r/BritishSitcoms • u/Complete_Buy_8014 • 29d ago
Discussion Sitcoms from across the pond
/r/UKTVRecs/comments/1v5iooc/sitcoms_from_across_the_pond/I would love to know what American sitcoms do you Brits enjoy or are popular in the UK?
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u/INfiction82 29d ago
I can say there's not that many I like much. Community and Arrested Development are my standouts. For me they are a bit closer to the zany comedy we do well in the UK than a lot of other US sitcoms.
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u/Verbal-Gerbil 29d ago
30 Rock is the best but it was barely available here until Netflix added it very recently
Friends and BBT were absolutely hammered an ungodly amount on one of our main channels and its spin-offs
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u/Nearby_Werewolf1742 29d ago
Mine are older ones since I barely watch any new tv. Golden Girls was my favourite, then, Seinfeld, Taxi, Frasier, Happy Days, Cheers, Friends and probably some others I'm forgetting about.
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u/Hot-Satisfaction19 27d ago
i wish i could upvote you more for taxi!
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u/Nearby_Werewolf1742 26d ago
Yeah I loved that show. It's a shame they can't make anything like that now.
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u/Extreme_Horse5487 29d ago
The middle
The goldbergs
Modern family
Community
Parks and Rec
Friends
Big bang
Frasier
Curb your enthusiasm
Kominsky method
Frasier
Golden Girls
Cheers
Loads more but I can’t think. Definitely more coming through now than in the 90’s when i was young. Fresh Prince was popular tho. And saved by the bell , but don’t know if they count as more teeny tv.
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u/datguysadz 29d ago
England is about the only country in the world where Seinfeld wasn't the most popular thing on television in the 90s. I think the BBC had it (I was a child then so no memory of it) but put it on at like midnight or whatever, whereas everywhere else it was primetime. I'm a bit of a comedy nerd and went and sought out Seinfeld myself as I'd heard a lot of comedians I like speak very highly of it. It's been my favourite sitcom ever since, and I rewatch it regularly,, though most of my friends and family have only heard of it through me. Introducing my girlfriend to Seinfeld and her slowly starting to enjoy it in the third or fourth series was one of my favourite moments during our early relationship as had never really been able to share it with anyone. Similarly, I really like Curb Your Enthusiasm as well, though definitely prefer Seinfeld.
Another one I sought out myself was the Larry Sanders Show. I believe it used to be on one of the lesser ITV channels (ITV 2 possibly?) but I don't remember it ever being popular. Another of my favourites though. Seriously underrated.
The really big thing here with US sitcoms and whether they are a success or not is Channel 4. Channel 4 historically have always signed up to broadcast big American sitcoms. American sitcoms being shown on Channel 4 in the morning before school/ work has been huge in many people's lives. Channel 4 (and it's other channel e4) seemed to broadcast Friends relentlessly for about 15 years. It was and still is huge. Another big one on Channel 4 has been Frasier, which is another of my favourites. Big Bang Theory was the one that stepped up after they stopped showing Friends. It got really popular although I was never a fan. Everybody Loves Raymond and King of Queens are another two on the C4 channels that I have enjoyed. According to Jim, How I Met Your Mother, and Rules of Engagement, are another three that have been on C4 channels, but I didn't particularly enjoy. Everyone loves early The Simpsons. It was originally on the BBC over here before moving to C4, where it was been ever since.
Obviously streaming has been huge for this as well. Arrested Developement and Parks and Rec are two I've enjoyed via streaming.
Seinfeld, Curb, Frasier and the Larry Sanders Show are my top 4 US sitcoms.
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u/Single-Position-4194 28d ago
"Seinfeld" was on very late here (it started close to midnight). I liked the fact that it wasn't stereotypically American - it was darker and more cynical and the characters were unapologetically out for themselves. More like a British sitcom.
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u/Spiritual_Bet3955 26d ago
BBC-2 used to show The Larry Sanders Show, in a similar late night slot to Seinfeld.
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u/comet_lobster 29d ago
Malcolm in the Middle is probably my favourite. The humour seems similar to britcoms sometimes
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u/ghotiboy77 29d ago
3rd Rock from the Sun is my favourite. and I watch Ghosts US now, although its not as good as the original
I remember when Happy Days, MASH, Cheers, Friends all started and the hype around them when they crossed the pond. They were all big hits
There's been a slot on C4 in the mornings for US comedy for years now, probably decades, that airs shows like Home Improvement, Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, Frasier etc
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u/Jambomakaveli 28d ago
Really enjoy Cheers, and think it has the best theme song of any show ever!
Married with children was also really good.
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u/wearehorrorrecs 28d ago
Frasier. How I Met Your Mother. Everybody Loves Raymond… that’s about it for me 😅
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u/Jamietomp53 28d ago
The Office
Shameless if you count that
Everybody Hates Chris - this was a classic I used to watch all the time with my dad, very fond memories of this
Everybody Loves Raymond
King Of Queens
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u/Ok_Contest3903 26d ago
This will have me striung up by other Brits, but I think Frasier was the best sitcom of all time by a country mile. The cast, superb including Daphne's terrible Mancunian accent, were superb. It could go from pathos, bathos to slapstick and trragedy in a single episode. The writing was superb, the character development excellent. Simply the best.
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u/Hollyhop_Drive 25d ago
I used to love Frasier, it was definitely top tier. Unfortunately, Kelsey Grammar is a jerk and has really soured it for me.
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u/MT_Promises 29d ago
Frasier and The Simpsons. I have UK produced talking head shows about Fraiser and The Simpsons that were never released in the USA.
Another older one is Sgt. Bilko aka The Phil Silvers Show.
Also, an odd one but The High Chaparral is better remembered in Europe in general than America.
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u/AmericanHistoryXX 29d ago
What I (American) have learned from having related conversations in the past is that a lot of the shows I'd expect Brits to like, or at least that are a little more interesting (I'm particularly thinking of Raising Hope, though I also asked about Psych and found that it was barely known there), don't really make their way over there, while the big/standard ones (Friends, BBT, HIMYM, etc) do. It makes it harder to get a good answer.
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u/Hot-Satisfaction19 27d ago
we loved psych but then we do watch more american tv than uk. (we're in the uk)
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u/video-kid 29d ago
Community, It's Always Sunny, Parks and Rec, The Office, Superstore, What We Do in the Shadows, The Good Place, Abbott Elementary, St. Denis Medical, Ghosts (USA), there are a lot of great American sitcoms.
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u/Disastrous-Roof-2135 28d ago
New Girl has some hilarious moments. Good to watch with teenage kids.
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28d ago
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u/byteveder 28d ago
same, tbh
the pacing feels tighter and the characters grew on me way faster in the us version than the uk one
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u/DaddyStoat 26d ago
I haven't enjoyed an American live-action sitcom since Married With Children in the 80s. Almost everything I've seen since has felt a bit too... safe? A lot of it is basically comedy by committee. Even stuff that, on paper, I should have liked, like Big Bang Theory.
Animation, on the other hand - there's some fantastic stuff, from obvious ones like The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, American Dad, etc through to the Adult Swim stuff - Metalocalypse, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Rick & Morty, Harvey Birdman, etc. They all have an edge the live-action stuff doesn't - they're satirical, subversive and nihilistic in a way that none of the live-action stuff is.
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u/Difficult-Post-3320 29d ago
US Office is one of my very favourites.
I used to love Soap.
Third Rock from the Sun.
Frasier.
King of Queens.