ComingSoon.net is checking out which British TV shows have made the best movies. Check out our selections in the gallery below!
If a TV show is popular, it only makes sense for producers to look into expanding across multiple mediums (from a business perspective only—forget about creative integrity when dollar signs are involved). Some shows have found success through video game adaptations, novels, comic books, even albums. Others have managed to make the jump to the world of feature films. Most recently, Downton Abbey decided to do the same.
The PBS period drama about a wealthy family in the early 20th century joins the ranks of countless other British television shows that have successfully managed to turn their TV characters into compelling television leads. From comedies to dramas to sketch shows to docuseries, these are the very best British TV shows-turned-movies.
British TV shows turned movies
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Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016)
One of the most recent entries in this slideshow, Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie sees the show’s original actresses reprising their roles one last time.
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Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013)
No one compares to Steve Coogan. Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, the movie about his ever-popular news personality character, proves just how golden he is.
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Bean: The Movie (1997)
Mr. Bean is more than capable of thriving no matter what the medium—whether it’s television or film, Mr. Bean might be the real King of England.
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Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
A feature film spinoff of Da Ali G Show starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat showed Americans what they were missing when it came to the comedian’s genius brand of humor.
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Brüno (2009)
Not that far off from Borat, Brüno is yet another spinoff of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Da Ali G Show. This time, instead of lampooning real Americans’ reactions to a Middle Eastern man, Cohen tackles their perceptions of gay men.
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David Brent: Life on the Road (2016)
Strangely enough, The Office (UK) had a movie made about Ricky Gervais’s lead character back in 2016 that followed David Brent as he tried to make it as a singer-songwriter.
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Edge of Darkness (2010)
This one’s strange—Edge of Darkness, that Mel Gibson movie from the early 2010s, comes from an old British TV show of the same name.
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In the Loop (2012)
The minds behind The Thick of It have gone on to do great things, but not before bringing their hilariously incompetent parliament workers to American government with In the Loop.
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Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Almost everyone likely knows about the Monty Python movies, even if they aren’t as familiar with the sketch troupe’s early beginnings on television.
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The Inbetweeners Movie (2011)
Based on the popular raunchy comedy The Inbetweeners, this feature film (and its subsequent sequel) followed the show’s leads as they leave school behind for more exotic locales.
