I keep hearing these stories about TV comedy in crisis and maybe the magic money tree is all used up, but judging by what is hitting the screens right now things are currently pretty fruitful. We’ve just had Ann Droid, Ellie and Natasia and Break Clause and now here comes It Gets Worse, a comedy about twentysomethings which could’ve been about a bunch of insufferable, entitled pricks, oh, sorry, it is, but it is also actually really funny.
Leo Reich stars as narcissistic Londoner Ethan, who just about has the awareness of his own privilege but that doesn’t stop him from whingeing about how many problems he has. First world problems of course. He and his friends are about to move to a new flat but first he has to fix a hole in his bedroom wall. Maybe I’m showing my age here – I’m a lot more than twentysomething – but for me the funniest joke in the entire first episode was about the correct use of caulk - if you are in your twenties you probably don’t even known what caulk is, but trust me, you will.
The hole in the wall is something of a metaphor for Ethan. He really is just a hole that needs filling. Either literally with sex or with memories that he wants to create to look back on when he becomes the kind of person who uses caulk regularly. In a strange way his self-obsession and neediness made me think of Rik from The Young Ones but with a fondness for cocaine instead of smashing the system.
Fleabag's hot priest Andrew Scott pops up at the start and with the knowing narration by writer Zadie Smith I did fear this was going to outfleabag Fleabag, but rather than just go all meta on us it soon establishes its own identity and vibe, following the messy lives of a group of young people, caught between deciding whether to try to prolong their youth – ie casual drugs, casual sex – or grow up, clean up and face the real world of Uber ratings and having people over for dinner. It also features Emily Fairn and Olive Gray as his mates Abi and Sam and a cameo from Lena Dunham, which may be why it keeps getting compared to Girls.
Vicki Pepperdine pops up as Ethan’s mum and while Reich, who wrote this, hogs the best lines there are also plenty to go round. This script is really sharp and jam-packed with funny lines. It might hit home more if you are in Ethan’s demographic, but really at heart this is just a smart, scathing comedy about the mess of modern life that everyone with a sense of humour should appreciate.
It Gets Worse, Thursdays from October 22, 10.05pm, C4.
