Britcom

British situation comedy series, or "Britcoms", differ from other countries' sitcoms by being much, much more British.

Britcoms are often quite bawdy, playing against the stereotype of British Stuffiness. The typical Britcom takes a negative worldview, with the lead characters usually lonely, miserable, doomed to failure or just plain weird.

The standard length for a UK TV "season" (called a "series" in the UK) is 6 to 8 episodes. British shows tend to be written by just one or two people, often long term collaborators such as Galton and Simpson or Gervais and Merchant.

UK production companies will usually let a show end when it's over, rather than running successful franchises well into the ground. Thus, Fawlty Towers was a major hit and still ended in two series. There are exceptions such as Last of the Summer Wine, which lasted for 37 years, ending in 2010.