''Comedy Lab'' is a

British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...

series which showcases pilots of experimental

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

shows. Series have been aired irregularly on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

and E4 since 1998. Several pilots first shown on ''Comedy Lab'' have gone on to spawn full series, most notably ''

Trigger Happy TV ''Trigger Happy TV'' is a hidden camera/ practical joke comedy television series. The original British edition of the show, produced by Absolutely Productions, starred Dom Joly and ran for three series on the British television channel Channel 4 ...

'', ''

Fonejacker ''Fonejacker'' is a British comedy programme broadcast on E4 featuring a series of prank calls involving a number of different characters performed by British Iranian television actor Kayvan Novak. It first appeared in May 2006 and became a fu ...

'', ''

That Peter Kay Thing ''That Peter Kay Thing'' is a series of six spoof documentaries shown on Channel 4 in 2000. It was written by Peter Kay, Dave Spikey, Neil Fitzmaurice and Gareth Hughes, and was directed by Andrew Gillman. The series was narrated by Andrew Sachs ...

'', ''

Meet the Magoons ''Meet the Magoons'' is a six-part comedy television series in the United Kingdom aired on Channel 4 in 2005, directed by and starring Hardeep Singh Kohli. The main characters are a Punjabi family who live in Glasgow, and own an Indian restaurant ...

'' and '' FM''. It also gave

Jimmy Carr James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is a British-Irish comedian, presenter, writer, and actor. He is known for his deadpan delivery of controversial one-liners and distinctive laugh, for which he has been both praised and criti ...

his first television appearance in ''Jimmy Carr's World of…Corporate Videos''. The 2001 series featured the episodes ''Knife and Wife'' (featuring

Kevin Eldon Kevin Eldon (born 2 October 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He featured in British comedy television shows of the 1990s including ''Fist of Fun'', '' This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', '' Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge' ...

), ''Orcadia'' (featuring Alice Lowe), ''Daydream Believers: Brand New Beamer'' (featuring David Mitchell and

Robert Webb Robert Patrick Webb (born 29 September 1972) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is one half of the double act Mitchell and Webb, alongside David Mitchell. Webb and Mitchell both starred in the Channel 4 sitco ...

) and ''Jimmy Carr's World of…Corporate Videos'' featuring Jimmy Carr. The 2008 series featured the episodes ''Headwreckers'' (featuring

David McSavage David Andrews (born 5 February 1966), known professionally as David McSavage, is an Irish stand-up comedian, comedy writer and street performer, known for his television show "The Savage Eye".Olivia Lee Olivia Lee is a British comedian, actress and writer. Early life Lee is from a Jewish family. She studied acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Career Lee landed a presenting job alongside Simon Amstell on Channel 4's ''T4''. She l ...

's Naughty Bits'', '' Karl Pilkington: Satisfied Fool'', '' Pappy's Fun Club'', '' School of Comedy'' and ''Slaterwood''. 2010's shows were ''iCandy, Happy Finish, Penelope Princess of Pets,

Jack Whitehall Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. He is known for starring as JP in the series '' Fresh Meat'' (2011–2016) and Alfie Wickers in the series '' Bad Education'' (2012–2014, 20 ...

Secret Census, Filth, Moviemash and Hung Out''. The 2011 lineup included: ''

Anna & Katy ''Anna & Katy'' is a British comedy sketch show, beginning on Channel 4 on 6 March 2013 following a pilot edition as part of the ''Comedy Lab'' series in 2011. It featured regular comedy partners Anna Crilly and Katy Wix, with regular guests incl ...

'' (featuring

Anna Crilly Anna Crilly is an English actress and comedian. Education Crilly was educated at Kent College, Pembury and attended Middlesex University, where she studied performing arts. Career She was a finalist in the "So You Think You're Funny" competit ...

and

Katy Wix Katy Victoria J Wix (born 28 February 1980) is a Welsh actress, writer, author and artist. She is best known for her television roles as Carole in ''Stath Lets Flats,'' Mary in ''Ghosts'' and Jules in '' Big Boys''. She has also appeared as a s ...

), ''Totally Tom'' (featuring

Anna Popplewell Anna Katherine Popplewell is an English actress. Popplewell is known for playing Susan Pevensie in the fantasy film series '' ''The Chronicles of Narnia' (2005–2010), which grossed an excess of US$1.5 billion and earned her a number o ...

) and ''Rick and Peter'' (featuring

Rick Edwards Richard Philip "Rick" Edwards (born 20 May 1979) is an English television presenter, journalist, and author. Edwards presented T4 for four years, and has also presented ''Tool Academy'', '' Freshly Squeezed'', ''E4 Music'', and much of Channe ...

References

External links

* * 1998 British television series debuts 2011 British television series endings 1990s British comedy television series 2000s British comedy television series 2010s British comedy television series Channel 4 comedy Television pilot seasons E4 comedy {{UK-tv-prog-stub

See also

References

External links