It's British humor - one of my favorites.
When I saw the numerous promos for this show before it premiered, I never once heard the name of the actor playing the title character! But I remember saying, "darn, that guy is the spitting image of Hugh Laurie." Of course, he didn't have any trace of an accent so I was fooled (kudos to Hugh).
If I had known that Hugh Laurie was playing the role, I would have tuned in to check out the show because I have loved his comedy work.