Best tv shows like Absolutely Fabulous
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Set in the world of fashion and PR, immature fun-loving mother Edina Monsoon and her best friend Patsy drive Eddie's sensible daughter, Saffron, up the wall with their constant drug abuse and outrageous selfishness. Numerous in-jokes and heavy doses of cruel humour have made this series a cult hit in the UK and abroad.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: sitcom, funny, hilarious, offbeat, humorous, realistic, witty, not serious, biting, game show
Best tv shows and movies like Absolutely Fabulous (1992):
Similar in 83%
Till Death Us Do Part (1965)
Plot Summary:
Till Death Us Do Part is a ground-breaking British sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1965 to 1975. First airing as a Comedy Playhouse pilot, the show aired in seven series until 1975. Six years later, ITV continued the sitcom, calling it Till Death.... From 1985 to 1992, the BBC produced a sequel In Sickness and in Health. Created by Johnny Speight, Till Death Us Do Part centred on the East End Garnett family, led by patriarch Alf Garnett, a reactionary white working-class man who holds racist and anti-socialist views. His gentle and long-suffering wife Else was played by Dandy Nichols, and his daughter Rita by Una Stubbs. Rita's bright but layabout husband Mike Rawlins is a socialist. The character Alf Garnett became a well known character in British culture, and Mitchell played him on stage and television up until 1998, when Speight died. In addition to the spin-off In Sickness and in Health, Till Death Us Do Part was re-made in many countries including Brazil, Germany and the United States. Many episodes from the first three series are thought to no longer exist, having been wiped in the late 1960s and early '70s as was the policy at the time.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 985
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, political, controversial, humorous, realistic, witty, talky, not serious, biting, suspense
Similar in 83%
2point4 Children (1991)
Plot Summary:
2point4 children is a 1990s British sitcom that was created and written by Andrew Marshall. It follows the lives of the Porter family; an average family that is persistently faced with surreal situations and sheer bad luck. The show was originally broadcast on BBC One from 1991 to 1999, and ran for eight series, ending in a special Millennium edition that would be the last due to the death of Gary Olsen, who died from cancer in 2000. The show is now repeated regularly in the UK on Gold, and in Australia on UKTV. The title of the show refers to the once average size of a UK family. There are two children in the Porter family, however Andrew Marshall has indicated that the father, Ben, could be considered almost another child, making up the "point four". The show regularly picked up large audiences of up to 14 million in the early 1990s, with an average of between 6 - 9 million, the final episode was viewed by 9.03 million people. In 1997 a remake of the show debuted in the Netherlands: 'Kees & Co' starring Simone Kleinsma.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 40 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, realistic, not serious
Similar in 83%
Smack the Pony (1999)
Plot Summary:
Smack the Pony is a British sketch comedy show that ran from 1999 until 2003 on Channel 4. The main performers on the show were Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan, and Sally Phillips. There were also regular appearances from Sarah Alexander, Darren Boyd, and Cavan Clerkin. The show's popular theme tune was Dusty Springfield's song In the Middle of Nowhere, sung by Jackie Clune. As well as the three principal cast members, the show was written by a large number of writers, the core of which went on to write Green Wing and Campus. In Germany, the first transmission of the show aired on ProSieben, where the theme tune was changed to Texas' 2001 version of I Don't Want a Lover, and featured a different title sequence. Among the show's regular themes were unsuccessful relationships, competition in the workplace and latent lesbianism, but sketches would also dip into the surreal; such as two women jumping from their car as they neared a parking space, and brushing in front of the path of their car to help it move further forward, as in curling. Two regular strands involved a series of different women making dating agency videos about their general likes and dislikes, and a musical parody that would close the show.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, atmospheric, hilarious, offbeat, humorous, realistic, witty, cynical, not serious, fun
Similar in 80%
Mrs. Brown's Boys (2011)
Plot Summary:
Get ready to experience everyone’s favourite mother hen at her most outrageous in her very first Live Tour DVD. Prepare for a riot of bad behaviour as you see Mrs Brown Live and unleashed for the first time in a show jam packed with all the laughs and drama you can expect from the mother of all comedy. Featuring your favourite characters from the series, the live show is even ruder and cruder than the hit TV show and guaranteed loads of big laughs. So if you loved Mrs Brown’s Boys the series you will love Mrs Brown’s Boys Live Tour: Good Mourning Mrs Brown - Too rude for TV.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy
Country: Ireland, UK
Duration: 26 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, witty, not serious, hilarious, offbeat, realistic, live comedy, nostalgic
Similar in 84%
Cybill (1995)
Plot Summary:
Cybill is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre, which aired on CBS from January 2, 1995, to July 13, 1998. Starring, Cybill Shepherd, the show revolves around the life of Cybill Sheridan, a twice-divorced single mother of two and struggling actress in her 40s, who has never gotten her big show business break. Alicia Witt and Dedee Pfeiffer co-starred as Sheridan's daughters, with Alan Rosenberg and Tom Wopat playing their fathers each, while Christine Baranski appeared as Cybill's hard-drinking friend Maryann. The sitcom was produced by Carsey-Werner Productions and YBYL Productions, with Shepherd, Lorre, Howard Gould, Jay Daniel, Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner serving as the show's original executive producers. Broadcast to critical praise, Cybill was nominated for twelve Emmy Awards throughout its run and awarded the 1996 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. Shepherd won a third Golden Globe Award for her performance, while Baranski received an Emmy, a SAG and an American Comedy Award.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, realistic, witty, not serious
Similar in 81%
London Irish (2013)
Plot Summary:
London Irish follows the antics of four ex-pat Northern Irish 20 somethings in London. Written by Derry girl, Lisa McGee, someone who knows a thing or two about 'the craic' in world's best city. For these four friends it's not easy navigating their way through London life especially when they're playing by rules only they get which leads to a whole load of wrongdoings.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: humorous, captivating, realistic, not serious, touching, melancholic, suspenseful, sitcom
Similar in 80%
Friday Night Dinner (2011)
Plot Summary:
Two siblings share their Friday night dinners at their parents home and, somehow, something always goes wrong.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, not serious, realistic, captivating, light hearted, nostalgic
Similar in 83%
Come Fly with Me (2010)
Plot Summary:
Comedy series set in a busy airport and on the departing and arriving flights, featuring characters played by Matt Lucas and David Walliams.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 29 min
Plot tags: mockumentary, parody, humorous, captivating, sitcom, light, feel good, entertaining, funny, controversial
Similar in 80%
Brass Eye (1997)
Plot Summary:
Controversial spoof of current-affairs TV and the role of celebrity in the UK.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: parody, controversial, humorous, sitcom, political, absurd, spoof, sketch comedy, surreal, dark comedy
Similar in 81%
French and Saunders (1987)
Plot Summary:
French and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comic duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. It is also the name by which the performers are known on the occasions when they appear elsewhere as a double act.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, sitcom, parody, mockumentary, clever, humorous, realistic, witty, cynical, not serious
Similar in 75%
Little Britain (2003)
Plot Summary:
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas. The show's title is an amalgamation of the terms 'Little England' and 'Great Britain', and is also the name of a Victorian neighbourhood and modern street in London. The show comprises sketches involving exaggerated parodies of British people from all walks of life in various situations familiar to the British. These sketches are presented to the viewer together with narration in a manner which suggests that the programme is a guide—aimed at non-British people—to the ways of life of various classes of British society. Despite the narrator's description of great British institutions, the comedy is derived from the British audience's self-deprecating understanding of either themselves or people known to them.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 29 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, parody, humorous, witty, cynical, not serious, sitcom, funny, political, controversial
Similar in 87%
The Fast Show (1994)
Plot Summary:
The Fast Show is a multi BAFTA award winning sketch comedy show written and produced by Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, sitcom, hilarious, humorous, realistic, witty, cynical, not serious, fast, offbeat
Similar in 88%
Bottom (1991)
Plot Summary:
Bottom is a British anarchic sitcom that originally aired on BBC2 between 1991 and 1995. It was written by and starring comic duo Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall as Richie and Eddie, two flatmates who live on the dole in Hammersmith, London. The programme ran for three series, and was followed by five stage show tours across the United Kingdom between 1993 and 2003, and a feature film Guest House Paradiso. The show is noted for its chaotic, nihilistic humour and violent comedy slapstick. In 2008, Bottom came in at number 45 in a poll to determine "Britain's Best Sitcom" by the BBC. The show continues to be shown in the UK on Gold and Dave, and has been dubbed in other languages. In Spain the show is known as La pareja basura which aired on Canal+. The theme music was provided by The Bum Notes, a band that once featured Edmondson, and is a cover of "Last Night" by The Mar-Keys. Plans were made in 2012 for a BBC spin-off series, Hooligan's Island, featuring the Richie and Eddie characters from Bottom. However, that project was cancelled that October prior to production as Edmondson explained that he wished to pursue other interests.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, dark comedy, hilarious, humorous, realistic, witty, not serious, offbeat, sadistic, black comedy
Similar in 84%
A Bit of Fry and Laurie (1987)
Plot Summary:
A Bit of Fry & Laurie is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, broadcast on both BBC1 and BBC2 between 1989 and 1995. It ran for four series and totalled 26 episodes, including a 35 minute pilot episode in 1987. As in The Two Ronnies, elaborate wordplay and innuendo were staples of its material. It frequently broke the fourth wall; characters would revert into their real-life actors mid-sketch, or the camera would often pan off set into the studio. In addition, the show was punctuated with non-sequitur vox pops in a similar style to those of Monty Python's Flying Circus, often making irrelevant statements, heavily based on wordplay. Laurie was also seen playing piano and a wide variety of other instruments and singing comical numbers.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, sketch comedy, clever, witty, funny, multicultural, hilarious, mind blowing, realistic, not serious
Similar in 87%
Da Ali G Show (2000)
Plot Summary:
BAFTA Award-winning Da Ali G Show is back, and this time Ali G gets to take on America. Ali G In Da USAiii, nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys, stars Sacha Baron-Cohen. The series, filmed in the USA for HBO and Channel 4, brings to life three unique characters: Ali G; Borat, the naive television reporter from Kazakhstan; and Bruno, a camp Austrian fashion reporter.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, witty, cynical, not serious, sitcom, funny, parody, controversial, sketch comedy, political
Similar in 83%
Gimme Gimme Gimme (1999)
Plot Summary:
Linda La Hughes (Kathy Burke) shares a flat with Tom Farrell (James Dreyfus). Linda is overweight, loudmouthed and not particularly attractive. She thinks she's gorgeous and irrestible, however. She's also sex mad and obsessed with men. Tom is an aspiring actor. He's got an agent, but finds it difficult to get parts. He doesn't like Linda much, in spite of (or perhaps because of) the fact that they share a flat. She isn't completely comfortable with his homosexuality, perhaps because she finds it difficult to live with a man who doesn't find her sexually attractive.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 34 min
Plot tags: sitcom, double entendre, surreal, offbeat, humorous, realistic, witty, not serious, neo screwball comedy, campy
Similar in 85%
Big Train (1998)
Plot Summary:
Big Train is a surreal British television comedy sketch show created by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, writers of the successful sitcom Father Ted. The first series was broadcast on BBC Two in 1998, while the second, in which Linehan was not involved, aired in 2002.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, sitcom, surreal, absurd, clever, offbeat, humorous, realistic, witty, not serious
Similar in 82%
Harry Enfield and Chums (1994)
Plot Summary:
BBC sketch show that while continuing to show the misadventures of a series of popular characters now also introduces a slew of new oddballs and misfits for us to enjoy including Tory Boy and The Lovely Wobbly Randy Old Ladies.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 40 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, political, humorous, realistic, witty, not serious, alternative comedy
Similar in 89%
Miranda (2009)
Plot Summary:
Socially inept Miranda always gets into awkward situations; working in her joke shop with best friend Stevie, being hounded by her pushy mother, and especially when she's around her crush Gary.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, realistic, witty, not serious, atmospheric, hilarious, feel good, game show
Similar in 80%
The IT Crowd (2006)
Plot Summary:
UK Comedy series about two I.T. nerds and their clueless female manager, who work in the basement of a very successful company. When they are called on for help, they are never treated with any respect at all.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 162000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, witty, not serious, realistic, funny, controversial, dark comedy, hilarious, clever
Similar in 89%
British Men Behaving Badly (1992)
Plot Summary:
Men Behaving Badly is a British sitcom that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates, Dermot Povey and Tony Smart. It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992. A total of six series were made along with a Christmas special and three final episodes that make up the feature-length "last orders". The series was filmed in and around Ealing in west London and the final scene of series six was filmed at the Cerne Abbas giant. The setting however is implied to be South London and many references are made to Surrey. It was produced by Hartswood Films, and Thames Television co-produced the first two series for ITV. They also assisted with production of the third series onwards that aired on the BBC. After being moved to a post-watershed slot on BBC1, Men Behaving Badly became highly successful. It was voted the best sitcom in the BBC's history at BBC Television's 60th anniversary celebrations in 1996. It also came sixteenth in the Britain's Best Sitcom poll commissioned in 2004 on BBC2. It has also won the Comedy Awards' best ITV comedy, and the first National Television Award for Situation Comedy.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, talky, not serious, realistic, witty, offbeat, sexual, sexy
Similar in 76%
The Catherine Tate Show (2004)
Plot Summary:
The Catherine Tate Show is a British television sketch comedy written by Catherine Tate and Aschlin Ditta. Tate also stars in all but one of the show's sketches, which feature a wide range of characters. The Catherine Tate Show airs on BBC Two and is shown worldwide through the BBC. Collectively, the show has been nominated for six BAFTA Awards, two British Comedy Awards and an Emmy Award, and it has won two Royal Television Society Awards, two British Comedy Awards and a National Television Award since its debut in 2004.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, witty, not serious, realistic, sketch comedy, sitcom, offbeat, cynical, slapstick, game show
Similar in 88%
Nathan Barley (2005)
Plot Summary:
Nathan Barley is a Channel 4 sitcom written by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris, starring Nicholas Burns, Julian Barratt, Charlie Condou and Claire Keelan. The series of six weekly episodes began broadcasting on 11 February 2005 on Channel 4. Described by his creator as a "meaningless strutting cadaver-in-waiting", the character originated on Brooker's TVGoHome – a website parodying television listings – as the focus of a fly-on-the-wall documentary called Cunt.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 26 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, parody, not serious, realistic, biting, suspense
Similar in 84%
Life's Too Short (2011)
Plot Summary:
Life's Too Short is a British sitcom mockumentary created and written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant from an idea by Warwick Davis, and is as described by Gervais, about "the life of a showbiz dwarf".
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, mockumentary, funny, humorous, witty, cynical, not serious, light, feel good, captivating
Similar in 88%
I'm Alan Partridge (1997)
Plot Summary:
I'm Alan Partridge is a BBC situation comedy starring Steve Coogan, of which two series of six episodes each were produced — the first in 1997 and the second in 2002. The series followed the titular Alan Partridge, a failed television presenter whose previous exploits had featured in the chat-show parody Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge, and who is now presenting a programme on local radio in Norwich. Both series were written by Peter Baynham, Coogan and Armando Iannucci; supporting Coogan were Felicity Montagu as his faithful, mouse-like personal assistant, Lynn Benfield; Simon Greenall as Geordie Travel Tavern handyman/BP garage attendant Michael; and Phil Cornwell as disc jockey Dave Clifton. It has been well received by both critics and fans, and was nominated for three BAFTAs, two British Comedy Award, and a Royal Television Society award.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 29 min
Plot tags: sitcom, hilarious, clever, offbeat, humorous, realistic, witty, talky, cynical, not serious
Similar in 79%
Just Shoot Me! (1997)
Plot Summary:
Just Shoot Me! is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from March 4, 1997, to August 16, 2003, with 148 episodes produced. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive producer.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, realistic, not serious, hilarious, funny, witty, cynical, stylized
Similar in 87%
Spaced (1999)
Plot Summary:
Spaced: the anti-Friends, in that it examines the lives of common 20 somethings, but in a way that is more down to earth and realistic. Here we have Daisy and Tim; two 'young' adults with big dreams just trying to get by in this crazy world. They are thrown together in a common pursuit of tenancy, which they find by posing as a couple. The house has a landlady and an oddball artist living there. The series explores the ins and outs of London living.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 57000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: sitcom, surreal, humorous, funny, feel good, sweet, controversial, anime, dark comedy, hilarious
Similar in 87%
Ladies of Letters (2009)
Plot Summary:
Two middle-age crazy English widows become best friends via letters, over many misadventure-filled years. Having met under a table at a wedding, when both were drunk with merriment, misunderstanding comes naturally to them. The ladies and their kin act out the events in the letters: in their homes, prison or wherever else they land, revealing the hilarious, venomous, or empathetic truth, between their ever-increasing lines. Based on a 13 year long BBC 4 radio series.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 244
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, witty, sitcom, semi serious
Similar in 79%
Designing Women (1986)
Plot Summary:
Designing Women is an American television sitcom that centered on the working and personal lives of four Southern women and one man in an interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. It aired on the CBS television network from September 29, 1986 until May 24, 1993. The show was created by head writer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, who wrote many of the episodes in the show's initial seasons. As of 2011, the series currently airs in syndication on the Comedy Gold and TVGN channels.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, witty, sexy, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, talky, vintage
Similar in 75%
The Young Ones (1982)
Plot Summary:
The Young Ones is a British sitcom, broadcast in Great Britain from 1982 to 1984 in two six-part series. Shown on BBC2, it featured anarchic, offbeat humour which helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers. In 1985, it was shown on MTV, one of the first non-music television shows on the fledgling channel.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 35 min
Plot tags: sitcom, funny, psychedelic, absurd, dark comedy, hilarious, offbeat, humorous, realistic, witty