David Mitchell and Robert Webb Start New YouTube Channel for ‘Not Helping’ Sketches and Original Fun
EXCLUSIVE: In a notable development for the entertainment industry, acclaimed UK comedy duo David Mitchell and Robert Webb have launched an official global YouTube channel that combines their television sketches with original content.
Named @mitchellandwebbofficial, the channel will initially offer multiple weekly releases of sketches from Channel 4’s Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping, aimed at serving international audiences who are discovering the pair’s work for the first time.
Mitchell and Webb made a successful return to sketch comedy with last year’s Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping, which quickly became Channel 4’s most-watched new scripted comedy in six years.
Looking ahead, new seasons of Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping will continue to air on Channel 4 in the UK and HBO Max in Australia, while sketches will also be made available globally on YouTube.
As the channel evolves, it will feature more sketches along with a new YouTube-exclusive series titled Mitchell & Webb Talk About Some Sketches in a Pretend Room, where they will revisit and discuss recent sketches. Produced by Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping’s Gareth Edwards, this series will delve into the creation of sketches like Sweary Aussies, Bad Therapist, and Middle-Aged Man Island.
The duo first gained prominence in the UK with their Channel 4 series Peep Show, followed by the highly rated BBC sketch comedy That Mitchell & Webb Look and Channel 4’s Back. Though produced for a different broadcaster, Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping serves as a continuation of That Mitchell & Webb Look, featuring emerging comic talents such as Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Stevie Martin, Lara Ricote, and Krystal Evans.
This new YouTube venture is the result of collaboration between Mitchell and Webb’s That Mitchell & Webb Company and their long-time producing partner Big Talk Studios, alongside WME Creator Labs in the development and management of the channel. Traditional TV networks are increasingly exploring YouTube; Channel 4 has been producing YouTube-exclusive content for several years, and the BBC recently entered the space following a significant deal with Google.
Kenton Allen, chief of Big Talk Studios, remarked, “Long before streamers and social platforms transformed audience behavior, Mitchell and Webb were creating sketches that people wanted to quote, share, and rediscover repeatedly. The global demand for this material is potentially enormous, so our ambition with this channel is to create the definitive destination for one of Britain’s greatest comedy double acts.”
The landscape of British sketch comedy appears to be thriving, largely fueled by the breakout success of Saturday Night Live UK.
