The unadulterated pleasures of Rivals
This Disney+ take on Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles is very funny and deeply satisfying. And what a multiplicity of backsides!
ByComedy
A modest proposal for the regulation of comedy
A Criminal Levity Act would place the dangerous realm of humour safely within the scope of anti-terrorism laws.
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Josie Long Q&A: “I wish Keir Starmer had a functioning spine”
The stand-up comedian on Joanna Newsom, expressionism, and the dream of being a forest ranger.
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Ricky Gervais is turning into David Brent
The comedian is condemned for being a culture warrior. The truth is much sadder.
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How Friends changed the way we laugh
The show shaped a global sense of humour with Matthew Perry’s Chandler, who turned sarcasm into the default mode of…
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The tedious world of anti-woke comedy
From Jimmy Carr to Ricky Gervais, “edgy” comics are making jokes about 9/11 and Michael Jackson in an attempt to…
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A comic story of Britain
This history of comedy contains much moralising – but the best creations transcend the monstrousness of their characters.
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And Just Like That… is a woke horror show
The Sex and the City sequel is a combination of glib identity politics and extreme shopping – and it’s impossible…
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Bridget Christie’s The Change and the rise of menopause media
I’d take Christie’s dark humour over Davina McCall’s washboard stomach any day. But let’s stop pretending the topic is “taboo”.
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Frankie Boyle’s “shock” comedy was vile – no wonder he’s given himself a makeover
The once “edgy” comedian is now a left-wing commentator who stars on Taskmaster, comedy’s cuddliest show. How did he get…
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The Cockfields is a genius, black-hearted British social comedy
I was hysterical with laughter watching this Diane Morgan-starring series from David Earl and Joe Wilkinson.
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An Everywoman on her way up
Funny Woman is a broad, old-fashioned comedy about an aspiring female comic in Sixties London with an indisputable star at…
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Everyone Else Burns attempts “edgy” comedy – but ends up predictable
Like so many supposedly funny shows just lately, this sitcom about an extreme Christian sect isn’t funny enough.
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The genius of Jennifer Coolidge
In her performances – and in her Golden Globes acceptance speech – the 61-year-old actress tells us so much about…
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Prince Andrew: The Musical – can you really make comedy out of anything?
Kieran Hodgson's post-Christmas royal knees-up may be good, goofy fun, but it’s ill-suited to the sinister subject matter.
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How Peter Kay changed British comedy
The beloved Bolton comic, now going on tour for the first time in over a decade, became a national phenomenon…
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Have I Got News For You creator: “Being good on telly is not necessarily a good CV for being prime minister”
Jimmy Mulville, co-founder of Hat Trick Productions, wants no credit for Boris Johnson’s career but wouldn’t have him back on…
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Of course what Joe Lycett said wasn’t funny – that’s literally the point
What was he supposed to do – joke about how people will freeze to death?
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Don’t bring your baby to a comedy show – for the sake of the other parents there
The comedian Matt Forde has a point.
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Can comedy change the world?
Despots aren’t defeated by laughter, but the fundamental message of the comedian – “it doesn’t have to be this way” – threatens authority and disturbs…
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