Television series
That Mitchell and Webb Look
- Parody
- Light-hearted
- Dip in and out
A sketch show where David Mitchell and Robert Webb dismantle the grammar of television itself. They don't just do funny characters—they mime the cadence of documentaries, game shows, and adverts with such precision that the format becomes the joke. Smart, playful, and constructed with the care of people who clearly spent their youth rewatching telly and taking notes.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you enjoy sketch comedy built on precise, character-driven absurdity, where the joke often lands in the gap between a pompous voice and a small, petty truth.
Skip it if you want a continuing story or characters you can settle into, since each sketch starts fresh and the rhythm of dropping in and out can feel scattershot.
What it asks of you: Each episode runs about half an hour and asks you to keep up as the tone jumps from parody to mockumentary to character piece, with little time spent on any one bit.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Peep Show2003
The same duo (Mitchell and Webb wrote it) exploring the interior monologue of two London flatmates across nine seasons. Darker and more sustained than their sketch work, but the same sharp eye for human behaviour and social discomfort.
But It prioritises character misery over laughs. Long commitment. Some episodes are genuinely bleak rather than funny.
The League of Gentlemen1999
British sketch comedy at its most grotesque and inventive. Character-driven rather than format-driven, but shares that unease about what lurks beneath ordinary life. Massively influential on what Mitchell and Webb do.
But Deliberately ugly and disturbing. Some sketches haven't aged well. Leans hard on shock value in ways that can feel dated now.
Friday Night Dinner2011
British sitcom about a family's weekly meal, structured around intimate observation of how people actually behave. Same warmth beneath the comedy that Mitchell and Webb bring. Runs five seasons without losing focus.
But Smaller stakes than you might expect. Relies on recognising family dynamics. Some find it sentimental rather than funny.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from That Mitchell and Webb Look
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge1994
Both shows understand that television *format* is the real subject—they're not doing sketches within television, they're doing television itself as comedy.
Armando Iannucci's prototype for mockumentary comedy: a chat show so committed to its format that you forget it's not real. Same intelligence about television that Mitchell and Webb possess, but pioneered here a decade earlier. Essential viewing for understanding where their sensibility came from.
But Extremely niche. About a minor chat show that few remember. Requires tolerance for very dry observation of media minutiae. Some find it tedious rather than clever.
More like this (6)
Saxondale2006
Written by and starring Charlie Brooker as a neurotic, verbose former roadie. Shares That Mitchell and Webb Look's obsession with how people justify themselves. Pitch-black humour grounded in real psychology.
But Claustrophobic and relentlessly bleak. The protagonist is hard to like. Only lasted two seasons. Can feel exhaustingly angry.
Nighty Night2004
Julia Davis as a widow obsessed with befriending her neighbour's wife. Character comedy of terrifying accuracy about social predation and narcissism. Nasty in exactly the way intelligent comedy should be.
But Difficult and cruel. Only two seasons before cancellation. The protagonist is monstrous. Demands that you find horror funny.
The IT Crowd2006
Character-based sketch comedy pretending to be a sitcom. Four seasons of immaculate structure, with jokes built on how technology and corporate life genuinely alienate people. Hilarious and oddly touching.
But Relies on IT department stereotypes, some of which land better than others. Occasional sketches feel padded. Irish and US versions dilute it.
Look Around You2002
Educational television parody so precise it becomes surreal. Mitchell and Webb's spiritual kin: people who understand television's grammar well enough to weaponise it. Absurdist and affectionate simultaneously.
But Very dry. Some sketches are conceptually clever but not particularly funny. Only six episodes exist. Very 2000s in its sensibility.
Jam2000
Both shows reject the sketch-comedy formula of setup-punchline in favour of structural intelligence and the comedy of recognition—watching people behave in ways that feel absolutely true.
Chris Morris's experimental 15-minute sketches, each a complete tonal world. No punchlines, no format parody—just brutal observation of how people actually behave. Bleak in a way that makes you recalibrate what comedy can be. Genuinely visionary.
But Genuinely disturbing. Some sketches involve child abuse and sexual violence played for discomfort rather than laughs. Not comedy for everyone. Only two series made.
The Comeback2005
Like Mitchell and Webb, it uses documentary form and television literacy not for parody but to reveal the gap between how people see themselves and how they actually are.
Lisa Kudrow as a delusional actress in mockumentary form. American, but taps the same vein: comedy about self-deception and how people construct narratives about themselves. Uncomfortably funny and structurally brilliant. Format serves character perfectly.
But Cancelled after one season. Cringe comedy before that was fashionable—genuinely painful to watch. Kudrow's character is often awful. Not for anyone who finds secondhand embarrassment unbearable.
People
Cast
Robert WebbVarious Characters
David MitchellVarious Characters
Production
- Kenton AllenExecutive Producer
- Mark FreelandExecutive Producer
- Paul SchlesingerExecutive Producer
- Francis GilsonLine Producer
- Gareth EdwardsProducer
Recommended by
A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Not the Nine O'Clock News, Big Train, The Catherine Tate Show, Limmy's Show, David Mitchell's Soapbox, Newman and Baddiel in Pieces