Television series
Jam
- Absurdist comedy
- Strange
- Dip in and out
Jam is a British sketch series that abandons punchlines for dread. Each episode unfolds as a series of blackly comic vignettes set to unsettling ambient music, finding horror in mundane social situations—a neighbour's visit gone wrong, a children's entertainer's unravelling shift. It's funny in the way a nightmare can be funny: through discomfort and wrongness. For viewers who want comedy that disturbs rather than reassures.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like comedy that makes you laugh and then flinches, where the mood of a sketch matters more than its punchline and the music does half the work.
Skip it if you want a story that builds, or jokes you can easily follow; these are short, strange fragments that rarely explain themselves and can feel cold.
What it asks of you: Six episodes of roughly twenty-five minutes each, so a short evening; attention needs to stay on each sketch, since mood shifts quickly and nothing is spelled out.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
The League of Gentlemen1999
Sketch comedy with a genuinely dark edge, building recurring characters and satirising British institutions. The grotesqueness feels earned, never gratuitous. A clear spiritual kinship with Jam's willingness to let discomfort linger.
But Some sketches overstay their welcome, and the humour can feel dated or rely too heavily on shock value rather than structure.
Wonder Showzen2005
An American sketch series that shares Jam's commitment to unease and wrongness. It refuses comfort, mixes comedy with genuine unsettling moments, and trusts the audience to sit with discomfort rather than resolve it.
But Far more chaotic and aggressive in tone. It can feel like being yelled at rather than guided into unease, and the targets aren't always clear.
Limmy's Show2009
Scottish sketch comedy that builds characters and situations into places of real psychological awkwardness. Limmy's performance style—deadpan, often uncomfortable—mirrors Jam's refusal to telegraph jokes or soften the edges.
But Heavily Scottish dialect and references may alienate some viewers. The pacing can feel deliberately slow in ways that test patience.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Jam
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Come and See1985
Both use ambient sound and image to create dread. Both understand that horror doesn't require monsters—just the systematic breakdown of human dignity and the inability to escape or resolve it.
A Belarusian war film that shares Jam's commitment to unrelenting wrongness and its refusal to look away from human degradation. Sound design is as important as image. It's a masterpiece, though calling it 'fun' would be a lie.
But It's extremely bleak and traumatising. There's a reason this film appears on lists of hardest-to-watch cinema. It's not entertainment in any conventional sense.
More like this (6)
Nathan Barley2005
Co-written by Charlie Brooker, this sitcom shares Jam's fascination with social failure and awkwardness, but locates it in a specific subculture. The comedy emerges from character and environment rather than shock.
But More traditional in structure than Jam, which may feel safer. The satire can be a bit obvious about what it's mocking.
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace2004
A sketch series masquerading as a cult horror show. It finds comedy in the gap between intention and execution, with a similar commitment to maintaining tone even when things get ridiculous.
But The joke can wear thin: it's often just 'bad TV' rather than commenting on anything deeper. Some episodes feel like they're riffing rather than building.
The Day Today1994
Chris Morris's earlier sketch series, the spiritual ancestor to Jam. It deconstructs media, finds comedy in the surreal, and refuses to make things easy for the audience. Sharp, ambitious, genuinely innovative.
But Early 90s production values and some dated references. The format can feel scattered compared to Jam's more cohesive vision.
Nighty Night2004
Julia Davis's dark comedy about a woman scheming to kill her husband. It's uncomfortable, morally queasy, and finds humour in the gap between what characters intend and what they actually do. No safety net.
But The cringe factor is extremely high. Some viewers will find it unpleasant rather than funny, and the protagonist is genuinely unlikeable.
Psychoville2009
A sketch series that builds into something more like a mystery, with recurring characters whose strangeness deepens rather than dissipates. It shares Jam's commitment to maintaining unsettling tone across a whole episode.
But The connecting plot can feel thin, and much of the humour relies on grotesqueness rather than wit. Some sketches genuinely just go nowhere.
Requiem for a Dream2000
Both use formal technique—editing, sound, visual distortion—to generate psychological unease rather than narrative tension. Both refuse to soften or resolve, instead intensifying discomfort until the final frame.
Aronofsky's film about addiction uses fractured editing, pounding music, and mounting visual distortion to create something that looks like a nightmare. It's formally inventive in how it makes you feel wrong, just as Jam does.
But Extremely depressing and punishing to watch. The editing and sound design can be nauseating. There's no catharsis, only degradation. One of the most relentlessly bleak films ever made.
Recommended by
Snuff Box, Catterick, That Mitchell and Webb Look, Monkey Dust, Green Wing