Horrible Histories is a British children’s live-action historical and musical sketch comedy television series, based on the bestselling book series of the same name by Terry Deary. The show was produced for CBBC by Lion Television with Citrus Television and ran from 2009 to 2014 for five series of thirteen half-hour episodes, with additional one-off seasonal and Olympic specials.
The TV show carries over the graphic style and much of the content of the Horrible Histories book series. It maintains the franchise’s overall irreverent but accurate focus on the dark, gruesome or scatological aspects of British and other Western world history, spanning predominantly from the Stone Age to the post-World War II era. Individual historical eras or civilisations are defined and named as in the books, with sketches from several different time periods combined within a single episode. They created a number of sketches and songs referencing Shakespeare.
Live-action sketches—which often parody other UK media or celebrities—and music videos are intercut with animations and quizzes. The starring troupe are Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard, Sarah Hadland and Ben Wilbond, alongside a large supporting cast headed by Katy Wix, Lawry Lewin, Alice Lowe and Dominique Moore. The black rat puppet “host”, Rattus Rattus, appears in short bridging segments, explaining the factual basis for each sketch and helping children understand the facts.
Original music plays a significant role in the show and its popularity; “Music from Horrible Histories” was chosen as the 2011 theme of the BBC Proms’ annual children’s concert.] Alongside various short intro themes and commercial jingles, each episode and each special contains at least one longer comedy song centred around a particular historical figure or theme and performed by the cast in appropriate character. Historical concepts were matched to a diverse range of modern musical references, and the results were showcased as self-contained music video parodies. The thirteenth episode of the second and each subsequent series was retooled as a “Savage Songs” special, featuring a compilation of that series’ outstanding videos.
The songs have since become among the most critically and popularly acclaimed elements of the show, especially among its adult audience. Commentators cite the apt cleverness of the various historical/musical parody match-ups, and the complexity and skill with which the musical elements are executed. Principal composer Richie Webb confirms that the songs became more sophisticated as a result of the show’s increasing popularity with older viewers, as well as the demands of increased visibility online. Many of the videos have earned standalone popularity on YouTube.
