Best tv shows like Desmond's
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Plot Summary:
Desmond's was a British television situation comedy broadcast by Channel 4 from 1989 to 1994. With 71 episodes, Desmond's became Channel 4's longest-running sitcom. The first series was shot in 1988, with the first episode broadcast in January 1989. The show was made in and set in Peckham, London, England and featured a predominantly Black British Guyanese cast. Conceived and co-written by Trix Worrell, and produced by Charlie Hanson and Humphrey Barclay, this series starred Norman Beaton as barber Desmond Ambrose. Desmond's shop was a gathering place for an assortment of local characters.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: sitcom, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Best tv shows and movies like Desmond's (1989):
Similar in 89%
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 87%
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 79%
Steptoe and Son (1962)
Plot Summary:
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father and son played by Wilfred Brambell and Harry H. Corbett who deal in selling used items. They live on Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old Ned", was composed by Ron Grainer. The series was voted 15th in a 2004 BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom. It was remade in the US as Sanford and Son, in Sweden as Albert & Herbert and in the Netherlands as Stiefbeen en zoon. In 1972 a movie adaptation of the series, Steptoe and Son, was released in cinemas, with a second Steptoe and Son Ride Again in 1973. The series focussed on the inter-generational conflict of father and son. Albert Steptoe, a "dirty old man", is an old rag and bone man, set in his grimy and grasping ways. By contrast his 37-year-old son Harold is filled with social aspirations, not to say pretensions. The show contained elements of drama and tragedy, as Harold was continually prevented from achieving his ambitions. To this end the show was unusual at the time for casting actors rather than comedians in its lead roles, although both actors were drawn into more comedic roles as a consequence.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: sitcom, dark comedy, clever, touching, humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, melancholic
Similar in 75%
The Royle Family (1998)
Plot Summary:
British comedy series focusing on the lives of a working-class family in Manchester who love the TV.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, realistic, talky, semi serious
Similar in 77%
Open All Hours (1976)
Plot Summary:
Open All Hours is a BBC sitcom written by Roy Clarke and starring Ronnie Barker as a miserly shop keeper and David Jason as his put-upon nephew who works as his errand boy. It ran for 26 episodes in four series, which premiered in 1976, 1981, 1982 and 1985 respectively. The programme developed from a television pilot broadcast in Barker's comedy anthology series, Seven of One. Open All Hours ranked eighth in the 2004 Britain's Best Sitcom poll.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, realistic, contemplative, semi serious
Similar in 86%
Dinnerladies (1998)
Plot Summary:
Dinnerladies is a BBC sitcom written by and starring Victoria Wood that chronicles the antics of a group of workers in a canteen in the north of England. Bren tries to maintain a semblance of order in amongst the chaos, while dealing with the canteen supervisor, slightly sex-obsessed cancer sufferer Tony. Dolly and Jean are the bickering menopausal older women, always at odds but best friends beneath it all. Then there's thick-as-two-short-planks Anita, and the terminally uninterested Twinkle, more concerned with having a good time than anything else. Making up the motley crew are military man handyman Stan, all rules and regulations, and ditzy Philippa, who never seems to get anything right.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 34 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 76%
The Brittas Empire (1991)
Plot Summary:
The Brittas Empire is a British sitcom created and originally written by Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen. Chris Barrie plays Gordon Brittas, the well-meaning but incompetent manager of Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre. The show ran for seven series and 53 episodes — including two Christmas specials — from 1991 to 1997 on BBC1. Norriss and Fegen wrote the first five series, after which they left the show. The Brittas Empire enjoyed a long and successful run throughout the 1990s, and gained itself large mainstream audiences. In 2004 the show came 47th on the BBC's Britain's Best Sitcom poll, and all series have been released on DVD. The creators Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen often combine farce with either surreal or dramatic elements in episodes. For example in the first series, the leisure centre prepares for a royal visit, only for the doors to seal, the boiler room to flood and a visitor to become electrocuted. Unlike the traditional sitcom, deaths were quite common in The Brittas Empire.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, surprise ending, humorous, realistic, not serious, fun
Similar in 86%
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (1973)
Plot Summary:
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? is a British sitcom which was broadcast between 9 January 1973 and 9 April 1974 on BBC1. It was the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit The Likely Lads. It was created and written, as was its predecessor, by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. There were 26 television episodes over two series; and a subsequent 45-minute Christmas special was aired on 24 December 1974. The cast were reunited in 1975 for a BBC radio adaptation of series 1, transmitted on Radio 4 from July to October that year. In 1976, a feature film spin-off was made. Around the time of its release, however, Rodney Bewes and James Bolam fell out over a misunderstanding involving the press and have not spoken since. This long-suspected situation was finally confirmed by Bewes while promoting his autobiography in 2005. Unlike Bewes, Bolam is consistently reluctant to talk about the show, and has vetoed any attempt to revive his character.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 80%
The Likely Lads (1964)
Plot Summary:
The Likely Lads is a British sitcom created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and produced by Dick Clement. Twenty episodes were broadcast by the BBC, in three series, between 16 December 1964 and 23 July 1966. However, only eight of these shows have survived. This show was followed by a popular sequel series, in colour, entitled Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, broadcast between 9 January 1973 and 24 December 1974. This was followed in 1976 by a spin-off feature film The Likely Lads. Some episodes of both the original black and white series and the colour sequel were adapted for radio, with the original television cast.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 756
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 81%
Only Fools and Horses (1981)
Plot Summary:
The misadventures of two wheeler dealer brothers Del Boy and Rodney Trotter of “Trotters Independent Traders PLC” who scrape their living by selling dodgy goods believing that next year they will be millionaires.
IMDB Rating: 9.0
IMDB Votes: 56000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, hilarious, psychedelic, deep, cult classic, clever
Similar in 80%
Phoenix Nights (2001)
Plot Summary:
Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights is a British sitcom about The Phoenix Club, a working men's club in the northern English town of Farnworth, Greater Manchester. The show was written by Neil Fitzmaurice, Peter Kay and Dave Spikey, produced by Goodnight Vienna Productions and Ovation Entertainments, and was broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK. All the music was written by Toni Baker and Peter Kay. Additional material was provided by Paddy McGuinness. Two series have been produced, which were first transmitted in 2001 and 2002. The show is a spin-off from the spoof documentary series That Peter Kay Thing, and in turn gave rise to the spin-off Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere. It won the People's Choice Award at the British Comedy Awards 2002, and was nominated for several others. Kay is also its star, in multiple roles, and directed the second series. In September 2006, Kay revealed on BBC Radio 1 that a third series of Phoenix Nights has been written, but it is unknown when the series will be filmed. On 8 May 2007, another announcement by Kay was made promising another series will be made. However Dave Spikey, in interviews with The Sentinel and the Croydon Guardian in late-2009, claimed that neither he nor fellow co-writer Neil Fitzmaurice were aware of any plans to bring back the series.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, semi serious, realistic
Similar in 84%
Way to Go (2012)
Plot Summary:
A black comedy about three ordinary guys who find themselves, forced by an extraordinary set of circumstances, into setting up an assisted-suicide business.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 364
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration:
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, sitcom, touching, tragicomedy, realistic, hilarious, dark comedy
Similar in 87%
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973)
Plot Summary:
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em is a BBC situation comedy, written by Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice. It was first broadcast in 1973 and ran for three series, ending in 1978. The series follows the accident-prone Frank Spencer and his tolerant, if long-suffering, wife, Betty, through Frank's various attempts to hold down a job, which frequently end in disaster. Noted for its stuntwork, performed by Michael Crawford himself as well as featuring various well-remembered catchphrases, the series was voted #22 in the BBC's poll "Britain's Best Sitcom".
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, not serious, humorous, realistic, melancholic, touching, captivating, atmospheric, offbeat, slapstick
Similar in 79%
Roger & Val Have Just Got In (2010)
Plot Summary:
Roger & Val Have Just Got In is a British sitcom that stars Dawn French and Alfred Molina playing married couple Roger and Val Stevenson. The show premiered on BBC Two on 6 August 2010 and six episodes were broadcast for the first series. The show was created by Dawn French, directed by Jamie Rafn, and written by Beth Kilcoyne and Emma Kilcoyne. Each episode is set in the half hour after Roger and Val arrive home from work. Episodes play out in real time with no laughter track. The deeper issues in the couple's lives are often underplayed by being glossed over in conversation. The longing for escape is a trait prevalent in both characters' personalities. Episode by episode, the series gradually permits the viewer an insight into the reality of Roger and Val's life. Underneath the mundane middle aged couple's daily routine, the viewer becomes aware of a real heartache which both characters avoid talking about but which has altered their life fundamentally: the death of their infant son Christopher. The screenwriters include subtle hints in regard to Roger and Val's heartache - a photo of Val holding a baby, for example - rather than introduce the topic directly. Over the series the viewer slowly realises that both Roger and Val's lives have been devastated.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 401
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 29 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, light, feel good, entertaining, sitcom, sincere, realistic, talky
Similar in 77%
Barbara (1995)
Plot Summary:
Barbara is a British sitcom starring Gwen Taylor in the title role. A pilot was broadcast in 1995, and three series were then televised from 1999 to 2003. It was made by Central Television, and filmed at their Lenton Lane studios in Nottingham in front of a live studio audience. The majority of location scenes for the series were filmed in various suburbs of Nottingham, including Mapperley and West Bridgford, with other scenes filmed around Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Despite winning awards and respectable viewing figures, it was axed by ITV in 2003.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 134
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 27 min
Plot tags: sitcom, offbeat, humorous, realistic, semi serious, situational comedy
Similar in 83%
Sykes (1972)
Plot Summary:
Sykes is a British sitcom that aired on BBC 1 from 1972 to 1979. Starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques, it was written by Sykes, who had previously starred with Jacques in Sykes and A... and Sykes and a Big, Big Show. Forty-three of the 1970s colour episodes were remakes of scripts for the 1960s black and white series, such as "Bus" based on 'Sykes and a Following' from 1964 and the episode "Stranger" with guest star Peter Sellers based on 'Sykes and a Stranger' from 1961. Sykes had the same premise as Sykes and A... with Sykes, Jacques, Richard Wattis and Deryck Guyler reprising their former identical roles. The series was brought to an end by the death of Hattie Jacques of a heart attack on 6 October 1980.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 338
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 84%
Keeping Up Appearances (1990)
Plot Summary:
Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. Centred on the life of eccentric, social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket, the sitcom follows her obsessive and determined attempts to impress in middle class society and portray herself as more affluent than she truly is. The show stars Patricia Routledge, who received two BAFTA nominations for her performance as Hyacinth. Broadcast between 1990 and 1995 on BBC One, the sitcom spawned five series and 44 episodes—4 of which are Christmas specials. Keeping Up Appearances was a great success in the UK and also captivated a large audience in the US, Canada, and Australia, but production ceased in 1995 when Routledge wanted to move on to other projects. Since its original release, all five series—including Christmas specials—are available on DVD. In 2004, the sitcom was ranked 12th in the countdown of Britain's Best Sitcom. It is regularly repeated worldwide.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sitcom, hilarious, funny, game show, clever, humorous, realistic, witty, not serious, vintage
Similar in 86%
Early Doors (2003)
Plot Summary:
A sitcom set in a small pub in Manchester, “The Grapes”, where daily life is bound up in the issues of love, loneliness, and blocked urinals. Regular drinkers Joe and Duffy pass the time with landlord Ken and his police officer cronies.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, realistic, semi serious, talky
Similar in 86%
Still Open All Hours (2013)
Plot Summary:
Still Open All Hours is a sitcom set in a grocer's shop. It is a sequel to the series Open All Hours, written by original series writer Roy Clarke and featuring several of the permanent cast members of the original series.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, light, feel good, captivating, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 76%
Jesse (1998)
Plot Summary:
Jesse Warner is a 26-year-old single mother juggling between her job, her dreams and her family responsibilities.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 84%
One Foot in the Grave (1990)
Plot Summary:
One Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series written by David Renwick. The show ran for six series, including seven Christmas specials, two Comic Relief specials, over an eleven-year period, from early 1990 to late 2000. The latter Comic Relief special was shown after the series officially ended in spring 2001. The series features the exploits of Victor Meldrew, played by Richard Wilson, and his long-suffering wife, Margaret, played by Annette Crosbie. The programmes invariably deal with Meldrew's battle against the problems he creates for himself. Living in a typical household in an unnamed English suburb, Victor takes involuntary early retirement. His various efforts to keep himself busy, while encountering various misfortunes and misunderstandings are the themes of the sitcom. The series was largely filmed on location in Walkford, near New Milton in Hampshire, although several clues show that the series may have been set in Hampshire – possibly Winchester. Despite its traditional production, the series supplants its domestic sitcom setting with elements of black humour and surrealism. The series was occasionally the subject of controversy for some of its darker story elements, but was nevertheless the recipient of a number of awards, including the 1992 BAFTA for Best Comedy. In 2004, the series came tenth in a 2004 BBC poll to find "Britain's Best Sitcom". The programme also came 80th in the British Film Institute's 100 Greatest British Television Programmes. The series, originally shown on BBC One, is now available on DVD and is regularly repeated in the United Kingdom on Gold. Seven episodes were remade for BBC Radio 2 and the series also inspired a novel.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sitcom, funny, dark comedy, surreal, humorous, realistic, witty, cynical, semi serious
Similar in 77%
Barbershop (2005)
Plot Summary:
Calvin Palmer is the owner of a barbershop on the Southside of Chicago. Reluctantly inheriting the neighborhood establishment and popular hangout from his father, he juggles his responsibilities to his clients, his family, and his community as a cast of unique characters regularly bring their hopes, dreams and problems with them into the shop.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 320
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, feel good, captivating, light, touching, realistic, semi serious, black cinema
Similar in 78%
White Van Man (2011)
Plot Summary:
The incredible misadventures of two handymen on the road and the extraordinary people they meet along the way.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 618
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, captivating, light, feel good, realistic, not serious
Similar in 88%
Grafters (1998)
Plot Summary:
Grafters was a British drama–comedy programme originally broadcast in the UK on ITV from 27 October 1998 to 20 December 1999 for 16 episodes over two series. Grafters was based around the Purvis brothers Joe and Trevor, who along with their younger cousin Simon run a successful building business. The show regularly received ratings of over 9 million viewers and at the time was among ITV's most popular drama series. Rumours of a revival surfaced in 2006, but no further episodes have been made.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 208
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 54 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 80%
Shnot HaShmonim (2013)
Plot Summary:
An Israeli sitcom about the childhood of the Israeli comedian Shalom Assayag in Tirat Carmel in a diverse ethnic neighborhood.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 133
Genere: Comedy
Country: Israel
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, not serious, sentimental, realistic, light, feel good, sitcom
Similar in 89%
Boomers (2014)
Plot Summary:
Sitcom following the ups and downs of three retired couples living in Thurnemouth, 'Norfolk's only West-facing resort'.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 434
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 28 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, realistic, sitcom, light, feel good
Similar in 83%
Last of the Summer Wine (1973)
Plot Summary:
Unencumbered by wives, jobs or any other responsibilities, three senior citizens who've never really grown up explore their world in the Yorkshire Dales. They spend their days speculating about their fellow townsfolk and thinking up adventures not usually favored by the elderly. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse in 1973. The show ran for 295 episodes until 2010. It is the longest running comedy Britain has produced and the longest running sitcom in the world.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, talky, realistic, witty, semi serious, clever, contemplative, philosophical, slapstick comedy
Similar in 86%
The Great Outdoors (2010)
Plot Summary:
The Great Outdoors was a British television sitcom. The show follows the friendships of a misfit rambling club in Southern England in which patronising group-leader Bob becomes embroiled in a battle of wills against new arrival and deputy group-leader Christine, who is determined that things should be done her way. She previously lived and rambled in Barnstaple and appears to perhaps be autistic and have an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. The show comprised three episodes, first airing on Wednesdays between 28 July and 12 August 2010 on BBC Four.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 145
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, sitcom, captivating, offbeat, realistic, talky, stylized
Similar in 83%
Sugartown (2011)
Plot Summary:
Comedy drama revolving around a small seaside hamlet in the north of England, as a former resident returns with big plans for the community's re-development.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 94
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration:
Plot tags: humorous, light, sincere, feel good, captivating, sentimental, touching, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 78%
The Geena Davis Show (2000)
Plot Summary:
The Geena Davis Show is an American sitcom starring Geena Davis. The show lasted one season on ABC.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 321
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, touching, humorous, semi serious, realistic