30 Greatest TV Sitcoms Of All Time
8. Blackadder
Rowan Atkinson may be best remembered as Mr Bean, but it's in his and Richard Curtis' Blackadder that the man's true comedic sensibilities show themselves on a more mature scale.
A historical anthology series in which Atkinson portrays arrogant anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson plays his dim sidekick Baldrick, this British gem moves each of its four seasons to a different era in history and follows the two protagonists as they navigate key moments of the past.
Grounded in dark comedy, Blackadder's final season, which is set in World War One, features one of the most poignant series ending of all time, as audiences watched as Blackadder, Baldrick and company charged to their certain death in No Man's Land.
Sporting endlessly hysterical supporting turns from the likes of Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and Miranda Richardson, Blackadder remains one of the wittiest and most intelligent sitcoms ever put to screen, and is widely regarded as Atkinson's finest achievement.