Television series
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Other titles called Whose Line Is It Anyway?: the 1988 series (Channel 4).
- Comedy
- Light-hearted
- Relentless
- Dip in and out
Whose Line Is It Anyway? is pure improvisation: comedians riff through absurd games with no script, no net, no rules except the ones just invented. It's joyful chaos where the best moments emerge from panic and playfulness. Watch for the human comedy—the laughs, the surprises, the moments when someone's brain breaks in real time.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love improv that lives or dies on quick wit, where the fun is watching performers invent scenes, songs and characters from a suggestion shouted out seconds earlier.
Skip it if you want a show with a story, recurring characters or a steady plot, since every half hour starts from nothing and the games can feel repetitive if you watch many in a row.
What it asks of you: Each episode runs about half an hour and asks little setup, but it rewards close attention to the performers' timing and rewards you more when you dip in and out across a season.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Saturday Night Live1975
The gold standard of live sketch comedy. Each episode is a gamble—some sketches soar, others crash, but the real magic is watching performers think on their feet. It rewards repeat viewing.
But Wildly uneven. You'll sit through mediocre sketches to find the gems, and some episodes are genuinely hard to get through.

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson2019
Fast, brutal, absurdist sketch comedy that finds humor in the specific and weird. Robinson's characters are fully realized instantly, and the non-sequiturs hit like lightning. Genuinely surprising.
But The tone is aggressive and strange. It's not warm or accessible, and if sketch isn't your thing, this version won't convert you.

The Kids in the Hall1988
Canadian sketch comedy with a surreal, character-driven edge. These performers had chemistry that made the strangest ideas feel inevitable. Criminally underrated and deeply silly.
But It's from the late 80s and early 90s, so the pacing and production feel dated. Some sketches are more interested in concept than laughs.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Whose Line Is It Anyway?
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Drunk History2013
Live performance pressure, performers reacting in real-time to unpredictable input, and the specific kind of comedy that comes from having to make sense of nonsense.
Comedians get progressively drunk while telling real historical events, and actors perform their slurred, rambling monologues live on camera. It's chaos with actual stakes—the actors have to keep up with incomprehensible instruction.
But The heavy drinking premise is gimmicky and wears thin. The actors lip-syncing feels disconnected. If you don't find drunk people funny, this is painful.

More like this (7)
Curb Your Enthusiasm2000
Largely improvised around a loose outline, Larry David walks into social situations and watches them combust. The freedom of the format creates wild, unpredictable comedy that feels live and dangerous.
But It's about a deliberately unlikeable protagonist doing awful things. The humor comes from cringe, not warmth. Long episodes require patience.

Parks and Recreation2009
Smart, character-driven comedy with strong improvisation woven into the scripted framework. The cast has genuine chemistry and the show trusts its audience to care about these people.
But The first season is rough and it takes time to find its voice. And if you hate workplace sitcoms, the setting won't win you over.

30 Rock2006
Rapid-fire jokes, absurdist premises, and Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin playing off each other with effortless intelligence. It values comedy density over plot, which is refreshing.
But It's very New York, very 2000s, and very inside-baseball about NBC. The density means some jokes will pass you by. That's the design, not a flaw, but it's tiring for some people.

Arrested Development2003
Layered ensemble comedy where every character gets their moment. The writing is meticulous, the cast is impeccable, and it rewards paying attention. Genuinely clever without being smug.
But The density of callbacks assumes you've seen every previous episode. It can feel like homework. Later seasons lost the plot entirely.

The Office2005
Mockumentary humor, real stakes under the absurdity, and a cast that makes you believe in their relationships. The embarrassment comedy lands because you actually care about these people.
But The mockumentary format feels quaint now, and Dunder Mifflin is a depressing place to spend 200 episodes. The US version was heavily scripted, not improvised.

Community2009
Genre-loving comedy that's genuinely affectionate about its characters. Sharp, funny, willing to be weird and sincere in the same breath. The ensemble cast trusted each other completely.
But The show got increasingly self-aware and fractured as it went on. The later seasons lean harder on meta-humor than character. And the format means it's not going anywhere.

Garth Marenghi's Darkplace2004
Both prove that comedy's best moments come from committed, confident performers fully inside a strange premise, letting the absurdity speak for itself.
A fictional 1980s horror show recreated by its 'creator,' featuring over-the-top performances and deliberately terrible production. It's deeply committed to its bit with no winking at the camera. Genuinely weird and hilarious.
But The humor is entirely in the commitment to badness. If you don't get the parody on the first pass, it just looks incompetent. Only six episodes, and the audience is very niche.

People
Cast



Drew CareyHost
Aisha TylerHost

Writing
- Dan PattersonCreator
- Mark LevesonCreator
Production
- Eric J. WilkerAssociate Producer
- Eve McGorrillAssociate Producer
- Jed LeventhallCo-Executive Producer
- Mark LevesonCo-Executive Producer
- Deena KatzConsulting Producer
- Hal SpearConsulting Producer
- Aisha TylerExecutive Producer
- Colin MochrieExecutive Producer
- Dan PattersonExecutive Producer
- Denise O'DonoghueExecutive Producer
- Drew CareyExecutive Producer
- Jimmy MulvilleExecutive Producer
- Mark LevesonExecutive Producer
- Ryan StilesExecutive Producer
- Wayne BradyExecutive Producer
- Carrie HavelProducer
- Chris YoungProducer
- Danny BreenProducer
- Ewan PhillipsProducer
- Ruth PhillipsProducer
- Ruth WallaceProducer
- Susan R. Nessanbaum-GoldbergProducer
- George NeJameSupervising Producer
- Sarah McHarrySupervising Producer
Recommended by
The Ernie Kovacs Show, Saturday Night Live, The Danny Kaye Show, Idiotest, Impractical Jokers, Crime Scene Kitchen, Kids Say the Darndest Things, Dimension 20, Match Game, Password, The $100,000 Pyramid, Funny You Should Ask, The Gong Show