The sitcom isn’t endangered. We can all find something to laugh at – even Mrs Brown’s Boys
Michael Hogan
An SOS by the BBC’s comedy chief overlooked a raft of eclectic shows to help cheer us up
May 2020
Brief letters
Mrs Brown’s Boys – a Covid-19 litmus test?
Brief letters: Lucy Mangan | Donald Trump | Mrs Brown’s Boys | Cuckoo calls | Uses for tights | Happy mediums
February 2020
Roll over Fleabag, Mrs Brown got the priest first
Stewart Lee
Revenge of Mammy: how TV’s Mrs Brown defied the sneers to win the last laugh
December 2019
The watcher
Mrs Brown's Boys: how did the worst show on TV become a festive must-watch?
Somehow, without anyone noticing, the dire BBC sitcom has become the centrepiece of Christmas TV. How on Earth did this happen?
November 2019
Shortcuts
Mrs Brown’s Boys – again: how groundhog schedules destroyed Christmas TV
Strictly. Call the Midwife. EastEnders. We’ve been here before. The BBC’s Christmas offering has stagnated, and now it’s do or die
April 2019
TV tonight
TV Tonight: farewell to the ludicrously watchable All Round to Mrs Brown's
Mrs Brown's Boys D'Musical? review – where are d'jokes and d'good songs?
March 2019
TV tonight
TV tonight: are Sleaford Mods 'the world's greatest rock'n'roll band'?
Iggy Pop reckons so – now a new documentary chronicles the abrasive duo’s rise. Plus The Voice reaches its knockout stage. Here’s all the best TV to tunein for
December 2018
Observer TV reviews
The week in TV: The ABC Murders; Watership Down; You; The Dead Room; Mrs Brown’s Boys
John Malkovich’s turn as an ageing Hercule Poirot fleshed out the Belgian sleuth, while Watership Down offered gory lessons in team management
May 2018
Get your hands off my double entendres! Is the smutty pun now under attack?
It is Britain’s favourite type of humour, the go-to gag for everyone from Carry On stars to Bake Off hosts. But are fnarr fnarr jokes just another example of male sexual entitlement?
January 2018
The National Television Awards 2018: who will win – and who should
Sitcoms seem stuck in the 70s. Is there still a place for them in today’s world?
Jack Bernhardt
December 2017
Mrs Brown's Boys special wins Christmas Day ratings battle
Success of BBC One sitcom comes on good day for public broadcaster, which has eight of the 10 most popular programmes
French & Saunders, Black Mirror and Doctor Who: your Christmas TV planner
From Alan Partridge and First Dates to The Miniaturist and McMafia, prime your set-top box for the best telly the festive fortnight has to offer
Russian censors wanted to remove gay character from Mrs Brown's Boys
Creator of the hugely popular sitcom says he turned down a ‘nice licensing fee’ that would have meant writing out character of Rory
November 2017
Mary Berry to reunite with Mel and Sue for BBC Christmas schedule
Paradise Papers
Mrs Brown’s Boys stars used web of offshore companies to avoid tax
July 2017
Mrs Brown's Boys live? They'll need more than malaprops and mincing to thrill an entire arena
Brian Logan
Good Mourning Mrs Brown, the cross-dressing hit’s live show, is so full of horseplay, guffaws and in-jokes, I started to feel like a gooseberry
January 2017
Mark Lawson on television
Mrs Brown's Boys: the chatshow – what a reassuring move by the BBC
The mega success of Dublin’s most offensive widow may gobsmack many, but the BBC knows when it’s on to a good thing – and how to maximise it
