Sketch shows remain a hallmark of television comedy for a reason. Tickling viewers’ funny bones with their bite-sized skits, sketch series have a way of appealing to a universal audience, regardless of if you prefer low-brow humor or more sardonic satire. A dependably great source of entertainment for mass audiences, countless sketch comedy shows have come and gone over the years, but only a select few continue to entertain viewers decades later. From early HBO comedies to revolutionary absurdist series, here are some of the greatest sketch comedy series of all time, ranked in order from worst to best.
7. The Kids in the Hall
While SNL creator Lorne Michaels ultimately produced it, The Kids in the Hall bears a far stronger resemblance to the surreal nature of Monty Python’s Flying Circus than it does to Saturday Night Live. Blurring the line between comedy, reality, and some sort of dreamlike alternative universe, The Kids in the Hall somehow made the most bizarre ideas imaginable seem like a stroke of comedic genius, like the easily excitable Chicken Lady (a human-chicken hybrid) or the self-loathing Cabbage Head (a lewd man with cabbage instead of hair).
6. Mr. Show With Bob and David
To describe Mr. Show With Bob and David as fairly niche might seem like an understatement. Like all the best TV shows, though, creators Bob Odenkirk and David Cross perfected their own unapologetic brand of comedy with Mr. Show, never batting an eye for the tastes and sensibilities of the larger audiences at home. Concerning themselves more with consistent spontaneity above all else, it seemed like anything and everything could happen whenever Bob and David walked out on-stage together.
5. In Living Color
A trailblazing comedy series in more ways than one, it’s fair to describe In Living Color as the ideal segue from the early days of SNL and the sociopolitical humor of Chappelle’s Show. Giving a voice to persons to color during a time when race was rarely discussed, explored, or even depicted in mainstream television, In Living Color broke through the glass roof, elevating many of its performers to new career heights (including David Alan Grier, the Wayans brothers, Jennifer Lopez, and a young Jim Carrey).
4. Key & Peele
Bravely forging down the same path laid by In Living Color and Chappelle’s Show before it, Key & Peele offered a similarly topical discussion about the racial relationships that marked everyday life in 2010s America. Freely moving between comedy and more poignant satire, almost all of Key & Peele skits had some kind of endearing message behind it, whether discussing the casual bigotry of full-fledged racists or the subliminal messages behind horror movies, rap songs, or network news broadcasts.
3. Chappelle’s Show
In no uncertain terms, Chappelle’s Show helped put Comedy Central on the map when it came to smart, well-crafted, overarchingly topical comedy series. More so than even In Living Color, Chappelle’s Show made a habit of tackling weightier, racially-charged subject matter, frequently portraying people’s prejudiced views of themselves and others in its most well-known skits. As funny as it was thought-provoking, it’s a series that ingeniously held up a mirror to America’s dark underbelly in the early 2000s, shining a light on issues and topics we felt too taboo to discuss openly amongst ourselves.
2. Saturday Night Live
One of the longest-running series to ever air on American television, Saturday Night Live’s greatest strength is its constantly changing cast of actors, many of whom have gone on to enjoy prestigious careers in the larger entertainment industry (Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, etc.). Redefining the entire sketch comedy format for an entire generation of viewers, SNL’s rebellious attitude went hand in hand with the brash, anti-authoratarian mood of the 1970s. Whether looking at earlier seasons starring John Belushi and Eddie Murphy or more recent episodes featuring Bill Hader and Pete Davidson, it’s clear that SNL remains every bit as enjoyable now as it ever was before.
1. Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Years before SNL was even an idea floating around in Lorne Michaels’ head, the British comedy troupe Monty Python were hard at work constructing their own splash hit of a TV series. The results gave way to Flying Circus, one of the most unique TV programs to ever air on British air waves. Setting the standard for practically every sketch comedy show that followed, Monty Python’s unwaveringly original skits never failed to garner a laugh, leaving little to reason why the Pythons are collectively known as “the Beatles of comedy.” Don’t believe us? Just go back and watch some of their most well-known skits, many of which have gone on to achieve a fabled status in the annals of pop culture (like the “Ministry of Silly Walks,” “The Dead Parrot Sketch,” or “The Spanish Inquisition”).
