Television series
Saxondale
Steve Coogan's Tommy Saxondale is a former roadie turned pest controller drowning in his own resentment. He's got anger management issues, a live-in girlfriend, an unfortunate assistant, and a complete inability to see how unbearable he is. It's a character study wrapped in comedy—nasty, precise, and genuinely uncomfortable in the best way.
If you liked this
Peep Show2003
Mark and Jez are despicable in completely different ways, yet the show loves them anyway. Told through warped POV, it finds comedy in the gap between how people see themselves and reality—Saxondale's exact engine.
But The visual style (handheld, distorted) is deliberately alienating. Both protagonists are thoroughly unsympathetic for long stretches.
I'm Alan Partridge1997
Coogan doing his most famous character: a self-deluded, desperate man convinced of his own importance while the world moves on. Same performer, same obsession with male ego and its hollowness.
But It's gentler than Saxondale—more lovable—so you might want something meaner. Also very of its moment (1990s Norwich).
Nathan for You2013
Nathan Fielding plays a character as delusional and oblivious as Tommy, surrounded by baffled normal people watching him implode. The cringe-comedy DNA is identical; the format just sprawls differently.
But It's conceptual and premise-heavy in ways Saxondale isn't. Also much longer per episode and demands patience with awkwardness that can feel theatrical.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Saxondale
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Thick of It2005
Both are surgical examinations of middle-aged British male ego wrapped in workplace comedy; both are written by people who clearly despise their protagonists.
The sensibility is different—political satire rather than character comedy—but both are savage dissections of men delusional about their own importance, told with linguistic precision and genuine disdain for the protagonist. Same DNA underneath.
But It's much more plot-heavy and aggressively political. The language is almost intimidatingly dense and profane in ways Saxondale isn't. Later seasons lose focus as the show grows.
More like this (7)
Extras2005
Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's Andy Millman chasing validation he'll never get, surrounded by people who see through him instantly. Shorter season, sharper focus, similar toxic masculinity running through the comedy.
But Only two seasons, so there's not much. Some of the cameos overshadow the character work you're actually looking for.
Curb Your Enthusiasm2000
Larry David as a man incapable of letting anything go, destroying every situation through petty resentment. It's America's version of this exact character: the small man who thinks he's massive.
But It's heavily improvised and sprawling—some episodes feel like they meander. Also much longer-running, so you're committing to something vast.
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa2013
Coogan's character finally gets a feature-length story, playing the same delusional ex-somebody in a higher-stakes scenario. Wider canvas for the same character pathology you love in Saxondale.
But If you've seen the TV series, there's diminishing returns. It softens the character more than Saxondale would ever allow.
In the Loop2009
Peter Capaldi's Malcolm Tucker is a volcano of fury and incompetence dressed as confidence. Same class of arrogant man-child, same gleeful character assassination, same UK sensibility about male failure.
But It's a spin-off from The Thick of It and assumes you know the show. The politics can feel dated. It's aggressively crude in ways that overshadow characterization.
Lead Balloon2006
Rick Spleen is an aging comedian with an inflated sense of his own importance and absolutely no self-awareness. Jack Dee's show about a man nobody likes is the closest spiritual cousin Saxondale has.
But It was short-lived and not widely rewatched. Less satirical than Saxondale—more straightforwardly about a guy who's just unbearable to be around.
Taxicab Confessions1995
Where Saxondale uses comedy to expose self-delusion, this uses raw honesty. They're inverse mirrors of the same question about how badly we understand ourselves.
A documentary series where strangers get in a cab and reveal themselves to a camera. Tommy's entire existence is self-deception and performance—here are real people telling the truth they usually hide. Opposite approach, same human obsession: the gap between who we think we are and what we actually are.
But It's utterly unstructured and entirely dependent on casting luck. Some episodes are transcendent, others deeply mundane. No narrative arc at all, just eavesdropping.
The Leather Boys1964
Both anatomize a type of British masculinity that's simultaneously brittle and aggressive, trapped by class and ego. Saxondale is what happens when you make that tragedy funny without softening it.
A 1960s British film about two working-class men and the structures that trap them—one a motorcycle mechanic with a temper and a small-man complex. It's grounded, unglamorous, and furious about class and masculinity in a way that feels ancestral to what Saxondale's doing.
But It's in black and white, methodically paced, and not interested in laughs at all. The sexual politics are forward-thinking but historically marked. It's a different register entirely from Coogan's comedy.
People
Cast
Recommended by
My Hero, Come Fly with Me, That Mitchell and Webb Look, This Time with Alan Partridge