.

Mae West achieved great acclaim in every entertainment medium that existed during her lifetime, spanning eight decades of the 20th century. A full-time actress at seven, a vaudevillian at 14, a dancing sensation at 25, a playwright at 33, a silver screen ingénue at 40, a Vegas nightclub act at 62, a recording artist at 73, a camp icon at 85 - West left no format unconquered. She possessed creative and economic powers unheard of for a female entertainer in the 1930s and still rare today. Though a comedian, West grappled with some of the more complex social issues of the 20th century, including race and class tensions, and imbued even her most salacious plotlines with commentary about gender conformity, societal restrictions and what she perceived as moral hypocrisy. Mae West: Dirty Blonde is the first major documentary film to explore West's life and career, as she "climbed the ladder of success wrong by wrong" to become a writer, performer and subversive agitator for social change.

After losing his mother to obesity, a thirty-two year old chubby ginger comedian and vegan son-of-a-pig-farmer sets out to avoid the same fate by running one hundred miles through the mountains of Colorado in one of the world's most difficult ultra trail marathons...and lives to tell jokes about it.

In 1948, Lenny Bruce was just another comic who couldn't get arrested. By 1961, all that would change.

This documentary explores Bob Einstein’s unlikely discovery and enduring career, sharing the many evolving layers of his comedy from the people that knew him best.

The life story of Richard Pryor (1940-2005), the legendary performer and iconic social satirist who transcended racial and social barriers with his honest, irreverent and biting humor.

Through nine feature films, an Emmy-award-winning TV show, and thousands of television commercials, Ernest P. Worrell became a beloved comedy icon. Originally created as an advertising character, Ernest transcended these humble beginnings to become an unexpected hit—given life through the creativity of an indispensable team of artists, as well as through the unparalleled talent of actor Jim Varney. Today, two decades after Varney’s death, both Ernest and Jim seem to endure largely as pop culture footnotes; or worse, as easy punchlines. But there’s more to Ernest than that, and this documentary film will guide viewers through the entire Ernest epoch to examine the shelf life of a phenomenon. Using archival footage, cast and crew interviews, and never-before-seen material, we will seek to answer the questions: “Who was Ernest, who was Jim Varney, how did they relate, and why do they both mean so much to people?”

This one-of-a-kind comedy special showcases the comedian's riotous stand-up performance, exploring everything from the Disability experience to her Italian-Catholic upbringing to body image issues and more.

Mike Epps, Richard Pryor Jr. and others recount the culture-defining influence of Richard Pryor - one of America's most brilliant, iconic comic minds.

Can three comedians from Bosnia overcome the bitterness of the past to reunite and reconcile? Often compared to Monty Python's Flying Circus the comedy team from Sarajevo known as Top Lista Nadrealista or The Surrealist Hit Parade rose to prominence on the eve of the breakup of Yugoslavia. Nele, Zenit and Djuro became household names throughout the Balkans. The wars that followed the splintering of the country pitted each of the diverse communities against one another. The bitter conflict exposed some nationalist loyalties among the comedians and lead to the acrimonious break-up of Top Lista. The split reflecting the broader tribulations dividing their homeland.

It was a year of extremes for Jochem Myjer: he performed in Carré one-hundred times but at the same time struggled with the tumors growing in his back. How did he keep himself going?

Produced over four years with full access from Ken’s widow Lady Dodd, the film takes an in-depth look into Doddy’s private world, exploring the many secrets of his comic talent, revealing never-before-seen home-videos, stage performances and extracts from some of the thousands of Ken’s diary notebooks which he’d asked his wife to burn after his death. Wrestling with her conscience for quite some time, Lady Dodd, finally agrees with entertainment historians, museum curators and many of Ken’s admirers like Stephen K Amos, Harry Hill, Shaparak Khorsandi, Lee Mack, Paul O’Grady, Johnny Vegas, and Sir Ian McKellen to preserve Doddy’s notebooks for posterity. These stars explore their passion and memories of Ken in this candid, insightful film which takes you backstage behind the red curtain to reveal a far more intriguing man than the public or even his wife ever realised.

The origins of the "Seinfeld" TV series.

Comedian Jim Davidson offers an in-depth exploration of his life and unique career. Sign in to watchTrue, he's no longer the BBC's Mr Saturday Night. At one point he was earning £1.5 million a year as host of Big Break and The Generation Game. The BBC dropped him in 2002, but that was years before cancel culture, and even his manager admitted that he'd had a good run.

Turn off the alarms and throw away the keys as these two comics set the inmates of Arizona State Prison rolling with laughter.

Explore the unlikely partnership and enduring legacy of one of the most prolific power couples in entertainment history. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz risked everything to be together.

Documentary about radio comedies primarily focused on Burns & Allen, Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy, The Jack Benny Program, Fibber McGee & Molly, The Bob Hope Show, and The Fred Allen Show.