The Cheekiest Shows to Stream When You Want a Laugh, Not a Lecture

There's a whole genre of comedy that's been quietly doing the heavy lifting for decades, and it's the one your grandparents would blush at and then immediately ask you to turn up. It's the wink-and-nudge stuff — the double entendre, the slapstick, the "did they just say what I think they said?" comedy that's been making people snort their tea since before television had color.

This is the school of funny where nobody's actually doing anything scandalous — that's the whole joke. It's the suggestion of scandal, played for maximum absurdity. A man chases a woman around a garden at double speed while a saxophone honks. A vicar walks in at exactly the wrong moment. A perfectly innocent sentence turns out to mean something entirely different. And everyone involved is fully clothed, which is what makes it work.

Here's where to find the good stuff.

The classics

Benny Hill himself, Monty Python's Flying Circus, and the Carry On films. These are the OGs of the nudge-nudge school. They're on various services, and they hold up shockingly well — mostly because the jokes are about people being ridiculous, not about being mean.

The modern inheritors

The IT Crowd, Blackadder, Fawlty Towers. British comedy has been carrying this torch for fifty years. The innuendo is there, but it's wrapped in so much absurdity that you're laughing before you even register what was implied.

The American cousins

Arrested Development, 30 Rock, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Same energy, different accent. The double entendres fly fast, the situations get increasingly ridiculous, and nobody ever actually does anything — which is, again, the entire point.

The wildcard

What We Do in the Shadows. It's a mockumentary about vampires, and it's somehow the purest modern expression of the spirit — absurd, cheeky, and constantly winking at the camera.

The rule of thumb: the best of this genre is suggestive, never explicit. The joke is the gap between what's said and what's meant. It's comedy for people who like their humor with a raised eyebrow and a knowing grin — and it's been making families laugh (and occasionally cover the kids' ears) for generations.

So if you want a laugh that's a little bit naughty and a lot bit silly, this is your lane. Just don't blame me when you find yourself humming the theme song for the rest of the week.