History
Roots and Development
Sketch comedy has its origins inside vaudeville and Music Hall, where the big total of brief however humourous acts were strung together to form the big program. Inside England it moved to radio sustaining such shows when ''ITMA and then television with such shows when Monty Python's Flying Circus and Not the Nine O'clock News.

Historically the sketches tended to exist as unrelated, however supplementary recent groups keep around introduced overarching themes that attach a sketches in a particular indicate, & heading characters that link to from either week to week or even pop up throughout an episode. Examples of running off characters include "Ted & Ralph" from The Fast Show; the "Head Crusher" from The Kids in the Hall''; Martin Short's "Ed Grimley", a running character from both SCTV and Saturday Night Live; and "Kevin & Perry" from Harry Enfield and Chums. the idea of going characters was taken a stage farther in The League of Gentlemen where sketches all centre about a various habitant of the made-up town Royston Vasey.

Inside Us, contemporary sketch comedy is largely an outgrowth of the improvisational comedy scene that flourished during a Seventies, largely growing away from Chicago's Second City. British ensembles, around counterpoint, own other unremarkably been built inside writing talent - by using writers typically working in pairs.

Notable contemporary stage sketch comedy groups include The Second City, the Upright Citizens Brigade, and The Groundlings.

Notable television sketch comedy shows include Saturday Night Live, SCTV, the Upright Citizens Brigade, The Red Skelton Show and Mr. Show.

Festivals
Since 1999, a growing sketch comedy scene has precipitated a development of sketch comedy festivals withwithin cities tons in the area of Northward America, including festivals in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Toronto, San Francisco, Boston, Vancouver and Portland, Oregon.

Amateurs
Besides such further broker, properly theatrical performing artist, there exists when well a tradition of amateur fun - as the whole tool is intended to become silly anyway, these are an idealistic form of theater, prefer pantomime, for even even simply ridiculous tries (typically involving cross-dressing), equally put as much as email crowds or troops while there is no sales person amusement is available, or within various societies, for instance by owning the modest hope of fund-raising, every now and again good for the laughs; e.g. these are non rare as a project for pledges in the period of hazing (in which instance there typically is divesting and/or even even homo-erotic or more intimate elements or guide).

List of sketch comedy groups
Australia
''Australia You're Standing In It Big Bite The Comedy Company Comedy Inc. The D-Generation Fast Forward Full Frontal The Late Show Let Loose Live The Micallef P(r)ogram(me) SkitHOUSE

Canada
The Bobroom CODCO Comedy Inc. A Frantics History Bites The Holmes Show Kids in the Hall Radio Free Vestibule AKA The Vestibules Rick Mercer Report The Royal Canadian Air Farce SCTV This Hour Has 22 Minutes You Can't Do That on Television

China
Zhao Benshan and Crew

Ireland
Bull Island

UK
Big Train The Catherine Tate Show The Dave Allen Show The Fast Show Goodness Gracious Me Harry Enfield's Television Programme/Harry Enfield and Chums I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again (radio) The League of Gentlemen Little Britain Monty Python's Flying Circus Not the Nine O'clock News The Two Ronnies The Sketch Show Smack the Pony Spitting Image Hale and Pace The Liberal Revue Jam Monkey Dust View too Arthur Mathews, Graham Linehan and Rory McGrath for sketch writers who don't unremarkably pop up in the sketches it write.

USA
All That Almost Live! The Amanda Show' The Andy Milonakis Show A Week of Kindness BAD HAIR Blue Collar TV The Carol Burnett Show Chappelle's Show Cleanest River in America The Cupid Players Elephant Larry Employee of the Month Fearsome Gag Reflex The Groundlings Harvard Sailing Team The Hollow Men The Lance Krall Show In Living Color Lester McFwap Mad TV Mikey Manker Mr. Show with Bob and David Olde English OH! The Humanity The Paris Business Review A Pretty Okay Ho-hum Spectacular on Ice Robot Chicken (Animated sketch comedy) Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In Saturday Night Live The Second City The Silly Spider Monkey Fiasco The Sketch Show Stankervision The State The Tracey Ullman Show Train of Thought Sketch Comedy TROOP! Upright Citizens Brigade What The Crap Whitest Kids U Know Wicked Wicked Hammerkatz You Can't Do That on Television''