Television series
Filthy Rich & Catflap
- Comedy
- Light-hearted
Three comedians playing disreputable lodgers sharing a London flat, improvising their way through petty schemes and social disasters. Chaotic, physically unhinged, and loudly funny—The Young Ones alumni doing what they do best. For fans of anarchic comedy who don't mind characters being genuinely awful to each other.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you enjoy the grubby, shouty sparring of 1980s alternative comedy and want to see three Young Ones alumni trade barbs in a tight, cheerful half-hour format.
Skip it if you want a show that has moved on from the chaotic, anything-goes style of its era, since the jokes rely on slapstick rivalries and broad character types.
What it asks of you: Six half-hour episodes, so a short commitment, but it demands quick ears for fast, overlapping shouting and patience with deliberately rough, loud staging.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
The Young Ones1982
The spiritual ancestor: same anarchic energy, same cast (Mayall and Edmondson especially), same willingness to blow up a scene for a laugh. If you loved Filthy Rich, you need to see where it came from.
But Feels more student-housed and dated now; the punk aesthetic hasn't aged as kindly as the comedy itself.
Blackadder1983
Same era, same British irreverence, same commitment to character-based insult comedy. Sharp writing with genuine plotting underneath the chaos, giving you something to latch onto.
But More structured and less anarchic—if you want pure bedlam, this has a plot in the way.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy1981
BBC comedy from the same period doing something just as weird and off-kilter. Unhinged logic, ridiculous characters, the same sense that anything could happen next.
But Surreal sci-fi premise might feel like a different flavor entirely if you're craving more flat-sharing chaos.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Filthy Rich & Catflap
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The League of Gentlemen1999
Both reject sitcom propriety entirely, but League does it through monstrosity rather than silliness; same anarchic refusal to play by rules, opposite tones.
Character-based sketch comedy, but meaner: grotesque locals in a confined world, all played by men playing multiple roles. Same DNA as Filthy Rich (anarchic, rule-breaking) but inverted into grotesquerie instead of slapstick. Hilarious and unsettling at once.
But Genuinely disturbing in places—racism, sexual violence sketched out as comedy. Not for viewers who want their chaos kept light.
More like this (3)
Bottom1991
Rik and Edmondson playing two awful men in a grotty flat—basically the spiritual successor to Filthy Rich. If you liked the chemistry and the willingness to humiliate characters, this is the obvious next step.
But Cruder and angrier than Filthy Rich; some viewers find it wearing rather than liberating.
A Bit of Fry and Laurie1987
Sketch comedy from the exact same moment, with the same performers who'd go on to dominate British comedy. Smarter writing, faster pacing, genuine inventiveness in every scene.
But Almost aggressively polished—if you want grime and chaos, this is too clever for comfort.
French and Saunders1987
Same year, same channel (BBC Two), same anarchic spirit. Women doing what Rik and Adrian do: making comedy look like a fight between friends that's somehow hilarious.
But Very female-centered parody and sketch work; if you're coming for three men in a flat, the register is quite different.
People
Cast
Recommended by
The New Statesman, Twin Town, Bottom, Rab C Nesbitt, Room 101, Happy Families, Purely Belter, Ideal, The Comic Relief Utterly Utterly Rude Video Live