10 Best Horror Comedy TV Shows You Need To See

9. Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

Psychoville clown
Channel 4

A very British pastiche of Stephen King - most notably his TV series Kingdom Hospital - Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is one of the most bizarre British TV comedies ever created. Starring Matthew Holness as the eponymous Garth Marenghi (fictional horror novelist and amateur actor slash dreamweaver), its show-within-a-show is the horror hospital drama Darkplace. What resides within is the most pitch-perfect send-up of schlocky 80s horror you'll ever see.

Co-starring cult comedy favourites Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry and Alice Lowe, these six short episodes manage to put even the Mighty Boosh to shame with their wit and inventiveness (hello, Fielding and Barrett cameos), and do a great job of balancing bad-on-purpose special effects with genuine laughs and creativity.

Sadly, Darkplace only lasted for one season, but it lives on in our hearts and memories - and the archives of British TV, for future generations to discover and enjoy for themselves.

In this post: 
Psychoville
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

A film critic and professional writer of over ten years, Joel Harley has a deep and abiding love of all things horror, Batman and Nicolas Cage. He can be found writing online and in print, all over the Internet and in especially good bookstores.