Robert Webb and David Mitchell return for season 2 of the jaunty-bleak pub sitcom.
Modern sitcoms can get so painfully serious, moving with self-conscious artfulness from laughs into mood-music drama.
He’s the sort of pathological loser who gets job offers because people need assured failure for tax purposes.
Credit: Sundance Now
Thank Christ for that.
Do feel free to switch off the machine."
Every line ofBackcurls like that: jaunty and ornate, nihilism served with a smile.
The six-episode first season arrived way back in 2017 onSundance Now.
The sitcom begins with Stephen preparing to take over his late father’s provincial pub, the John Barleycorn.
Confusingly, Stephen doesn’t remember Andrew at all.
They’re playing each other’s greener grass.
Stephen has the family and the legacy itinerant Andrew seems to yearn for.
Season 2 begins with Andrew running the John Barleycorn, which isn’t a dream come true.
Even trusty Uncle Geoff (Geoffrey McGivern) makes a life-changing decision, which turns out quite badly.
“It’s fine to fail,” Ellen tells Stephen.
Downie turns that line into a beautifully sincere bit of lacerating maternal support.
Creator Simon Blackwell revels in how Andrew preys on the collective self-delusions of everyone around him.
In the face of that, Stephen’s cynicism becomes a kind of superpower.
“Dreams aren’t real,” Stephen explains.
“Only nightmares.”
Pour another pint of hedge vodka, hey.A
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