We meet the stars of new show Feel Good
CHANNEL 4, WEDNESDAY 18 MARCH, 10PM
Feel Good has been some time in the making. A pilot called Mae And George was written and made in 2017, by accomplished Canadian stand-up Mae Martin and her best friend Joe Hampson. Based quite closely on Martin’s life as a female comedian in a blokey world, as well as her experiences of romantic entanglements and addiction issues, that one-off episode eventually led to this fully formed and rather special six-parter. In it, Mae plays a version of herself who falls for a woman called George (Charlotte Ritchie) when she comes to see Mae’s comedy act.
ADDED FRIEND
The main initial issue in Mae and George’s burgeoning relationship is that George has, up to this point in her life, only ever been with dudes, and she’s now reluctant to share the news of her same-sex love of her life with her friends and family. In fact, she flat-out refuses to let Mae meet anyone she knows, even her best pal Binky (played by Ophelia Lovibond), and her parents (played by Adrian Lukis and actual Lisa Kudrow, who is as great as you’d expect).
DOWNWARD SPIRAL
George’s refusal to include Mae in her life understandably frustrates Mae, and her old addictive behaviours threaten to recur, while George gets hysterically out of control in a brilliant set-piece sequence in episode two, when her attempts at keeping her worlds separate end up falling apart completely, leading to a downward spiral. Feel Good is one of those difficult to define shows that is as dramatic and emotional as it is funny. But it works wonderfully. See our chat with Mae and Charlotte, right.