60 best sitcoms of all time

33. The Thick of It

Before there was Veep, the same creator gave us The Thick of It, which features Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi in a force of nature performance as savage political operative Malcolm Tucker. Capaldi is at his comedic best as Tucker, who eviscerates people in profanity-laden rants for fun. He’s like the public service version of The Grim Reaper; you don’t want to see him darkening your door, because it means you’re about to get axed. But for fans, that’s what makes him so entertaining to watch.

The Thick of It skewered the idiocies and redundancies of modern politics with a deft hand. Every character on the show was flawed in some way (usually more than one), and none of them save Malcolm seemed to have any real ambition other than to keep their own heads above water. They were out of their league and out of control, and that kept us all in stitches for four series and two specials.

If you like your comedy fast-moving and with a lot of bite, then The Thick of It will snap you up. Capaldi’s performance as Tucker is one of the great comedic leading roles of all time and fuels the show like an engine driven by rage and guided by a shrewd intelligence that makes even the audience cower.

Next: 32. 30 Rock