Television series
That Was the Week That Was
A live, unruly weekly revue that treated the news as raw material for mockery rather than reverence. David Frost anchored sketches, songs and interviews that took direct aim at politicians, bishops, and the BBC itself, often mid-broadcast. It's rough, dated in places, occasionally shocking for 1962 — and it invented the grammar every topical satire show since has borrowed.
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Not the Nine O'Clock News1979
The show that revived topical sketch satire after a long lull, sharp and fast, and the launchpad for Rowan Atkinson and Mel Smith at their most gleefully subversive.
But Some sketches lean more silly than political; a few targets have aged into obscurity without context.
Have I Got News for You1990no page yet
The longest-surviving descendant of TW3's format: a live-feeling weekly reckoning with the news, still capable of genuine cruelty toward whoever deserves it that week.
But Decades of familiarity have smoothed some of its edges into a comfortable institution rather than a dangerous one.
The Day Today1994
A pitch-perfect mockery of news broadcasting's self-importance, deadpan and relentless, and hugely influential on everything satirical that followed on British TV.
But Dense, rapid-fire, and more about skewering media form than any single political target — it rewards rewatching more than casual viewing.
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Duck Soup1933
TW3 pioneered live comedy that treated real power as fair game on television; Groucho was doing the same demolition job to authority three decades earlier with a cigar and a fake country.
The Marx Brothers turn government, diplomacy and war into total lunacy — a reminder that mocking the powerful on screen is a much older sport than television.
But Vaudeville pacing and puns rather than topical targets; nothing here is aimed at a specific real politician.
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Monty Python's Flying Circus1969
Same BBC, same appetite for chaos, same willingness to throw convention out the window — just aimed at absurdity generally rather than Parliament specifically.
But Less pointedly political than TW3; if you want satire with named targets, this drifts more toward surrealism.
Brass Eye1997
A genuinely dangerous piece of television, hoaxing celebrities and MPs into endorsing nonsense on camera — TW3's nerve turned up to something closer to sabotage.
But Deliberately provocative and occasionally cruel; not something to put on for a light evening.
Yes Minister1980
A quieter, more surgical satire of how government actually works, all evasive language and bureaucratic self-preservation, brilliantly written and endlessly quotable.
But Studio-sitcom pacing rather than live sketch energy; less topical bite, more structural comedy.
The Thick of It2005
Modern spin doctors and ministers torn apart with profane, breathless dialogue — the sharpest portrait yet of how power actually gets managed and mismanaged.
But Relentless swearing and specific New Labour-era politics may not land for everyone.
Saturday Night Live1975
America's own weekly live answer to topical sketch satire, complete with impressions of whoever's currently in charge — proof the format traveled and stuck.
But Wildly inconsistent from season to season; you're gambling on which era you land in.
South Park1997
Same bones as TW3: rapid production, real news feeding straight into the script, no sacred cows — just swapped a BBC studio for construction paper and fart jokes.
Animated satire made and broadcast fast enough to react to the week's actual headlines, still gleefully willing to offend absolutely everyone in the room.
But Crude, scatological, and constructed from paper cutouts — a long way from Frost's dinner jacket and clipped delivery.
Network1976
TW3 treated TV's power over public opinion as something worth laughing at; Network takes the identical premise and treats it as a horror story instead.
A furious, prophetic drama about television eating truth alive for ratings — the exact fear TW3 joked about, played here as full-blown tragedy.
But There's no comic relief; it's a slow-burning, angry film that wants to unsettle you, not entertain you lightly.
Recommended by
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Colbert Report, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Not the Nine O'Clock News, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, Brass Eye