Monty Python's Flying Circus

A British sketch comedy series with the shows being composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines.

Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969-1974) is a British sketch comedy series created by Ian MacNaughton and John Howard Davies for BBC One. Across four seasons and forty-five half-hour episodes, a rotating ensemble of performers including John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam plays a shifting cast of characters in unconnected bits. Rather than building toward punchlines, each sketch wanders into the next, often through abrupt segues, sight gags and observational stunts that collapse mid-thought. The engine is pure nonsense: a sketch begins as one thing and becomes another, with absurd situations, risque innuendo and deadpan absurdity stacking up. Episodes feel like a collage of short surreal vignettes, brisk and unpredictable, with recurring pieces that have since become cultural touchstones. The tone is irreverent, anarchic and gleefully silly, a sharp satire of British institutions and manners. Fans of The Goodies, Little Britain and The Kids in the Hall will find similar anarchic sketch sensibility here.

Viewers broadly acclaim the series as a surreal, absurdist sketch comedy whose bits remain iconic and quotable, though later episodes are rated a little lower than early ones.

• The Goodiesabsurdist sketch structure, surreal non sequitur humor, British comedic sensibility
• Little Britainsketch format with recurring bits, surreal satire, British television comedy tradition
• The Kids in the Hallanarchic surreal sketch comedy, subversive satire, cult following
• Fawlty Towerssketch comedy built on absurdity and recurring characters, innuendo-driven British humor

Created by

Ian MacNaughton, John Howard Davies

Release Date

1969-10-05

Episode runtime

30 min

Rating

8.8 / 10 (751)

What is Monty Python's Flying Circus about?

A British sketch comedy series whose surreal, innuendo-laden skits drift into one another without punchlines.

What is Monty Python's Flying Circus like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Monty Python's Flying Circus as breakneck, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.

Is Monty Python's Flying Circus violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Monty Python's Flying Circus as mild.

What did critics think of Monty Python's Flying Circus?

Viewers broadly acclaim the series as a surreal, absurdist sketch comedy whose bits remain iconic and quotable, though later episodes are rated a little lower than early ones.

Which shows are like Monty Python's Flying Circus?

Shows with a similar feel include The Goodies, Little Britain, The Kids in the Hall, and Fawlty Towers.

How long is Monty Python's Flying Circus?

Monty Python's Flying Circus: 4 seasons, 45 episodes.

Is Monty Python's Flying Circus still running?

No, Monty Python's Flying Circus has ended.

Where can I watch Monty Python's Flying Circus?

In United States, Monty Python's Flying Circus streams on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel.