Best tv shows like Nighty Night
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Nighty Night is a British dark comedy sitcom written by and starring Julia Davis. It was first broadcast on 6 January 2004 on BBC Three before moving to BBC2. Notorious for its dark humour, the show follows narcissistic sociopath Jill Tyrell – who manages a beauty parlour alongside her moronic, asthmatic assistant Linda – as she learns that her husband has cancer. She uses this fact to manipulate new neighbour Cathy Cole, a wheelchair user with multiple sclerosis whose husband Don, a womanising doctor, Jill has become obsessed with. The theme tune used in the beginning of both series and during the closing credits for the first is an excerpt from the spaghetti western My Name Is Nobody, composed by the Italian film composer Ennio Morricone. In June 2006 it was announced that Sex and the City creator Darren Star would write and be executive producer of a US version, which has been commissioned for a pilot script. Steve Coogan and Henry Normal, founders of the production company Baby Cow, were to be co-Executive-Producers.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, sitcom, controversial, black comedy, humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, game show
Best tv shows and movies like Nighty Night (2004):
Similar in 85%
Sick Note (2017)
Plot Summary:
When Daniel Glass is misdiagnosed with a fatal disease he begins to notice how everyone around him treats him better. But then he finds out he was misdiagnosed by the most incompetent oncologist on Earth and now he has a big decision to make: come clean and go back to his old rubbish life, or keep pretending to be ill.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy, Crime
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: semi serious, absurd, sitcom, captivating, entertaining, dark comedy
Similar in 81%
Grandma's House (2010)
Plot Summary:
Grandma's House is a sitcom television series broadcast on BBC Two. Written by Simon Amstell and long term collaborator Dan Swimer, the series stars Simon Amstell playing a version of himself: an ex-television presenter searching for meaning in his life. Each episode takes place at his Grandma's house, where Grandma welcomes her family, desperate to see everyone happy. The first series was shown in 2010, the second in 2012. In December 2012 Amstell stated that there would not be a third series.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, semi serious, light, feel good, realistic, game show
Similar in 76%
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976)
Plot Summary:
Disillusioned after a long career at Sunshine Desserts, Perrin goes through a mid-life crisis and fakes his own death. Returning in disguise after various attempts at finding a 'new life', he gets his old job back and finds nothing has changed. He is eventually found out, and in the second series has success with a chain of shops selling useless junk. That becomes so successful that he feels he has created a monster and decides to destroy it. In the third and final series he has a dream of forming a commune which his long suffering colleagues help bring to reality. Unfortunately that also fails and he finds himself back in a job not unlike the one he originally had at Sunshine Desserts.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, surreal, dark comedy, humorous, realistic, cynical, semi serious
Similar in 85%
Operation Good Guys (1997)
Plot Summary:
Operation Good Guys is a British mockumentary, a fly-on-the-wall documentary series about an elite police unit's bid to snare one of Britain's most powerful crime lords. It was first screened on BBC Two from 1997 - 2000. Blurring the line between fact and fiction, it witnesses, on camera, the total breakdown, professionally and personally, of the Operation Good Guys team. Throughout the operation, The 'Good Guys' have an unfortunate habit of embroiling into their calamitous world some of the country's best-known celebrities, from actors and footballers, to TV presenters and even the odd ex-convict. It was created by Ray Burdis and co written by Ray Burdis, Hugo Blick and Dominic Anciano, although much of the dialogue was improvised by the actors. The series utilised the concept of a mock documentary capturing the truths of a workplace four years before the notion reached fame in The Office. However, this mockumentary style was watered down slightly when a laugh track was added for the second and third series. The series was awarded the Silver Rose for Best Sitcom and the Prix de la Presse, voted for by the International Press, at the Montreux Golden Rose Festival.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 548
Genere: Comedy, Crime
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, mockumentary, sitcom, detective, offbeat, realistic, not serious, surreal
Similar in 79%
FM (2009)
Plot Summary:
FM is a British sitcom which aired on ITV2, starring Chris O'Dowd, Kevin Bishop and Nina Sosanya. The series followed the lives of two DJs and their producer on their FM radio programme, "Skin 86.5 FM". The show also featured music from real-life artists and guest stars from the music industry. The first episode aired on 25 February 2009 and the series ran for 6 episodes. It broadcast on Wednesdays at 22:30. The series launched with 213,000 viewers. The whole series was re-run on Friday 3 April from 22:00 until 01:00. On 13 April 2009 the series was released on DVD with a BBFC rating of 15. ITV Studios began searching for funding from record companies and radio stations to produce a second series for the show.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 485
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, not serious, sitcom, dark comedy
Similar in 87%
Absolute Power (2003)
Plot Summary:
Stephen Fry and John Bird star as spin doctors Charles Prentiss and Martin McCabe as they bring the popular and satirical Radio 4 comedy Absolute Power to BBC Two. Stephen as Prentiss and John as McCabe are an unscrupulous pair who run the blue chip PR agency Prentiss McCabe. Dealing with commercial as well as personal PR, their remit covers everything from political communications to celebrity media relations. Their manipulation skills are tested to the full as they frequently find that their work brings them into conflict with political parties, newspaper editors and celebrities.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 29 min
Plot tags: sitcom, witty, humorous, cynical, semi serious, political, clever, realistic, talky, biting
Similar in 83%
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 76%
Porridge (1974)
Plot Summary:
Porridge is a British situation comedy broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977, running for three series, two Christmas specials and a feature film also titled Porridge. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, it stars Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale as two inmates at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland. "Doing porridge" is British slang for serving a prison sentence, porridge once being the traditional breakfast in UK prisons. The series was followed by a 1978 sequel, Going Straight, which established that Fletcher would not be going back to prison again. Porridge was voted number seven in a 2004 BBC poll of the 100 greatest British sitcoms.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy, Crime
Country: UK
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: sitcom, clever, humorous, realistic, witty, talky, semi serious, fun
Similar in 87%
Hunderby (2012)
Plot Summary:
Hunderby is a British sitcom produced by Sky, written by Julia Davis, that was first broadcast on Sky Atlantic in 2012. The series won two awards at the British Comedy Awards in 2012.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, gothic, humorous, light, captivating, costume drama, offbeat, realistic, stylized, not serious
Similar in 76%
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 80%
The Two Ronnies (1971)
Plot Summary:
The Two Ronnies is a British sketch show which aired on BBC1 from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act of Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, the "Two Ronnies" of the title.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration:
Plot tags: sketch comedy, humorous, witty, sitcom, realistic, not serious
Similar in 85%
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 81%
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 88%
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 87%
The Wrong Mans (2013)
Plot Summary:
Comedy thriller about two well-meaning idiots who become entangled in a hideous world of crime, conspiracy and corruption.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 29 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, suspenseful, funny, sitcom, hilarious, semi serious, realistic, stylized, slapstick
Similar in 75%
The Job (2001)
Plot Summary:
The Job is a single-camera television comedy drama about a New York City police officer named Mike McNeil -- who indulges in adultery, alcohol, cigarettes and prescription drug abuse—and his fellow 'bumbling detective' pals. The show, which appeared to borrow the tone and look of NYPD Blue for semi-satirical purposes, was built around the Mike McNeil character, but relied on a strong ensemble cast. The show filmed entirely on location in New York City.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Crime
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, realistic, witty, sitcom, detective, clever, cynical, biting, black comedy
Similar in 76%
Breaking In (2011)
Plot Summary:
Contra Security is a high tech security firm that specializes in breaking in as a way to test security measures. The team members comprise various skills, and even more various personalities.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Crime
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, captivating, sitcom, funny, detective, thrilling, offbeat, realistic, black comedy
Similar in 88%
PhoneShop (2009)
Plot Summary:
PhoneShop is a British sitcom that was first broadcast on Channel 4 as a television pilot on 13 November 2009, as part of the channel's Comedy Showcase season of comedy pilots. It was then followed by a six-episode series that was commissioned on E4 and broadcasting began on 7 October 2010.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, captivating, light, feel good, entertaining, realistic, not serious, fun
Similar in 80%
Reggie Perrin (2009)
Plot Summary:
Reggie Perrin is a modern update of the 1970s BBC sitcom The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, which starred Leonard Rossiter. The revival stars Martin Clunes and was first broadcast on 24 April 2009. Series 1 was released on DVD in Region 2 by 2entertain on 1 June 2009.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 768
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, sitcom, light, feel good, captivating, realistic, witty, semi serious
Similar in 84%
The New Statesman (1987)
Plot Summary:
The New Statesman is a British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time. It was written by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran at the request of, and as a starring vehicle for, its principal actor, Rik Mayall. The show's theme tune is an arrangement by Alan Hawkshaw of part of the Promenade from Pictures at an Exhibition by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. The programme was made by the ITV franchise Yorkshire Television between 1987 and 1992, although the BBC made two special episodes; one in 1988, the other in 1994.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 70 min
Plot tags: sitcom, dark comedy, political, surreal, clever, humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, parody
Similar in 90%
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 82%
Twenty Twelve (2011)
Plot Summary:
Twenty Twelve is a BBC television comedy series written and directed by John Morton. Starring Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Hynes and Amelia Bullmore, the programme is a spoof on-location documentary following the organisation of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. It was first broadcast on UK television station BBC Four in March 2011 to coincide with the 500 day countdown to the opening ceremony. Twenty Twelve gained mainly positive reviews from critics, and a four-part second series was announced on 15 April 2011, which began airing on 30 March 2012 on BBC Two. A further three episodes of series 2 began airing from 10 July 2012. The series' last episode was broadcast on 24 July 2012, three days before the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, mockumentary, humorous, semi serious, realistic, talky, fake documentary
Similar in 89%
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 76%
Saxondale (2006)
Plot Summary:
Steve Coogan plays Tommy Saxondale: an ex-roadie with anger management issues and a pest-control business. Tommy is a little arrogant, a little egotistical and feels the world owes him more respect than it typically shows him. He has an assistant named Raymond who lives in a spare room in Tommy's house, a live-in girlfriend named Magz who owns a T-shirt business, and a receptionist named Vicky who has a tendency to drive him up the wall.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, witty, realistic, semi serious, offbeat
Similar in 80%
Free Agents (2009)
Plot Summary:
Free Agents is a romantic black comedy starring Stephen Mangan, Sharon Horgan and Anthony Head. Originally a pilot for Channel 4 in November 2007, the series began on 13 February 2009. It spawned a short lived US remake, which was cancelled after just 4 episodes aired, although 4 more were later released on Hulu.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 396
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious, witty, talky, sitcom, dark comedy, hilarious, fast
Similar in 88%
Black Books (2000)
Plot Summary:
Black Books centres around the foul tempered and wildly eccentric bookshop owner Bernard Black. Bernard’s devotion to the twin pleasures of drunkenness and wilful antagonism deepens and enriches both his life and that of Manny, his assistant. Bearded, sweet and good, Manny is everything that Bernard isn’t and is punished by Bernard relentlessly just for the crime of existing. They depend on each other for meaning as Fran, their oldest friend, depends on them for distraction. Black Books is a haven of books, wine and conversation, the only threat to the group’s peace and prosperity is their own limitless stupidity.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: humorous, sitcom, talky, not serious, offbeat, witty, surreal, realistic, funny, hilarious
Similar in 83%
Andy Richter Controls the Universe (2002)
Plot Summary:
Fanciful series about an aspiring writer who imagines alternative life scenarios while working for a big company.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, witty, cynical, semi serious, funny, clever, offbeat, realistic, biting
Similar in 88%
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 86%
Less Than Perfect (2002)
Plot Summary:
Claude Casey moved up in the secretarial world of television news, from temp to the anchor's desk. After her boss hires her full time, Claude realizes she may be in over her head in this world of assistants fighting to get ahead. But Claude is determined to prove that though she may not be perfect, she's not going down without a fight.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, hilarious, clever, biting, black comedy, suspense
Similar in 85%
Inside No. 9 (2014)
Plot Summary:
An anthology of darkly comic twisted tales, each one taking place behind a door marked 'number 9'.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: anthology, surreal, offbeat, semi serious, psychological thriller, tense, captivating, funny, surprise ending, intellectual