How do you take a classic sitcom with its improbable plot, cartoonish characters and gimmicky settings and make it feel fresh and relevant in 21st century Britain? Apparently, the answer is in the modern world. It seems like you should avoid it completely. Following the devout Lewis family, Everybody Else Barnes immerses herself in a Manchester evangelical church (and doomsday cult) that is imbued with misogyny, homophobia, and a shockingly outdated sense of community. It’s deliberately unrelatable material, presented in a style that’s thoroughly artificial and silly, with lots of hairstyles. It shouldn’t work as a modern comedy, but by God it really does.
The brilliance of Everyone Else Burns, now back for a second series, is partly due to its quirky, joke-filled script, but mainly because of its simply fun-to-watch cast. As the pathologically incompetent patriarch David, The Inbetweeners’ Simon Bird somehow walks the line between brutal oppression and heart-wrenching naivety: his own sect’s misogynistic tenets. He is a believer in being the tyrant of the table, but has no qualms about his own unreality (he believes that) and staring at a Sun-Maid girl amounts to adultery. ) and Bard’s not-at-all alpha energy means he’s more of a fool than a tyrant.
Spiritual sparring…Fiona (Kate O’Flynn) and Melissa (Morgana Robinson). Photo: Matt Squire/Jax Media & Universal International Studios/Channel 4
Everyone else is also excellent. Kate O’Flynn is very awkward as David’s shiveringly repressed trad wife Fiona, who is constantly being seduced by her naughty neighbor Melissa (the great Morgana Robinson). Funny Woman’s Asha Ali makes a surprisingly surly villain as corrupt church leader Samson, while Kadif Kirwan plays Andrew, a feisty church elder who is widowed but admired by Fiona. He plays a slightly unfazed role. But my personal highlight is the (relatively) young and (relatively) trendy elder Abija. He gives Stace Let’s Flatts and Al Roberts of the sketch trio Sheeps the chance to perfect his comic specialty of tragically good guys who reek of regret (as Sheeps’ colleague) Liam Williams also returned in a chastity belt as Joel, the “fallen believer”.
Series 1 explores David’s thwarted ambition to become an elder, his daughter Rachel’s thwarted ambition to become a doctor (apparently those who do tangible good don’t go to heaven), and a highly accomplished homosexual It features son Aaron’s never-failing ambition to paint. Biblical characters. This time, the focus is on love and relationships, a theme foreshadowed by Samson’s decision to revive arranged marriages. Deprived of her college dreams and replaced with a pile of pamphlets about the Lord, Rachel decides to leave the series, before being replaced by himbo Christian influencer Jeb (Genius Stand in his first TV appearance). He will be paired with Uppaddy Young. One of the lovers is Josh (Ali Khan), a former church outcast who is also Samson’s son. Josh is matched by Heather (Olivia Marcus), who, despite her threatening tendencies, is surprisingly irritating with her whispering voice.
It was all arranged… Jeb (Paddy Young), Abijah (Al Roberts), Rachel (Amy James Kelly). Photo: Ben Blackall/Jax Media & Universal International Studios/Channel 4
Meanwhile, Fiona pursues a hostile Andrew in surprisingly clumsy style as a mysterious churchgoer called Maud (Fleabag’s Sian Clifford) pursues David. The latter’s storyline, in which the sassy Maude tries to destroy the Lewis family’s marriage because she believes David is “flexible,” is the show’s only weakness, and why this style of home It’s a reminder of how old comedy has become. As a character and as a plot device, Mode without a clear backstory feels empty. There are glimmers of humor in her bossy maneuvers, but they lack any comic essence.
Kadif Kirwan plays the role of widowed but strong-willed Andrew. Photo: Ben Blackall/Jax Media & Universal International Studios/Channel 4
That being said, Maud highlights how everything else is right. It may adhere to stylistic tropes – scenes proceed in a haze of mostly predictable gags, while established sitcom mechanics mean crises are always resolved – but , nothing about the setting or characters feels cynical or shallow. It’s nearly impossible for a new comedy writer to get commissioned for a TV series that isn’t at least semi-autobiographical. This is no exception. Dillon Mapletoft, who co-produced “Everybody Else Burns” with Oliver Taylor, did indeed grow up as a fundamentalist Christian. . While the show makes no overt attempt to glean veracity from this fact, it does explain the sense of empathy woven into the show. The characters are comical but never treated condescendingly.
“Everyone Else Burns” is not without its heavy themes. In one storyline, Aaron and Andrew team up to fight homophobia in the church, but the show’s tone is one of ubiquitous banter. As a satire on ultra-conservative attitudes, the work embraces the intensity of the transgressions involved in flaunting the tyranny of David’s home, but it also pokes at these ideas in satisfying ways, resulting in It brings something catharticly progressive but never preachy.
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In fact, the only message this show seems interested in spreading is the continued value of its chronically upbeat genre. God may not ultimately save the Lewis family’s souls, but he may have saved the sitcom.
Everyone Else Burns currently airs on Channel 4 in the UK and SBS in Australia.
