Look who’s back to raise the bar
BACK Channel 4, 10pm RETURNING after more than two years, this witty sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb hits the ground running.
If you have forgotten the premise, the central saga focuses on the arrival of smooth-talking Andrew (Webb) as a long-lost foster brother to Stephen (Mitchell).
Andrew turns up out of the blue when Stephen’s father dies, keen to worm his way back into the family. And while everyone is charmed by him, Stephen most certainly is not.
It’s sardonic, clever and has a darkly comic tension running through every scene.
As it opens, Stephen is at a wellness centre, skipping from yoga session to therapy room with a chirpy disposition. It’s all very unnerving.
Of course he is not really happy. But he gives a good enough impression of it to be allowed to go home. “Idiot thinks I’m cured,” spits Stephen. “I’m just pretending. I’m still mad.”
Andrew is managing family pub The John Barleycorn and reminding everyone to be kind to Stephen – with glorious insincerity. The foster brothers confront each other in the men’s urinals and immediately have an argument – over Dickens. Mitchell is so brilliantly Mitchell in every scene.
Stephen’s sister Cass (Louise Brealey) has some surprising news about their mum Ellen’s (Penny Downie) relationship status. Then the opening of a rival pub, so trendy it’s called P:UB, sparks curiosity.
Watch out, also, for Geoff Mcgivern as Uncle Geoff, who has all the best lines about everything from balaclavas to Lilt.
It’s a welcome return for this comedy gem.