20 best shows like The Meaning of Life (1983)

Inside No. 9 invites viewers into many very different No. 9s, where the ordinary and mundane rub shoulders with the extraordinary and macabre. From a grand country house where a game of 'sardines' leads to some chilling revelations in a wardrobe; to a very oddly haunted house; to a blood-soaked actor's dressing room in London's West End; to the flat of an apparently happy primary school teacher who becomes the victim of a good deed; these unpredictable tales feature high comedy and claustrophobic horror by turns.

As she hurls herself headlong at modern living, Fleabag is thrown roughly up against the walls of contemporary London, sleeping with anyone who dares to stand too close, squeezing money from wherever she can, rejecting anyone who tries to help her, and keeping up her bravado throughout.

After finding out he has an STI, Dylan must get back in touch with every girl he has ever had sex with to let them know the bad news.

Six friends in their thirties navigate dating, sexual adventures, and mishaps on their quest to find love.

Meg, Nicky and Usman's lives all revolve around their obsession for the massively popular fantasy game "Kingdom Scrolls" – a mystical, magical and most importantly virtual world of wizards and wyverns. But when gaming n00b Russell bumbles into their team, the group find themselves increasingly forced to deal with the real world.

Our Urban Myths are stories that have been passed down over time and have now become part of urban folklore. But are they true? We take a slightly tongue in cheek, mischievous – and deliberately ambiguous – look at what might have happened...

A group of six students about to embark on the most exciting period of their lives so far: university!

Comedy series about three young women living in Leeds who've graduated, had a year out, and are now struggling to find a job they're passionate about, a place to live that is half decent and a boyfriend they actually like. A sitcom about making terrible decisions, but having a brilliant time doing it.The show focuses on Meg, her eccentric cousin Bunny and their friend Laura as they discover that life might just be a bit tougher than they had imagined. From demeaning Promotions jobs complete with mad outfits to pursuing the men of their dreams - yet dating the men of their nightmares - the girls face '#FML-worthy' disasters in both their work and personal lives.

Dark comedy about a group of obnoxious friends who struggle to survive the Stag Weekend from hell, as a deer-stalking expedition in the Scottish Highlands quickly turns messier than expected.

This mockumentary goes behind the microphone of Kurupt FM - the second most popular pirate radio station in West London, receiving up to eight texts per show and playing the finest in UK garage and drum 'n' bass. Co-founded by the MC Sniper and DJ Beats in 2002, the station has now built up a following of over a hundred people and has attracted the attention of the BBC who are making a documentary about the lives of those behind Kurupt FM

Estranged foster-brothers Stephen and Andrew vie to take over the family business following the death of their father.

Inexperienced Otis channels his sex therapist mom when he teams up with rebellious Maeve to set up an underground sex therapy clinic at school.

A group of working-class friends finding unconventional ways to win at life in northern suburbia. These lads have dealt, scammed, bribed and conned their way through adolescence, but now, on the brink of adulthood, their dealing and stealing is catching up with them and a whole load of trouble is heading their way.

Coming-of-age drama about lovable rogues Conor and Jock as they navigate their awkward teenage years, hatching plans and adventures to help distract from their tough home lives and their inability to stay out of trouble at school.

Black Books centres around the foul tempered and wildly eccentric bookshop owner Bernard Black. Bernard’s devotion to the twin pleasures of drunkenness and wilful antagonism deepens and enriches both his life and that of Manny, his assistant. Bearded, sweet and good, Manny is everything that Bernard isn’t and is punished by Bernard relentlessly just for the crime of existing. They depend on each other for meaning as Fran, their oldest friend, depends on them for distraction. Black Books is a haven of books, wine and conversation, the only threat to the group’s peace and prosperity is their own limitless stupidity.

Comedy thriller about two well-meaning idiots who become entangled in a hideous world of crime, conspiracy and corruption.

When five young outsiders on Community Service get caught in a strange storm, they discover that they have developed superpowers.

The story of a double-glazing showroom in Essex in the 80s, led by charismatic Vincent Swan, and his unscrupulous sales team, Brian Fitzpatrick and Martin Lavender.

Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, 1832. Anne Lister attempts to revitalize her inherited home, Shibden Hall. Most notably for the time period, a part of her plan is to help the fate of her own family - by taking a wife.

A maverick doctor battles with the evil forces lurking beneath a hospital in Romford, engaged in a desperate struggle against poor production values, awful dialogue and unrealistic violence...

A black comedy about three ordinary guys who find themselves, forced by an extraordinary set of circumstances, into setting up an assisted-suicide business.

Aziraphale, an angel, and Crowley, a demon, join forces to find the Antichrist and stop Armageddon.

Peep Show is an award-winning British sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The television programme is written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, with additional material by Mitchell and Webb amongst others. It has been broadcast on Channel 4 since 2003. The show's eighth series makes it the longest-returning comedy in Channel 4 history. Stylistically, the show uses point of view shots with the thoughts of main characters Mark and Jeremy audible as voiceovers. Peep Show follows the lives of two men from their twenties to thirties, Mark Corrigan, who has steady employment for most of the series, and Jeremy "Jez" Usbourne, an unemployed would-be musician. The pair met at the fictional Dartmouth University, and now share a flat in Croydon, South London. Mark is initially a loan manager at the fictional JLB Credit, later becoming a waiter, and then a bathroom supplies salesman. He is financially secure, but awkward and socially inept, with a pessimistic and cynical attitude. Jeremy, having split up with his girlfriend Big Suze prior to the first episode, now lives in Mark's spare room. He usually has a much more optimistic and energetic outlook on the world than Mark, yet his self-proclaimed talent as a musician has yet to be recognised, and he is not as popular or attractive as he would like to think himself, although he is more successful with the opposite sex than Mark.

A young woman puts her life back together after suffering from a nervous breakdown.

When tough-acting loner paramedic Maleek is paired with over-friendly divorcee Wendy, their partnership looks dead on arrival. But pretty soon they're giving each other life support.

A chronicle of four friends during a decade in which everything changed, including the rise of AIDS.

Mr. Sloane's titular character is a buttoned-down 1960's man in crisis. Between his failed attempts at marriage, career success and even suicide, it's fair to say that 1969 isn't shaping up to be Watford-dweller Mr. Sloane's year. But with a potential job opportunity on the horizon and the phone number of a prospective new love interest following a chance encounter in his local hardware store, could Mr Sloane's luck be about to change?

The life of Tracey, a religious, Beyoncé-obsessed 22-year-old living in an estate in Tower Hamlets, and the mishaps of her neighbourhood, friends and family. Oh, and obvs her boyfriend!

A documentary-style look into the daily (or rather, nightly) lives of three vampires in Staten Island who have “lived” together for hundreds and hundreds of years.

An irreverent look at parenthood through the point of view of an acerbic working mother, along with her stay-at-home husband and opinionated parents.

London's police force is in need of a public image revamp. And Chief Constable Richard Miller has found just the woman to do it...American visionary from the world of new media Liz Garvey, sets out to revolutionise the force's PR department just as an outbreak of violence erupts.

Keen Eddie is an American action, comedy-drama television series that aired in 2003 on the Fox Network. The series follows a brash NYPD detective who goes to London when one of his cases goes sour and remains to work with New Scotland Yard. The basic premise of the show bears a close resemblance to the popular 1980s British series Dempsey & Makepeace, the only notable difference being that the female partner has been replaced by a female housemate. Stylistically, the series derived inspiration from British feature films by Guy Ritchie, such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. The soundtrack and incidental music for the first episode was provided by British techno duo Orbital. Daniel Ash of Love and Rockets scored the rest of the series.The series was scheduled to premiere during the 2002–2003 television season, but was postponed and premiered in summer 2003. The series was then moved to Thursdays with its seventh episode to help improve its ratings, but Fox canceled the series due to its low ratings of 5.1 million viewers.The American cable network Bravo picked up the series to begin airing in January 2004, including the six episodes never aired on Fox. All thirteen episodes of the series were released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment on September 7, 2004. Unfortunately, the original score was replaced due to music licensing issues.

Hebburn is a warm and affectionate tale of north east family life. It tells the tale of the Pearson family and their impetuous and ambitious son, Jack, who has left Tyneside for the bright lights and glamour of Manchester. He has secretly married a middle class Jewish girl, Sarah, and realises that it is about time he introduced her to his family.

Set in Valco, a fictional budget supermarket in the north west of England, Trollied finds the funny in one of our most familiar surroundings and focuses on the types of characters we all recognise: bored checkout staff, ineffectual managers and a range of customers, from the irate to the downright bizarre.

Sitcom about three desperate young men from the suburbs who try to get laid, hold down jobs and climb the social ladder in the big city - which just happens to be ancient Rome.

Ted Lasso, an American football coach, moves to England when he’s hired to manage a soccer team—despite having no experience. With cynical players and a doubtful town, will he get them to see the Ted Lasso Way?

Doll & Em is a British comedy series starring real-life friends Emily Mortimer (Em) and Dolly Wells (Doll), filmed in the style of a reality TV show. After a breakup, Doll heads to Hollywood to be with her childhood best friend Em, who's now a successful actress.

Marnie is not OK. She's had x-rated thoughts for the last 3672 days and she doesn't know why or what they mean. When she jumps on a coach to London, she doesn't know a soul, not even herself, but in the city she will build a new life.

This eclectic, star-studded anthology follows diverse Chicagoans fumbling through the modern maze of love, sex, technology and culture. First dates, friends with benefits, couples with kids. Whatever your relationship status is, it's always complicated.

Young teacher Alfie Wickers is "the worst teacher ever to grace the British education system" – at Abbey Grove School, in Watford Hertfordshire.

A single-camera buddy comedy about what happens when two best friends come back together, just when they need each other most. Inspired by the ultra-close friendship between the series' creators and stars, "Playing House" centers on mother to-be Maggie who asks her single and career-driven best friend Emma to return home from her job overseas to attend her baby shower, having no idea what’s truly in store.

Cuckoo is every parent's worst nightmare - a slacker full of outlandish, New Age ideas. Ken is the over-protective father of a girl who's impulsively married an American hippie on her gap year.

Amidst the political conflict of Northern Ireland in the 1990s, five high school students square off with the universal challenges of being a teenager.

How Not to Live Your Life is a British sitcom, written by and starring Dan Clark that aired between 27 September 2007 and 22 December 2011, about a neurotic twenty-nine-year-old man who is trying to navigate his way through life but is not helped by his bad instincts. On 27 May 2011 it was announced by the new BBC Three controller Zai Bennett that the show has been cancelled.

Set in the dark heart of Victorian London, Detective Inspector Rabbit is a hardened booze-hound who's seen it all. Rabbit's been chasing bad guys for as long as he can remember, but these days his heart keeps stopping at inopportune moments.

Pramface is a BBC Three television comedy series starring Scarlett Alice Johnson, Sean Michael Verey, Ben Crompton, Bronagh Gallagher, Anna Chancellor and Angus Deayton. Written by Chris Reddy and produced by BBC/Little Comet, the six-part first series commenced transmission on 23 February 2012. The second series began on 8 January 2013, with the first episode 60 minutes long, as a special, and the remainder of the series consisted of the usual 30 minute episodes. The second series concluded on 19 February 2013. A third series was confirmed on 29 April 2013.

Come Fly with Me is a comedy sketch series starring David Walliams and Matt Lucas. The series is a spoof docu-soap set in a busy airport featuring check-in staff to cabin crew, from pilots to paparazzi with all the principal characters played by the two stars.

When the news is announced that a comet is on an unavoidable collision course with Earth, the most hilarious and unexpected chain of events imaginable is set in motion.

All Nikki and Jason want is a baby—the one thing they can’t have. So they decide to adopt. With their dysfunctional friends, screwball families, and chaotic lives, will the adoption panel agree that they’re ready to be parents?

Sally4Ever follows the life of Sally, a soon-to-be promoted marketer who, for 10 years, has lived a comfortable and dull suburban life with David. But on the night he asks her to marry him, Sally has a crisis and embarks on a wild affair with Emma, a seductive, charismatic, boho actress, singer, musician, poet and author. Before Sally knows it, Emma has moved in, rearranged the furniture and her life. Is this really what Sally wants, or has she made a mistake?