Comedy gold on Freeview
When it’s done right, there’s nothing better than British comedy. After all, the British sense of humour is world-renowned. From classics such as Only Fools and Horses, to modern day hits like Am I Being Unreasonable? - it’s safe to say there’s something for everyone when it comes to finding a good laugh on your Manhattan TV boxes.
Here are a few of our favourites, past and present:
The Ranganation
We’d be surprised if this wasn’t already one of your Friday night favourites. But just in case it’s not - here’s the lowdown. Romesh Ranganathan’s rise has been an interesting one to say the least. The former secondary teacher first made his name on the stand-up circuit.
Now after solidifying himself as one of the best comics in the country, he’s just notched up a fifth season of fan-favourite, The Ranganation. The hilarious topical comedy offering sees Ranganathan unpick the week’s news with an eclectic mix including members of the public, celebs and his own mother. Catch all episodes over on BBC iPlayer - you won’t regret it.
The IT Crowd
Let’s face it, we could hardly talk about comedy gold without mentioning The IT Crowd. Graham Lineham’s genius creation still has us stitches the same way it did when it first hit our screens. The good news is that you can relive all four seasons over on All 4.
From Jen initially being made the head of the IT department in the first episode, to Moss and Roy’s impromptu mood swings and aunt Irma infamous visit. As debuts go, there’s no doubt that this show ticks all the right boxes, despite being met with lukewarm reviews when it first aired. They do say hindsight is a wonderful thing after all.
Am I Being Unreasonable?
Daisy May Cooper and Selin Hizle wrote and starred in this six-part masterpiece and quite frankly, the only sour note is that they didn’t bless us with more episodes. Thought-provoking, clever and most importantly - hilarious, it’s described as a ‘twisted comedy thriller’ but that only tells half the story.
What Am I Being Unreasonable? really captures the essence of just how quickly lives can unravel. Although its presentation is somewhat unorthodox to say the least - the show is an instant classic. We just need that second series now!
Only Fools and Horses
It’d be rude not to include arguably Britain’s greatest ever comedy. John Sullivan’s masterpiece is pretty universally loved - and it’s easy to see why just by watching a few minutes of this slapstick classic. You simply can’t deny the show’s cultural impact either. As well as popularising terms such as ‘lovely jubbly’ and ‘cushty’, being known as ‘bit of a Del Boy’ was also coined by the show’s iconic characters.
Our T3-R customers can roll back the years over on UKTV Play. All 64 episodes are available on the catch up service, meaning you can relive all the mischief and trouble national treasures Del Boy and Rodney get up to in their neighbourhood.
The Cleaner
Another newbie to cap off our list of the best comedies available to watch on Freeview. He might be best known for his stand up work, or as the hilarious cult favourite Mr Gilbert from the Inbetweeners, but Greg Davies has a solid background of sitcom work under his belt too.
This time he’s written and starred in The Cleaner over on BBC iPlayer and it’s absolutely hilarious. Based on the German TV show Der Tatortreiniger, Davies plays Wicky, a crime scene cleaner, whose line of work gives him access to some strange houses and even stranger people. You honestly won’t stop laughing.
So that’s our list of some of the best comedies to watch on Freeview. What do you think? As always you can reach us via email, Twitter or Facebook.