Want to watch Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, the cult favorite Channel 4 horror comedy? Fortunately, it's pretty easy to do so, even decades after its debut.
If you're unfamiliar with the series, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is a brilliant show-within-a-show, one that revolves around a supposedly lost horror series called Darkplace, a cheesy, melodramatic show set at Darkplace Hospital which stands over a gate to hell... in Romford, London.
The fictional show takes the form of a special presentation of a series of episodes from the show which was produced during the 1980s, though it only ever made it to air in Peru. As Channel 4 deemed the series too radical, it was rejected and ended up being lost to time.
But, as Marenghi explains, Channel 4 decided to show a selection of episodes due to going through an "artistic drought". Garth Marenghi's Darkplace then packages these authentically hammy and low-budget episodes alongside contemporary interview footage with several of the show's co-stars, who fully believe in the series' genius.
The show recently marked its 20th anniversary, making now the perfect time to dive back into this weird and wonderful show or to experience it for the very first time. Here's how to watch Garth Marenghi's Darkplace if you're planning to dive back in...
How to watch Garth Marenghi's Darkplace in the US
There are three main ways to watch Garth Marenghi's Darkplace in the US. The one we'd recommend is Pluto TV because it's a free streaming service which means, naturally, you won't need to pay to watch the show. Just be warned that you'll have to sit through loads of ads.
If you don't want to see ads, you can sign up for Peacock, which costs $5.99 per month for its ad-supported tier or $11.99 per month for its ad-free one, with annual plans available too.
Your other option in the US is with Prime Video, which is available to anyone with an Amazon Prime subscription as just one of the many perks of the service along with next-day shipping, Amazon Music, games and much, much more.
Prime Video currently costs $14.99/£8.99 a month, or $139/£95 for an annual plan, with the latter option saving you a chunk of change over subscribing monthly across the year. Prime Video has ads, but $2.99 extra per month does away with them.
Since the series is only comprised of six episodes which are each around 25 minutes long, you can comfortably watch the whole show in a matter of hours; why not try watching it with a Prime Video free trial?
How to watch Garth Marenghi's Darkplace in the UK
In the UK, you can watch Garth Marenghi's Dark Place for free by heading over to the Channel 4 website, where all six episodes are available to stream on-demand.
If you'd prefer to grab the series for your collection in physical form, Channel 4 released the series on DVD in 2006, but it hasn't been reissued since.
How to watch Garth Marenghi's Darkplace everywhere else
If you're not going to be sitting in front of your normal TV setup but are still looking to watch Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, you might run into some problems. Thankfully, you can solve this exact issue with a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
A VPN lets you change your IP address to that of the area of what you want to watch, meaning you can tune in to your favorite shows or other content even if you're not there. Our favorite is ExpressVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.
Everything else you need to know about Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
What happened to Garth Marenghi's Darkplace?
Despite taking on the cult classic label, we never got more Darkplace episodes and it got canceled after just six episodes aired.
There's been speculation that the series was canceled after not rating highly with audiences, as it was shown in a late-night timeslot with limited advertising. However, the show did receive a spin-off in the form of Man to Man with Dean Learner, a chat show featuring the titular star interviewing several characters (each played by co-writer, Holness) including Garth Marenghi, folk musician Merriman Weir, and sci-fi actor, Glynn Nimron.
Holness and Ayoade were also reportedly approached about penning a script for a feature-length version of the hit show, but that project has never materialized.
Who's in the Garth Marenghi's Darkplace cast?
Chiefly, the series revolves around four characters. They are:
- Matthew Holness as Garth Marenghi/Dr. Rick Dagless M.D.
- Matt Berry as Todd Rivers/Dr. Lucien Sanchez
- Richard Ayoade as Dean Learner/Thornton Reed
- Alice Lowe as Madeleine Wool/Dr. Liz Asher
Garth Marenghi books
Although we never got a second series of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, the horror magnate has returned in recent years and published two collections of some terrifying short tales. The first one, TerrorTome, was published in 2022; the second anthology, Incarcerat, followed just one year later.
