New Orleans becomes BBC West this week

It’s that time of year again, where Tellyspotting, along with 100+ colleagues from PBS stations around the country, descend upon New Orleans to work very, very hard on your behalf. Ordinarily, as television programmer’s, we like to say that our main function in life is to watch bad television so you don’t have to. However, […]

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Tellyspotting 2.0

Over the last couple of days, we’ve experienced a phenomenal increase in traffic from around the world. As a matter of fact, Friday, 29 April, was by far the highest traffic day ever since the beginning thanks, in large part, to a couple of minor events going on like the Royal Wedding and the return […]

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More on British sitcoms: Class warfare on the horizon?

Working class sitcoms vs. Blue collar comedy. Fawlty Towers vs. Father Ted. The Telegraph vs. The Guardian. No matter what side you’re on in this rather ridiculous issue, what viewers ultimately want is good comedy. While Telegraph readers tend to lean more towards the Conservative Party and a centre-right view, the majority of the Guardian readers […]

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Patricia Routledge and Clive Swift board the QE2

Keeping Up Appearances icons, Patricia Routledge and Clive Swift recently (ok, it was almost 20 years ago) sat down with BBC Radio broadcaster, Judi Spiers, for a really fun behind the scenes conversation about the iconic British comedy, Keeping Up Appearances, where they allude to their upcoming (at the time) journey aboard the QE2 as […]

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The Office — U.S. or UK?

As much as I have always liked the American version of The Office, I have to take exception with the Telegraph’s Ceri Radford and her planting of the flag for the American version versus the British original. Admittedly, the American version of The Office comes as close to being as good as the original British […]

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A reflective Lenny Henry speaks out

We’ve come to know both Lenny Henry and Dawn French separately over the years in their most popular roles as Chef Gareth Blackstock (Chef!) and Geraldine Granger (Vicar of Dibley). Millions of British comedy fans across the globe have laughed and cried with both their characters over the years which is an incredible achievement for […]

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The greatness of Outnumbered comes to the U.S.

With lots of new British series coming to the U.S. via public television in early 2011, I decided to mention one that I’ve tracked for awhile and really can’t wait for. Partly because it’s a brilliant series, but mainly because of a far-fetched article that surfaced yesterday about the BBC hit series, Outnumbered, alluding to […]

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Goodbye New Orleans and remembering Graham Crowden

As we leave New Orleans (insert sniff here) and this year’s BBC Syndication Showcase, we learned of some sad news from the world of British comedy that Graham Crowden, known to many as Tom Ballard in Waiting for God, had passed away yesterday at the age of 87. Remembering Graham Crowden We were extremely fortunate […]

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Do's and don'ts of successful British comedy

Whether you’re a budding sitcom writer searching for that next great idea or you’ve a viewer that has enjoyed British comedy for many years wondering just what it is that keeps you coming back week after week, there is hope on the horizon that could solve both your issues. The folks over at geeks.co.uk leave […]

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Yes Minister…30+ years and still relevant

Max Headroom was created some 20+ years ago and is more relevant today than it was in the 80’s. Similarly, it’s hard to believe that it’s been over 30 years since co-creators, Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn wrote the unbelievably brilliant British comedy, Yes Minister, that is also more relevant today than when it originated. […]

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