How Not to Live Your Life is a British sitcom, written by and starring Dan Clark that aired between 27 September 2007 and 22 December 2011 on BBC Three, about a pessimistic twenty-nine-year-old man who is trying to navigate his way through life but is not helped by his bad instincts. After a pilot, the show debuted in 2008 with moderate ratings but grew over the course of the three series, doubling its ratings each series because of its cult following. The third series got viewing figures of 1.5 million across the week and was the second most watched show on BBC iPlayer. When BBC Three controller Danny Cohen left the channel, new controller Zai Bennett cancelled several comedies, including How Not to Live Your Life.