The comedy panel show genre has graced our TV screens for decades, becoming a routine fixture for many to end the night with a hearty chuckle.
Starting with Have I got news for you? back in 1990, the current format has been replicated over and over, and for good reason; it reflects quintessential British humour in a way that no stand-up special or Americanised sit-com can.
Like a melting pot bubbling away with wit, irony, and a healthy dose of mockery, these shows allow some of the nation’s funniest individuals to riff off one another in a way that amplifies their humour.
Moreover, panel shows have enabled up-and-coming comics to mix it with comedic veterans, before going on to sell out their own stand-up tours among other prospects gained thanks to the exposure.
So, more than just being a laugh, the panel show has been formative to the careers of many modern comics, and an important breeding ground for the industry.
Now, however, ratings are haemorrhaging as shows vie for attention in an age of entertainment significantly different to that of the genre’s heyday. This most notably resulted in the cancellation of Mock the Week after eighteen seasons in 2022.
It is clear, then, that this once beloved format has grown stale.
Many panel shows have built their success upon satire of current events and discourse at the time of filming. With the rise of streaming platforms and binge-watching, such shows are often at odds with the watching habits of new generations.
You’re unlikely to find an early-twenty-something giving the first season of Have I got news for you? a go to hear whatever John Major had been up to; it’s literally old news being shown to an aging fanbase, and one that is unlikely to grow.
And while the current heavy political climate may not help matters, social media allows users to amuse each other by pointing out the irony in the latest political news in real time, rather than waiting until a particular slot in the late-night TV schedule.
Secondly, panel shows have historically featured the same presenters, contestants, and jokes. It has often been the same middle-aged white men squeezing jokes into shouting-matches at the expense of the quieter comedians who struggle to get a word in edge-ways. And it seems that the audience can see right through it.
This reluctance to mix up the format and blood fresh faces outside the usual suspects is a sign of a more serious problem, however.
A 2016 study showed that only one comedy panel show in the history of the BBC had an all-female lineup, and only 31% of appearances on comedy panel shows are women.
However, it goes deeper than producers repeatedly failing to cast from a pool of talented female comics.
Many female comics have described a sexist culture in the industry, and particularly in the arena of panel shows, making it a far less appealing, and even uncomfortable place to work.
According to Sandi Toksvig, host of QI, speaking in 2016, contributions by female comics are often edited out so as to look like they’re just laughing at the men, while Aisling Bea has recounted her own experiences of misogyny by an unnamed panel show host.
Jo Brand has said that Mock the Week was one of the worst spaces for women, and it might be reasonable to suggest that this was a contributing factor to the show’s downfall.
As is often the case, the representation of women being an afterthought is yet another sign that this format is struggling to move with the times.
But that doesn’t mean the genre is dead in the water – it simply needs to evolve, albeit dramatically. As long as it remains funny to have funny people in the same room, there remains hope.
8 out of 10 cats does Countdown and Taskmaster are two examples that have moved with the times, recognising a need for something outside the usual formula.
The structure of both shows prevents testosterone-fuelled shouting matches, allowing the quieter contestants to shine, while Taskmaster in particular stands out with its unique challenges.
Both are also examples where there is generally greater representation of women, enshrined in the case of the former with Susie Dent and Rachel Riley reprising their roles from Countdown, and a changing, equally weighted lineup each season in the latter.
And the success of both shows has also translated more successfully to social media and YouTube, where highlight reels still regularly do the rounds.
Some of the funniest moments in modern British TV history have come from panel shows. Who can forget the late, magnificent Sean Lock regaling viewers with ‘The Tiger who came for a pint?’ on 8 out of 10 cats does Countdown, or James Acaster’s retelling of a night in a Basingstoke bush on Would I lie to you?
But the genre as a whole must sail with – not against - the winds of change. It must embrace new formats and a more varied and representative cast of comics, with an overhauled culture that better reflects today’s society and what new generations consider ‘funny’.
