# Top 49 Sketch Comedy Shows of All Time

> Live late-night institutions meet cult cable oddities and British absurdism that rewired the genre. Funny is personal, so rank accordingly.

*By YPB Team · Published October 31, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/top-49-sketch-comedy-shows-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Monty Python's Flying Circus** — score 1000/1000
   The surreal 1969-74 BBC series that rewrote the rules of British sketch comedy.
2. **Saturday Night Live** — score 952/1000
   NBC's live late-night institution, running since 1975 and launching generations of comedy stars.
3. **The Kids in the Hall** — score 778/1000
   The Canadian troupe's offbeat 1989-95 series, famous for head crushing and drag characters.
4. **In Living Color** — score 721/1000
   Keenen Ivory Wayans' bold early-90s Fox show that introduced Jim Carrey and Jamie Foxx.
5. **The League of Gentlemen** — score 712/1000
   A dark, grotesque BBC series set in the fictional town of Royston Vasey.
6. **Harry Enfield's Television Programme** — score 653/1000
   Harry Enfield's early-90s BBC series that created Tim Nice-But-Dim and the Scousers.
7. **French and Saunders** — score 614/1000
   Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders' long-running BBC show famous for film parodies.
8. **The Ernie Kovacs Show** — score 614/1000
   Ernie Kovacs' 1950s experiments that pioneered visual gags and camera tricks in TV comedy.
9. **The Dana Carvey Show** — score 614/1000
   The 1996 cult flop whose writers and cast included Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert and Louis C.K.
10. **The Kenny Everett Video Show** — score 570/1000
   Kenny Everett's anarchic late-70s Thames TV show of zany characters and early video effects.
11. **Inside Amy Schumer** — score 521/1000
   Amy Schumer's Peabody-winning Comedy Central series skewering gender and pop culture.
12. **A Black Lady Sketch Show** — score 521/1000
   Robin Thede's Emmy-winning HBO series, the first sketch show written and starring Black women.
13. **Upright Citizens Brigade** — score 521/1000
   The Comedy Central series from Amy Poehler's improv troupe that seeded a comedy empire.
14. **Your Show of Shows** — score 521/1000
   Sid Caesar's live 1950s NBC revue whose writers' room defined American TV comedy.
15. **Not the Nine O'Clock News** — score 521/1000
   The topical 1979-82 BBC satire starring Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones and Pamela Stephenson.
16. **The Ben Stiller Show** — score 466/1000
   Ben Stiller's short-lived, Emmy-winning early-90s show of pop-culture parodies.
17. **Human Giant** — score 466/1000
   Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer's late-2000s MTV sketch series.
18. **The Catherine Tate Show** — score 466/1000
   Catherine Tate's BBC series of characters, led by the 'Am I bovvered?' schoolgirl Lauren.
19. **Mr. Show with Bob and David** — score 466/1000
   Bob Odenkirk and David Cross's HBO series of sketches that flowed seamlessly into one another.
20. **The Tracey Ullman Show** — score 466/1000
   Tracey Ullman's Fox showcase of characters, best remembered for giving The Simpsons its start.
21. **The Fast Show** — score 466/1000
   The 1990s BBC series of quick-fire characters and catchphrases like Swiss Toni and Ted and Ralph.
22. **The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour** — score 466/1000
   Tom and Dick Smothers' politically daring 1967-69 CBS show that battled network censors.
23. **Key & Peele** — score 404/1000
   Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele's viral Comedy Central series full of sharp characters.
24. **Limmy's Show** — score 404/1000
   Scottish comedian Brian Limond's surreal, dark BBC Scotland sketch series.
25. **Baroness von Sketch Show** — score 404/1000
   A Canadian CBC series of sharp, observational sketches about women's everyday lives.
26. **The Two Ronnies** — score 404/1000
   Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett's wordplay-rich BBC staple, home of the Four Candles sketch.
27. **Little Britain** — score 404/1000
   Matt Lucas and David Walliams' catchphrase-heavy 2000s BBC hit about eccentric Britons.
28. **All That** — score 404/1000
   Nickelodeon's 1990s kids' sketch show that launched Kenan Thompson and Amanda Bynes.
29. **That Mitchell and Webb Look** — score 333/1000
   David Mitchell and Robert Webb's BBC series, home of the 'Are we the baddies?' sketch.
30. **SCTV** — score 333/1000
   Canada's Second City Television, which built sketches around a fictional low-budget TV station.
31. **Robot Chicken** — score 333/1000
   Seth Green's stop-motion Adult Swim series of rapid-fire pop-culture parodies with toys.
32. **Fridays** — score 333/1000
   ABC's edgy 1980-82 live late-night show featuring Michael Richards and Larry David.
33. **Big Train** — score 333/1000
   A deadpan, surreal late-90s BBC series from the creators of Father Ted.
34. **The State** — score 333/1000
   MTV's anarchic 1990s troupe show from the team behind Reno 911! and Wet Hot American Summer.
35. **The Whitest Kids U' Know** — score 251/1000
   A five-man troupe's raunchy, absurd sketch series on Fuse and IFC.
36. **Goodness Gracious Me** — score 251/1000
   The BBC's groundbreaking British Asian sketch show, famous for 'Going for an English'.
37. **I Think You Should Leave** — score 251/1000
   Tim Robinson's Netflix series of escalating, deeply awkward social nightmares.
38. **The Muppet Show** — score 251/1000
   Jim Henson's puppet variety show where Kermit wrangled sketches, songs and celebrity guests.
39. **The Carol Burnett Show** — score 251/1000
   Carol Burnett's beloved 1967-78 CBS variety show packed with movie parodies and breaking castmates.
40. **A Bit of Fry & Laurie** — score 251/1000
   Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie's witty, wordy BBC sketch series from 1989 to 1995.
41. **The Amanda Show** — score 251/1000
   Amanda Bynes' Nickelodeon spin-off from All That, home of 'Judge Trudy'.
42. **The Flip Wilson Show** — score 251/1000
   Flip Wilson's hit early-70s NBC variety show, starring his sassy character Geraldine.
43. **Tim and Eric Awesome Show** — score 251/1000
   Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim's surreal Adult Swim parody of public-access TV.
44. **MADtv** — score 251/1000
   Fox's long-running 1995-2009 answer to SNL, with characters like Stuart and Ms. Swan.
45. **Smack the Pony** — score 251/1000
   Channel 4's Emmy-winning all-female sketch show starring Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips.
46. **Chappelle's Show** — score 155/1000
   Dave Chappelle's fearless 2003-06 Comedy Central series about race, pop culture and celebrity.
47. **Kroll Show** — score 155/1000
   Nick Kroll's Comedy Central parody of reality TV with recurring characters like Bobby Bottleservice.
48. **Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In** — score 155/1000
   The rapid-fire, psychedelic 1968-73 NBC show of one-liners, catchphrases and quick cuts.
49. **Portlandia** — score 0/1000
   Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein's IFC satire of hipster life in Portland, Oregon.

Tags: tv shows, comedy, classics, sketch comedy