It’s been 30 years since British comedy duo Mitchell and Webb – made up of comic heavyweights David Mitchell and Robert Webb – began their legendary partnership.
Masterminds behind iconic 00s sitcom Peep Show and the era-defining sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Look, they’re now determined to revitalise sketch comedy in the UK once again with their brand new Channel 4 show.
According to one of their stars, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, there’s only one way to describe it.
‘It’s like you’ve never seen them before,’ the Ghosts actor tells Metro. Those are big words to live up to.
Fifteen years after their last sketch endeavour came to a close, they are bursting back on screens with Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping alongside a standout ensemble cast showcasing the brightest new talent in the comedy world – Kiell, Stevie Martin, Lara Ricote and Krystal Evans.
The new series, as Mexican-American comic Lara describes, is ‘a good ol’ laugh with a couple of guys you know, a couple of guys you don’t and girls also’.
In a writers’ room of 60 helmed by two veterans of the trade, they’ve brought together friends from the original show, budding new voices and, of course, the four fresh cast members to whip up some absolutely bonkers and brilliant ideas.
So if you’re looking for sweary Aussies, validation that two shows about the Prince Andrew interview is a tad overkill or the existential doom that there’s no ethical consumption under capitalism, then… you’ve come to the right place.
In the words of Channel 4’s Chief Content Officer Ian Katz, he’s never had to sign off on so many instances of the C-word, so take from that what you will.
Much like most comedy lovers across the nation, this dynamic pair – forged in the flames of Edinburgh Fringe’ – have long held a special place in the hearts of some of the new cast members.
As Taskmaster breakout Stevie shares: ‘I was a massive fan of theirs growing up. That makes me sound like I was five. I was in uni. I loved their sketch show, and used to watch it all the time.
‘I didn’t feel like I’d ever be able to do sketch on TV so I started doing online comedy, thinking that’s the only way that I [would] be able to write sketches.
‘To be doing [this show] with them, it took a while for me to acclimatise. I felt like I had the bends for quite a long time. Then watching me in it as well, I’m like: “oh my gosh! It looks like someone’s just superimposed me. Is it a joke?” So that’s very cool.’
It was a similar experience for US-born Krystal – behind the critically acclaimed stand-up show The Hottest Girl At Burn Camp – who, after devouring their work, declared ‘it’s hard to think of two UK comedians I’d want to work with more than them’.
‘I was in the club,’ Kiell jokes about the pair initially going over his head, while Lara admitted that after getting cast, she watched everything they’ve been in and hasn’t looked back since.
Naturally, with a fierce reputation comes the inevitable nerves.
Lara reveals: ‘It was really, really scary that I was gonna have to be in the writer’s room with them. The first one was really hard for me to say anything. I was like “watch [my joke] die in front of them.” That would be just really awful if that were to happen.
‘But then they were the nicest people ever, so it was just really incredible,’
For those wanting a glimpse behind the velvet curtain of what this longstanding friendship looks like, it is just as awe-inducing to watch them at work as you would expect.
As Stevie says: ‘You can just see they have an innate language with each other. They have a very clear view of what their comedy is, whilst also being flexible enough to bring us in.
‘We wrote loads that didn’t make it in [think woman who lives on a roundabout to avoid the bailiffs], we wrote loads that did make it in [think fake reality series Middle-aged Man Island].
‘They curated the show in a way that made it feel like a Mitchell and Webb show with fun additions.’
As for exactly how a sketch comes together, Lara adds: ‘[After an idea forms], they would talk about it for maybe two minutes and then they’d write it by just improvising [without even] noticing,’ et voila, a sketch is born.
David would have a crossword ready to go between takes, they were ‘immaculately word perfect’ and they had an almost ‘mathematical’ approach to jokes where the pacing and rhythm is ‘so important’.
Sketch comedy has seen somewhat of a nosedive in airtime on TV screens in recent years, with the format instead thriving on social media with snappy 1-2 minute bits.
Sewing Bee host Kiell holds no bars as he makes the case for it to make a television comeback, however.
‘We used to have a golden age of sketch,’ he says, reminiscing about the days of French and Saunders, before adding: ‘I think there needs to be a lot more [of it].
‘It’s a shame that we’re in a place where we have one sketch show per channel or per network in the UK, and I think that we’ve left it behind a little bit, which isn’t good.’
If anything, he argues, we’re not seeing comedians at the top of their game.
‘So many of our greatest performers in the UK have come from sketch or from live sketch shows, and they don’t get an opportunity to do what they do best on TV.’
Whether Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping proves a ratings success remains to be seen, but it’s part of something much bigger than itself.
Stevie concludes: ‘[This show] really reminded me of how much my brain has missed sitting with the characters a bit more, building it a bit more slowly.
‘If people watch it then then they’ll make more, not Mitchell and Webb necessarily (I don’t know), but any sketch. Anything that is good for one is good for all of us.’
Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping airs on Channel 4 at 10pm on Friday, September 5. The full boxset will be available to binge online from 10:30pm.
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