| Worth seeing: | as a warm-hearted look at an unconventional daddy-daughter dynamic that pushes the narrative too far and fast once it gains its footing |
| Featuring: | Aimee Lou Wood, David Morrissey, Arian Nik, Chris Kerry, Claire Keelan, Cora Kirk, Cyril Nri, Damien Molony, David Fynn, Lauren O'Rourke, Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Nicholas Burns, Perry Fitzpatrick, Sarah Hadland, Sharon Rooney, Susan Lynch, Taj Atwal, Tom Stourton |
| Key crew: | Catherine Morshead, Damon Beesley, Lynn Roberts, Danielle Ward |
| Channel: | BBC iPlayer, BBC3 |
| Length: | 25 minutes |
| Episodes: | 6 |
| Broadcast date: | 15th August 2024 |
| Country: | UK |
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Gemma (Aimee Lou Wood) is a promiscuous young hairdresser, who hasn’t worked out that actions have consequences.
Her estranged father Malcolm (David Morrissey) is struggling with single life after her mother Davina (Susan Lynch) left him; he’s now living in a house-share with a bunch of other recently single men – including his best friend Derek (David Fynn).
When Gemma discovers that she’s pregnant, she decides that the only way she’ll make it through the pregnancy is to invite her dad to move into her spare room; it would help her pay the rent and prepare for the baby – and give him some much needed dignity.
WHAT’S IT LIKE?
David Morrissey is best known for dramas – such as Sherwood, whose second series coincides with the arrival of this rare sitcom.
The early episodes paint a picture of a promiscuous young woman having to grow up quickly – and helping her father do likewise as she does so. The pair live and learn together.
It has a positive, upbeat, relationship-building theme and at times becomes so feel-good that the naive misogyny of Malcolm’s one and only friend, Derek, seems like a welcome release.
Malcolm is a bit of a loser, who’s out of his depth in almost everything he does – which makes him a little pathetic to watch.
Too many of the characters are sitcom grotesques – from Malcolm’s odious best friend to Gemma’s sex-starved boss – funny to a point – but they push it way past that point. Derek is just a little too misogynistic. Rita is just a little too predatory. Malcolm himself is just a little too inept.
Only Gemma herself and her coffee-shop saviour, Xander (Arian Nik), feel like they might actually exist.
The first few episodes offer some warm-hearted observational humour that makes you feel like you’re learning not only about these characters, but perhaps a little about yourself too – but the last two push the narrative envelope too far, with set-pieces that are almost uncomfortable to watch. It’s like a child that cautiously learns to walk and immediately tries to jump across a ravine.