The Durrells
Just as Call The Midwife, with its heady mix of social realism and cute babies, ends another smash-hit series, along comes this new run of The Durrells, with its intoxicating blend of Corfu-based family comedy and even cuter animals. Although, spoiler warning: someone does trip over a dog in the first few minutes, but of course, no canines were harmed during filming. Halfway through Sunday’s opening episode of this third series, I suddenly realised what an ingeniously great premise this show has. It’s got the escapist vibe of the whole Durrell family leaving grey England for the lush verdant backdrop of the Greek island, which they did in real life; it’s got the animal factor provided by young Milo Parker’s Gerald, who really did become a legendary wildlife expert, and we get the unbeatable Keeley Hawes as the classic matriarch figure. She’s pretty much the best mother ever – charming, practical, caring and funny, despite doing stuff like interfering in her son Leslie’s love life and visiting his three concurrent girlfriends to work out which one is best for him. And, on top of all that, it’s got Josh O’connor, fresh from having sex romps aplenty in stunning indie love story God’s Own Country, perfectly cast here as arty son Larry, who really did go on to become one of the great authors of the 20th century. Writer Simon Nye, of Men Behaving Badly fame, takes this brilliant source material and makes wondrously enjoyable, family-friendly Sunday night TV out of it, but he never panders to his audience. The Durrells is as sharp and witty as it is warm and frothy. It’s an addictive formula.