Items25The creator’s order
- 1
James AcasterBorn 9 Jan 1985Repertoire turns small subjects, including photographs, loopholes and bread, into elaborate arguments delivered by someone determined to appear in control. Acaster's pauses and careful qualifications make that determination increasingly suspect. Start with Recognise, then follow the connections…0i - 2
Jen BristerBorn 9 Feb 1975Under Privilege uses parenting, soft play and domestic frustration to test the distance between admirable principles and everyday behaviour. Brister's energetic delivery makes irritation specific, while her own position remains part of the joke. Start with this show for the movement between a small…0 - 3
Romesh RanganathanBorn 27 Mar 1978The Cynic uses family life and veganism as starting points for a persona whose disappointment often includes himself. Ranganathan's deadpan tone lets an apparently sensible complaint expose an unreasonable expectation beneath it. The accompanying partly scripted film about making a grand finale in…0i - 4
Larry DavidBorn 2 Jul 1947Curb Your Enthusiasm makes a fictional version of David argue over the unwritten rules of ordinary interaction. Seating, greetings and small obligations become conflicts because he insists on making the usually unspoken negotiation explicit. HBO's social-etiquette clips offer a concise…0i - 5
Julia Louis-DreyfusAs Selina Meyer in Veep, Louis-Dreyfus makes the effort to look composed visible just before it fails. The setting is political, but the social mechanics are familiar: wanting approval, misreading an encounter and covering embarrassment with authority. Her Television Academy interview explains the…0i - 6
Miranda HartBorn 14 Dec 1972Miranda turns the wish to behave appropriately into physical and verbal chaos around a joke shop, friendships and romance. Hart's performance makes a failed attempt at sophistication as important as a fall or a badly chosen word. Begin with the first series to see the character's relationship with…0i - 7
Bob NewhartBorn 5 Sept 1929Driving Instructor is a compact lesson in making an unseen interaction legible through one person's responses. Newhart's hesitations and careful attempts to retain professional calm let the listener imagine the other side of the exchange. The situation grows less manageable while the manner remains…0i - 8
Richard AyoadeBorn 23 May 1977Moss in The IT Crowd approaches situations with a precision that often fails to account for what everyone else expects socially. The Dinner Party places him outside the familiar computer-support office and inside an event organised around impressions and conversation. Ayoade's controlled delivery…0i - 9
Joe PeraBorn 24 Jul 1988Joe Pera Talks With You gives grocery shopping, furniture and small neighbourly interactions enough time to become comic subjects in their own right. The title character is a constructed Michigan teacher, whose quiet manner changes the pace of encounters around him. Start with Joe Pera Takes You to…0i - 10
Mae MartinBorn 2 May 1987SAP moves through relationships, identity and apparently unlikely encounters with a curious, conversational manner. Martin's approach lets an uncertain thought develop in front of the audience rather than presenting every observation as a settled verdict. Start with the special for the way personal…0i
