We could do this forever, I’m sure there’s a load still missing!
I think that is comes from the fact that Americans take themselves too seriously and have a very strong and an even stronger censorship model than the British (thanks to well-funded religious organisations who make fun illegal).
I agree that British sitcoms (not comedy generally) were superior for a couple of decades, but think we need to give modern American comedy much more credit; Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry Sanders, various animation series, etc, etc have established them back at the top. I can't see the UK as that competitive these days.
That's not considering American standup, movies etc which leave us in the dust.
Seinfeld, Curb, Arrested Development, Modern Family, The Office (US), South Park, Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, Frasier, Fresh Prince, Friends, How I Met Your Month, Futurama, Simpsons (OG) and then there's not a lot more on the bench unless you include the lesser remakes of British shows.
A lot of them aren't funny or aren't satire.. just look at the Shameless remake - they turned that into a character drama when it was a sitcom.
America has more of a stand-up culture I feel.
I wonder if it's because the news in America is pretty much fiction that they basically don't have political satire as a genre outside of the topical news shows (Daily Show / John Oliver) which are honestly more like real news shows than comedy at this point.
"So, what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?" she asked Debbie McGee.
*The sketch show, not Ab Fab. Alright, Ab Fab too.
The Tory Party, that was the biggest long running joke ever, I never thought that they'd be able to top the hilarious Boris Johnson but then Liz Truss came out of nowhere and PORK MARKETS'd her way into infamy!
Let's not forget that the Alan Partridge character was borne on Chris Morris' absolutely genius radio show "On The Hour", and made it onto tv on Morris' televised successor "The Day Today".
Which reminds me of the actual high water mark of British comedy, which was Chris Morris' third and final series "Brass Eye". He rustled too many feathers with that one.
It's a damn shame that those shows have been wiped from YouTube. For my money, Chris Morris is the most unappreciated creator of the 90s/00s, limey or not.
Chris Morris and Armando Iannucci are national treasures.
Maybe four.
Even the funniest American show of the current decade, Succession, was written by an Englishman.
Now I feel old.