Sketch comedy

A sketch, (or skit in American English), is a vignette, an extremely short play. Sketch comedy is a performance genre based upon humourous sketches. It has evolved out of the ‘bits’ used in vaudeville and in its modern form contains elements found in standup and improvisational comedy.

Television programmes based on sketch comedy have become very popular. These may contain recurring sketches (often with characters and catch phrases that enter popular culture), or completely new sketches every episode.