10/10 Cringe Comedies Are Rare, But The BBC's 12-Part Series Has Zero Bad Episodes

Published Sep 26, 2026, 7:00 AM EDT

Craig began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016 and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. After previously writing for various outlets, Craig's focus turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally became useful. Craig has previously been published by sites such as Den of Geek.

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Cringe comedy is most closely associated with The Office on both sides of the Atlantic, with David Brent and Michael Scott spawning a host of socially inept imitators. But the cringe format was going mainstream long before the days of Wernham Hogg and Dunder Mifflin, and one of the earliest examples comes complete with tie and blazer badge combination. Played by Steve Coogan, Alan Partridge began as one part of radio news spoof On the Hour and its TV adaptation, The Day Today. Both are works of comedy genius, and The Day Today even contains a sketch very close in premise to The Office.

Alan Gordon Partridge's hotter-than-the-sun potential was clear, and Coogan's character soon spawned his own solo series with mock chat show Knowing Me, Knowing You. The Partridge then spread its wings of laughter with the even more raucous I'm Alan Partridge, combining the cringe comedy Norwich's favorite late-night radio presenter was known for with a more traditional sitcom format.

Since those halcyon days, Coogan has periodically revisited and refreshed the Alan Partridge character in a variety of mediums, but never more effectively than with his glorious comeback to the gladiatorial arena of chat.

This Time With Alan Partridge Is Cringe Comedy At Its Best

In the 1990s, Knowing Me, Knowing You derived laughs from the conceit of putting an utterly incompetent host in charge of a primetime chat show. This Time with Alan Partridge puts an utterly incompetent host in charge of a primetime chat show, but said host is stuck in the '90s and the chat show is happening in the 2020s, adding a whole new layer to Alan's scotch egg of comedy.

With Knowing Me, Knowing You, Alan was the one real constant, interviewing a rotating chatalogue of guests. Even Glenn Ponder remained tucked away on a balcony with his band, Nighthawk. In I'm Alan Partridge, however, it became very clear that Alan played better with friends, hence the introduction of iconic characters such as Lynn (assistant), Dave Clifton (colleague), and Michael (big plate scam victim). This Time with Alan Partridge offers the best of both worlds, combining the chat show setup with an ensemble cast. Tim Key manages to go cringe-for-cringe with Coogan, and the mighty Lynn returns, now earning 2p more per hour than in 1997.

The smartest new addition, however, proves to be Alan's infinitely more professional co-host, Jennie. Because the secret to any great cringe comedy is preserving a modicum of audience sympathy for the bumbling protagonist. Without that, it's resentment comedy. The fact that Jennie puts on a friendly facade while cameras are rolling, yet Alan remains gloriously unable to be anything but himself, keeps the audience on his side, even when he makes it very, very difficult to stay there.

You could find this trick in Knowing Me, Knowing You as well, where infuriating guests would make Alan seem reasonable by comparison. He probably still has nightmares about the Maclean brothers today. But the gimmick of having an antagonistic co-host and a dynamic that gradually sours across the series makes for a far meatier subplot.

How This Time Ranks Against Vintage Alan

When traversing the Peartree Cinematic Universe, releases must be divided between the classic era up to I'm Alan Partridge season 2, and the newer era driven by Steve Coogan and the Gibbons brothers.

This Time with Alan Partridge could feasibly be considered the best release of the latter period, perhaps excluding the 2013 feature-length movie, Alpha Papa. Boasting more laugh-out-loud moments and comedic variety than Mid Morning Matters or How Are You? It's Alan (Partridge), the chat show spoof really does bring out the character's strengths, while also delighting in the many ways Alan can be poked and prodded by life in the 2020s. It's at least on par with Knowing Me, Knowing You in its humor, if not quite as revolutionary in its premise.

"Utterly unwatchable" - Piers Morgan.

If you're looking for Alan's 'Best of The Beatles,' however, I'm Alan Partridge is still the series to beat. It's nowhere near as satirical, and some jokes have aged more gracefully than others, but there's nothing quite like witnessing Alan in the wild. Seeing him in an L.S.S. (live studio situation) is a joy, but few things on TV are as comedically generous as Alan Partridge navigating his way through the big wide world of Blue Nun and Bono's house.

It's telling that the best bits of This Time with Alan Partridge are Alan's on-location report segments, learning how to wash his hands properly, or swearing with monks. I'm Alan Partridge built an entire sitcom out of Alan the man rather than Alan the presenter, and Alan the man will always be ever so slightly funnier.

Why Alan Partridge Still Works After 35 Years

The list of comedy characters that have remained as popular as Alan Partridge for as long as Alan Partridge is not very large, and while Steve Coogan has continuously tweaked the character, the soul remains very much intact.

A major reason behind that is Alan's fictional life unfolding in real time, a stark contrast to most comedy characters, who typically exist in a bubble. An entire (very funny) backstory was laid out for Alan in his mockautobiography, I, Partridge: We Need To Talk About Alan. His real-life appearances then map out his presenting career, starting with On The Hour, becoming a chat show host, failing as a chat show host, returning to radio, then making a TV comeback. We're watching Alan age, experiencing the ups and downs of life as a minor celebrity. Not only does that force constant evolution, it gives Alan's pretend life a very human foundation.

Alan Partridge is the black hole of comedy in the sense that time and space bend around him. Wherever and whenever he pops up, he can only ever be Alan, as oblivious and unusual in This Time with Alan Partridge as he was in the 1990s. It's a legacy that can be seen in Alan's own refusal to die, and in those who have followed in his footsteps: David Brent, Philomena Cunk, etc. For those who deem cringe comedy a limited and overdone strand of TV humor, a quick dip into Alan's Deep Bath will soon prove otherwise.

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  Felicity Montagu

  Lynn Benfield

• Priyanga Burford

  Jean Chaudhary

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  Steve Coogan

  Alan Partridge

• Simon Farnaby

  Sam Chatwin