The 8 Best British Comedy Shows on Netflix Right Now (December 2024) (original) (raw)
Published Dec 7, 2024, 7:00 PM EST
In over three years at Collider, senior author Jake has now penned over 3000 articles covering a wide range of TV and film for the resources, lists, utilities, news, and interview teams. Alongside interviewing stars such as Selin Hizli, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Harlan Coben, and Chelsea Peretti, Jake was lucky enough to visit the set of Aardman and Netflix's Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl in 2024, getting the chance to chat with four-time Academy Award winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Jake has also worked for other publications, including Agents of Fandom. You can also hear Jake every week as the resident film and TV journalist on Track Radio.
British comedy has a wonderful relationship with television, with some of the very best of classic and modern TV hailing from the comedic minds of the UK's best. Whether it's Fawlty Towers or Fleabag, a spectrum of comedy from the witty to the slapstick has kept generations of audiences across the world entertained. Now, that entertainment is hosted by the streamers, with Netflix accumulating an array of the best British comedy. So, with that in mind, here's a look at the best British comedy shows on Netflix right now.
Can't find what you're looking for? Why not check out our list of the best fantasy and horror movies on the platform or our selection of the best films on the platform entirely?
Disclaimer: These titles are available on US Netflix.
'Cunk on Earth' (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 8.1/10
Release Date
January 31, 2023
Cast
Diane Morgan
Philomena Cunk
Created by Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker, Cunk on Earth is a mockumentary travel series inspired by the works of David Attenborough. The series follows the titular Philomena Cunk (Diane Morgan) as she travels the globe on the hunt for meaning... just not the sort of meaning you might have been expecting. Endlessly witty and utterly unforgettable, Cunk on Earth is the mockumentary genre mastered. From sit-down interviews with unsuspecting victims that are excruciatingly funny to pieces to camerawork that perfectly satirizes the travel genre, Cunk on Earth more than deserves its 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating.
'Crashing' (2016)
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% | IMDb: 7.6/10
Release Date
2016 - 2016-00-00
Best known for her work on Fleabag and Killing Eve, the brilliant Phoebe Waller-Bridge's most underrated series came in 2016 with Crashing, the story of a group of young adults who flow with the highs and lows of life as property guardians of a disused hospital. Also starring the likes of Adrian Scarborough, Julie Dray, and Wicked's own Jonathan Bailey, Crashing is a laugh-out-loud delight with plenty of heartfelt moments. Each character is wonderfully realized, with the story managing to be both refreshingly entertaining and dramatically immersive. It's no surprise that this series landed Waller-Bridge a BAFTA nomination in 2017 for Breakthrough Talent.
'The Gentlemen' (2024 - Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% | IMDb: 8.0/10
Release Date
2024 - 2026-00-00
Network
Netflix
Directors
David Caffrey, Guy Ritchie, Eran Creevy
Based on the 2019 Guy Ritchie movie of the same name, The Gentlemen follows Theo James' Eddie, who unexpectedly becomes the heir to his late father's estate following a particularly explosive will reading. However, little does Eddie know that instead of simply inheriting a large trust fund and a stately manor, he is now the proud owner of a nationwide weed empire. Fans of Ritchie will know just how well the British director blends the humorous with the violent, with The Gentlemen perhaps his best effort in years. Packed full of iconic moments that led to the series storming Netflix's charts, The Gentlemen is a wild ride that never loses its funny bone despite a trip into some genuinely dramatic territory.
'Lovesick' (2014 - 2018)
Rotten Tomatoes: 98% | IMDb: 8.0/10
Release Date
April 15, 2015
Seasons
3
Creator(s)
Tom Edge
Created by Tom Edge, Lovesick follows Dylan (Johnny Flynn), who, with the help of his best friend Luke (Daniel Ings), must venture into his romantic past to let all his former lovers know he has contracted an STD. In doing so, old wounds are opened — but perhaps not all are to be feared. Almost every line in Lovesick is either sincerely heartfelt or brilliantly funny, with not a minute of this series' 22 total episodes wasted. Ings and Flynn make for a perfect bromance, with their chemistry touching and their banter intricately hilarious. A deft examination of romance in the modern day, Lovesick is a must-watch.
'Sex Education' (2019 - 2023)
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% | IMDb: 8.2/10
Release Date
2019 - 2023-00-00
Showrunner
Laurie Nunn
Directors
Ben Taylor, Kate Herron, Runyararo Mapfumo, Sophie Goodhart, Alice Seabright
Writers
Laurie Nunn, Sophie Goodhart
One of Netflix's flagship shows, Sex Education follows teenager Otis (Asa Butterfield), who struggles to live a normal high school life thanks to a poor social reputation and an unusual relationship with his sex therapist mother, Jean (Gillian Anderson). However, with the help of the school's carefree rebel, Maeve (Emma Mackey), the two start their own sex therapy clinic within academic walls, shooting their reputations up the social ladder. Uniquely stylized, breathlessly funny, and one of the most important shows in Netflix's history, Sex Education is rightfully considered the very best of teen comedy. At a time when boundaries surrounding sex and gender in young people were finally being broken, Sex Education felt like the leading champion of the movement, bringing both knowledge and emotionally poignant entertainment in spades.
'Feel Good' (2020 - 2021)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 7.5/10
Release Date
2020 - 2021-00-00
Network
Channel 4
Directors
Luke Snellin
Writers
Mae Martin
From the brilliant mind of comedian Mae Martin, Feel Good stars the Taskmaster winner as a recovering addict who enters into an unexpected romantic relationship with Charlotte Ritchie's English teacher, George. A semi-autobiographical tale, the honesty behind Feel Good oozes out of every scene, with each passing excruciating twist that comes with a modern romance feeling brilliantly relatable. This is highlighted specifically by Martin, whose wonderfully nuanced central performance even earned a BAFTA nomination. Martin's unique brand of sympathetic comedy combines with a tale of love and struggle in a series you simply won't want to miss.
'Baby Reindeer' (2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 99% | IMDb: 7.7/10
Release Date
2024 - 2024-00-00
Directors
Weronika Tofilska, Josephine Bornebusch
Writers
Richard Gadd
Cast
Jessica Gunning
Martha Scott
Seasons
1
Creator(s)
Richard Gadd
One of 2024's biggest and most surprising hits, Baby Reindeer sees Richard Gadd play Donny in a story based on his own experience as a struggling comedian exploited by the industry he is trying to crack. During his hampered rise to small fame, Donny enters into a strange friendship with Jessica Gunning's Martha, which soon spirals into a case of stalking. Perhaps no one, especially not Gadd himself, expected Baby Reindeer to quite capture the world's attention as much as it did. Less than a year and six Primetime Emmy wins later, and it's clear to see why Baby Reindeer was so successful. Viscerally powerful, emotionally moving, and supported by multiple career-making performances, there's simply nothing like Baby Reindeer.
'The End of the F***ing World' (2017 - 2019)
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% | IMDb: 8.0/10
Release Date
2017 - 2019-00-00
Network
Netflix
Cast
This brilliantly twisted dark comedy follows 17-year-old James (Alex Lawther), a disturbed boy who believes he's a psychopath. Often alone, James' solace is broken by an unlikely friendship with the new rebellious girl at school, Alyssa (Jessica Barden). However, Alyssa isn't just the subject of James' fascination — she's the subject of his desire to kill, with a planned road trip to commit the deed instead unlocking feelings the pair had never bargained on. Based on the comic book series of the same name, The End of the F***ing World is a uniquely brilliant and darkly comic venture into a relationship you'll simply never forget. A masterpiece in how to use silence to tell a story, The End of the F***ing World earned two Primetime Emmy nominations for its trouble, as well as millions of devoted fans who return time and time again.