Netflix fans rush to binge ‘funniest British TV comedy ever made’

The first four seasons of Plebs have arrived on Netflix (Picture: ITV/Rise Films)

Plebs recently arrived on Netflix and has already shot up the streaming service’s ranking of top 10 TV shows.

The ITV sitcom ran for five seasons, so if you’re looking for a comedy with enough episodes to get lost in, this could be it, with the first four seasons now on the streamer.

Touted as Horrible Histories meets The Inbetweeners, the show is chock-full of puerile humour centred around a group of hapless friends living circa 26BC amid the Roman Empire.

The comedy follows three luckless lads – Marcus (Tom Rosenthal), Stylax (Joel Fry) and their dense house-slave Grumio (Ryan Sampson) – as they take on the big city of Rome. 

Chaos, hijinks and plenty of humiliating hiccups ensue – and you just might learn something about the ancient Romans along the way, whether that be about gladiatorial sports or the mechanics of getting together for an orgy (yes, really).

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The show takes its history surprisingly seriously, with producers that hold classics degrees as well as esteemed historian Mary Beard credited as an adviser on the show.

Chaos, hijinks and plenty of humiliating hiccups ensue (Picture: ITV/Rise Films)

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The show became a sleeper hit on ITV2 when it aired, with surprise guest stars that included the likes of Danny Dyer as Cassius the Gladiator.

The show bowed out in 2022 with a special feature-length Christmas episode entitled Soldiers of Rome, which saw the boys enlist in the army during peace time, before war breaks out (naturally), sending them to the front line to fight for a cause they do not believe in. 

Since Netflix added four seasons to the platform (no sign of the fifth one there yet), the show has raced up to the third spot on the streaming service.

It’s likely no surprise given the good reviews watchers have already shared on Google, with Kate describing it as ‘the funniest, most brilliantly written comedy ever made’ – so high praise.

The show was touted as Horrible Histories meets The Inbetweeners (Picture: ITV/Rise Films) The show bowed out in 2022 with a special feature-length Christmas episode (Picture: ITV)

They added: ‘It’s frustrating that it feels totally underrated. The characters are all so funny in their own right and the stories in each episode are excellent. 

‘The final feature length film had us in tears as well as in stitches! Brilliant!! We will miss it so much!!’

Will John echoed: ‘Just finished binge watching the whole show and I loved it! Hate I found it so late in the game. It’s a must watch!’

‘I’ve watched every episode of this,’ wrote Amelia Kendal-Williams. ‘I think it’s brilliant. Clever how it’s an ancient setting but modern humour. Hope they make a season 6.’

Plebs is available to watch on Netflix and ITVX.

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