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The IT Crowd Is The Funniest British Sitcom Ever, Claims A New Study

The IT Crowd Is The Funniest British Sitcom Ever, Claims A New Study

'The thing about Arsenal is, they always try and walk it in'

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

The IT Crowd is the funniest British sitcom ever, a new study has claimed.

It's a question that crops up every now and again, with people divided when it comes to the nation's favourite comedy series.

But according to comedy boffins, you dad is wrong and Only Fools and Horses is not the best thing since sliced bread - not even the Batman and Robin episode.

I should point out that said experts are actually people who work for online marketplace onbuy.com, so maybe it's not quite as definitive as you'd hope - but interesting nonetheless.

The website surveyed 2,000 Brits, asking them what their favourite show was.

A control group of 125 participants were then tested, with them all watching every episode of the shows selected, monitoring their laughter throughout the process.

Peep Show was found to be the 'funniest British sitcom ever', according to a new study.
Channel 4

And it seems that The IT Crowd came out on top - with an average of one minute and 44 seconds of laughter per hour.

The bizarre goings on in the basement of Reynholm Industries had viewers in stitches, and pipped POV comedy Peep Show to the top spot, with The Inbetweeners rounding out the top three.

The report said: "The IT Crowd comes in at number one! Amazingly, the short number of episodes (25) and their duration (24 minutes) are enough to make us laugh for an average of 1 minute and 44 seconds per hour!

"The results also revealed that Season 2 is the one that had the most cackles, and Season 1, the least. Participants described the show as having 'the finest British dry humour' and 'clever writing'."

Here is the complete list:

  1. The IT Crowd - 1 min 44 sec
  2. Peep Show - 1 min 36 sec
  3. The Inbetweeners - 1 min 22 sec
  4. The Office - 59 sec
  5. Mr Bean - 54 sec
  6. The Thick of It - 51 sec
  7. Outnumbered - 31 sec
  8. Friday Night Dinner - 23 sec
  9. My Family - 9 sec
  10. This Country - 7 sec

But while The IT Crowd might be top dog in the UK, it's not so much of a global hit.

The IT Crowd pipped Peep Show to top spot.
Channel 4

In another study by the same company, the US version of The Office was found to be the funniest show on the planet. It's not, but ok.

Using a control group of 120 people this time, the firm found the American version of The Office provided the most amount of giggles, with one minute and 45 seconds of laughter registered per hour.

Coming in second place is the very funny (but apparently just not as much) Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

The cop comedy clocked one minute and 38 seconds of laughter per hour, with viewers saying the funniest season was the fifth instalment and season six was the least funny.

Following these two hilarious shows were Community, Parks and Recreation, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Arrested Development, Friends, How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men.

Featured Image Credit: Channel 4

Topics: Entertainment, Funny, UK Entertainment

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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