Television series

Big School

Name: Big School
Genre: Comedy
Released: 2013
Cast: David Walliams, Catherine Tate, Philip Glenister, Frances de la Tour, Steve Speirs

Comedy
Light-hearted

Big School is a British sitcom set in a struggling urban secondary where the staff are more fractured than the students. It's absurdist, character-driven comedy with real affection for its misfits—teachers bickering, romances tangling, technology failing spectacularly. For anyone who's worked in an institution and recognized the chaos, or just loves ensemble comedies about people trapped together.

TVMaze rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like workplace comedy where petty staffroom feuds and awkward, unspoken crushes drive the laughs, and you enjoy broad performances from a cast led by Catherine Tate and David Walliams.

Skip it if you want sharp, fast jokes or a story that moves forward; this leans on broad, sketchy gags, and its workplace set-ups can feel thin.

What it asks of you: Thirty-minute episodes, twelve of them across two series, so it is a light commitment, but each one wants you to tolerate some very overplayed silliness.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The IT Crowd2006

A cult gem about misfits in a corporate basement navigating technology, office politics and social impossibility with brilliant script work. The absurdity and heart will feel familiar if you loved Big School's staff dynamics.

But It's niche humour about IT that demands you get the references, and some of the comedy hasn't aged well by modern standards.

Please Sir!1968

The original school-based British sitcom where young teacher Norman Hedges battles a chaotic East End classroom. It pioneered the format and has genuine warmth beneath the chaos that echoes Big School's spirit.

But It's 1960s television—the pacing is slower and the social attitudes date it noticeably, which can make it feel remote.

Horrible Histories2009

Sketch-based comedy with ensemble energy and absurdist twists on familiar subjects. The cast work includes Joanna Scanlan, and the anarchic approach to facts mirrors Big School's irreverent tone.

But It's educational comedy aimed partly at younger audiences, so the humour can feel scattered and occasionally too silly even for Big School fans.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Big School

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The League of Gentlemen1999

Both build comedy through ensemble casts doing absurdist character work within institutional structures; same writers' room energy but inverted morally.

Grotesque character comedy that shares Big School's ensemble energy and institutional setting through repeated sketches of a nightmare support group. Same playful darkness and character obsession, but surreal and grotesquely twisted.

But It's far darker, more disturbing, and the humour is deliberately ugly and aggressive—nothing warm about it, which is the opposite of Big School's affection for its idiots.

The Thick of It2005

Brilliant ensemble about dysfunctional workplace hierarchy and people talking past each other. The character work and dialogue are sharper, and the institutional satire will resonate with Big School's DNA.

But It's much darker and swearier, with a meaner satirical edge; the comedy comes from cringe and incompetence rather than warmth.

Brookside1982

A British institution itself—long-running soap with an ensemble cast dealing with real issues and absurd situations. It captures that lived-in chaos of a place where everyone knows everyone.

But It's a drama-soap hybrid, not primarily comedy, so tonally it's very different from Big School's lighter touch.

Dead Ringers2023

Audio comedy with ensemble cast doing character work and absurdist sketches. The interactive, playful approach to comedy shares Big School's energy and willingness to be silly.

But It's radio, not visual—you lose the physical comedy and expressions that make Big School tick, and it requires more active listening.

The Blue Lamp1950

Both examine how institutions—school, police station—are really just collections of people with incompatible personalities forced to function together, finding dark comedy and unexpected humanity in that friction.

Classic British crime film with an ensemble police station cast navigating duty, personality clash and institutional loyalty. It's the tonal ancestor of Big School—serious and tragic but shot through with humour and recognition of human weakness.

But It's a black-and-white 1950s police procedural, so the tone is dramatically heavier and the pacing very different from a modern sitcom.