Other than a passing interest in Top Chef and Project Runway, I’m not one for reality television—I prefer full-on escapism as a rule. However, I have just discovered a huge exception to that rule, thanks to BBC America and their new show, Ed vs. Spencer.

Ed and Spencer are two British friends and roommates who are in a multi-tiered match to out-do each other in a variety of inane categories. The first episode chronicles their battle to determine who can get the sickest. After receiving baseline physicals and relatively clean bills of health, they each launch campaigns to wreak havoc on their immune systems. Spencer, being the more clean-cut, healthy and responsible of the two, is befuddled by the challenge and makes a few unsuccessful tries, including chasing around a dog with a mysterious skin disease in a park and abrading his shoulder blade with the back of a skateboard and applying axl grease to the wound (supposedly in hopes of creating a near-fatal case of back acne). Ed, being the resident reckless hedonist, uses this as an excuse to drink and smoke non-stop and throw himself down the stairs repeatedly in pursuit of the ultimate carpet burn, among other high-risk activies. This sounds utterly stupid, and it is. It’s also fucking hysterical.

The second contest is “who can stay hand-cuffed the longest?” and results in more ridiculous behavior, particularly when they are forced to eat, drink and subsequently defecate together.

Thursday’s episode (airing at 8 pm on BBC) is “who’s the most attactive to women?” while future episodes include “who can survive in the woods the longest?” and “who is the ‘hardest’?” (whatever that may mean).

In short, it is a perfect merging of Withnail and I and Jackass (with just a pinch of The Odd Couple) and I simply cannot get enough. At this risk of drawing him into my moronic web—Brad, I think you’d love it.