Netflix fans have just hours to binge 'funniest British TV show ever'

Metro

24-04-2025

Every day, Netflix adds more and more incredible TV shows and movies to its lineup.
Sadly, though, nothing lasts forever (not even Netflix licensing deals), and occasionally we have to wave goodbye to an incredible show.
So, it's with a heavy heart that I write this, but on April 25, The IT Crowd – one of the best British comedies of the 21st century – will leave the streaming service.
Set in the fictional Reynholm Industries, this sensational sitcom followed the company's IT department staffed by the 'standard nerds'.
That included the brilliant but boring Maurice Moss (Richard Ayoade), the lazy Roy Trenneman (Chris O'Dowd), and their manager, Jen Barber (Katherine Parkinson), the nominally normal one.
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If you've never seen it, it's probably best described as The Office's more extraverted sibling.
While Ricky Gervais's TV baby captured the mind-numbing tedium of working life (sorry to my boss if you're reading this), The IT Crowd was lively and surreal.
Episodes would deal with strange ideas, like a goth living behind a secret office door, convincing colleagues that they'd destroyed the internet, or your co-workers appearing on Countdown ('that's a nice tnetennba').
It was deliberately weird and wonderful, and while you could probably fit the number of people who watched the first episode in a reasonably sized cupboard – the BBC described the viewing figures as 'disappointing' – the show slowly developed a cult following.
Over the course of its run, The IT Crowd went from a secret hit to a phenomenon, picking up multiple award nominations and even a few wins, while Roy's catchphrase 'Have you tried turning it on and off again' became the bane of real-life IT workers across the UK.
The IT Crowd Peep Show The Inbetweeners The Office Mr Bean The Thick of It Outnumbered Friday Night Dinner My Family This Country
In fact, The IT Crowd was such a success that it was crowned 'the funniest British sitcom ever' in a study conducted by OnBuy.com [via Joe.co.uk].
According to the study, The IT Crowd makes a person laugh on average for one minute and 44 seconds every episode, that's a whole eight seconds more than the second funniest show, Peep Show.
Perhaps the most obvious sign of the show's success, though, was when America tried and failed to make their own version of the show, not once but twice. Afterall, are you really a hit UK sitcom if there hasn't been a worse US remake?
Like Netflix licensing deals, though, all good things must come to an end, and after four seasons and a one-off special, the IT Crowd made their final bows.
Since then, the cast has gone on to even more success. Chris O'Dowd has become a Hollywood star, appearing in huge comedy movies like Bridesmaids and the most recent season of Black Mirror.
Katherine Parkinson has dazzled on screen and stage, starring in hit TV shows like Inside Number 9, Rivals, and Humans (we'll ignore her embarrassing Taskmaster performance for her sake).
Richard Ayoade, meanwhile, has, fittingly, had the most eccentric career.
Along with directing critically acclaimed movies like Submarine, he's presented his own travel show for nine seasons, been on what feels like every UK panel show going, and even lent his voice to an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants.
Most recently, Richard made it to the final two in the brilliant Last One Laughing, where he went head-to-head with Bob Mortimer before inevitably losing to a well-timed joke.
Arguably, though, for all the success of the core three cast members, it's Matt Berry who played their insane boss Douglas Reynholm who's gone on to enjoy the most success. More Trending
Since The IT Crowd ended, he's gone on to lead not one but two hit shows – Toast of London and What We Do in the Shadows – and made guest appearances on The Mandalorian, Fallout, and The Simpsons (plus he was also in the SpongeBob movie which is clearly better than one episode).
So, if you've never given The IT Crowd a chance, why not give it a go? There are only 25 episodes to get through. That's plenty of time for a quick TV binge before the show logs off Netflix.
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The IT Crowd is available to stream on Netflix.
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