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The comedy shorts and sketches you have to watch online

Short and sweet: Jamie Demetriou, Lazy Susan, Munya Chawawa and Lady Parts (Jamie Demetriou Youtube / BBC / Channel 4 / Munya Chawawa)
Short and sweet: Jamie Demetriou, Lazy Susan, Munya Chawawa and Lady Parts (Jamie Demetriou Youtube / BBC / Channel 4 / Munya Chawawa)

Sketch comedy is alive and kicking, and you don't have to go back to the days of Smack the Pony and French & Saunders to see the best that's out there (though why not do that too?).

If a lockdown lived online has given a short attention span, or if you just want to cram in as many different laughs as possible, comedy shorts and sketches are the thing for you, especially while live comedy isn't an option. Sob.

From horror to surreal silliness, here are the comedy shorts and sketches you need to watch now:

Sorry, Lolly Adefope

Dolly Adesina is on the way up – a self-described “Black Jennifer Lawrence” if you will – and on the way to the premiere of her first Hollywood blockbuster. But when an old offensive Tweet resurfaces and the internet cancels her, she has to apologise and try to find redemption. From the brain of Lolly Adefope, one of the best character comedians around.

Where to watch: bbc.co.uk

Get Real Dude, Sam Campbell

Australian comedian and winner of Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s big award, Sam Campbell is the best sort of bizarre. This series of skits range from a charity auction for sick kids to a grumpy bloke with a machine that reads people’s dreams. His sketches include appearances from David O’Doherty, Charlotte Ritchie, Rob Carter, Mark Silcox and many more of the best in alternative comedy.

Where to watch: youtube.com

Brain In Gear, Gbemisola Ikumelo

Recent recipient of not one but two Bafta nominations, Gbemisola Ikumelo shows that range in her comedy short Brain In Gear, playing anxious homebody Remi and the two voices in her head. One is outgoing, encouraging her to seize the day, and the other is the embodiment of doom – she negotiates these two sides of herself while dealing with her terrible neighbour.

Where to watch: bbc.co.uk

Kiri Pritchard-Mclean’s Horror

Comedy and horror is a match made in heaven. Sky Arts released a series, including one by Jamie Demetriou who is slowly but surely turning into a car. Kiri Pritchard-Mclean’s offering takes place in a boring office, where her unbearable colleague Kyle (who calls himself “one of life’s good guys” and is played by Jordan Brookes) is put on a kill-list after she flippantly says she wants him dead.

Where to watch: youtube.com

Lady Parts, Nida Manzoor

Nida Manzoor’s genius short comedy about an all-female Muslim punk band stars Anjana Vasan as a young woman who just wants to find a husband and get on with her life. Until she meets Lady Parts – a punk band with a hit on their hands (Kill My Sister) – who are in search of a lead guitarist. Ritu Arya, Juliette Motamed, Danielle Vitalis and Lucie Shorthouse star alongside Vasan. It was announced last summer that Channel 4 had commissioned a series from this short.

Where to watch: youtube.com

Cuts, Pierre Novellie

Pierre Novellie’s Cuts, written together with Jonny Leonard and Theo Chester, is also his directorial debut, featuring fantastic sketches from Jason Forbes demonstrating the very intense and endless possibilities for smoothie fruit combinations to Rose Johnson defending a very real interpretation of 24-hour breakfast.

Where to watch: youtube.com

Munya Chawawa

You'll likely know Munya Chawawa from his videos on Twitter, Instagram or TikTok – his most recent hit has him playing a train conductor asking an irate Tommy Robinson to keep his voice down in the quiet carriage. If that was your first taster of Chawawa, you're in for a treat, as he has a wealth of recurring characters up his sleeves, including the UK's first posh drill rapper Unknown P and news presenter Barty Crease.

Where to watch: youtube.com

Lazy Susan

Freya Parker and Celeste Dring bring their self-titled sketch show to the BBC, and along with it the hilarious characters that Lazy Susan live audiences will remember, including Megan and Michaela who don’t want any drama, as well as a bunch of new ones. Thankfully, there will be more, as the show has been picked up for a series.

Where to watch: bbc.co.uk

BARCS, Jamie Demetriou

A short few minutes is all you need to make you want to watch everything Jamie Demetriou has ever made. Here he is Tony, who has put his life-held talent of drawing the straightest lines to good use to hand-draw all of the barcodes in the UK. We already know that comedy runs in the Demetriou family – he and his sister Natasia star in Stath Lets Flats, which also incidentally started out as a comedy short – but make sure to have a watch of Mum’s The Word, in preparation for Natasia’s show with her comedy partner Ellie White.

Where to watch: youtube.com

Ready, Okay, Massive Dad

Remember when Cheer on Netflix was the talk of the season? Well, the Navarro College Bulldogs wasn’t the first troupe of cheerleaders to urge the world to take their sport seriously. The Felhampton Falcons want you to know that it’s more than dancing around with pom-poms. Massive Dad – Stevie Martin, Liz Kingsman and Tessa Coates – brought their mockumentary sketch out of the archives earlier this year, which also features Lolly Adefope, Amy Annette and Emma Sidi.

Where to watch: youtube.com