Top 5 Favourite Comedy Tv Series

Benihunter · 25-01-2026 01:33PM #1

Just a bit of Sunday fun, what's your top 5 favourite comedy tv series of all time? By that I mean live action, I love the Simpsons and South Park etc but I'm excluding animated series from this list.

Narrowing it down to 5 is difficult, but here goes:

1. Fr Ted

2. Only Fools and Horses

3. Dad's Army

4. Benidorm

5. Blackadder

Honourable mentions: Fawlty Towers, Yes Minister, The Office, Extras, The Royle Family, The Inbetweeners, Mr Bean, Bottom, Scrubs, Two and a Half Men and Married With Children

And just to stir the pot a bit more, here's a few dishonourable mentions (ie series which were very popular but I wasn't a fan of them): Friends, Little Britain, The Fast Show and The Big Bang Theory

Mantis Toboggan · 25-01-2026 02:00PM

Fr Ted

Always sunny in Philadelphia

The Inbetweeners

Two and a half men

The Office

Benihunter · 25-01-2026 03:36PM

I heard Always Sunny in Philadelhia is good, a few lads in work swear by it but I've never given it a go.

Ps, I wonder is Benidorm coming back? It badly needed a break as it ran out of steam after season 5/6. But I think with good writing it could work again as there's so much to work with given it's set around a holiday resort.

FortuneChip · 25-01-2026 03:49PM

Over the course of time, I shuffle between rewatches of a few shows knowing I dont need to pay full attention to

Parks and Recreation - just a nice comedy with great characters.

US Office - UK is arguably funnier, but US is good passive TV

IASIP - Just for the chaos

Silicon Valley - a little more nuanced, but the best insults

Peep Show - cringe and chaos again

Strumms · 25-01-2026 03:57PM

Fawlty Towers

Fr Ted

Only Fools

Dads Army

Porridge

Honourable mentions : Open All Hours, Royle Family, One Foot In The Grave.

Appletart Upsetter · 25-01-2026 03:58PM

Peep Show

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Extras

Curb your Enthusiasm

Arrested Development

I haven't put the UK office in there, on the basis I'd sit down and rewatch any of the above, but The Office UK can be tough going sometimes! But it's great.

Penn · 25-01-2026 04:29PM

The Office (UK)

Community

Arrested Development

The Inbetweeners

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Some of the above have some rough patches (Seasons 4 & 6 of Community, Seasons 4 & 5 of Arrested Development) but overall some of the funniest, smartest writing, best characters and amazing episodes.

Benihunter · 25-01-2026 11:03PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124178940#Comment_124178940

Funny I just saw a video on Chevy Chase earlier detailing his rise and fall and all that jazz and they mentioned that Community was his last big role.

Great comedic actor but apparently an absolute nightmare to work with, he had lots of rows with show creator Dan Harmon on Community. He sent a pretty colourful voicemail to Harmon as well who in fairness also took the classless decision to play the recording live on stage....which a TMZ reporter managed to capture and release.

aloaloalo · 26-01-2026 12:51AM

Fr. Ted

Only Fools and Horses

Open all hours

Fawlty Towers

Porridge

Penn · 26-01-2026 11:13AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124180380#Comment_124180380

Joel McHale said in his book that he and Chevy literally got into numerous fights (at the very least, physical pushing and shoving) on the set of Community. Yeah by all accounts he was a horrible disaster to work with. It's also why nobody from Community agreed to be on that documentary.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rzMgo9MItEA

He had some great moments in Community, but you also wouldn't miss his character when he left, unlike Donald Glover as Troy which really left a gaping hole in the show that just couldn't be filled. Dan Harmon said that he'd let Glover improvise as much as he wanted because it was always great and useable stuff.

LambshankRedemption · 26-01-2026 11:34AM

Frasier

Blackadder (Seasons 2, 3 and 4 - don't like 1)

Only Fools and Horses

Fr Ted

Taxi

Note: For my fifth I was torn between Porridge, Taxi and Yes Minister. It was a close call.

rednik · 26-01-2026 06:26PM

Blackadder

MASH

Cheers

Fr Ted

Porridge

black & white · 26-01-2026 07:00PM

Rab C Nesbitt

Fr Ted

In Sickness and in Health

Royal Family

Cheers

Jellybaby_1 · 26-01-2026 08:35PM

My Family (when Kris Marshall was in it)

LambshankRedemption · 26-01-2026 08:38PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124182665#Comment_124182665

I do like Rab C Nesbitt too. My dad had the complete set of videos.

"See me? See the sea? I love the sea me. When ya git doon to it, it makes you sort of humble, you know? I SAID THE WHITE BOAT! Thats the red boat! Day whit yer told!"

black & white · 26-01-2026 08:49PM

If the good lord wanted us to know about cuisine, he wouldn’t have invented crispy pancakes.

alfa_aficionado · 26-01-2026 10:24PM

In no particular order…

Royle Family

Early Doors

Still Game

Inbetweeners

Outnumbered

(Honourable mentions to Fresh off the boat, Peep Show, Scrubs, Yes Minister, Arrested Development & Seinfeld)

AbusesToilets · 26-01-2026 10:30PM

Hmmm

Arrested Development (1st 3 seasons)

Veep

Peep Show

Patriot ( kind of a dramedy)

Atlanta

LowOdour · 26-01-2026 10:40PM

Its nearly impossible to answer but will go with

Father Ted

Black Books

Im Alan Partridge

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson

Peep Show

You could add everything from Friends to Scrubs; The Office to IT Crowd and many in-between. Also loads of very funny shows that would necessarily would be comedy but always give lots of laughs

deisedude · 26-01-2026 11:51PM

Father Ted

Arrested Development

Parks and Recreation

Community

US Office

Honourable mentions: Superstore, Silicon Valley, The IT Crowd, Friends, Peep Show

AMKC · 26-01-2026 11:56PM

Mr Bean,

Mrs Browns Boys ,

Father Ted,

Faulty Towes and

Mrs Hacket you know the show with Miss Bucket lol.

dmrules · 27-01-2026 08:29AM

Everybody loves Raymond

King of Queens (best comedy show ever!!)

Seinfeld

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Rules of Engagement

Jack Daw · 27-01-2026 01:49PM

Frasier

Simpsons

Seinfeld

Fr Ted

Only Fools and Horses

Just missing out are

The Royle Family

Early Doors

Fawlty Towers

The Inbetweeners

The office

The Fast Show

secondrowgal · 27-01-2026 08:25PM

Can't believe I'm the first to mention Schitt's Creek! 😯 Or Absolutely Fabulous.

Fr. Ted for sure.

Mash was such a classic and holds such great memories for me personally.

Mork and Mindy

LambshankRedemption · 28-01-2026 02:13AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124185795#Comment_124185795

Good call on Mork and Mindy, i must watch that again.

On MASH, my uncle ran a shop on McCurtain Street in Cork and the actress who played Hot Lips Houlahan in Mash went into the shop one day, bought two Mars bars, ate them one after the other and then left.

This was around 1981.

Benihunter · 28-01-2026 09:23AM

Has nobody mentioned Last of the Summer Wine.

Granted it's not exactly hilarious and the repetitive jokes almost become a joke themselves. But the classic trio of Compo, Foggy and Clegg had their moments and the setting was often very scenic and quaint.

Also a mention to An Idiot Abroad, I think Karl is both naturally funny and likeable.

Hodors Appletart · 28-01-2026 09:46AM

The only comedy shows I rewatch, and I just have them on constant repeat, are Sunny and Archer.

I loved Arrested Development too

Badly Drunk Boy · 28-01-2026 10:35AM

Since they haven't been mentioned and they are favourites of mine, I'll say:

The League Of Gentlemen

The Mighty Boosh

Inside No.9

I'm not really a 'laugh out loud' sort of person but a non-comedy which often makes me laugh is Evil, the supernatural drama about a psychologist, and priest and a science-guy investigating unusual happening for the Catholic Church.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt905500