Cord Jefferson on ‘Peep Show’: ‘A Hilarious Brutality’
variety.comCord Jefferson As part of Variety‘s 100 Greatest Television Shows of All Time issue, we asked 12 of our favorite creators of television to discuss the series that inspire and move them.
Check out all the essays, and read our full list of the best TV shows ever made. I have a theory that “Succession” was the first British sitcom to achieve popularity in the U.S., and it did so by convincing people it was a drama.
Americans have long had a difficult time accepting just how bleak the English are willing to get for laughs. Consider the way in which David Brent’s hilariously bald cruelty had to be altered to Michael Scott’s hilariously benign cluelessness for “The Office” to work stateside.
When it comes to comedy, many Americans are afraid of the dark, and that’s a shame, because it means many of them still haven’t seen “Peep Show.” Built on the classic “Odd Couple” premise — fastidious nerd (Mark) and easygoing slacker (Jez) shack up — “Peep Show” is the first TV show co-created by future “Succession” showrunner Jesse Armstrong.
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