WIDELY regarded as the funniest British sitcom ever made, Blackadder II is now on BritBox as Lord Blackadder, Baldrick and company celebrate their 40th anniversary with a diabolically scheming cackle. It’s comedy gold, courtesy of Rowan Atkinson, Ben Elton and Richard Curtis.
Bit newer, and coming on 21 September is season one of long-running (six seasons, 37 episodes) BAFTA-nominated sitcom Friday Night Dinner which depicts Shabbat dinner in the secular Jewish Goodman family – with plenty of slapstick and pranking thrown in for good measure.
Twenty-something brothers Adam (Simon Bird – The Inbetweeners) and Jonny (Tom Rosenthal – Plebs) unfailingly go back to Mum and Dad’s London house for dinner every week – and each Friday Mum (Tamsin Grieg – Episodes) and Dad (Paul Ritter – Quantum of Solace) get ready for an evening of domestic squabbling, food-related pranking and lashings of “crimble crumble”.
In season one, there is much speculation that Jonny has invented his girlfriend Alison, and not even the internet can sort out a suitable partner for Adam. Could it be because Adam writes jingles for toilet roll adverts, and Jonny’s favourite party trick is to jump out of bin-liners onto unsuspecting victims?
Join comedian Alan Carr (pictured below) on a whimsical road trip to visit some of the “quintessentially British” locations made famous by Agatha Christie’s iconic mystery novels – channelling characters such as Miss Marple and Poirot in the process. Hop in the car and join the fun with Alan Carr’s Adventures with Agatha Christie, new and exclusive to BritBox South Africa from 7 September.
Double BAFTA-winning comedian Romesh Ranganathan (The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan, The Cynic) writes and stars in new comedy-drama Avoidance, about a man with severe conflict-avoidance issues who runs away with his son when his wife announces she’s leaving him. Watch season one from 14 September.
Newly separated Jonathan (Ranganathan) has no home, no friends and no ambition. Can a slightly useless single dad find some much-needed backbone? This warm-hearted comedy co-stars some of the biggest hitters on the current UK comedy scene, including Jessica Knappett (The Inbetweeners, Ghosts) and Mandeep Dhillon (After Life, Peacock).
The BritBox app is available on Android TV, including enabled Smart TVs, Google Chromecast with GoogleTV, Nvidia Shield, MiBox and MiStick, plus Android and Apple mobile/tablets, FireTV, Samsung Smart TV and LG Smart TV, and DStv. Enjoy one week’s free trial, sign up at R99.99 per month or R999.99 for 12 months, and register for email updates here.
