What Is ‘The Elegant Gentleman’s Guide To Knife Fighting’ On Netflix?

Every so often a curiosity emerges out of seemingly nowhere on Netflix. The latest odd title to catch our eye and wind up in our queues? The Elegant Gentleman’s Guide To Knife Fighting. The name alone suggests a dastardly, dangerous adventure full of gallantry and peril, but what is it? And is it worth binge-watching?

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but The Elegant Gentleman’s Guide To Knife Fighting is not about a secret society of Edwardian dandies who stab each other for fun. Nor is it an educational video teaching us how to hold our kitchen knives for a street brawl. In fact, it’s an Australian sketch comedy series with a Monty Python-esque title sequence. Yup, that’s it. It’s a bit of a letdown for me (because I like foppish men in cravats and I like knives), but it’s exciting for sketch comedy nerds.

Australia has started to carve a niche for itself as a hotbed of experimental comedy. In recent years, we’ve gotten such insane comedy offering from the likes of Chris Lilley and Dinosaur Productions (aka the madmen behind Danger 5). The Elegant Gentleman’s Guide To Knife Fighting is an attempt to class up Australia’s absurdist comedy style with the same kind of production values and high-quality performances that mark American and UK sketch comedy. You can currently stream the first season of The Elegant Gentleman’s Guide To Knife Fighting on Netflix.

[Watch The Elegant Gentleman’s Guide To Knife Fighting on Netflix]