Sitcoms are often seen as an American genre, which is not surprising as many of the best sitcoms of all time are American. The best American sitcoms, like Friends, have had a huge impact on the TV landscape, making household names out of their main stars, and often pioneering new filming techniques. That said, sitcoms from other countries have also become icons of the genre.
There are many English-language sitcoms that everyone should watch at least once, with many that are just as good, and often better, than some of the best famous American sitcoms ever made. Some of the most iconic phrases and characters in non-American sitcoms have, in turn, influenced the genre in America, building a legacy through their international equivalents.
Derry Girls
Ireland
James, Erin, Michelle, Claire, and Orla in the sitcom Derry Girls.
As one of the best TV shows with fewer than 40 episodes, Derry Girls has a legacy as one of the best Irish TV shows in recent years. The series has a 99% positive critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviews praising the acting as well as the story, which blends chaotic teen life with the real history of Northern Ireland in the 1990s.
Derry Girls was the breakthrough show for Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope in Bridgerton.
Derry Girls follows the lives of five teenagers attending Catholic school as they navigate life during the final years of The Troubles. The characters grow up over the show’s three seasons, ending on an optimistic note, and to highlight just how much of an impact Derry Girls had, it was the most watched show in Northern Ireland since modern records began in 2002.
Schitt’s Creek
Canada
Moira, Alexis, and David in Schitt’s CreekCBC
When the super-wealthy and self-absorbed Rose family loses their fortune, they are forced to relocate to the town of Schitt’s Creek, which the family patriarch, Johnny, bought as a joke. Schitt’s Creek is a rare sitcom that doesn’t lose its charm on a rewatch, and unlike many sitcoms, the show’s humor is never cruel, making it a standout, even a decade later.
Schitt’s Creek was created and written by Eugene and Daniel Levy, who play Johnny and David respectively, and the show also stars the late, great, Catherine O’Hara as Moira Rose. The show is infinitely quotable, with some of the best-written sitcom character arcs of all time, and Schitt’s Creek won all seven major comedy awards at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards.
The Office
UK
David with his feet on the table
The Office is often more well-known as an American sitcom, but the original version is a UK TV show starring Martin Freeman and Ricky Gervais, who also co-wrote the series. While the USA version of The Office ran for nine seasons, the original only lasted for two, and a Christmas special. Each episode of The Office is hilarious, while many also have some surprisingly emotional scenes.
The Office is credited with popularizing the mockumentary style, which led to shows like What We Do in the Shadows and Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. The UK version of The Office is set in the fictional British paper company, Wernham Hogg, where the workers form relationships, annoy each other, and commit social errors that straddle the line between cringe and laugh-out-loud funny.
Blackadder
UK
Baldrick, Blackadder, and Percy
Blackadder is one of the most unusual sitcoms to have ever been filmed. Each of the show’s four main seasons takes place during a different historical era, with each of the main characters playing their own descendants, allowing them to change their personalities. Blackadder is one of Rowan Atkinson’s best shows, cementing his status as one of the most iconic leading men in comedy.
The Four Main Seasons of Blackadder
Title
Era
Year
The Black Adder
British Middle Ages
1983
Blackadder II
Elizabethan
1986
Blackadder the Third
Regency
1987
Blackadder Goes Forth
WWI
1989
Since Blackadder’s release in the 1980s, many of its main stars have become household names, including Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean,) Hugh Laurie (House,) Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter,) and Stephen Fry (The Hobbit.) While Blackadder only had four main seasons, the cast often returned for spinoffs, specials, and guest appearances, and the series has an 89% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Letterkenny
Canada
Wayne at a brithday party on Letterkenny
While it has been reported that many Americans don’t get the hype surrounding Letterkenny, the 12-season sitcom from Canada, this may be exaggerated as the show has an 89% positive audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has still received excellent reviews. Letterkenny is about the daily lives of the residents of the small fictional Canadian town of the same name.
The show’s greatest strength is the dialogue between the characters, and the plot centers on three distinct social groups. These are “the Hicks,” the hockey players, and “the Skids,” who regularly come into conflict, leading to puns, comebacks, witty one-liners, and the occasional fight. Letterkenny brings Canadian culture to the screen in a way that few other sitcoms have managed, and it is well worth watching.
Father Ted
Ireland/UK
Father Ted Crilly
Father Ted was produced by the British production company, Hat Trick Productions, but was written by Irish writers and is set in Ireland. The story follows three priests living on the fictional Craggy Island, off the Irish coast, as they bicker with each other and navigate rural life. The show lasts for 25 episodes, including a Christmas special.
With Ted being the only normal character surrounded by caricatures, Father Ted was written as a satirical comedy about Catholic Ireland, but with the intention of being funny rather than mean-spirited. This approach allowed it to build a cult following among audiences around the UK and overseas, as well as a 96% positive audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Red Dwarf
UK
Cat, Rimmer, Lister, and Kryten
Red Dwarf might be a UK production, but it is set in space. The show is the ultimate sci-fi sitcom mashup, with its main four characters being an android with a rebellious streak, a rule-oriented hologram, a regular person who has returned to the ship after being cryogenically frozen as a punishment for smuggling in his pet cat, and the evolved cat.
The humor in Red Dwarf is generally absurdist, with the characters confronting future versions of themselves, arguing with the ship’s bored computer, and cleaning neglected parts of the ship. Red Dwarf often satirizes the most famous sci-fi franchises of all time, without merely being a spoof, and has one of the catchiest, silliest theme songs of all time.
Fisk
Australia
Helen Fisk on her mobile phone
Fisk is an Australian sitcom with a 97% positive audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The show is about Helen Tudor-Fisk, a corporate lawyer who joins a small solicitor firm after her marriage and career fall apart. The show did not get nearly as much attention as it deserved, and is one of the best sitcoms on Netflix that you probably missed.
Fisk’s greatest strength is its character-driven storytelling and characters that are likable while also being flawed. Rather than the more obvious comedy found in many American sitcoms, Fisk’s humor is generally dry and centered on embarrassing situations and social mistakes, while the show’s cringe moments are similar to many found in The Office, but with a legal twist.
Shoresy
Canada
For viewers who have still not been persuaded to watch Letterkenny, the show’s spinoff has a better storyline, and you do not have to watch the original show to enjoy it. The story follows Shoresy after he leaves Letterkenny to play hockey, with the goal of never losing again. With a 100% positive Rotten Tomatoes rating, Shoresy is generally considered to be even better than Letterkenny.
There are some recognizable faces among the cast of Shoresy, and while the show has the same kind of humor as Letterkenny, there is a major difference in the worldbuilding. The episodes of Letterkenny can be watched out of order, with the episodes generally telling their own self-contained story, but Shoresy has a character arc throughout, allowing the running gags to be less repetitive.
Fleabag
UK
Fleabag looking over her shoulder in a church pew.MovieStillsDB
Fleabag has aged like fine wine, with many viewers wishing that Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s multi-award-winning TV show had lasted longer than its two seasons. However, the fact that the series is so short and the writing is so consistent means that every episode of Fleabag is excellent, and the 12-episode show can be binged in a single day.
Fleabag is not only hilarious, but has an interesting approach, with Fleabag regularly breaking the fourth wall to speak directly to the audience. The show has some shocking emotional twists that pack a gut punch, and these have cemented Fleabag as one of the best British TV shows in any genre, and a show that truly deserves its masterpiece status from start to finish.