Television series
Getting On
Other titles called Getting On: the 2013 series (HBO).
A savage, tender sitcom set on an NHS geriatric ward where three nurses navigate bureaucracy, mortality, and each other with gallows humour. Written by and starring its cast, it finds comedy in the spaces between cruelty and care, never punching down at patients. Bleak, clever, occasionally heartbreaking.
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Scrubs2001
Hospital comedy-drama that balances irreverent humour with genuine emotion. Shares Getting On's ability to find jokes in grief and exhaustion without mocking the vulnerable people at the centre.
But Sprawls across nine seasons with declining quality. The American optimism grates if you want something darker and more clinically precise.
Brass Eye1997
Savage satire written by people who understand institutional absurdity. Same ruthless intelligence applied to different targets, same willingness to make you uncomfortable while you're laughing.
But Deliberately provocative and occasionally cruel in ways that don't always land. Requires you to be very sure about what the joke is.
The IT Crowd2006
Workplace comedy from writers who understand how to make absurdity feel inevitable. Similar tight structure, same refusal to sentimentalise its characters or soften the edges for comfort.
But Relies heavily on repetition and catchphrases that wear thin. Gentler tone might feel too light if you're after Getting On's specific bleakness.
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Synecdoche, New York2008
Both treat ageing, mortality, and institutional life as philosophical rather than sentimental problems. Both are formally precise about capturing how people fail each other.
Charlie Kaufman's labyrinthine film about a theatre director building a replica of life-size New York inside a warehouse shares Getting On's interest in how we construct meaning from decay and failure. Both find dark comedy in mortality and the spaces between performance and reality.
But Almost impenetrably complicated; the narrative deliberately resists clarity. Two hours of ambiguous symbolism will exhaust you if you want something direct.
More like this (6)
Inside No. 92014
Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's anthology series shares Getting On's dark intelligence and formal precision. Each half-hour is perfectly constructed to wrong-foot you.
But Anthology format means no recurring characters or continuity. Some episodes misfire badly; the unevenness might frustrate you.
Doctors2000
Long-running BBC medical drama that treats hospital life as genuinely consequential. Getting On fans often appreciate its understated approach and refusal to melodramatise.
But Soap-like pacing and scheduling can feel glacial. Tone is earnest where Getting On is sardonic; the registers are quite different.
A Bit of Fry and Laurie1987
Sketch show with the same British sensibility about authority and incompetence. Sharp writing, performative intelligence, moments where the humour has real teeth.
But Sketch format means ideas aren't always fully developed. Dated references and some sketches exist just to show off rather than land a point.
The Thick of It2005
Workplace comedy about people trapped in systems that don't work. Malcolm Tucker's profanity-laden frustration mirrors Getting On's characters negotiating an impossible institution.
But The relentless swearing becomes a stylistic crutch that obscures the actual observations. Exhaustingly bleak without the underlying compassion.
Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge1994
Corinne and Armando's comedy about a man utterly unsuited to his job contains the same DNA: institutional failure observed with surgical precision and dark comedy.
But Alan Partridge can feel painfully uncomfortable in ways unrelated to the writing. Very much a product of its era in tone and references.
The League of Gentlemen1999
Sketch and character comedy that finds horror in British institutions and social interaction. Shares Getting On's refusal to make suffering beautiful or redemptive.
But Grotesque characters can overwhelm the actual ideas. Some pieces trade on shock value rather than insight, which dates poorly.
People
Cast
Production
- Lucy LumsdenExecutive Producer
- Simon LuptonExecutive Producer
- Geoff AtkinsonProducer