Black Books (2000)

Name: Black Books
Genre: Comedy
Rating: 8.4
Cast: Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey, Tamsin Greig

Comedy

Black Books centres around the foul tempered and wildly eccentric bookshop owner Bernard Black. Bernard’s devotion to the twin pleasures of drunkenness and wilful antagonism deepens and enriches both his life and that of Manny, his assistant. Bearded, sweet and good, Manny is everything that Bernard isn’t and is punished by Bernard relentlessly just for the crime of existing. They depend on each other for meaning as Fran, their oldest friend, depends on them for distraction. Black Books is a haven of books, wine and conversation, the only threat to the group’s peace and prosperity is their own limitless stupidity.

IMDb rating: 8.4 (64,832 votes)
Episode average: 8.0 -0.4 vs IMDb
Seasons: 3
Streaming (US): Amazon Prime Video
Language: EN
Type: TV series

Rating trend: this show's seasons do not settle into one shape. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well.

Browse shows by rating shape → Open in Rising Shows app → View on IMDb

Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 3 seasons indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (2000)

8.10 avg 6 episodes 8.0 → 7.7 24 min avg

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Cooking the Books	8.0	1,263
2	Manny's First Day	8.1	1,052
3	Grapes of Wrath	8.6	1,204
4	The Blackout	8.0	960
5	The Big Lock-Out	8.2	972
6	He's Leaving Home	7.7	874

Season 2 (2002)

7.87 avg 6 episodes 8.2 → 7.8 24 min avg

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Entertainer	8.2	872
2	Fever	7.9	807
3	The Fixer	7.8	776
4	Blood	7.7	748
5	Hello Sun	7.8	727
6	A Nice Change	7.8	730

Season 3 (2004)

7.92 avg 6 episodes 8.2 → 8.2 25 min avg

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Manny Come Home	8.2	786
2	Elephants and Hens	8.3	776
3	Moo-Ma and Moo-Pa	7.7	695
4	A Little Flutter	7.7	664
5	Travel Writer	7.4	653
6	Party	8.2	698