Best tv shows like The Thick of It
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Set in the corridors of power and spin, the Minister for Social Affairs is continually harassed by Number 10's policy enforcer and dependent on his not-so-reliable team of civil servants.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 29 min
Plot tags: sitcom, political, humorous, semi serious, mockumentary, entertaining, satirical, clever, realistic, talky
Best tv shows and movies like The Thick of It (2005):
Similar in 86%
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 76%
Asylum (2015)
Plot Summary:
After a year in the El Rican embassy under the threat of extradition to America, Dan is bored, depressed and has little hope of getting out - his only chance is to push his case in an interview with the Guardian. The embassy staff are struggling to attract people to the annual embassy ball, as Dan is old news and nobody wants to come. Rafael decides to offer sanctuary to another international fugitive, a childlike, internet pirate called Ludo Backslash.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 148
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, not serious, realistic, sitcom, touching, feel good, captivating, tense, suspenseful, exciting
Similar in 86%
Yes, Prime Minister (1986)
Plot Summary:
James Hacker MP the Government's bumbling minister for Administrative Affairs is propelled along the corridors of power to the very pinnacle of politics - No. 10. Could this have possibly have been managed by his trusted Permanent Private Secretary, the formidably political Sir Humphrey Appleby who must move to the “Top Job” in Downing Street to support him, together with his much put upon PPS Bernard Wolley. What could possibly go wrong?.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, political, political thriller, satirical, clever, humorous, realistic, witty, talky, cynical
Similar in 82%
That's My Bush! (2001)
Plot Summary:
That's My Bush! is an American comedy television series that aired on Comedy Central from April 4 to May 23, 2001. Created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, best known for also creating South Park, the series centers on the fictitious personal life of President George W. Bush, as played by Timothy Bottoms. Carrie Quinn Dolin played Laura Bush, and Kurt Fuller played Karl Rove. Despite the political overtones, the show itself was actually a broad lampoon of American sitcoms, including lame jokes, a laugh track, and stock characters such as klutzy bimbo secretary Princess, know-it-all maid Maggie, and supposedly helpful "wacky" next-door neighbor Larry. The series was conceived in the wake of the 2000 presidential election between Bush and Al Gore. Parker and Stone were sure that Gore would win the election, and tentatively titled the show Everybody Loves Al. Thanks to the controversy regarding the election's outcome, the series was pushed back. Instead, the show was then plotted around Bush at the workplace. The show received positive reviews, with The New York Times commenting, "That's My Bush! is a satire of hero worship itself; it is the anti-West Wing and the first true post-Clinton comedy. [...] This politically astute criticism is embedded in so much hysterical humor that the series never seems weighty.".
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, parody, humorous, not serious, realistic, political, hilarious, offbeat, spoof, campy
Similar in 90%
Yes Minister (1980)
Plot Summary:
Set principally in the private office of a British Cabinet minister in the Department of Administrative Affairs in Whitehall, Yes Minister follows the ministerial career of The Rt Hon Jim Hacker MP, played by Paul Eddington. His various struggles to formulate and enact legislation or effect departmental changes are opposed by the British Civil Service, in particular his Permanent Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby, played by Nigel Hawthorne. His Principal Private Secretary Bernard Woolley, played by Derek Fowlds, is usually caught between the two. The sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, continued with the same cast and followed the events of the premiership of Jim Hacker after his unexpected elevation to Number 10 upon the resignation of the previous PM.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, political, clever, humorous, realistic, witty, political thriller, satirical, parody, talky
Similar in 82%
Veep (2012)
Plot Summary:
A look into American politics, revolving around former Senator Selina Meyer who finds being Vice President of the United States is nothing like she expected and everything everyone ever warned her about.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 62000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 28 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, political, clever, witty, not serious, cynical, hilarious, parody, funny
Similar in 80%
Jeeves and Wooster (1990)
Plot Summary:
Jeeves and Wooster is a British comedy-drama series adapted by Clive Exton from P.G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. The series was a collaboration between Brian Eastman of Picture Partnership Productions and Granada Television. It aired on the ITV network from 1990 to 1993, with the last series nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series. It starred Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster, a young gentleman with a "distinctive blend of airy nonchalance and refined gormlessness", and Stephen Fry as Jeeves, his improbably well-informed and talented valet. Wooster is a bachelor, a minor aristocrat and member of the idle rich. He and his friends, who are mainly members of The Drones Club, are extricated from all manner of societal misadventures by the indispensable valet, Jeeves. The stories are set in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1930s. When Fry and Laurie began the series they were already a popular double act due to regular appearances on Channel 4's Friday Night Live and their own show A Bit of Fry & Laurie. In the television documentary, Fry and Laurie Reunited, upon reminiscing about their involvement in the series, it was revealed that they were initially reluctant to play the part of Jeeves and Wooster but decided to do so in the end because they felt no one else would do the parts justice.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 55 min
Plot tags: humorous, witty, clever, funny, sitcom, multicultural, hilarious, comedy drama, relaxing, biting
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 76%
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 76%
The Day Today (1994)
Plot Summary:
The Day Today is a surreal British parody of television current affairs programmes, broadcast in 1994, and created by the comedians Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris. It is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992. On the Hour was written by Morris, Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring, David Quantick, and the cast. For The Day Today, Peter Baynham joined the writing team, and Lee and Herring were replaced by Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews. The principal cast of On the Hour was retained for The Day Today. The Day Today is composed of six half-hour episodes and a selection of shorter, five-minute slots recorded as promotion trailers for the longer segments. The six half-hour episodes were originally broadcast from 19 January to 23 February 1994 on BBC2. The Day Today has won many awards, including Morris winning the 1994 British Comedy Award for Best Newcomer. All six episodes are available on BBC DVD, having previously been issued on VHS.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: parody, humorous, political, sketch comedy, sitcom, surreal, offbeat, realistic, cynical, not serious
Similar in 77%
Spitting Image (1984)
Plot Summary:
Spitting Image is an award winning British satirical puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. The series was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Independent Television over 18 series which aired on the ITV from 1984 to 1996. The series was nominated and won numerous awards during its run including 10 BAFTA Awards, including one for editing in 1989, and even won two Emmy Awards in 1985 and 1986 in the Popular Arts Category. The series featured puppet caricatures of celebrities famous during the 1980s and 1990s, including British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and fellow Tory politicians, American president Ronald Reagan, and the British Royal Family. The Series was the first to caricature the Queen mother.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: sketch comedy, humorous, sitcom, political, absurd, controversial, surreal, parody, clever, realistic
Similar in 75%
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 75%
Utopia (2014)
Plot Summary:
Set inside the offices of the "Nation Building Authority", a newly created government organisation responsible for overseeing major infrastructure projects, Utopia explores that moment when bureaucracy and grand dreams collide. It's a tribute to those political leaders who have somehow managed to take a long-term vision and use it for short-term gain.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: Australia
Duration: 27 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, semi serious, realistic, mockumentary, hilarious, biting, suspense
Similar in 79%
Getting On (2009)
Plot Summary:
Darkly comic series about life on a hospital ward and a nursing team who have to get on with the job despite challenges thrown up by the modern NHS.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, not serious, realistic, witty, dark comedy, light, feel good, offbeat, mockumentary
Similar in 85%
Las Fierbinti (2012)
Plot Summary:
A rural comedy where the intrigues caused by the upcoming elections in a small village give rise to a ridiculous war between the mayor and deputy mayor. Unfortunately, they have no clue that their struggle will prove to be in vain at the end of the election day.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: Romania
Duration: 40 min
Plot tags: funny, feel good, humorous, captivating, entertaining, satirical, sitcom
Similar in 88%
White Ship (2006)
Plot Summary:
Bela lađa is a comedy TV series, that is started broadcasting from the end of 2006, on Radio Television of Serbia. The series are in production of Radio-television of Serbia and in executive production of Košutnjak film. Siniša Pavić is scenarist and Mihajlo Vukobratović directed this series. The series continues adventures of A Tight Spot film series. With its 26,7% share of the audience it is on of top ten most popular TV shows in Serbia, according to AGB Nielsen Media Research. The story is about funny experiences of a politician named Srećko Šojić, played by Milan Gutović.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: Serbia
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: parody, feel good, humorous, captivating, entertaining, satirical, semi serious
Similar in 77%
The Brink (2015)
Plot Summary:
Three top U.S. government and military officials scramble to prevent World War 3 from happening amidst the chaos of a geopolitical crisis.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious, dark comedy, tense, exciting, political, funny, sitcom, hilarious
Similar in 82%
Spin City (1996)
Plot Summary:
Spin City is a smart, sophisticated sitcom about the behind-the-scenes workings of City Hall in the biggest city in America. Workaholic Mike Flaherty is the Deputy Mayor of New York City, serving as Mayor Randall Winston's key strategist and much-needed handler. Mike runs the city with the help of his oddball staff: an anxious and insecure press secretary; a sexist, boorish chief of staff; an impeccably groomed gay activist running minority affairs; a sharp and efficient, man-crazy accountant; and an idealistic young speechwriter. Like Mike, they are all professionally capable but personally challenged.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, political, entertaining, light, feel good, captivating, parody, hilarious, clever
Similar in 78%
Parks and Recreation (2009)
Plot Summary:
Hilarious ensemble comedy that follows Leslie Knope, a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana, and her tireless efforts to make her quintessentially American town just a little bit more fun.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 281000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: mockumentary, sitcom, humorous, funny, talky, not serious, realistic, clever, hilarious, political
Similar in 81%
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 80%
Dead Ringers (2002)
Plot Summary:
Dead Ringers is a United Kingdom radio and television comedy impressions show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and later BBC Two. The programme was devised by producer Bill Dare and developed with Jon Holmes, Andy Hurst and Simon Blackwell. It starred Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Phil Cornwell, Kevin Connelly and Mark Perry. The main writers for season 1-3 on Radio were Jon Holmes and Andy Hurst with Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain coming on board in Series 4. Other writers have included Simon Blackwell, Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, John Finnemore, David Mitchell, Richard Ward, Terry Newman, Jonathan Morris, Colin Birch, Carl Carter and Tony Cooke. It was revealed by star Jan Ravens that the BBC quietly cancelled the television run in 2007 after five years of broadcast.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 403
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, witty, talky, cynical, not serious, political, sketch comedy, spoof, clever, realistic
Similar in 89%
Tanner on Tanner (2004)
Plot Summary:
Tanner on Tanner is a follow up to celebrated filmmaker Robert Altman and DOONESBURY cartoonist Gary Trudeau's political satire TANNER '88, a mockumentary following a fictional democratic presidential candidate (Michael Murphy) on his campaign trail. This sequel, TANNER ON TANNER, finds Tanner's daughter, Alex (Cynthia Nixon, SEX AND THE CITY), producing a new documentary about her father's failed presidential bid. Shot partly during the 2004 Democratic National Convention, TANNER ON TANNER boasts many cameos by familiar politicians, political commentators, and celebrities who make appearances or share their views. Featured are Madeleine Albright, Steve Buscemi, Howard Dean, Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo, Alexandra Kerry, Chris Matthews, and Martin Scorsese.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 340
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: humorous, witty, cynical, semi serious, mockumentary, political, realistic, biting, suspense
Similar in 86%
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 76%
Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge (2010)
Plot Summary:
Famous DJ Alan Partridge gives us an insight into what happens behind the microphone at North Norfolk digital radio.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: clever, humorous, not serious, realistic, witty, talky, sitcom, offbeat, cynical
Similar in 85%
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 89%
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 83%
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 75%
In the Loop (2009)
Plot Summary:
The US President and the UK Prime Minister are looking to launch a war in the Middle East. The plot follows government officials and advisers in their behind-the-scenes efforts either to promote the war or prevent it. Spinal Tap meets Strangelove. A satirical demolition of Whitehall and Washington: politically astute, hilarious and terrifyingly real.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: political, humorous, dark comedy, black comedy, semi serious, funny, light, clever, realistic, witty
Similar in 87%
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 81%
Bloods (2021)
Plot Summary:
When tough-acting loner paramedic Maleek is paired with over-friendly divorcee Wendy, their partnership looks dead on arrival. But pretty soon they're giving each other life support.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, funny, feel good, captivating, entertaining, satirical, semi serious, sitcom