Best movies & TV Shows like That's Life!

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like That's Life! Starring Esther Rantzen, Cyril Fletcher, Chris Serle, Richard Stilgoe, and more. If you liked That's Life! then you may also like: Bob & Doug McKenzie's Two-Four Anniversary, Victoria Wood's Midlife Christmas, Tales of Television Centre, Eric & Ernie, 20/20 and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

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A magazine-style television series on BBC1 which was broadcast from May 1973 to June 1994, presented by Esther Rantzen, with various changes of co-presenters. The show presented hard-hitting investigations alongside satire and occasional light entertainment.

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Bob & Doug McKenzie's Two-Four Anniversary

In 1980, the SCTV crew had a request from their broadcaster, the CBC, for distinctively Canadian content. What players Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas created was a satire of it, but Bob and Doug became so much more. This documentary tells the special tale of how the McKenzie Brothers became a sensation that would become a cherished part of Canada's self identity.

Victoria Wood's Midlife Christmas

This is the time of year when friends and family gather round the television to exchange the traditional greeting -“Don’t bother, there’s nothing on”. Well this Christmas join Victoria Wood for her ‘Mid Life Christmas’ featuring highlights from the Mid Life Olympics 2009, with the most unlikely sporting events and a dance number that brings together the killer combo of midriff bulge. Victoria then dons a bonnet and corset, for the popular costume drama Lark Pies to Cranchesterford, and revel in the further adventures of soap star Bo Beaumont played by long term collaborator Julie Walters. DVD extras include the searing in-depth documentary (!) ‘What larks!’

Tales of Television Centre

Various actors, presenters, directors and other staff who have worked at the iconic BBC Television Centre at Shepherd's Bush in London reminisce about their time there.

Eric & Ernie

Single drama telling the story of Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise's formative years, from child stars to national treasures. 'Big head, short legs' is Eric Bartholomew's first impression of Ernie Wiseman, but their friendship endures and, encouraged by his well-meaning but determined mother Sadie, Eric became the funny man to Ernie's 'feed'. After a successful stint in children's variety, they work their way up the ladder of live performance, but after a disastrous television debut in the series Running Wild, Morecambe and Wise learn to trust their own instincts and just make people laugh.

20/20

20/20 is an American television newsmagazine that has been broadcast on ABC since June 6, 1978. Created by ABC News executive Roone Arledge, the show was designed similarly to CBS's 60 Minutes but focuses more on human interest stories than international and political subjects. The program's name derives from the "20/20" measurement of visual acuity. The hour-long program has been a staple on Friday evenings for much of the time since it moved to that timeslot from Thursdays in September 1987, though special editions of the program occasionally air on other nights.

Chalk

A British television sitcom set in a comprehensive school named Galfast High. Two series written by Steven Moffat were broadcast on BBC1 in 1997. Like his earlier sitcom Joking Apart, it was produced by Andre Ptaszynski. The series focuses upon deputy headteacher Eric Slatt, permanently stressed over the chaos he creates both by himself and some of his eccentric staff. His wife Janet and new English teacher Suzy Travis attempt to help him solve the problems.

The Magicians

The Magicians was a British family entertainment television show, first broadcast throughout January 2011 on BBC One. The show features magicians performing a number of magic tricks with guest celebrities, to decide which pair will face a forfeit trick at the end of the episode. In the first series, this was decided through audience participation, however, for the second series, a phone vote was introduced. The first series was hosted by Lenny Henry, and featured magicians Luis de Matos, Barry and Stuart and Chris Korn. At the end of series 1, Luis de Matos was deemed series champion.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

30-year-old single Mary Richards moves to Minneapolis to start a new life after a romantic break-up. There she reacquaints with Phyllis who rents her a room, and meets her upstairs neighbor and new best friend Rhoda. Mary unexpectedly lands a job as associate producer at the TV station WJM, where she works alongside her bristly boss, Lou; the comical newswriter, Murray; and the newscast's often-incompetent anchor, Ted.

Mobsters

Mobsters is an American documentary television series that profiles the lives of infamous individuals in history; the series puts the spotlight on some of history's most infamous gangsters and all that went on during their reigns. The series airs on The Biography Channel. Some episodes of Mobsters are rehashes of the similar TV Series American Justice as well as Notorious (TV series), both series that were originally broadcast on Biography Channel's sister channel, A&E Network; some episodes also rehash segments from another A&E series American Gangster, which began airing on the Black Entertainment Television channel. The only differences are the intro of the episodes and the lead-in's after commercials. Besides this, the rehashed episodes are no different in any way.

NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt

NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NBC television network in the United States, and is the #1-rated newscast in America. NBC Nightly News is produced from Studio 3B at NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City. Since 2015, the broadcast has been anchored by Lester Holt on weeknights, José Díaz-Balart on Saturday and Kate Snow on Sunday. On weeknights, it is broadcast live over most NBC stations from 6:30-7:00 p.m. Eastern and occasionally updated for Pacific Time Zone viewers in a "Western Edition". Its current theme music was composed by John Williams.

Omnibus

Omnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series, broadcast mainly on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The programme was the successor to the long-running arts-based series 'Monitor'. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings. During its 35-year history, the programme won 12 Bafta awards. Among the series' best remembered documentaries are Cracked Actor, a profile of David Bowie, and Rene Magritte, a graduate film by David Wheatley, 'Madonna: Behind the American dream', a film produced by Nadia Hagger, and a profile of the British film director Ridley Scott. For a season in 1982, the series was in a magazine format presented by Barry Norman. The series was replaced by 'Imagine' hosted by Alan Yentob.

The One Show

A topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD. The programme is currently hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker from Monday-Thursday, with Chris Evans appearing instead of Baker on Fridays and relief presenters appearing when required.

Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday

Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday is an American limited-run series broadcast on NBC. It is a political satire news show spin-off from Saturday Night Live, featuring that show's "Weekend Update" segment. It initially ran for three 30-minute episodes in October 2008, during the lead-up to the 2008 United States presidential election.

Search for Tomorrow

Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera that premiered on September 3, 1951, on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast, it was the longest-running non-news program on television. This record would later be broken by Hallmark Hall of Fame, which premiered on Christmas Eve 1951 and still airs occasionally. The show was created by Roy Winsor and was first written by Agnes Nixon for thirteen weeks and, later, by Irving Vendig.

Thriller

Thriller is a British television series, originally broadcast in the UK from 1973 to 1976. It is an anthology series: each episode has a self-contained story and its own cast. As the title suggests, each story is a thriller of some variety, from tales of the supernatural to down-to-earth whodunits.

You Bet Your Life

You Bet Your Life is an American quiz show that aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show debuted on ABC Radio in October 1947, then moved to CBS Radio in September 1949 before making the transition to NBC-TV in October 1950. Because of its simple format, it was possible to broadcast the show simultaneously on the radio and on television. In 1960, the show was renamed The Groucho Show and ran a further year. Most episodes are in the public domain. The play of the game, however, was secondary to the interplay between Groucho, the contestants, and occasionally Fenneman. The program was rerun into the 1970s, and later in syndication as The Best of Groucho. As such, it was the first game show to have its reruns syndicated.

Jam

Jam is a postmodern British dark comedy series created, written and directed by Chris Morris, and was broadcast on Channel 4 during March and April 2000. It was based on the earlier BBC Radio 1 show, Blue Jam, and consisted of a series of unsettling sketches unfolding over an ambient soundtrack.

Freedom

Freedom is a short-lived 2000 American science fiction television show on the UPN network. There were 12 episodes filmed but only 7 were aired in the US. Some episodes were further aired internationally, and the full series is still occasionally broadcast in Brazil.

Acceptable.tv

Jack Black, Channel 101, and VH1 want to introduce you to their new interactive sketch comedy show: Acceptable.tv. Each week you'll see five mini TV shows made by the Acceptable.tv team.

Agony

Agony is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1979 to 1981. It starred Maureen Lipman as a successful agony aunt but whose own personal life and marriage is a disaster. It was written by Len Richmond, Anna Raeburn, Stan Hey and Andrew Nickolds. It was made for the ITV network by LWT. Although a comedy, Agony sometimes dealt with issues that were seen as taboo at the time such as drug use, racism, abortion, interracial relationships, and swinging, and was the first British sitcom to portray a gay couple as non-camp, witty, intelligent and happy people. It also openly mocked the government, the ruling classes, and religion, and occasionally contained dark and dramatic storylines.

Comedy Central Presents

These half-hour specials showcased some of the best up-and-coming comedians of the moment. The show was a pivotal stepping stone for many of today's stand-up stars.

Torchwood Declassified

Torchwood Declassified is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation to complement the British science fiction television series Torchwood. Each episode is broadcast on the same evening as the broadcast of the weekly television episode. A second series of Declassified aired alongside the second series of Torchwood. Continuing the tradition of its parent, Doctor Who Confidential, Torchwood Declassified covers themes presented in the just-broadcast episode, as well as providing behind-the-scenes access and footage. Each episode is ten minutes long, compared to Confidential's 30-45 minute length. Following transmission, the episodes were all available for viewing on the BBC's Torchwood website, but were later removed from the site after the end of the first series. Both series of the Declassified installments have been included on the series box sets.

American Playhouse

American Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.

Shirley's World

Shirley's World is a television series aired first by American Broadcasting Company during the U.S. 1971-72 television season. The sitcom was co-produced by the British ITC Entertainment and American producer Sheldon Leonard; it starred Shirley MacLaine as a photojournalist and John Gregson as her editor. Immediately after the ABC broadcasts ended, the seventeen-episode series was aired in its entirety on ITV in the United Kingdom.

The Goldbergs

The Goldbergs is a comedy-drama broadcast from 1929 to 1946 on American radio, and from 1949 to 1956 on American television. It was adapted into a 1948 play, Me and Molly, a 1950 film The Goldbergs, and a 1973 Broadway musical, Molly.

Victoria Wood

Victoria Wood was a series of six one-off situation comedies written by and starring Victoria Wood in 1989, who took a break from sketches, two years after her very successful and award winning series Victoria Wood As Seen on TV. Wood appeared as "Victoria", a fictionalised version of herself, in all six episodes - in The Library it was said that she "worked in TV" and in Over To Pam characters appeared to recognise her celebrity and in the final episode, Staying In, she was taken to a party to perform as a comedienne and was expected to go through her stand-up 'routine'. Her character often broke the 'fourth wall' of TV and spoke directly to the camera, but not in every episode. Bored with the sketch format and with a yearning to recapture previous success as a playwright, Wood came up with six individual sitcoms as a compromise. She admitted to finding the writing difficult. Though Wood was written as the central character, other lead parts were written with specific actresses in mind, like Julie Walters and Una Stubbs. "I want people to like me and the people who play my friends, and not everybody else" she said. Screenonline says of the shows "Modest in ambition and scale but rich in wit and acuity, the six playlets showcase Wood's eye for human foibles and her distinctively eccentric characters.".

Trevor's World of Sport

Trevor's World of Sport began as a 2003 BBC television sitcom written and directed by Andy Hamilton and starring Neil Pearson as Trevor. Only one television series was made, and Hamilton felt mistreated by the BBC over the scheduling of the show. The first episode attracted an average of 3.4 million viewers, dropping to 2.9 million for the second and third episodes. The subsequent episodes were rescheduled from Friday evenings to Monday nights, despite the Radio Times issues having already been published listing the originally scheduled transmission dates. Hamilton went public with his displeasure over the show's scheduling and vowed never to work for BBC1 again, though he has since changed his mind. A radio version was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004, with subsequent series in 2005 and 2007. The series is set in the world of TS Sports – a sports public relations firm, run by Trevor Heslop and his partner, the lascivious Sammy Dobbs. Trevor is portrayed as an essentially decent, honest man in the corrupt money-obsessed industry of sporting celebrity, who is still deeply in love with his estranged wife Meryl. Andy Hamilton also appears in a minor role within the show, and several actors who have worked in his other comedy shows for television and radio appear. Neil Pearson was in Hamilton's Drop the Dead Donkey, as was Michael Fenton Stevens who plays TS Sports' only regular client, fading celebrity Ralph Renton.

The Paul Daniels Magic Show

A British magic show and variety show that aired on BBC1 from 9 June 1979 to 18 June 1994. Daniels' assistant throughout the series was Debbie McGee, whom he married in 1988. At its peak in the 1980s, the show regularly attracted viewing figures of 15 million and was sold to 43 countries.

The Mighty Jungle

The Mighty Jungle is a puppet series for preschoolers in which the narrative of the story is largely crafted by a group of preschoolers who appear in live-action segments interspersed between puppet-acted scenes. It is co-produced by Halifax Film and Decode Entertainment, both DHX Media Companies; it is produced in association with CBC Television. The program is broadcast in Canada on CBC Television, a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national English-language public broadcaster, in the Kids' CBC programming block, and in the United States on the PBS Kids Sprout cable network.

Funny or Die Presents

Funny or Die Presents is a half-hour sketch comedy show that spawned from the comedy website Funny or Die, created by Will Ferrell & Adam McKay. It premiered on HBO on February 19, 2010. It is also currently being broadcast in the UK on Sky Atlantic.

The Hive

The Hive is a CGI animated children's television series broadcast by Playhouse Disney, Tiny Pop and CITV in February 2010. The series is of 78 episodes each of 7 minutes and 2 seasons. The show is a joint production of many companies, including DQ Entertainment, Lupus Films, Monumental Productions, Picture Production Company, Hive Enterprises and Bejuba! Entertainment.

Television

Exhaustive 13-part survey of the television medium from its hesitant beginnings in the 1920s to the multi-million dollar extravaganzas of today and the cable and satellite technologies of the future [relative to 1985]. Tackling the medium as a worldwide phenomenon, the series examines each of the principal areas of programming - news, drama, documentaries, and light entertainment - and the unique impact of "live" coverage.

Doug Henning's World of Magic

Doug Henning's World of Magic was the first of seven annual prime-time television specials starring magician Doug Henning, which aired live on NBC Friday, December 26, 1975. Bill Cosby was the show's special guest, along with Gene Kelly (who introduced the special) and musical guest Lori Lieberman.

Judge Mills Lane

Judge Mills Lane is an American television series and arbitration-based reality court show that ran in first-run syndication from August 17, 1998 to September 7, 2001. Reruns later aired on The National Network. The show was produced by John Tomlin and Bob Young for Hurricane Entertainment Corporation, and distributed by Rysher Entertainment. The show's judge was Mills Lane. Mills Lane was previously a well-known professional boxing referee, as shown in the show's intro; "he's been a boxer, a lawyer, a prosecutor, and a referee." The intro also declared Lane to be "America's Judge." Lane uses his catchphrase "Let's get it on!" at the beginning of each case, and occasionally when someone states something that is either quite obvious or tried to deceive him, he usually states "I may have been born at night, but I wasn't born last night!"

Jazz Casual

Jazz Casual was an occasional series on jazz music on National Educational Television, the predecessor to the Public Broadcasting Service. The show was produced by Richard Moore and KQED of San Francisco, California. Episodes ran for 30 minutes. It ran from 1961 to 1968 and was hosted by jazz critic Ralph Gleason. The series had a pilot program in 1960, however the episode has been destroyed. 31 episodes were broadcast; 28 episodes survive. Most episodes included short interviews with the group leaders.

Spotlight

Spotlight is the name given to a BBC Northern Ireland weekly current affairs programme. The programme is aired on BBC1 Northern Ireland at 10.35pm on Tuesday evenings, with a repeat on BBC2. It is available to UK viewers outside of Northern Ireland on BBC iPlayer for a week after the programme. The format usually consists of a half hour report presented on a rotating basis by a small number of reporter/presenters. At present these are Brian Hollywood, Stephen Walker, Darragh MacIntyre and Bobby Friedman. Occasionally the programme consists of a studio format with various reports and panel discussions. Spotlight is well known for its hard-hitting investigations and recently won an Royal Television Society award for Mandy McAuley's dog-fighting investigation. It has launched the careers of a number of high-profile broadcasters, including Jeremy Paxman and Gavin Esler.

Grandstand

Grandstand was a British television sport programme. Broadcast between 1958 and 2007, it was one of the BBC's longest running sports shows, alongside BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Its first presenter was Peter Dimmock. There were only four main presenters of the programme during its long history: David Coleman, Frank Bough, Des Lynam, and Steve Rider. Changes in the structure of the programme during its last few years, however, meant it did not have a regular main presenter during this time. Among the more occasional hosts were Alan Weeks, David Icke, Clare Balding, Hazel Irvine, Bob Wilson, David Vine, Barry Davies, Dougie Donnelly, Harry Carpenter, Harry Gration, John Inverdale, Tony Gubba, Helen Rollason, Ray Stubbs and Sue Barker. The last editions of Grandstand were broadcast over the weekend of 27–28 January 2007.

The Great American Dream Machine

The Great American Dream Machine was a weekly satirical variety television series, produced in New York City by WNET and broadcast on PBS from 1971 to 1973. The program was hosted by humorist and commentator Marshall Efron. The show centered around skits and satirical political commentary. The hour and a half long show usually contained at least seven different current event topics. In the second season, the show was trimmed down to an hour. Other notable cast members included Chevy Chase. Contributors included Albert Brooks and Andy Rooney. Some of the skits would later be revamped for the movie The Groove Tube. There were also occasional short films presented on the show, most of them "experimental" or documentaries about artistic endeavours. Some of these were subtitled.

In For a Penny

Stephen Mulhern presents the pop-up gameshow based on the original 'Saturday Night Takeaway' feature. The host takes their unique brand of games and quizzes to the streets, challenging unsuspecting members of the public for a chance to win.

Chasing the Cure

A groundbreaking initiative that brings together a weekly live television broadcast with a 24/7 global digital platform in an effort to help people who are suffering from undiagnosed, misdiagnosed or uncured medical mysteries. A panel of top doctors work alongside the Chasing the Cure audience to help crack patients’ cases.

Trying

All Nikki and Jason want is a baby—the one thing they can't have. So they decide to adopt. With their dysfunctional friends, screwball families, and chaotic lives, will the adoption panel agree that they're ready to be parents?

Spitting Image

The weekly puppet-based sketch show that skewers the politicians and celebrities who need it the most. With a cast of characters from Britain, America, and around the world, no one is safe from a satirical roasting.

Seaside Special

A BBC light entertainment show broadcast from 1975 to 1979, filmed in a big top at various British seaside resorts. Originally the big top belonged to various circuses, but in later seasons, the BBC bought its own to be the venue. The programme was developed by producer Michael Hurll.

Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-Head

Two teenage heavy-metal music fans occasionally do idiotic things because they're bored. For them, everything is "cool" or "sucks."

Late Night Lycett

Joe Lycett is back broadcasting live from his hometown of Birmingham. Each Friday a mix of Joe's community of local legends, LGBTQ+ heroes and allies will join him alongside celebrities and big-name guests from the worlds of comedy, television, music and film.

New York Confidential

New York Confidential is a British-American crime drama series that aired from 1958 to 1959. The series aired in syndicated in the United States and was broadcast on London's local ITV station, Associated-Rediffusion, in the UK. It was co-produced by ITC Entertainment, Metropolis Productions, Inc., and Television Programs of America.

Live From Her Majesty's

Live from Her Majesty's was a Sunday night live variety show which was produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network and ran from 1982 to 1988. It was broadcast live from Her Majesty's Theatre in London and was very much in the tradition of earlier variety spectacles such as Sunday Night at the London Palladium. The series was presented by Jimmy Tarbuck, produced by the then Head of Light Entertainment at LWT David Bell and directed by Alasdair Macmillan. In its day, the programme attracted a large audience and regularly featured in the TV top ten. A further series of six shows followed in 1986 from London's Piccadilly Theatre, airing simply as Live From the Piccadilly. 1987 witnessed yet another change of venue with a further three series airing as Live From the Palladium until the programme's eventual cancellation in 1988. During the 15 April 1984 show, comedian Tommy Cooper died after suffering a massive heart attack with the audience thinking that it was a joke.

After Midnight

Celebrated comedian Taylor Tomlinson hosts the smartest show on television about the dumbest things on the internet alongside a panel of guests from the worlds of entertainment, comedy, music and beyond.

Keeping Mum

Keeping Mum is a British sitcom, written by Geoffrey Atherden and broadcast on BBC1 for two series between 1997 and 1998. It starred Stephanie Cole as the main character, Peggy Beare, Martin Ball and David Haig as her sons and Meera Syal as her daughter-in-law.

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