Best tv shows like Hi-de-Hi!
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Hi-de-Hi! is a British sitcom set in Maplins, a fictional holiday camp, during 1959 and 1960, and was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who also wrote Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum amongst others. It aired on the BBC from 1980 to 1988. The title was the phrase used to greet the campers and in early episodes was written Hi de Hi. The series revolved around the lives of the camp's management and entertainers, most of them struggling actors or has-beens. The inspiration was the experience of writers Perry and Croft: after being demobilised from the Army, Perry was a Redcoat at Butlins, Pwllheli during the holiday season. The series gained large audiences and won a BAFTA as Best Comedy Series in 1984. In 2004, it came 40th in Britain's Best Sitcom and in a 2008 poll on Channel 4, Hi-de-Hi! was voted the 35th most popular comedy catchphrase.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sitcom, atmospheric, comic
Best tv shows and movies like Hi-de-Hi! (1980):
Similar in 85%
Respectable (2006)
Plot Summary:
Respectable is a British sitcom, first shown in six episodes from 30 August to 4 October 2006 on Five; it was later repeated on Paramount Comedy 1. It follows Michael Price, a man acutely aware of his own dullness, trapped in a loveless marriage. In the first episode, he hesitantly visits a suburban brothel. Terrified of sex, he strikes up a platonic relationship with a young prostitute, Hayley. The series follows the development of this relationship, and Michael's attempts to conceal his visits to the brothel from his wife. This is complicated by the discovery that his builder, Barry, is a frequent and uninhibited visitor to the brothel. The show was written by Shaun Pye, Alan Connor and Harry Thompson. Former Hollyoaks actress Jodi Albert plays Hayley, a dumb hooker with a heart of gold; Kate is a university student, owner Maureen is a more mature lady who claims to be 27, while Yelena is a dominant Eastern European. Of the characters who don't work there, Michael is going through a mid-life crisis, while his friendly builder Barry is a typical "Jack the lad".
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 242
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom
Similar in 76%
The Reluctant Landlord (2018)
Plot Summary:
Much to his annoyance Romesh is left running the local pub after his mischievous father left it to him in his will. He has never wanted to be a landlord, but his mum feels it is the only way to keep his dad's legacy alive, and his wife and kids are having a ball there.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 815
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, semi autobiographical
Similar in 78%
Going Straight (1978)
Plot Summary:
Going Straight is a BBC sitcom which was a direct spin-off from Porridge, starring Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher, newly released from the fictional Slade Prison where the earlier series had been set. It sees Fletcher trying to become an honest member of society, having vowed to stay away from crime on his release. The title refers to his attempt, 'straight' being a slang term meaning being honest, in contrast to 'bent', i.e., dishonest. Also re-appearing was Richard Beckinsale as Lennie Godber, who was Fletcher's naïve young cellmate and was now in a relationship with his daughter Ingrid. Her brother Raymond was played by a teenage Nicholas Lyndhurst. Only one series, of six episodes, was made in 1978. It attracted an audience of over 15 million viewers and won a BAFTA award in March 1979, but hopes of a further series had already been dashed by Beckinsale's premature death earlier in the same month.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom
Similar in 78%
'Allo 'Allo! (1982)
Plot Summary:
'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from 1982 to 1992 comprising eighty-five episodes. The story is set up in a small town café in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. It is a parody of another BBC programme, the wartime drama Secret Army. 'Allo, 'Allo! was created by David Croft, who also wrote the theme music, and Jeremy Lloyd. Lloyd and Croft wrote the first six seasons. The remaining seasons were written by Lloyd and Paul Adam. In 2004, 'Allo 'Allo came 13th in Britain's Best Sitcom. A reunion special, comprising new material, archive clips and specially recorded interviews, was broadcast on 28 April 2007 on BBC Two.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Comedy, History, War
Country: UK
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: sitcom, slapstick comedy, parody, humorous, surreal, double entendre, dark comedy, realistic, not serious, black comedy
Similar in 85%
In Sickness and in Health (1985)
Plot Summary:
In Sickness and in Health is a BBC television sitcom which ran between 1985 and 1992. It was a sequel to the highly successful Til Death Us Do Part, which ran between 1966 and 1975, and Till Death..., which ran for one series of six episodes in 1981.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 700
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom
Similar in 87%
After You've Gone (2007)
Plot Summary:
After You've Gone was a British comedy that aired on BBC One from 12 January 2007 to 21 December 2008. Starring Nicholas Lyndhurst, Celia Imrie, Dani Harmer and Ryan Sampson, After You've Gone was created by Fred Barron, who also created My Family. The writers include Barron, Ian Brown, Katie Douglas, James Hendie, Danny Robins, Andrea Solomons and Dan Tetsell. Three series and two Christmas specials aired, and work on scripts for a fourth series had already begun when the BBC withdrew the commission in November 2008 and cancelled the series.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 853
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: sitcom, situational comedy
Similar in 78%
You Rang, M'Lord? (1988)
Plot Summary:
You Rang M'Lord? is a British comedy series written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the creators of Dad's Army, It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Hi-de-Hi! It was broadcast between 1990 and 1993 on the BBC. The show was a comedy set in the house of an aristocratic family in the 1920s, contrasting the upper-class family and their servants in a house in London, along the same lines as the popular drama Upstairs, Downstairs. The series featured many actors who had also appeared in their earlier series, notably Paul Shane, Jeffrey Holland and Su Pollard, all of whom had previously been in Perry and Croft's holiday camp sitcom, Hi-de-Hi!. Also featured were Donald Hewlett and Michael Knowles from Perry and Croft's It Ain't Half Hot Mum, and Bill Pertwee and occasionally Frank Williams from Dad's Army. The memorable 1920s-style theme tune was sung by Bob Monkhouse. Episodes of You Rang M'Lord? were fifty minutes long, rather than the usual thirty, and attempted to introduce a more reflective approach and more complex plotting than other Croft and Perry series. There was also less reliance on filmed location sequences.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, not serious, realistic, witty
Similar in 79%
Benidorm (2007)
Plot Summary:
Set in the Solana all-inclusive Resort, Benidorm follows the antics of regulars and first-time holiday makers on their journeys abroad.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, not serious, sitcom, light, feel good, captivating, realistic
Similar in 90%
Are You Being Served? (1972)
Plot Summary:
Classic comedy set in fading department store Grace Brothers.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 28 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, retro, hilarious, double entendre, realistic, witty, talky, not serious, fun
Similar in 81%
Executive Stress (1986)
Plot Summary:
Executive Stress is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1986 to 1988. Produced by Thames Television, it first aired on 20 October 1986. After three series, the last episode aired on 27 December 1988. Written by George Layton, Executive Stress stars Penelope Keith as Caroline Fairchild, a middle-aged woman who decides to go back to work. Her husband, Donald, is played by Geoffrey Palmer in the first series. However, Palmer was unable to return for the second series, so Peter Bowles played Donald in the last two series. Keith and Bowles had previously appeared in together in To the Manor Born.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 157
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom
Similar in 89%
Count Arthur Strong (2013)
Plot Summary:
Count Arthur Strong is a faded star from the golden days of variety, prone to delusions of grandeur, selective memory loss and the blurting out of malapropisms. He was never as famous as he thinks he was... or still thinks he is. Believing that another great entertainment triumph is only a phone call away, Arthur spends his day making the most of any opportunity that comes along - gaining a free lunch or selling a dodgy foot-spa he doesn't want - creating chaos and confusion wherever he goes, blissfully unaware that he has done so.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, realistic, not serious, slapstick comedy
Similar in 82%
Drop the Dead Donkey (1990)
Plot Summary:
Drop the Dead Donkey is a situation comedy that first aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 1998. It is set in the offices of “GlobeLink News”, a fictional TV news company. Recorded close to transmission, it made use of contemporary news events to give the programme a greater sense of realism. It was created by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin. The series had an ensemble cast, making stars of Haydn Gwynne, Stephen Tompkinson and Neil Pearson. The series began with the acquisition of GlobeLink by media mogul Sir Roysten Merchant, an allusion to either Robert Maxwell or Rupert Murdoch. Indeed, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin note on their DVDs that it was fortunate for their libel lawyers that the two men shared the same initials. The series is mostly based on the on-going battle between the staff of GlobeLink, led by editor George Dent, as they try to maintain the company as a serious news organisation, and Sir Roysten’s right-hand man Gus Hedges, trying to make the show more sensationalist and suppress stories that might harm Sir Roysten’s business empire. The show was awarded the Best Comedy Award at the 1994 BAFTA Awards. At the British Comedy Awards the show won Best New TV Comedy in 1990, Best Channel 4 Comedy in 1991, and Best Channel 4 Sitcom in 1994.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration:
Plot tags: sitcom, political, dark comedy, humorous, realistic, witty, not serious, biting, cynical, suspense
Similar in 79%
Oh, Doctor Beeching! (1995)
Plot Summary:
Oh, Doctor Beeching! is a British television sitcom written by David Croft and Richard Spendlove in the tradition of Hi-de-Hi! After a broadcast pilot on 14 August 1995, the show ran for two series from 8 July 1996, with the last episode being broadcast on 28 September 1997. The series is notable for being the last in a series of three comedies by co-writer David Croft to use many of the same actors, starting with Hi-de-Hi!, and followed by You Rang, M'Lord?.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 514
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 29 min
Plot tags: sitcom
Similar in 88%
Game On (1995)
Plot Summary:
A 1990s flat-share sitcom which, in its tales of the sexual adventures and misadventures of three twenty-somethings living under the same roof, featured more than a dash of crudity. Matthew, a wealthy, workshy landlord who, because of a strange phobia, never leaves the flat. Martin and Matthew have been friends since schooldays and Mandy's connection is by way of her best friend Claudia, Martin's sister. Mandy is a bright young woman who wants to better herself and is tired of being treated as a sex object, yet she still tends to find herself jumping into bed with inappropriate men. Both Matthew and Martin are obsessed with sex but neither is conspicuously successful in the field.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, dark comedy
Similar in 90%
Josh (2014)
Plot Summary:
Sitcom about flatmates Josh, Kate and Owen, and their annoying landlord Geoff.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom
Similar in 79%
George and Mildred (1976)
Plot Summary:
George and Mildred is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television that aired from 1976 to 1979. It was a spin-off from Man About the House and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as an ill-matched married couple, George and Mildred Roper. The premise of the series had George and Mildred leaving their flat as depicted in Man About the House and moving to a modern, upmarket housing estate. Their arrival horrifies their snobbish neighbour Jeffrey Fourmile, an estate agent who despairs that the Ropers' presence will devalue his home. It was written by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer. Like many sitcoms of the day, George and Mildred was also turned into a film, which was dedicated to actress Yootha Joyce who died suddenly in 1980, just as the cast had been looking forward to recording a sixth series.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom
Similar in 86%
Birds of a Feather (1989)
Plot Summary:
Birds of a Feather is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC One from 1989 until 1998 and on ITV from 2013. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers. The first episode sees sisters Tracey Stubbs and Sharon Theodopolopodos brought together when their husbands are sent to prison for armed robbery. Sharon, who lived in an Edmonton council flat, moves into Tracey's expensive house in Chigwell, Essex. Their next-door neighbour, and later friend, Dorien Green is a middle-aged married woman who is constantly having affairs with younger men. In the later series the location is changed to Hainault. The series ended on Christmas Eve 1998 after a 9-year-run. On 3 March 2009, the The Mirror reported that the classic sitcom was set for a return reporting that Lesley Joseph, Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson have all been asked by the team behind the sitcom to make another series. Quirke was reported as saying that they were up for the challenge if the writers came up with good ideas. After this speculation of a return in early 2009 nothing more was said. However, in July 2012 Lesley Joseph hinted that Birds of a Feather could return for another series following a successful stage tour.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: sitcom
Similar in 75%
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 80%
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 81%
On the Buses (1969)
Plot Summary:
On the Buses is a British comedy programme created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, broadcast in the United Kingdom from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential in a bus depot as a setting. The comedy partnership turned to a friend, Frank Muir, Head of Entertainment at London Weekend Television, who loved the idea; the show was accepted and despite a poor critical reception became a hit with viewers.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, controversial
Similar in 88%
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 82%
Fawlty Towers (1975)
Plot Summary:
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television that was first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Twelve episodes were made. The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom also starred in the show. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a fictional hotel in the seaside town of Torquay, on the "English Riviera". The plots centre around tense, rude and put-upon owner Basil Fawlty, his bossy wife Sybil, a comparatively normal chambermaid Polly, and hapless Spanish waiter Manuel and their attempts to run the hotel amidst farcical situations and an array of demanding and eccentric guests. In a list drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted by industry professionals, Fawlty Towers was named the best British television series of all time.
IMDB Rating: 8.8
IMDB Votes: 99000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, hilarious, feel good, witty, not serious, funny, atmospheric, sweet, entertaining
Similar in 83%
Trollied (2011)
Plot Summary:
Set in Valco, a fictional budget supermarket in the north west of England, Trollied finds the funny in one of our most familiar surroundings and focuses on the types of characters we all recognise: bored checkout staff, ineffectual managers and a range of customers, from the irate to the downright bizarre.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 26 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, not serious, realistic
Similar in 85%
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 75%
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 83%
W1A (2014)
Plot Summary:
The follow-up to 'Twenty Twelve' as Ian Fletcher takes up the position of 'Head of Values' at the BBC. His task is to clarify, define, or re-define the core purpose of the BBC across all its functions and to position it confidently for the future, in particular for Licence Fee Renegotiation and Charter Renewal in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, mockumentary, humorous, semi serious, light, feel good, realistic, talky
Similar in 83%
Chalk (1997)
Plot Summary:
Chalk is a British television sitcom set in a comprehensive school named Galfast High. Two series, both written by Steven Moffat, were broadcast on BBC1 in 1997. Like Moffat's earlier sitcom Joking Apart, Chalk was produced by Andre Ptaszynski for Pola Jones. The series focuses upon deputy headteacher Eric Slatt, permanently stressed over the chaos he creates both by himself and some of his eccentric staff. His wife Janet and new English teacher Suzy Travis attempt to help him solve the problems. Because of the very good reaction of the studio audience, a second series was commissioned before the first had been broadcast. However, journalists were critical of the show, highlighting stylistic similarities to Fawlty Towers. Some members of the teaching profession and its unions objected to the negative representation of teachers and the comprehensive system. The second series did not receive a stable broadcast slot, with many episodes aired after 10pm. The first series was released on DVD in December 2008.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 133
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom
Similar in 88%
Lovesick (2014)
Plot Summary:
After finding out he has an STI, Dylan must get back in touch with every girl he has ever had sex with to let them know the bad news.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: sitcom, feel good, humorous, not serious, light, entertaining, captivating, satirical, aesthetic, realistic
Similar in 76%
The Smoking Room (2004)
Plot Summary:
The Smoking Room is a British television sitcom written by Brian Dooley, who won a BAFTA for the series in 2005. The first series, consisting of eight episodes, was originally transmitted on BBC Three between 29 June and 17 August 2004. The Christmas Special was first transmitted on 20 December 2004. A second series of eight episodes began airing on 26 July 2005. The first series, including the Christmas Special, was released on DVD by the BBC on 6 February 2006 and on CD in a four-disc set on 4 April 2005. The second series was released on 16 October 2006; a boxed set containing both series was released on the same date. There will not be a third series; in an interview for the BBC News website on 30 November 2006, the actor Robert Webb who plays Robin, said in passing, "...there is no more Smoking Room". England's smoking ban, which prohibits indoor smoking in workplaces, came into force on 1 July 2007, as a result of which internal smoking rooms, like the one in which the series is set, became illegal.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 938
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, light, humorous, captivating, entertaining, satirical, disturbing, semi serious
Similar in 75%
Bad Education (2012)
Plot Summary:
Young teacher Alfie Wickers is "the worst teacher ever to grace the British education system" – at Abbey Grove School, in Watford Hertfordshire.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, not serious, light, feel good, realistic, queer cinema