The 20 best TV comedy sketches of all time
Shrinking production budgets – sketch shows require multiple sets, costumes and filming techniques – plus the pressure for instant success means the genre has lost its appeal for broadcasting commissioners. It has largely been replaced on our screens by panel shows, stand-up showcases and scripted 'sadcoms'.
However, there are rays of hope. In February, Channel 4 announced they were bringing the format back, helmed by David Mitchell and Robert Webb, while American institution Saturday Night Live recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and is soon launching a British version. Sketch comedy is also thriving online, where a new generation of mirth-makers are skipping the old-fashioned live route and uploading their bite-sized skits directly to YouTube or TikTok. And so we've decided to celebrate the art form by selecting and ranking the all-time top 20.
How we chose the 20 best TV sketches
Spanning more than half a century, our selection embraces old and new, streaming and terrestrial, from both sides of the Atlantic. We tried to limit ourselves to one sketch per programme but in a couple of cases, laughter-lightning struck twice.
As for those that just missed the cut? Well, a number of double acts from recent decades – Fry and Laurie, Armstrong and Miller, Mitchell and Webb, and Reeves and Mortimer – narrowly failed to make the grade. Also unlucky to miss out were the likes of Little Britain, Kenny Everett, Catherine Tate, Horrible Histories, Who Dares Wins and The Mary Whitehouse Experience. If it had been a top 30, all these would have likely appeared.
Enough about the ones that didn't make it. What about those that did? Here's our countdown of TV's 20 best comedy sketches ever. Let us know if you agree, disagree or are downright furious that your favourites were omitted. After all, comedy is a serious business…
20. Alan Partridge at the Races (The Day Today, 1994)
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