10 Brilliant British Comedy Series That Will Brighten Up Your Life

You won't even need tea or biscuits to enjoy them! Though Jammie Dodgers and mint tea would certainly enhance the experience.

1. Blackadder

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Blackadder is a mock-historical comedy series that follows the life of Edmund Blackadder through a range of eras in British history. Though each season of the show is set in a different time period, the characters are part of the same ancestral bloodline. The colorful cast of characters played by Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, and Rik Mayall are guaranteed to keep you chuckling even at the last heartfelt moment. The series is dripping with a special kind of sarcastic wit that pokes fun of the societal norms and politics of each significant moment of the past.

2. Fawlty Towers

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Meet Basil Fawlty, owner of the notorious Fawlty Towers hotel. The situational comedy depicts the bizarre struggles of Fawlty as he attempts in conducting the day to day duties of being a hotel manager. There is never a dull moment. From an innocent fire drill gone wrong to a guest dying in the middle of the night, Fawlty Towers is a cleverly choreographed ballet of escalating frustration...and the inevitable consequences of bottling it up.

3. Spaced

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When Tim and Daisy pretend to be a professional couple in order to meet the requirements for renting a North London flat, it prompts a series of surrealistic adventures that the duo and their best friends embark on as they navigate through life. Each episode is like a short film, encompassing cinematic techniques whilst paying homage to some of the best bits from not only science fiction and horror films, but also comics and video games. If you adore the magnificent work of Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost as much as I do, it's a sure thing you'll fall in love with this cult classic.

4. Black Books

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Bernard Black owns a quaint little bookshop in London. The only problem is his prominent hatred for the human race, his nihilistic views on life, and his adoration for drinking excessively. Sometimes his distaste for the customers gets in the way of conducting business; shouting at guests with a bullhorn isn't always the best approach. That's where Manny, his optimistic assistant, and Fran, his romantically impaired best friend, come into play. They attempt in canceling out his pessimism by persuading Bernard to dabble in more culturally presentable habits. Their attempts often fail.

5. Monty Python's Flying Circus

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And now for something completely different. Literally. Monty Python's Flying Circus is the sketch comedy series that started it all. The absurdity, the sight gags, the observational humor, the skits rich with innuendos, characters constantly breaking the fourth wall, and on top of it all nothing ever ended with a punchline (unless it was for the sole purpose of self-mockery); there will never be anything like it again. The intellectual comedy throughout the series focused on all characteristics of British life. No one was safe from their grasps. Oh! And don't forget to don your best silly walk the next time you're out and about.

6. The Thick of It

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The Thick of It is a dark satirical comedy that focuses on the nitty-gritty world of the British government, more so the fictional Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship (DoSAC). One of the most inspiring aspects of this show is the dialogue; don't even get me started on Malcolm Tucker's superb verbiage. What's more enlightening than discovering millions of different ways you can tell someone off? I'll be sure to add "he's about as much use as a marzipan dildo," to my list of future insults.

7. Extras

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Like so many other aspiring performers in the entertainment industry, Andy Millman dreams of being a star. Though much to his dismay, his agent is completely useless. The result has resorted Andy to working the life of an extra; or as he would call it, a background artist. In typical Ricky Gervais fashion, there are a plethora of cringe worthy moments sprinkled throughout the series. Despite wanting to cover your eyes as the characters get themselves into awkward situations, it's yet another reason to keep watching.

8. Red Dwarf

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Space: The final frontier. And the backdrop for the entirety of Red Dwarf. Dave Lister is the last human left alive. He is lazy, well meaning, and a curry eating eejit. Though he isn't alone. His only company are the three other beings in the universe with an IQ lower than his. A hologram, a humanoid feline, and a robot. The series is a strong character driven comedy that depicts the lot trying to cope with each other and attempting to survive being stranded in deep space.

9. The IT Crowd

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Reynholm Industries is a fictional British corporation based in London. And where the three main characters of The IT Crowd work. There's Roy and Moss, two technicians who also happen to be socially awkward, your standard nerds. And there's Jen. Who like me, knows absolutely nothing about the technicalities of computers. Yes I have checked to see if it's plugged in, thank you. The team go about their work at the corporation with palpable chemistry, all thanks to the amusing dialogue slewed with geek culture references.

10. I'm Alan Partridge

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You might know Alan Partridge as the former host of the chat show Knowing Me, Knowing You. That was before he was let go for punching the Chief Commissioning Editor in the face...with a stuffed partridge. And also in part because his ratings were declining. I also forgot to mention that his wife divorced him and his personal life is severely depressing. Now he works the graveyard shift at Radio Norwich. He'll do anything to get back on television. I mean, anything.