The week's comedy on TV, radio and streaming

Our pick of the comedy on TV, radio and streaming this week.

Sunday July 19
 

UNACCEPTABLE: Ed Gamble and team captains Joanne McNally and Richard Ayoade are joined by guests Alex Brooker, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Lou Sanders and Sarah Keyworth. TLC, 9:00pm

Monday July 20

JUST A MINUTE: The classic panel game returns for a new series chaired by Sue Perkins with Paul Merton, Lucy Porter, Rachel Parris and Gyles Brandreth as this week's players.Radio 4, 6:30pm

Thursday July 23

THE BIG PAYBACK: A comedy drama written by Lenny Henry in which Jack Braddock (played by Oliver Chris), a white actor in a globally popular TV series discovers in a Who Do You Think You Are-style show that his ancestor was a brutal plantation manager in Jamaica. He also discovers that he is related to a family of that man's black British descendants and in a high-risk PR exercise, he goes to lunch with them. The play shares a title with Sir Lenny's book in which the comedian argued that 'all black British people... need reparations for slavery'. Radio 4, 2:15pm

RHYS DARBY: 25 YEARS: Comprising favourite routines from his career, the Kiwi comic and star of Flight Of The Conchords, Our Flag Means Death and so much more lands on the $9.99 (£7.39)-a-month streaming service Gorilla Comedy+, on July 23. He said: 'It's hard to believe I've been doing stand-up for 25 years. You know, in most jobs, they'd give you a raise or a company car but all I got was this incredibly funny show that showcased my unbelievable talents…. It's all my favourite madcap mayhem from the last 25 years.' It will be streamed for free on 800 Pound Gorilla’s YouTube channel on August 18.

Friday July 24

CURRENT-ISH: In a pilot for a possible bew topical comedy series, Lucy Porter is joined by three comedian guests to chew over the week's news stories. Radio 4, 6:30pm

THE DINK: Apple TV's sports comedy The Dink, stars New Girl's Jake Johnson as a washed-up tennis pro turned country club  coach forced to embrace the one thing he hates more than anything else: pickleball. Mary Steenburgen plays Candice, his on-court partner, with Aaron Chen as his sidekick in a cast that also includes Ed Harris, Patton Oswalt, Chloe Fineman, Chris Parnell and cameos from Andy Roddick and Ben Stiller, who also produces this movie. Apple TV

STUART FAILS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE: In this spin-off from Big Bang Theory, comic book store owner Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman) must try to restore reality after he breaks a device built by Sheldon and Leonard. Hopping across various realities in the multiverse, Stuart is joined by his girlfriend Denise (Lauren Lapkus), geologist friend Bert (Brian Posehn), and quantum physicist/all-around pain in the ass Barry Kripke. (John Ross Bowie). Now TV

Saturday July 25

YOU'RE DEAD TO ME: Greg Jenner is joined by historian Dr Campbell Price and comedian Sikisa to explore the history of Akhenaten and Nefertiti in ancient Egypt.
Radio 4, 10:00am

GHOSTS AUSTRALIA: The antipodean remake lands on the BBC, with a new cast of dead people including an aerobics instructor from the 1980s, an 1800s Irish publican, and a former British naval officer who brought convicts to the colonies. BBC Three, 10:30pm

Published: 19 Jul 2026