Television series
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
- Comedy
- Light-hearted
- Dip in and out
Laugh-In blitzed late-60s TV with jokes faster than anyone could count - a psychedelic wall of blackout gags, go-go dancers painted with slogans, and catchphrases like "sock it to me" that leaked into everyday speech. Less a sketch show than a fire hose of silliness with sly political jabs hidden inside. Great for nostalgia hunters, comedy historians, or anyone curious where short-attention-span humor actually began.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love fast, joke-dense sketch comedy where a gag that misses is already gone before you wince, and you enjoy seeing a whole era's humor packed into one rapid-fire hour.
Skip it if you want sketches that build slowly into a single payoff, since this format hops from one quick bit to the next and rarely lingers long enough to let a joke breathe.
What it asks of you: It runs about an hour per episode across six seasons, so it is a hang-out format you dip into, and it wants you to keep up with rapid cuts and a lot of quick one-liners.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Saturday Night Live1975
The direct descendant - live, topical, rotating-cast sketch comedy that inherited Laugh-In's blueprint and just kept running with it for five decades.
But Fifty seasons of wildly uneven quality means you'll wade through some duds to find the gold.
Monty Python's Flying Circus1969
Same era, same appetite for demolishing sketch-show structure itself, but filtered through British absurdism instead of American go-go psychedelia.
But More surreal and cerebral than gag-a-second - some sketches wander off into non-sequitur for its own sake.
The Carol Burnett Show1967
A contemporary variety show with the same ensemble warmth and running bits, but built around live-audience sketch craft rather than rapid-fire editing.
But Slower, sweeter, more theatrical - none of Laugh-In's chaotic wall-of-jokes editing style.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Your Show of Shows1950
Laugh-In's rapid-fire ensemble structure is a direct descendant of this - same blackout-sketch machine, just younger, faster, and drenched in psychedelic paint.
Sid Caesar's live ninety-minute sketch marathon invented the blackout-joke assembly line fifteen years before Laugh-In, staffed by a writers' room stuffed with future legends.
But Rough black-and-white kinescope footage and a slower live-TV pace than modern eyes are used to.
More like this (8)
SCTV1976
A sketch show that parodies television itself, with a murderers' row of talent (Martin Short, John Candy, Catherine O'Hara) doing sustained characters instead of one-liners.
But Lower budget, more Canadian, and less known outside comedy-nerd circles despite the pedigree.
In Living Color1990
Fast, loud sketch comedy that launched Jim Carrey and the Wayans family, with the same appetite for skewering pop culture Laugh-In had for skewering politics.
But Some jokes have aged badly, and episode quality swings hard depending on the season.
The Kids in the Hall1988
A tiny ensemble building a whole surreal universe of recurring weirdos, proving sketch comedy could be intimate and cult rather than sprawling and mainstream.
But Dark, niche, and deliberately strange - it rewards patience more than instant gratification.
Whose Line Is It Anyway?1988
Pure improv adrenaline - no scripts, no safety net, just quick wits building jokes from nothing in real time.
But The game-show format repeats itself after a while, and craft takes a backseat to spontaneity.
Key & Peele2012
The modern heir to sketch comedy with a satirical bite, turning out viral, tightly written bits about race, politics, and everyday absurdity.
But Polished and cinematic where Laugh-In was gleefully ramshackle - a very different energy underneath the lineage.
The Muppet Show1976
Variety-show DNA with guest stars and running gags, filtered through puppets - gentler chaos for anyone who wants Laugh-In's structure without the innuendo.
But Family-friendly and soft-edged, missing entirely the adult wink-wink humor that gave Laugh-In its spark.
Robot Chicken2005
Strip away the go-go dancers and it's the same blackout-gag density, reincarnated decades later for a generation raised on channel-surfing attention spans.
The exact same joke-a-second engine as Laugh-In, rebuilt in stop-motion, chewing through pop culture with total disregard for narrative logic.
But Crude, internet-brained humor with none of the vaudeville sweetness that gave Laugh-In its catchphrase charm.
Medium Cool1969
Same historical moment, opposite register - watch it right after Laugh-In and see precisely what the silliness was dancing on top of.
A drama shot amid the real 1968 Chicago convention riots, showing with dead seriousness the exact political chaos Laugh-In was nightly joking its way around.
But Slow, unsettling, and jokeless - a hard tonal swing away from anything resembling sketch comedy.
People
Cast
Dan RowanHost
Dick MartinHost
Writing
- Ed FriendlyCreator
- George SchlatterCreator
Recommended by
The Danny Kaye Show, The Julie Andrews Hour, The Richard Pryor Show, The Dean Martin Show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, The Gong Show, The Milton Berle Show, Donny & Marie, The Flip Wilson Show, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, Hee Haw, You Bet Your Life, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Love, American Style, Harry Enfield & Chums, Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV, You've Been Framed!, At Last the 1948 Show, Lemmings, You Can't Do That on Television, Pee-Wee's Playhouse, The Benny Hill Show, The Mickey Mouse Club, The Brady Bunch Hour, The Jonathan Winters Show, Uncle Croc's Block, Marie, Pink Lady and Jeff, The Krofft Supershow, Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp, The Aunty Jack Show, The Muppets Go to the Movies, My Mother the Car