A few years ago Stephen Merchant wrote the wrestling movie Fighting With My Family. New ITV2 sitcom Deep Heat homes in on the same world of grunting and groaning. And while you watch it you might laugh but you'll also do your fair bit of groaning.
Not that the writers here took their inspiration from Merchant's film. They have their own wrestling back story to draw on. It is written by comedy dup Max Olesker and Ivan Gonzalez, who have put their own comedic wrestling shows on at the Edinburgh Fringe. In fact Olesker was also a pro wrestler for while in his youth before he saw the light and turned to comedy.
The series follows quick-witted, rebellious Holly (Jahannah James), who wants to be a wrestler but can't because of sexism in the industry. Even her own mum Pam (Pippa Haywood), who runs the Boss Pro wrestlng company doesn't want her to be involved. But when her brother Nick Nitro (Richard Fleeshman) poaches the best fighters and forms a breakaway company it's up to Holly to help to keep Boss Pro’s remaining misfits on the road and in the ring.
I don't know much about television budgets but there is something about Deep Heat that looks cheap. Certainly when you compare it to the glossy no-expense-spared productions that seem to launch on netflix every single week. But in some ways the ITV2 cheapness doesn't matter too much here. We are dealing with a grimy, down at heel world already so we don't expect gloss, glitz and glamour.
The first episode finds this gang of useless fighters trying to relaunch themselves, but it's a bit of a struggle for them. The posh one is on the bottle, while writer Max Olesker plays a wrestler who loses his bottle. How on earth is the show going to go on? Maybe, just maybe, there is someone in the dressing room who is itching to put on a costume and get in the ring...
Like Newark, Newark which launched on the same night, Deep Heat has a big cast and a big heart. The script could be a bit less grubby – Sharon Rooney's main storyline seems to be about sexually transmitted diseases – but there is a feelgood side to the sitcom that keeps you watching. Not a knockout, but I did submit to it in the end.
Deep Heat, ITV2, Mondays, 10pm. The whole series is available now on ITV Hub.
