Americans are funniest, say comics

Birds of a Feather: A Marks and Gran hit

The team behind some of Britain's most successful sitcoms of the last 20 years has said American comedies are funnier and better written.

Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, whose hits have included New Statesman and Birds of a Feather, told the Hay Festival that British comedy is going through a barren patch.

In this country a half decent script will have to do

Laurence Marks
Comedy writer

"The BBC is suffering a crisis of confidence," Marks said.

"But one great comedy will reverse that trend."

He also said no subject matter should be considered out of bounds.

"If you stop having targets because of political correctness, you stop having comedy."

Americans are the masters of the genre because they take it seriously, he said.

"In America they make 100 pilots to find five shows. The Americans pay writers as a full-time job and so they can choose the best."

Goodnight Sweetheart was a BBC success

Up to 20% of the budget is spent on the writing in the United States, compared with 3-5% in Britain, he said.

"In this country a half decent script will have to do."

Americans also "really care" about the words on the page, he said.

"When we were working in the States, we worked with eight other writers in the same room from nine until eight in the evening. This was a show called Mr Sunshine."

"And it still flopped despite all the effort," Gran added.

Marks and Gran set up the Alomo production company in 1989, based on the American system of setting up a show and then handing it over to other writers.

Their other credits include Love Hurts, Shine on Harvey Moon and Unfinished Business.