You know I never noticed that about the UK until you pointed that out but looking back on every British show I’ve ever watched, you are right. With the exception of Doctor Who that is pretty much all of them.

That said I will die on the hill of “Ricky Gervais is not and has never been funny”

I like the Ricky Gervais show but let’s be real that’s all Karl Pilkington.

I would characterize Michael more by his self-righteousness and ego-driven attempts to be good than his actual goodness; so many of the show’s hijinks stem from his savior complex bringing out the hypocrisy in his attempts to be ‘a good guy’.

To be clear I think it adds to the humor, not complaining at all. Horrible people being horrible makes great comedy and Arrested Development offers far more than just that (probably my favorite comedy show). But it can get kinda depressing, if I’m not in a great mood I can’t take more than a couple episodes at a time.

To me, the seasons that have an overarching plot work better than the early episodes that were each self-contained