Alt Comedy Reviews: How We Judge Comedy, and Our Verdicts
The criteria we use to judge a sketch show, a sitcom or a stand-up hour, and short verdicts on the shows and specials we've covered in depth.
A good comedy review does two jobs: it tells you whether something is worth your evening, and it explains why, so you can decide whether you'd agree. This page sets out how we judge alternative comedy, then gives our short verdicts on the shows and specials we've covered in depth, each linked to the full piece.
We don't run reviews of live shows, and we don't publish star ratings. What we do publish are long guides to the shows and specials that matter, and ranked lists that make an argument. Everything on this page links to one of those.
How we judge comedy
Alternative comedy often sets out to break the rules a conventional review relies on. An anti-joke isn't failing to be a joke, and a special with long silences isn't bad at pacing. So we start by asking what a piece of work is trying to do, then judge how well it does it. Four questions shape every verdict.
1. Is there a point of view?
The best comedy could only have been made by the person who made it. Tim Robinson's sketches about men who can't admit they're wrong, Maria Bamford's voices, Nathan Fielder's awkward precision: you'd recognise any of them from a single clip. We value a distinctive voice over a polished but generic one.
2. Does the craft serve it?
Writing, structure, timing, performance and, for TV, direction and editing. Craft isn't the same as slickness. Some of the best alt comedy looks deliberately cheap (Tim and Eric) or deliberately bare (Tig Notaro's Live). The question is whether every choice is doing work.
3. Does it hold up a second time?
Shock and surprise fade. Great comedy gets better on a rewatch, because you notice the construction. Mr. Show's segues and the twist in Fleabag's first season both reward this.
4. What does it add?
Where does the work sit in the history of the form? Is it borrowing a technique or extending it? A special that does what Nanette did, six years later, is judged differently from Nanette. Our alt comedy timeline is the context we judge against.
Verdicts: comedy series
Fleabag
Verdict: a near-perfect twelve episodes, and the best use of the fourth wall in television comedy. Phoebe Waller-Bridge's direct address starts as a gimmick and ends as the whole point of the show. Watch if you like comedy that hurts. Skip if you want pure laughs. Read our full Fleabag guide.
Mr. Show with Bob and David
Verdict: the best American sketch show, and still the model for how to link sketches into a whole episode. Some topical material from the 1990s has dated; the structure hasn't. Watch if you care how comedy is built. Skip if you only have time for clips, because the segues are half the fun. Read our definitive Mr. Show guide.
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
Verdict: the defining sketch show of its era, and the most rewatchable. Each sketch traps you with a character who would rather die than admit a mistake. Watch if you love escalation and second-hand embarrassment. Skip if shouting makes you anxious. Read our ITYSL guide.
The Kids in the Hall
Verdict: stranger, moodier and more humane than most sketch shows of any era, and the 2022 revival proved the troupe still had it. Watch if you like your comedy surreal and a little sad. Skip if you need every sketch to end on a punchline. Read our Kids in the Hall guide.
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
Verdict: a deliberately ugly, brilliant show that rewired internet comedy. It is meant to be uncomfortable, and that's both its achievement and its barrier to entry. Watch if you like comedy that feels like a found VHS tape. Skip if cringe makes you switch off. Read our Tim and Eric guide.
The Rehearsal
Verdict: Nathan Fielder's HBO series is the most ambitious comedy on television, a show that keeps questioning its own method and ethics on screen. Not everything in it works, which is part of what makes it fascinating. Watch if you liked Nathan for You and wanted it to go further. Skip if you're uneasy watching real people in engineered situations. Read our guide to The Rehearsal.
Verdicts: stand-up specials
Hannah Gadsby: Nanette
Verdict: one of the most important specials ever made, whether or not you agree with its argument. The first half is a sharp stand-up set; the second half explains why Gadsby can't keep doing it. Watch if you want to understand the last decade of stand-up. Skip if you want an hour of escapism. Read our Nanette guide.
Bo Burnham: Inside
Verdict: a one-man pandemic musical that redefined what a special could look like. Some songs are funnier than others, but as a whole it is a landmark. Watch if you like comedy that is also a work of art about being online. Skip if you need a crowd to laugh along with. Read our Bo Burnham profile.
Jacqueline Novak: Get On Your Knees
Verdict: the most precisely written stand-up of the 2020s: one subject, sustained and elaborated across an entire show. Watch if you love language and long-form structure. Skip if frank sexual material isn't for you. Read our Jacqueline Novak profile.
Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel
Verdict: the bravest special of its decade, built on silence and confession rather than jokes per minute. Watch if you're interested in where stand-up goes after Nanette. Skip if you want an easy laugh. Read our Jerrod Carmichael profile.
Maria Bamford's specials
Verdict: from The Special Special Special!, performed for her parents in her living room, to Old Baby, Bamford keeps reinventing what an hour can look like while staying very funny about mental illness. Watch if you like character voices and real candour. Read our Maria Bamford profile.
Our ranked lists
The fullest version of our judgments is in our canon lists. Each entry explains why it's there, and each list says what it left out.
- The 50 greatest alt comedy specials, from Richard Pryor to Jacqueline Novak.
- The best comedy specials of 2025–2026, with verified platforms and dates.
- The 25 greatest sketch shows, from Monty Python to I Think You Should Leave.
- 100 essential sketches on YouTube, with the channel to search for each one.
- Essential alt comedy albums and essential books.
Why comedy criticism matters
Comedians are often suspicious of critics, and they have a point: explaining a joke is a good way to kill it. But criticism does useful work. It helps audiences find comedy they'd otherwise miss, it builds a shared memory of the form, and at its best it helps comedians see what they're doing. For a longer look at the history and ethics of reviewing comedy, read our essay on comedy criticism.
If you think we've got something wrong, or that we've overlooked a show or special, our contact page is the place to make your case.
Frequently asked questions
How do you review comedy?
We ask whether the work has a point of view only this comedian could have, whether the craft (writing, structure, performance) supports it, whether it rewards a second viewing, and where it sits in comedy's history. Laughter matters, but it isn't the only measure.
Can you review comedy objectively?
No, and no honest critic claims to. What a review can do is explain its reasoning clearly enough that you can tell whether you'd agree, which is why we always say what a show is trying to do before we judge whether it works.
Do you give star ratings?
No. A one-line verdict and a 'watch if / skip if' is more useful than a number, because comedy taste varies so much. Our ranked lists do put things in order, and each entry explains why.
What is the best alternative comedy show to start with?
For sketch, I Think You Should Leave or Mr. Show. For a stand-up special, Hannah Gadsby's Nanette or Bo Burnham's Inside. For a comedy series with real emotional weight, Fleabag.