The week's comedy on demand

Disenchantment

The first 10 episodes of Simpsons creator Matt Groening's new Netflix series, set in a bygone fairytale world of elves, gnomes, giants and ogres called Dreamland, has just dropped.

However, it has received decidedly lukewarm reviews, with The Onion's AV Club saying episode one 'inelegantly introduces the series' main characters without much regard for pacing or timing'; Indiewire concluded, 'the jokes are stale, their set-ups are mundane, the plot is predictable, the execution is rarely inspired'; and CNN ruled, 'the jokes revel in a kind of dry, smart-alecky wit that's consistently hit-miss and not particularly inspired'.

Judge for yourself here

The BBC New Comedy Award Final

Originally broadcast on Radio 4 last weekend, you can now experience the final of this prestigious competition using two senses, as the video went up on iPlayer yesterday.

Mark Watson hosts as Stephen Buchanan, Helen Bauer, William Stone, Sarah Mann, Isa Bonachera and Mamoun Elagab compete for the title. Watch here

And if you're into your new talent, you can watch all the finalists in the Chortle Student Comedy Awards here

Party Monster: Scratching the Surface

This was a very atypical episode in the last series of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt – a mockumenary directed by Brian Pern's Rhys Thomas about the cult leader who imprisoned Schmidt and the other 'mole women' in an underground bunker. Given the popularity of true crime documentaries on Netflix, the streaming service has now repackaged it as a stand-alone short film, available here.

Published: 18 Aug 2018