Helen Lewis

News and views about writing, eating, gaming and watching

Why aren't women funny on TV?

All-male panel show line-ups are making me lose my sense of humour.

By Helen Lewis Published 11 October 2011 14:05

Turn on the television and it's a familiar sight. Five, or sometimes seven men, making jokes about Kerry Katona, mothers-in-law and breasts. Occasionally, a woman creeps on -- but when did you last see more than two?

I've had it with comedy panel shows. The permanent fixtures on BBC2's Mock the Week are all men: the host, Dara Ó Briain, with Hugh Dennis and Andy Parsons; on Have I Got News for You, it's Ian Hislop and Paul Merton; while Channel 4's 8 Out of 10 Cats has Jimmy Carr, Sean Lock and Jon Richardson. There was a time, a couple of years ago, when I would swear David Mitchell's appearances outnumbered those of all the women put together. (And I point that out as someone who would happily see Mitchell on every TV programme going, even Grand Designs and Ross Kemp on Gangs.)

Things are slightly better on radio, where Sandi Toksvig presents The News Quiz, often alongside Sue Perkins or Susan Calman. But the other names regularly invoked in the debate are Josie Lawrence on Whose Line Is It Anyway? (cancelled in 1998) and Ulrika Jonsson on Shooting Stars (first screened in 1993).

For several reasons, Mock the Week has become a lightning rod in the debate. The jokes are usually what you could diplomatically call "old-fashioned" and it's well known among stand-ups for being gladiatorial. Jo Brand, no shrinking violet, explained in an article for the Guardian in 2009 why she and other comics no longer wanted to appear on it: "We just didn't like the prospect of having to bite someone's foot off before they let us say something."

Victoria Wood, one of the most successful female comedians, called panel shows "testosterone-fuelled" and Bill Matthews, co-creator of Never Mind the Buzzcocks, said that they were "bear pits" that were "too competitive".

Although comedy producers admit as much in private, the standard cop-out is that there isn't a big enough pool of female talent in the stand-up world to draw on.

However, research by the F-Word blog has found that 19 per cent of stand-ups listed by the UK comedy guide Chortle are female, yet few shows reflect that ratio. A former researcher on Mock the Week told me there's another difficulty: panel shows just don't do the kind of discursive humour that many female comedians excel at; Josie Long doesn't get booked for the same reason that Daniel Kitson or Stewart Lee don't.

“That's the major problem with panel shows and -- perhaps more importantly -- the world of comedy writing," the researcher said. "It's led to a dumbing down in the comedic process. The production side of things is roughly 50-50 male/female. The joke-writing side for a panel show? All men. Tell us a joke. Bang. Tell us another joke. Bang. So nurses want longer visiting hours? Make a joke about sexy uniforms. So Ed Miliband's at the Labour conference? Make a joke about him being boring. And that is, largely, a particular type of male humour."

What's most frustrating is that everyone -- including those in comedy -- knows there's a problem. Unless you accept the premise that women aren't funny, there must be something stopping them from being funny on TV.

Does it matter? It matters to me, obviously -- I get an uneasy, excluded feeling watching a group of men making jokes about women "letting themselves go" or having a pop at female celebrities such as Heather Mills (her missing leg still a source of much hilarity, apparently). Even the stately old QI, presented by Stephen Fry, had John Bishop telling the all-male panel in the current series how he tells his sons to "look at the knockers on that".

But it matters more because it's a symptom of something deeper that's wrong with television commissioning. Panel shows are the Findus Crispy Pancake of humour: once you hit on a winning formula, they can be banged out in large quantities and regular dollops, pleasing channel bosses who want guaranteed ratings hits on Friday and Saturday nights. Sitcoms and sketch shows are far more expensive to produce and far riskier. For every Miranda that finds a loyal audience, there's a Pulling or a 15 Storeys High that fails to break through.

There's nothing wrong with having a panel show entirely made up of white men but that shouldn't be the default option and it certainly shouldn't be the only option. The decades-long experiment of what happens when you show a group of men a picture of a politician making a stupid face has been repeated enough: they'll make a joke about him having just done a fart.

When I interviewed Frank Skinner for this magazine, he said he decided to try out a more collaborative format on his recent BBC show Opinionated partly in order to get more women involved. "Panel shows can be a bit like the January sales -- the biggest, strongest, most violent people get the best bargains," he said. "And I was keen to have proper women comics on. I thought: there's a whole area of comedy that has been slightly squandered on telly."

I remembered those words when I decided, after weeks of agonising, to give up on Mock the Week. Don't worry, I'm sure it'll muddle on without me, making jokes about fat wives and one-legged models, but I'm going to do something really subversive -- find some funny women to watch.

You can find Helen on Twitter: @helenlewis

PS. Several other bloggers have tackled this subject recently. I'd particularly recommend this one by @MadamJMo on why the Times's Caitlin Moran and the Guardian's Grace Dent don't go on panel shows; and for a counter-argument from a female stand-up, here's Bethany Black.

Special Offer: Get 12 issues of New Statesman magazine for just £12

Tags: Mock the Week comedy

More from Helen Lewis

41 comments

Wed, 2011-10-12 00:33 — earlydawn

No surprises that most of the comments on here consisted of people saying that "X isn't funny" when what they mean is "I don't find X funny". If they weren't funny, they wouldn't have a career. You want to see people who aren't funny? Try some open mic spots at your local club...

However, I do think that the key factor (identified in the article) is that "discursive" comedy is simply unsuited to panel shows (which I generally quite enjoy.) Having said that, the BBC also runs "Live at the Apollo", and the ratio of women to men on that show - which is, after all, a proper stand-up routine type of show - makes Mock the Week look positively modern.

Wed, 2011-10-12 02:03 — Dickie1

I'll tell you what was funny but is missing: 'The thick of it'. Both men and women were funny in this, but it has gone. Why?

I think most men think having a swagger = funny. Most of them are oafish schoolboys, so I don't think women really miss out on much

Wed, 2011-10-12 06:02 — Joan (not verified)

Ian. Sexism enters the equation when you have comment after comment of people stating that women just aren't funny. That is sexism.

Fri, 2011-10-14 15:51 — Adam Neilson (not verified)

Mock the Week is dire, and in that sense not unlike most "panel shows", which are knocked out in such absurd numbers mainly because they're cheap to produce.

The male comedians who are most frequently on television are certainly bad enough (Russell Howard, anyone?) that more women should by rights be given a chance.

Wed, 2011-10-12 11:06 — Des Demona (not verified)

I'm not sure of the point being made here? Panel shows do tend to be gladatorial - are you saying that women don't want to compete? And that there shouldn't be so many panel shows?

Kinda like saying there shouldn't be the Olympics because we don't all want to run?
There are other outlets for female comedians like Live at the appollo if they don't want to do panel shows. And from what you seem to be saying it is a case of not wanting to do them rather than not being invited to do them?

Wed, 2011-10-12 12:22 — Graeme (not verified)

Does anyone watch Mock The Week? It is not remotely funny. Having more women on it would hardly help, best to axe it.

Wed, 2011-10-12 12:44 — Benedict (not verified)

The thing that annoys me about Mock The Week is the laziness of it. It's obviously highly prepped so little of the humour is actually spontaneous.
Then a comedian comes out with a joke at the "Nick Clegg's a wanker" level to get an easy laugh. And it makes the final cut.

Thu, 2011-10-13 14:44 — Adam (not verified)

I dont think its a sexism thing, every woman ive ever talked about it to has agreed that the majority of women comics just arent funny.

I like a few, Sarah Silverman springs to mind as one of my favs but baring in mind that its mostly all 'i hate men, men are usless, we could live without men' stuff, sexism shouldnt be used in this argument.

Thu, 2011-10-13 15:01 — Mejoff (not verified)

I don't think any discourse with Ian is worthwhile, his first comment seems to have been written upon seeing the titles of the article without reading a word of the text.

Thu, 2011-10-13 16:11 — Ian5

Mejoff, really, I read the article in full, I was most surprised by Frank Skinners comment " And I was keen to have proper women comics on." really... I just do not believe that the fact that women are not as funny as men on panel shows or as stand ups is a sexist statement. Now is it possible that women find different things funny , if its not down to gender (genes) then prey tell me what it is..... oh I fully admit that I'm not one of those that believes in equality per se, but I certainly do believe in equal opportunity, and basically when it comes to comedy and bums on seats females do not cut the mustard...and they have had the opportunities.

I suppose its equally sexist to say men in general hate soap opera,,, ban Elle and Hello and OK magazines , their sexist...aimed at a female audience... I had one of those stereotypical neighbours, she complained about her husband always watching sport... a grand prix , on Sundays...yet to get this women to even communicate during every episode of Eastenders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale was impossible, the whole family had to march to that beat....but my male neighbour was a typical male !!!!!......now thats sexist.

Wed, 2011-10-12 14:21 — Ian5

Sorry joan, I fear you are mistaken. to say women are not funny, when they are not, is not sexist, any-more than saying men do not lactate (except under very rare conditions) is sexist. nor is it sexist to state the truth as in I don't find women funny. To say a person can't be funny because she is a women , now that would be sexist. They are just not as funny as male comedians . nor is the average women physically stronger than the average male. Facts are not sexist.

Fri, 2011-10-14 19:33 — DOC (not verified)

That Parson lad is shite. Never funny. Nothin but a silly voice. Writers - Lydia Davis is funny, very funny. Jennifer Saunders is a great comic actress too. Not on TV much of late.

Mon, 2011-10-17 11:49 — Jonny Dade (not verified)

Nobody seems to like mock the week... I always found that show pretty funny to be honest.

Tue, 2011-10-11 14:18 — Ian5

I wish you luck on your quest, but I fear its in the genes. I can say with all honesty that at 54, the only female I have found truly funny is Bette Middler, yet quite a few male comics have had be bent up double.

Izzard, Connelly and other what I call situation comics do it for me, the female equivalent Victoria Wood leaves me practically cold.

Sit coms , well Ab Fab and Vicar of Dibley did amuse, but black adder, Yes PM far surpassed.

Yep its in the genes.

Tue, 2011-10-11 14:20 — eduardo cuntro (not verified)

kind of misses the point that women aren't very funny and that's why they don't get on the telly.

Tue, 2011-10-11 14:21 — Chris (not verified)

"What's most frustrating is that everyone - including those in comedy - knows there's a problem"

How so? The shows are funny, the jokes that female comedians excel at aren't ideal for shows like that, and so female comedians don't tend to want to appear.

That's not a problem unless you have an issue with the jokes, which doesn't seem to be the crux of the complaint. Personally, I find the show hilarious (most of the time).

These shows are fuelled by the same thing as any other show - viewing figures. If people stop watching, they'll change their format. But clearly people *are* still watching - so what's the problem?

It seems to me that rather than mess with an existing, successful format, more panel shows should be trialled using more "discursive humour" and see how it performs. If it does well, then there is a point worth considering - if not, then it's possible the "female" style of humour could be being ignored on this format due to popular demand.

Not everything has to be equal. Success in this profession is based on what people enjoy and come back to see. If they don't come back, then it's only a problem for the comedian themselves - not the industry.

Tue, 2011-10-11 14:22 — virgil (not verified)

Not watching "Mock The Week" is no great loss. I note that it has the same producer as "Whose line is it anyway," which also tried to give the false impression it was improvised. They must believe the viewing public are idiots.

Tue, 2011-10-11 14:39 — Lawrie (not verified)

The point raised about discursive comedy being a staple for a lot of female comedians is an interesting one.

However, citing John Bishop whilst being surprised at sexism in comedy is like writing an article about why you don't see many Sikh comics and asking Jim Davidson for an opinion.

Tue, 2011-10-11 14:42 — swatantra nandanwar

The fact is nobody is funny on TV any more men or women, especially these panel shows. Good clean humour has degenerated into lewd rude and offensive smut. I've just stopped watching.
The only family entertainment round these days is shows like Strictly Come Dancing and CeeBBees.

Thu, 2011-10-13 20:34 — Flashbuck (not verified)

There are no funny or amusing females on the TV. None. And that fat one who is on all sorts of panel shows and stuff, presenting herself as middle class or something, is totally pathetic. There aren't many funny or amusing male comedians, either, and the one's who are slightly funny are still well short of true class. The only really edgy comedian has sadly recently died: Bernard Manning.

Tue, 2011-10-11 15:07 — Danny Barron (not verified)

My heart sinks when Sandy Toksvig, Sue Perkins or ESPECIALLY Jo Brand appear on QI.
If men on Mock The Week constantly joke about breasts, as you allude, then Jo Brands 'go to' (and when I say 'go to', I mean 'entire repertoire') is "huh...aren't men sh*t."
Same old story with comediennes unfortunately.
Even Sarah Millican who looked promising at the beginning of her career far to often hits out with a Jo Brand effort.

I think the answer to your question "Why aren't women funny on TV?" is simply "Because they just aren't."

Tue, 2011-10-11 15:12 — Kate (not verified)

Great. Exactly what I've been shouting at my tv for years . Of course women are funny, they just don't express it in the same, competitive who's-got-the-biggest-one way.
p.s. Please add Stephen Fry's Q.I. to the list. It seems that women aren't quite clever or funny enough for that either. A tragic double whammy for us humourless bimbos.

Tue, 2011-10-11 15:19 — Rikkeh (not verified)

If anyone thinks that women can't do panel shows, head on over to the most recent New Quiz on iPlayer: Susan Calman was the best thing in it. From dressing up her cats in police uniforms to having fat people over to keep her warm, she had me in stitches.

Tue, 2011-10-11 15:19 — David (not verified)

The women who appear on Have I Got News For You are pretty much always hilarious - even when they aren't comedians. People like the journalist Julia (?) Hartley-Brewer are often brilliantly funny, and Janet Street-Porter is very entertaining. However, I do get very bored of such shows (even QI) when there is a completely male panel. The problem with them also includes saturation, since there are only so many times the same production team can try to tweak the original Whose Line? format before it becomes completely un-funny.

Tue, 2011-10-11 15:21 — Dingly (not verified)

Come on now, when was the last time a woman on tv actually made you laughed? Most of their jokes are painful and embarassing to listen to, like your unfunny friend who kills all jokes stone-dead.

Tue, 2011-10-11 17:14 — Lynne Parker (not verified)

I've written and spoken about this many times.Women are their own worst enemies and don't support each other enough. We put on shows with lots of Funny Women every month in London and Brighton, and just had our 9th Funny Women Awards Final. There's no shortage of great female performers and pundits out there if the producers of these programmes care to come out and see for themselves.

Tue, 2011-10-11 15:25 — Chris (not verified)

"The fact is nobody is funny on TV any more men or women, especially these panel shows"

This attitude is exactly the problem. People mixing up "I don't find funny" with "It's not funny".

The entire article implies that a format I enjoy should be changed to a format I might enjoy less based on no hard evidence that the existing format isn't working in terms of popularity. Don't like it? Don't watch it. Millions of others don't share your problem with it.

Is there any consideration here over what the viewing public want? Or are we just out to give the wrong job to the wrong people in the name of "fairness" ?

Tue, 2011-10-11 15:41 — Stephen Beagrie (not verified)

http://www.chortle.co.uk/correspondents/2011/10/05/14088/mock_the_week_i...

^^^ This article, I think, expresses it better. Also, comedy is often dependant on laughing at caricatures and stereotypes. Every joke has a victim. I feel the only value judgement on comedy should be whether or not it is funny, not whether there is an agenda behind it.

Tue, 2011-10-11 15:42 — Ben (not verified)

Well I think you're wrong.
I'm going to exclude Mock the Week, because Dara O Briain has been the only funny member of that show for a very long time.

You mention 8 out of 10 cats, so let's look at that.
This series, they've aired 3 episodes so far, with 4 guest panelists on each. There was one female panelist for the first 3 episodes, and there's 2 female panelists for episode 4.

Would I Lie To You. Ok - it's not topical, but it is weekly and panel-based. And funny.
There's 4 guest panelists each week. So, current series, there's been 5 episodes aired so far. Week 1 had 2 female panelists, week 2 had 1, week 3 had 1, week 4 had 1, week 5 had 1.

Both shows are averaging 25% of guests being women. Which is pretty much as-near-as your Chortle rate of 18% of comedians being female, isn't it?

Granted not many of them are team captains, except on Celebrity Juice (not my cup of tea but it seems popular). Both team captains are female and roughly 1/4 of the remaining guests.

While you're right about Miranda breaking through where Pulling didn't, if you forget viewing figures, I think we all know that Miranda isn't funny (she's a taller-than-average clumsy woman.. is that it?), whereas I found Pulling quite amusing. But then Sharon Horgan is the better writer, so it's to be expected.
As for Sandi Toksvig - I'm not sure why but I find her deeply irritating. Sue Perkins I enjoy watching/listening-to a lot though.
There are funny female comedians who aren't getting enough TV exposure, but then the same is true of men. You think I really want to see Stephen Fry or John Bishop on everything?

Tue, 2011-10-11 15:47 — Henry (not verified)

Imagine how many more viewers the panel shows might get if they included and represented all the existing lot PLUS women!

The News Quiz alone shows that you can be hugely successful and feature more women than average. Really it's panel shows like Mock The Week that are missing out on their own potential - to increase their audience still further and build a bigger field for women comedians.

Tue, 2011-10-11 15:54 — Fitzy (not verified)

I do accept the premise that women - at least 'stand-ups' aren't funny. Generally, all of the female stand ups who appear on tv only make jokes about gender, weight or ethnic background.

In an article about female stand-ups not being recognised, it is telling that only one is named.

Tue, 2011-10-18 20:14 — Miriam (not verified)

Linda Smith was funnier than most male comedians.

Tue, 2011-10-11 16:26 — Arturo Bandini (not verified)

You think they're not funny on TV? Try checking them out at a comedy club - awful.

Instead of asking why so few have made it, you should be asking how so many have had any measure of success.

Josie Long and Susan Calman are two perfect examples of people who would have never got anywhere if it weren't for promoters feeling they had to meet some kind of quota of female performers.

I'm not saying women can't be funny, but it seems very few of those who can go into comedy.

Tue, 2011-10-11 16:28 — Arturo Bandini (not verified)

Equally, there are also plenty of men making a living from comedy who simply are not funny (see picture at head of article).

Tue, 2011-10-11 16:48 — Hary (not verified)

Hitchens's article titled 'Why Women Aren't Funny': http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/01/hitchens200701

Tue, 2011-10-11 16:53 — Freeman2

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Laura Solon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIzFqOxplV4

Tue, 2011-10-11 17:35 — Mrs,M L Bonwick-Jones (not verified)

Harriet Harman?

Tue, 2011-10-11 17:42 — frances smith (not verified)

mrs bonwick-jones you are not funny.

Tue, 2011-10-11 17:45 — sianushka (not verified)

Wow, think a lot of the comments on here nicely sum up the sexism women face when it comes to comedy...

Anyway, blogged on this back in September, here's what I said...

http://sianandcrookedrib.blogspot.com/2011/09/mock-week-mock-women.html

Fri, 2011-10-14 09:38 — gav (not verified)

This is not why Daniel kitson is not on panel shows. It is because he has no interest in doing them.

Tue, 2011-10-11 18:21 — Ian5

sianushka: I can't see where sexism enters the equation. I've been to small venues and large arena shows, and comedians like Lee Evans and Eddie Izzard attract quite significant numbers of females, well over 18% , and they quite often laugh louder and longer than me. How is that sexist. Equal opportunity given, just not funny. Jo Brands show which I saw live was basically a female Jim Davidson eg The best way to a mans heart? through his breast pocket with a carving knife.....