Tough Crowd

How I Made and Lost a Career in Comedy

By: Graham Linehan

Narrated by: Graham Linehan

Having cut his teeth in music journalism, Graham Linehan became the finest sitcom writer of his generation. He captured the comedy zeitgeist not just as the co-creator of Father Ted but also with The IT Crowd and Black Books, winning five BAFTAs and a lifetime achievement award.

Then his life took an unexpected turn. When he championed an unfashionable cause, TV commissioners no longer returned his emails, showbiz pals lost his number, and his marriage collapsed.

In an emotionally charged memoir that is by turns hilarious and harrowing, he lets us into the secrets of the writing room and colorfully describes the high-octane atmosphere of a sitcom set. But he also berates an industry where there was no one to stand by his side when he needed help.

Bruised but not beaten, he explains why he chose the hill of women and girls' rights to die on—and why, despite the hardship of cancellation, he's not coming down from it any time soon.

©2023 Graham Linehan (P)2023 Graham Linehan

Critic reviews

"A must-read. Funny and utterly compelling." (Jonathan Ross)

Shame About Y'er Man

Overall great listen with some very emotional moments from Linehan, though I'd have loved to hear more about his writing and various creative outputs than the trans stuff, important though it may well be.

Enjoyable even when he was sharing his worst times

I loved hearing the origin stories of such classics as Fr. Ted and IT Crowd. I laughed out loud many times throughout. While the second 3rd of the book isn't as jolly it is still an important part of, not only Graham's story, but so many more people's lives who have been upended by this cultish anti-speech ideology. Once again, we are reminded that you cannot believe what the likes of Wikipedia and legacy media tell us about anyone or anything. This is not the first time or subject they have been captured for. I look forward to the day when Graham can share his writing talents with us on TV again and happier times for all of us.

Tough Crowd? Good read.

I picked up this audiobook out of curiosity. I loved watching Father Ted and am aware of Graham's involvement in the 'Gender Wars.' I was hoping to get some more juicy details, I suppose. There weren't many here. There are places where more details could have been provided.

The heartfelt narration by Graham makes up for any shortcomings in storytelling.

Well written and captivating book!

Well written and captivating book! The book is well written, substantiated and detailed. To be honest it also made me sad that we have come to this reality.

Raw personal and authentic

Thanks Graham for laying out your story. May this be a turning point! Well written, engagingly read.
—- Jen, IT Manager, 🙂