The I.T. Crowd

Here at Qworthy HQ (HQworthy?), we love British TV shows. Well, the ones we have access to, anyway. When it comes to British workplace comedies, everyone knows The Office (though I get the feeling some people only pretend to like the original series) but less known over here is The I.T. Crowd. I.T. is less about cringe-worthy moments and more about broad physical comedy, but the best part, by far, is the slew references to nerdery—RTFM T-Shirts, Electronic Freedom Foundation stickers, a constantly telling callers to reboot their computers, social awkwardness… everything you love about the I.T. department.

The I.T. Crowd walks the line between completely ridiculous and standard “realistic” situation comedy in a way that U.S. multi-camera shows never seem to get right. As evidence, search YouTube for the dead-on-arrival NBC version of The I.T. Crowd staring Joel McHale. It has nearly the same script as the original and even brought over Richard Ayoade to reprise his role, but it hardly worked at all. (I suppose we can feel thankful that pilot wasn’t picked up, because Community is a great show that suits McHale much better.)

If you normally don’t go for British shows but like geek jokes and slapstick humor, this may be a good introduction. Or maybe you don’t care. They’ve made four short seasons of The I.T. Crowd, but only three have made it to video and Netflix streaming. Here’s to hoping season four comes along soon.

The I.T. Crowd: Series 1 on Netflix

The I.T. Crowd: Series 2 on Netflix

The I.T. Crowd: Series 3 on Netflix

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