I’m a very rare poster here, but I’ve noticed through years of lurking that many of the site’s members are from either the United States or the United Kingdom. I thought this would be a great place to start a discussion about the differences between the senses of humor of the two cultures.

I’ve always enjoyed the dryness and sarcasm that characterizes a lot of British comedy because I’m generally less inclined to be overly sentimental than some of my American peers. But there are still some things in British comedy that don’t translate for me: references to British history/ current events, and the lack of unconditional optimism that is common in the American public. For this reason, I tend to prefer American cable comedies the most (Louie, Curb Your Enthusiasm) because I find them relatable and not artificially sappy.

As an American college student studying TV and Film Production with an emphasis on screenwriting who is planning to study a semester in England, I’m very interested in hearing from people on both sides of the pond on the subject of television and film specifically. In addition to the content of comedies it is worth noting the differences in format as well. Do you prefer the British format of six episodes generally written by one or two people or the American format of up to twenty-six episodes written by a staff of writers.

Here are a couple of links to articles written by Ricky Gervais and Simon Pegg about the subject:

http://time.com/3720218/difference-between-american-british-humour/

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/feb/10/comedy.television

So go ahead and comment on the relationship between American Humor and British Humour / argue for your preferred flavor / share your favorite (favourite) shows from either side of the pond / whatever...